The darkness deep inside the mine was several times thicker than outside. The light from the illumination bead could only barely penetrate a few feet; beyond that, it was an indistinguishable inky blackness.
The group continued onward, and the Shi family members silently collected the bloodstains of their companions, their faces showing no trace of sorrow, as if what had just been carried away by the Star Prison Wolves was not a member of their own kind, but merely an insignificant object.
Bai Feng and Tang Ling's group were the same; no one mentioned the dead. Only the rustling sound of footsteps in the wolf's blood was particularly jarring in the silence.
Xiao Chen observed them discreetly—the scions of the three major families were indeed instilled with the belief of "profit above all else" from a young age. Sacrificing one or two people for the treasures deep within the mine was utterly insignificant. This indifference was more chilling than the darkness of the mine itself.
"There seems to be something ahead." Bai Yiluo suddenly stopped, her moon-white gauze dress swaying gently in the dim light. She pointed to the rock wall ahead, "Look."
Following her gaze, everyone saw several piles of things hanging upside down on the dark rock wall, their shapes resembling shrunken human figures or dried animal carcasses, barely noticeable without close inspection.
They are embedded in the cracks of the rocks, blending in with the surrounding slag, and emitting a faint smell of decay.
"Is it a crystallized mineral or something else?" Bai Feng frowned, channeling his spiritual energy into his longsword, the tip of which emitted a faint light as he tried to see more clearly.
Shi Meng, carrying an axe, said in a gruff voice, "Whatever it is, if it's blocking the way, I'll chop it up."
Tang Ling shook her head and stopped playing with the bell: "Something's not right, it's too quiet."
Since we dealt with the Star Prison Wolf, there hasn't been a sound of wind or water in the depths of the mine. It's so quiet you can hear your own heartbeat, and this deathly silence is eerie.
The three parties instinctively distanced themselves, each wary of their surroundings—guarding against both hidden dangers and their "allies."
Compared to the direct danger, these family members, each with their own ulterior motives, are perhaps more difficult to deal with.
Just then, countless green lights suddenly appeared in the darkness ahead.
It wasn't the greedy green of the Star Prison Wolf, but rather colder, denser specks of light, like stars suddenly falling from the night sky, instantly filling an area of dozens of feet in front of us.
"Eyes again!" someone exclaimed, gripping their weapon tightly.
“No…” Xiao Chen’s pupils contracted slightly. The distribution of these green lights was too scattered, more like… phosphorescence on wings?
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a sharp screech came from the darkness, like metal scraping against glass, piercing his eardrums.
"Whoosh—!"
Countless dark figures swooped down from the rock wall, rushing straight towards the group with a whooshing sound!
Only then did the light from the luminous beads reveal their true nature—
Those were enormous bats!
Each one is as tall as a person, with wings spread like a black cloak covered in glossy short fur. The most terrifying thing is their mouths, which, when opened, reveal two rows of sharp fangs, as thick as an adult's finger, gleaming with a ghostly blue poisonous light!
"It's a Star-Eating Bat!" Bai Feng's expression changed drastically, and he held his longsword horizontally in front of him. "They're even more troublesome than Star Prison Wolves! Their sonic waves can disperse spiritual energy, their fangs are highly poisonous, and they live in packs!"
Before he could finish speaking, a Star-Eating Bat pounced on Bai Feng. With a flap of its wings, an invisible sound wave struck him, and Bai Feng felt his spiritual energy become chaotic, almost causing him to drop his sword!
"clang!"
He gritted his teeth and drew his sword, barely managing to block the Star-Eating Bat's attack, but was forced back by the immense force, his arm going numb.
Shi Meng roared and swung his axe at a Star-Eating Bat. The axe struck the bat's wings, producing a metallic clang. The wings were incredibly hard!
Tang Ling reacted the fastest. She rang the bell and released silver threads like a net, trying to entangle the bats. However, the Star-Eating Bats were too agile. With a flap of their wings, they dodged most of them. Only two were entangled, but they frantically tore at the silver threads, and the light of the array was rapidly dimming!
"Senior Brother, these guys are so tough!" Stone punched a Star-Eating Bat's wing, knocking off only a few black feathers, but his fist was still sore from the impact. "And their cries are so annoying!"
Xiao Chen also sensed it—the Star-Eating Bat's hiss was indeed eerie, as if it carried some kind of sonic attack, constantly impacting his soul. If his soul hadn't been so refined, he probably would have already lost control of his spiritual power.
"Don't be affected by the sound waves! Attack their bellies!" Xiao Chen shouted, and at the same time, he flicked his spear tip, avoiding the fangs of a Star-Eating Bat, and pierced its soft lower abdomen.
"Pfft!"
Black blood splattered, and the Star-Eating Bat let out a shrill scream as its wings twitched and it fell to the ground.
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately adjusted their attack targets. Bai Feng's sword flashed downwards, precisely slicing open the abdomen of a Star-Eating Bat; Shi Meng crossed his two axes, forcefully splitting a bat in two; Tang Ling guided silver threads, specifically targeting the bats' wing joints, restricting their mobility.
However, there were simply too many Star-Eating Bats, numbering in the hundreds, swarming forward relentlessly, and soon some people could not withstand them.
"ah!"
A member of the Tang family was entangled by two Star-Eating Bats. The sound waves made him dizzy and unable to dodge. He was bitten on the shoulder by the fangs of one of the bats. Black blood spread instantly, and he fell down with a scream. He soon fell silent.
Immediately afterwards, two more Bai family guards were attacked by a swarm of bats. Although they fought desperately and killed several, they were eventually exhausted and torn apart. Their screams echoed in the mine, sending chills down everyone's spines.
Shi Meng was also in grave danger. Although he was brave, he couldn't withstand the simultaneous attack of seven or eight bats. He had several wounds on his body, black blood seeping out, and his face was turning blue, clearly indicating that he had been poisoned.
Seeing this, Tang Ling gritted her teeth and separated a portion of her silver thread to entangle the two bats that were attacking Shi Meng. "Everyone, step back!"
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