This was a small cave that was 120 meters underground.
There was an opening at each end of the cave that led to different areas of the underground world.
The stone walls on both sides reflected a faint cold light under the fluorescent moss. Water droplets constantly dripped from the top of the cave, hitting the cold ground and making a monotonous pitter-patter sound.
Although the sound was unceasing, the dark and deep underground world was still dominated by silence and deathly stillness!
If one wanted to survive in this dark world, maintaining silence and avoiding body heat was the only way to survive. However, this rule had been broken today!
A Horned Goat that had never appeared on the surface was tied to a rock in the middle of the cave by a metal chain. The dark and cold environment made it shiver in fear, and the huge wound on its hind leg was still slowly bleeding.
The thick and pungent smell of blood had already filled the tunnel.
Baa …
The trembling cry of the Horned Goat spread far and wide in this deathly silent world.
The Horned Goat whimpered in annoyance and continuously used the horns on its head to hit the stone pillar that was tied to it. Only when it sensed the movement behind it did it turn around in fear.
In the darkness, a terrifying figure crawling on the ground was slowly approaching it!
This was a Petrifying Lizard.
The five-meter long body made the Petrifying Lizard the undisputed largest monster in this area, and its guillotine like fangs made it difficult for the creatures it bit to survive. Coupled with the petrification ray that only had a range of three meters, the Petrifying Lizard had become the well-deserved "Underground Scavenger" of the underground world!
Looking at the pair of shining yellow eyes in the darkness that kept approaching, the Horned Goat was so frightened that it could not control itself. It desperately jumped and kicked. However, this did not help at all. Instead, it made the smell of blood on its body spread faster and more widely.
Just as the Petrifying Lizard approached the rock where the Horned Goat was, it was immediately blocked by a strange array that emerged from the ground. The Petrifying Lizard fiercely bit a few times and attacked the array several times, but it still could not do anything. The Petrifying Lizard was helpless. Suddenly, it half straightened its body and raised its nose to sniff the slowly flowing air in the cave.
With the sensitivity of an underground creature, it smelled a familiar and terrifying smell from the thick smell of blood.
Without hesitation, the Petrified Lizard turned around and crawled into the darkness, quickly disappearing.
Not long after the Petrified Lizard disappeared, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew in the cave. Then, a strong black figure rushed out from the tunnel and coiled around the hanging stalactites at the top of the cave.
In the end, this black shadow landed on a protruding platform on the rock wall. It sat majestically at the top and silently looked down at everything in the cave below.
Shocked by the strange atmosphere, the horned sheep was paralyzed on the ground, and there was an unpleasant smell of urine coming from under its body.
Although the cave was dark, the huge black shadow could already see every corner of this space with the help of glimmer vision.
The cold floor, the dark stone walls, the gurgling underground river … Everything was under its control.
The black shadow stood quietly in the darkness. Its green eyes had a tinge of earthy yellow, and it was filled with doubt and uneasiness.
However, as an underage Manticore, it was obviously not mature enough.
All of the scent emitted by the Horned Goat was sucked into its nostrils. The unique and delicious scent of flesh and blood of the creature at the bottom stimulated its blood vessels. Saliva dripped down from its mouth, corroding a small hole on the rock platform beneath it.
The scene in front of it looked like an ugly trap, but where was the enemy that set this trap?
The little Manticore resisted the urge to dive down and feast on the horned sheep. It opened its eyes wide and looked around for possible enemies. However, even if it scanned every corner of the cave, it did not find any traces of outsiders.
Finally, the little Manticore could no longer hold back its natural hunger for flesh and blood. With a soft roar, it dived down and fiercely pounced on the horned sheep.
After a while, the strange sound of the little Manticore crazily devouring the horned sheep's flesh could be heard in the cave.
As a ferocious underground creature, the little Manticore never cared about table etiquette. The scene of it crazily eating was unbearable. The whole rock was dripping with blood, and it looked like a small slaughterhouse.
Just as the little Manticore fell into a frenzy of eating, a shallow pool in the corner of the cave rippled, and three human figures slowly emerged.
"Fall … fall … fall …"
Gargamel could not help but murmur through the thick darkness.
Following his murmur, the little Manticore that was gorging itself suddenly swayed. Its wide bat wings had just spread open, and before it could even take flight, its huge body strangely fell to the ground.
"Hurry up …" Grim whispered, "There is another little Manticore nearby, we don't have that much time!"
"Understood!" Gargamel laughed evilly, "It won't take much time to extract a little of the poison from its tail. I promise it won't notice anything afterwards!"
After saying this, he took advantage of the darkness and quietly crept towards the sleeping little Manticore.
… …
There were still two hours before dawn, and the adult Manticores that were scattered in the nearby forest had also returned to the entrance of the cave.
It was obvious that their bellies were bulging, and they had completely eaten their fill.
Their thick hind legs were still holding onto bloody prey. After resting on the stone pillars for a while, they roared and went back into the cave. Only when they completely disappeared into the underground tunnel did the nocturnal bats dare to flap their wings and return to their nest.
Grim and the other two watched the whole process from the side, and when the sky brightened again, they returned to the camp with satisfaction.
During their first exploration of the underground nest, they did not kill any living creatures, nor did they capture the little Manticore that fell into their trap. They only secretly extracted some of its flesh and poison. When the anesthetic wore off, the little Manticore woke up from its deep sleep, and all the abnormalities around it had been completely erased by Grim and the others.
After all, the little Manticore's intelligence was not perfect, and under the influence of the anesthetic, it had forgotten most of the things that happened before, and could only return to its nest suspiciously.
With Gargamel, the pharmacist, and the poison extracted from the little Manticore's body, it was possible to concoct some anti-paralysis medicine. Although it was impossible to completely resist the paralysis attack of an adult Manticore, it was much better than using its body to resist.
For several days, Grim and Gargamel slept during the day and came out at night, spending almost every night in the winding underground tunnel.
They observed the Manticores' behavior and living habits from a close distance, and even sneaked into the nest to familiarize themselves with the terrain, laying a solid foundation for the cleanup mission later on.
After careful planning and deliberation, Grim finally came up with a perfect plan to eliminate the Manticores, and the execution time was set for the seventh day after they arrived at the Sick Forest.
According to Grim's observation, this day should also be the day when the adult and young Manticores of the Manticore family would leave their nest for a large-scale hunt, which was the perfect time to carry out the plan.
And the executors of the plan were all the members of the adventurer team!
Under the temptation of Grim's reward of 300 magic crystals, Lowi and the others finally gave in.
… …
It was another beautiful night with a bright moon and sparse stars.
The sky had just turned dark when a large number of bats came out of the cave again. They gathered into a cloud in the night sky around the Sick Forest, circled around a few times, and then dispersed into the nearby forest.
The Nine-headed Manticore also appeared again, but after a brief division of labor, they went their separate ways!
When they were far away, Grim and the rest of the group of eight revealed themselves and went straight into the depths of the cave.
Letting Sabrina and the others follow behind, Grimm and Gargamel rushed into the underground tunnel and headed straight for the Manticore's lair.
Time was very precious, and they had to make every second count. They had to set up a trap before the Manticores realized that something was wrong, or else they would be easily trapped in the nest by the returning Manticores.
If they wanted to lure the Manticores into the nest, they had to control the two young Manticores that were guarding the nest. That was why Grim and Gargamel were a step ahead, and with the help of witchcraft, they quickly pushed into the Manticore's nest.
Unlike last time when they were sneaking around, this time they were practically beating drums and gongs as they rushed into the underground tunnel.
While going down the tunnel, Grim continuously threw out witchcraft fireballs, blowing up the small underground creatures that were hiding in the dark into pieces.
The huge fireball rumbled and spread rapidly in the underground tunnel. They didn't even need to search for it. The two little Manticores that were hiding in the dark rushed out after the sound of the explosion.
The young Manticores were only at the level of a Quasi-Wizard. Although their combat power was not worth mentioning in Grim's eyes, it still took a lot of effort to capture them.
Grim took the lead and rushed into a small cave. There were four to five underground tunnels that led to different areas, and it could be considered as a small hub of this underground maze.
As soon as Grimm entered the cave, he felt a strong gust of wind above his head. Two huge shadows the size of hills swooped down from the top of the cave. They opened their mouths and bit at Grimm's head and shoulders with their white fangs.
With regards to the ambush of the two little Manticores, Grim had already learned about it through the latest 'Multi-Dimensional Scenery Construction'. Therefore, Grimm's figure only paused for a moment before he successfully used [Flame Leap] to jump to another area. At his original position, a huge lava fireball that he had prepared beforehand exploded at the perfect time!
If Grim wanted to kill the two young Manticores, he only needed a solid lava fireball to make them lose a layer of skin even if they did not die. However, in order to capture them alive, he had to explode the fireball in advance.
Therefore, in an earth-shattering explosion and shockwave, the two young Manticores were dizzy from the explosion. They were covered in wounds and could only scream in pain as they rushed out of the fire.
What welcomed them was the Roar's iron fist that was as big as a clay pot …
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