If Grimm's fire spells were said to have caused the most damage to the manticores, then the poisonous smoke that Gargamel continuously threw into the cave was the most insidious method to force the manticores into a corner.
Without Gargamel, today's battle would have been a long one. Grimm might have been able to trap the manticores in the cave, but he wouldn't be able to get rid of the manticores quickly. To be honest, the overall strength of the manticores was two to three times that of Grimm's.
But there were no ifs in this world!
Reasonable tactics, suitable candidates, and strong execution were the keys to this perfect battle where they defeated the enemy with a small number of enemies.
When the adult manticores used their strong bodies and fearless will to fight, but they still couldn't get rid of the 'stones' blocking their way, they were doomed to a tragic end!
The manticore leader was heavily injured and fled into the depths of the cave, replaced by two young manticores. The strongest ones had already retreated with injuries, so they could only let the weaker young manticores attack.
Their opponents were the Howler, which had almost fully recovered, and Grimm, who had once again retreated to the second line. With a meat shield and a fire shaman, coupled with the Rotting One and Gargamel, the two young manticores could no longer replicate their previous bravery.
Before they could even get close to the Howler, they were hit by a series of spells and screamed in pain. When they finally got close to the stone golem, a 'Tremor of the Earth' was enough to kill them.
What followed was a torrential spell baptism!
The two young manticores immediately knelt down. If it wasn't for the manticores behind them biting their tails and dragging them back, they would have died in the narrow cave entrance.
At this moment, they couldn't help but curse at Gargamel's treachery.
If it wasn't for the poisonous smoke, even if the manticores couldn't get out, they could still block the entrance and fight a protracted battle with Grimm. But because of Gargamel's existence, the whole cave was filled with suffocating poisonous smoke. The manticores had no choice but to use their bodies to fight for a way out.
Of course, if the Manticore Leader was a little more vicious and cunning, he would have sent out a few young Manticores to fight the Howlers while they were still at their peak to exhaust Grimm's forces. Then, the Elite Manticores would launch a surprise attack, which would increase their chances of breaking out of the encirclement.
After all, Grimm only had one Wizard-level meat shield, Howler, and Grimm's half-meat shield. Once the Howler was destroyed, the entire situation would deteriorate to the point where it would be difficult to salvage!
After all, things were not as good as they had been in the past. He had lost the Inferno Tyrant, who was a heavy firepower user, and Grim's own strength was barely comparable to that of a veteran Sorcerer. If he unsealed the Balrog's Heart, he might have the explosive power of an elite Wizard for a short period of time, but he only had a short fifteen minutes.
With such strength, there was still a great risk of being overturned by the enemy.
But fortunately, with the interference of many factors, he had relied on the A.I. Chip's battlefield simulation to come up with a strategy that could be considered complete, and he was finally able to take down the group of Manticores.
The eleven Manticores weren't destroyed by Grimm's Fire Magic. Instead, they were all knocked out by the Gargamel's Poison Mist Potion, lying in the cave like a pile of mud.
Even the heavily injured Elite Manticore Leader was the same!
All the hair on its body had fallen off, and its body was covered with blisters and scabs filled with pus and blood. Terrifying yellow liquid flowed freely, and a pungent stench filled the air …
Grimm, who had dispelled the poison mist and entered the cave, could not help but feel a little sad when he saw the scene before him. Such a powerful Manticore family had been easily taken down by a few people. Now that he thought about it, it was a little strange and unbelievable.
However, looking at the pitiful Manticores that were as limp as dead dogs, Grimm only felt pity for them for a short moment. Immediately after, he loudly ordered Gargamel, "Hurry up and treat them! We can't let them die so easily, or else the loss will be too great! "
Actually, there was no need for him to say anything. After Gargamel entered the cave, he could not help but laugh out loud at the sight of the Manticores that were unable to move. His sinister laughter was as sharp as an owl's, causing one's hair to stand on end.
"Hurry … Hurry … Hurry …" Gargamel repeatedly ordered, "Quickly feed them the antidote and tie them up for me …"
The mercenaries who were only responsible for guarding the outer perimeter swarmed in, each of them using wet cloth to cover their mouths and noses. The pungent smell of medicine could be faintly smelled from the cloth.
With their help, those who fed the Manticores potions and those who tied ropes, in the blink of an eye, 11 Manticores were tied up tightly, unable to move.
Gargamel was not so kind as to completely detoxify them. Without the control of the poison, the Manticores would be able to break free from the ropes made of Iron String Vines with their naturally strong physique. Therefore, Gargamel took out some 'improved' antidotes. Not only did it preserve their lives, but it also prevented them from fully recovering. While at the same time, it also injected some of the terrifying toxins into their lungs so that it would be easier to control later.
Such a group of Manticores was suitable to be subdued and made into the future guards of the Wizard's Pagoda. Thus, Grimm handed the task of subduing the Manticores to Gargamel, while he himself dived deep into the ground alone. There, he discovered a large group of caves and a lava well.
In fact, as soon as he stepped into the cave, Grimm could already feel the rich aura of fire elements. The entire group of caves that stretched for two to three miles was enveloped in a dazzling red light, and the air was filled with a thick, suffocating smell of sulfur. The source of all this came from a lava well with a diameter of five meters in the center of the cave!
This was a lava well that led straight to the depths of the earth. Looking down from the mouth of the cave, all Grimm could see was the churning sea of lava. The mouth of the well was about fifty meters away from the surface of the lava, and the surrounding walls were made of volcanic rock that could resist the invasion of lava. It was also a natural stone used to build the Fire Wizard's Pagoda.
Grimm decisively grabbed his Wizard Staff and jumped into the sea of lava below. With the partial immunity to fire brought by the Body of Flames, he took a preliminary look at the shallow surface of the sea of lava, and was shocked by what he saw.
This should be a natural 'Earth Lung'!
Just like how humans needed lungs to breathe, the underground world also needed a channel to communicate with the surface world. The violent volcanic region was one of them, but there were many more similar 'Earth Lungs'.
They were hidden all over the continent, even at the bottom of the Endless Sea.
Through the winding and hidden channels, they could radiate heat from the underground to the surface, and then absorb the ubiquitous elemental energy into the depths of the earth.
This was obviously a natural 'Earth Lung' with fire elements as its main source!
The value of its existence to a Fire Wizard like Yang Ling was obvious!
Grimm immediately left a Wizard Imprint near the lava well, using it as a future location. Only then did he return to the Manticore Lair with satisfaction.
In the three days that Grimm was gone, Gargamel also had a major breakthrough in that aspect.
Among the eleven Manticores, two of the young Manticores could not withstand the threat of death and medicine, and finally lowered their heads in humiliation. They opened up their souls and allowed Gargamel to plant a Soul Imprint in them. With both the Wizard Imprint and the Soul Imprint, the lives of the two young Manticores were completely in Gargamel's hands.
With these two examples in front of him, the rest of the Manticores chose to surrender one after another, gaining their freedom. As for the two Elite Manticores, including the Manticore Leader, they would rather die than surrender. This undoubtedly infuriated Gargamel.
But after Grimm returned, he specifically went to talk to the Manticore Leader, and it reluctantly surrendered! There were two factors that prompted it to surrender.
First, Grimm promised that this was only an employment contract, not a slave contract. This also meant that Grimm would have to pay the Manticore Family a regular employment fee, which was temporarily set at 30 magic crystals per month.
Second, the offspring of the Manticores would be free. The young Manticores born in the future would no longer be bound by the contract, and could live, reproduce, and migrate freely. Wizards would not be allowed to interfere!
Grimm naturally agreed to these two conditions. Only then did the Elite Manticore Leader bring its partner to join his party.
After the matter with the Manticores was settled, Grimm left Gargamel, the mechanical girl Sabrina, and the Potioneering Apprentice Daniel in the Diseased Forest. Only then did he bring the rest of the party back to Pine Tower Town.
As for the Forest Demon Ava, she had been hiding in the dark and did not meet the mercenaries, so the rest of the party did not even know of her existence!
This trip to the Black Forest took 27 days. When the adventurer party successfully returned, the whole Pine Tower Town was instantly in an uproar.
The mercenaries that stayed in the town all rushed to the hotel, asking Lowi and the others about the details of this adventure. However, the members of the party who received Grimm's money all kept their mouths shut, not daring to reveal the information of their employer.
Grimm only stayed in Pine Tower Town for a night, and the next day he hurried back to his family.
The first thing Grimm did when he returned to his family was to pay a visit to the family's main wizard, Ms. Sanazar, and apply to her to build a personal wizard tower.
This was something that the Great Wizard, Mr. Sarubo, had personally promised him after the last planar war, so he made the request with confidence.
After not seeing each other for a few days, Ms. Sanazar seemed to be in a very good mood. She readily agreed to Grimm's request and quickly handed over the task to the rank 2 wizard, Forgan.
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