The appearance of such a cement-like substance wasn't strange at all. Back in ancient China, they used chicken blood, glutinous rice and clay to construct city walls. Although the cost was exorbitant and couldn't be used on a large scale, the hardness of the city walls didn't lose out to modern concrete. Therefore, the appearance of such a substance amongst the Ndipaya aborigines wasn't anything strange.
However, Sheyan wasn't astonished by the material of the sand table, but the contents of the sand table!
The periphery of the sand table presented a dried purplish brown color, with 7-8 sporadically elevated regions scattered around. With a single glance, Sheyan could tell that this dried purplish black color represented the periphery of the Kijuju Marshland. Within those 7-8 slightly elevated regions, there were buildings constructed from grass and wood. Evidently, those were the villages of the Ndipaya aborigines that had been expelled from the Kijuju Marshland. Through his memories, Sheyan could still recognize a few of those villages. However, the remaining villages were located on the other side, and were beyond Sheyan's reach.
Based on the ratio of the sand table, the boundary between the inner and outer regions of the Kijuju Marshland was roughly 20 kilometres in width. The sand table was marked with a maroon hue, indicating extreme danger. Furthermore, the sand table also displayed 2-3 concealed pathways. Shockingly, the core region of the Kijuju Marshland was actually a massive plateau. Looking from afar, it appeared as though a massive platform had been tossed over the Kijuju Marshland! Nevertheless, the miasma and fog here were exceedingly malicious and pervasive, and would never disperse. Hence, there was no way to grasp the situation from afar.
Their adventures in the core region of Ndipaya previously took place on this highland, which was clearly depicted on the sand table. Sheyan spotted a total of 11 villages on this highland, with the largest village being the one where they were previously chased by the Licker boss. There was even a distinct pocket-sized sculpture of a coiled serpent on the sand table! Sheyan could clearly see the sculpture of a coiled serpent on the sand table!
Yet more shockingly, their current location wasn't the core region of the Kijuju Marshland!! At most, it could only be considered an inner region. According to the sand table, this wasn't the real core region. The real core region was actually in the highlands ….
All of a sudden, a clear tinkling sound drifted in from the outside. Sheyan immediately snapped out of his daze, and immediately retrieved a blazing torch from the nearby wall before rushing out. Instead, he discovered a stone door ahead of him. Sheyan casually opened it, and under the illumination of the firelight, a golden radiance flickered in the dark tunnel ahead. Bending down, Sheyan picked up a thumb-sized golden bell from the ground.
This golden bell was in the shape of a pendulum and was very small and exquisite. It was forged with thin gold. From the front, it looked like a grimacing ghost face. The teeth, nostrils, and ears were very distinct. Even the veins on the face were made to be very lifelike. The neck was swollen, and if one looked carefully, there were seven golden beads in it. When it swayed slightly, it gave off a clear and melodious sound. The tip of this golden bell was dyed with copious amounts of viscous blood. After Sheyan picked it up from the ground, the blood dripped down from the golden bell, drop by drop. As Sheyan observed this bell, the craftsmanship of its craftsmanship truly caused a modern person like Sheyan to exclaim in astonishment, as though it was a heaven-defying work of craftsmanship. Logically speaking, this primitive and barbaric Ndipaya tribe shouldn't possess such incomparably valiant craftsmanship! However, if one linked it to the things Sheyan had witnessed previously, then it all made sense.
After advancing another 10 metres into the tunnel, Sheyan noticed a severed limb lying on the ground. This severed limb was a human's right arm. Muscles intertwined and tattooed, and it was still twitching incessantly. The severed arm's palm was still tightly gripping onto a strange looking saber. After Sheyan wiped it with his strength, he finally released the saber's hilt from his grip. One could tell how powerful the severed arm's grip was!
Sheyan continued advancing along the tunnel, and discovered several corpses along the way! These corpses were clad in the attire of the Ndipaya barbarians, with distinct coiled serpent tattoos on their faces. Although they were already dead, the fierce and ferocious aura exuded from their bodies was on the verge of bursting out, causing one to feel intimidated at first glance. Their cause of death was either a spear piercing through their hearts, or a saber slashing across their necks. Strangely, these corpses didn't show any signs of resistance before their deaths.
All of a sudden, Sheyan caught sight of a figure skimming through a tunnel ahead. That figure resembled Mbenga, and he immediately dashed forward in pursuit. Yet after a short span of seconds, Sheyan arrived at the tunnel fork ahead. Instead, his pupils abruptly contracted. That figure skimming by, had actually vanished without a trace!
After standing at the tunnel entrance for a brief moment, Sheyan determined his direction. After pondering a little, he knelt down and measured his surroundings. Then, he proceeded towards a tunnel. After walking for about 20 to 30 meters, a series of collapses and broken stones appeared. Even after walking for a while, a large number of deep pits and piles of stones appeared on the ground. These were not caused by fighting, but by the collapse of the old disrepair.
Sheyan trudged through the puddles. The puddles emitted a rancid stench, and were exceedingly cold. Stepping into them, he could feel a bone-piercing chill. The depth of the water varied, with some reaching his knees, and some reaching his waist. All of a sudden, Sheyan halted his footsteps and strained his ears to listen. Instantly, he heard incomparably distinct splashing sounds; evidently, several people were approaching. Judging from their movements, they didn't seem to be pursuing, but were searching for something.
At present, Sheyan didn't dare to make a single move. Mbenga obviously wouldn't bring a few people here. Therefore, the remaining ones were definitely the guards of this place. At present, if Sheyan didn't guess wrongly, the strength of the enemies here should be above the previous ones! Therefore, even though his entire body was smeared with that 'Improved Serum', he didn't dare to be careless. Retreating several steps back, he found a puddle he previously stepped into, and squatted down in the waist-deep water.
The enemies finally appeared in Sheyan's line of sight. Although separated by the ripples of the turbid water, Sheyan still attempted to probe them. After probing twice, he finally found out their names.
"Ndipaya Kingdom Guards."
The rest of their information was completely unknown.
All of a sudden, the enemies seemed to have discovered something crucial. After hastily taking several steps into the puddles of water, they arrived at a cross-shaped tunnel. Then, they started surveying around; evidently searching for something, but to no avail.
Yet all of a sudden, those three Ndipaya Kingdom Guards suddenly lost their balance and fell into the muddy water. Evidently, they were extremely well trained individuals. Not only did they not struggle recklessly, their countenances were grim as they unsheathed their weapons and slashed into the muddy water. "Dang!" A clear clang resounded, as though they had collided with something solid.
Then, with a splash, a black silhouette pounced out from the water with outstretched arms. It appeared to be Mbenga's back. His back muscles bulged out one after another, appearing as tough as iron, causing one to tremble with fear! At present, his strength was exceedingly great. In a flash, he actually sent those three Ndipaya Kingdom Guards crashing into the depths of a nearby tunnel. Not long after, severed limbs, heads and intestines dripping with blood were tossed out. Those who were still alive a moment ago, were instantly dismembered with their eyes wide open. Such a psychological pressure was truly immense, burying a layer of enormous shadow in one's heart.
Sheyan's facial muscles twitched.
"What the hell happened to Mbenga?"
As he uttered those words, veins popped out from his forehead. His hand gripped tightly onto his saber hilt, and his voice sounded like it was squeezed out from the gaps between his teeth!
All of a sudden, Mbenga darted out from the tunnel. His entire body was drenched in blood, and a long chain of bloody objects was strung around his waist. Upon closer inspection, Sheyan discovered they were actually human ears strung together! They appeared exceptionally savage and malevolent. At this moment, Mbenga glanced towards Sheyan. His bloodthirsty eyes flickered for a moment, before transforming into a perplexed look. Then, he charged towards Sheyan and grabbed his hand.
"Hurry up and leave!"
Hearing the splashing of water echoing in from behind, Sheyan's scalp instantly exploded! Just by listening to the splashing of water, one could discern at least 17-18 pursuers. If they didn't flee, were they supposed to stay here and await their deaths?
The effects of Sheyan's modified medicine were indeed extraordinary. Nevertheless, one must bear in mind that it could only be effective within a distance of 3 metres. Once they entered the range of 3 metres, their true form would be exposed. Furthermore, this tunnel was merely 4-5 metres wide …... that was to say, once those guys passed through this tunnel, the chances of Sheyan being discovered would be 100%.
Hence, under Mbenga's lead, they sprinted through this labyrinthine passageway at high speed. Along the way, Mbenga constantly brandished his weapon to demolish several passageways. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Several passageways collapsed, and the pursuers behind were incessantly howling in fury.
On the other hand, Mbenga seemed to be rather familiar with the route here. Twisting left and right, he would occasionally activate some hidden mechanisms in secret locations, turning dead ends into paths of survival. Finally, the duo's vision suddenly brightened up, as a glaring ray of light suddenly appeared before them! Squinting their eyes, the two hurriedly sprinted out of the tunnel. Even though Sheyan had already witnessed this scene from the sand table, he couldn't help but gasp in shock!! (To be continued.) If you like this work, I welcome you to donate your recommendation votes or monthly votes to me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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