The fourth layer of the Underdark was the world of all kinds of powerful magical beasts. In fact, there were also a large number of magical beasts on the third layer. The drows had been fighting with these powerful magical beasts for thousands of years to survive on the third layer. Even with the protection of the Dark Lord, they were now the overlords of the third layer of the Underdark. However, outside the traditional territory of the drows on the third layer of the Underdark, it was still the world of magical beasts.
The magical beasts on the fourth layer were more terrifying than those on the third layer. Even the drows did not dare to go down.
It was said that there were terrifying Mind Flayers living on the fourth layer. These Mind Flayers, who were good at controlling the minds of creatures, had built a kingdom of Mind Flayers on the fourth layer and enslaved all kinds of creatures.
The fifth layer of the Underdark was said to be where the kingdom of the Dark Lord was located. It was said that because the Dark Lord had too many enemies, his kingdom was not in the Astral World, but in the fifth layer of the underground world. However, the fifth layer of the Underdark was too dangerous. Even legendary adventurers would not be able to come back alive if they entered. Naturally, no one knew if it was true.
As for the sixth layer of the Underdark, it was said that there were a large number of exiled Abominations and terrifying evil creatures. The level of danger there was so high that even the True Gods did not dare to go down.
As for the seventh level of the Gloomy Dark Region, no one knew about it. That was because, for the time being, no one dared to enter it. Hence, no one knew what was inside. Even the True God members of the Greedy Wolf Battle Group had only reached the sixth level when they explored the Gloomy Dark Region.
The passages and spiral stone stairs connecting different places in the Underdark were constantly changing with the terrain. Not long after they entered the underground passage, they saw the road ahead was cut off by falling stones.
A few guards of the caravan stepped forward and shone their torches. They could still see the opposite side that was not completely blocked. After some discussion, they decided to temporarily camp and send people to dig the passage.
If they encountered such a situation on the surface, they would usually take a detour. However, the underground world was too complicated. It was easy to get lost if they took a detour. Therefore, they would not take a detour unless it was a last resort.
The caravan set up camp, and smoke rose from the chimney. The Halfling chefs who accompanied the caravan were roasting meat by the bonfire. The mercenaries sat in a circle and drank ale. Many of them were singing loudly. They had to find their own entertainment and maintain a good attitude during the journey. Otherwise, they would be easily depressed later on and be easily affected by some unknown forces underground.
Marlin picked up a piece of roasted meat from the rack and put it on a silver plate. He handed it to his nephew and said,
"Send it to Mister Enigma!"
Noel, who was wearing a half-body armor, responded. He took a plate and stopped in front of Lin Xiao's carriage. He knocked on the door slightly nervously.
"Mister Enigma, please have a taste of the Halfling Master's cooking."
Lin Xiao pulled the curtain aside and saw the grilled meat on the plate. Snapping his fingers, Noel felt his hand lighten, and the grilled meat plate in his hand automatically flew up and landed into the carriage. Instantly, a trace of envy and awe emerged in his eyes.
Picking up the silver knife on the silver plate, he cut the barbecued meat into small pieces and stuffed them into his mouth. The barbecued meat was neither charred nor tender, and the taste of salt was just right. It tasted fragrant and was not as greasy as he had imagined.
"Not bad!"
Lin Xiao gave a very pertinent evaluation. The Halfling was a famous gourmet in the foreign world, and his reputation was indeed well-deserved.
It was getting late, and the guard continued to chisel the stones. The clanking sounds were very loud, and even if the carriage was soundproof, it could not completely isolate the noise. He added a soundproof enchantment to the carriage and went to sleep.
The Incarnation of God could actually not eat, drink, or sleep, but that would be too high-profile. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
It took the caravan two days to chisel a gap in the passage that could accommodate the caravan. The huge caravan slowly passed through and continued to move forward.
After that, Lin Xiao finally saw how complicated the terrain of the Underdark was. It was even more complicated than the underground terrain he had seen in other worlds. There were rugged rocks everywhere, and in the dark underground world, only the fluorescent moss on the stone walls emitted a faint glow. There were also torches lit by the trade caravans. Walking on the spiral stone stairs was like a fire dragon coiling around the stone stairs.
Lin Xiao snapped his fingers, and light balls emitting soft white light flew out and floated around him, illuminating the surroundings.
The surrounding mercenaries were envious when they saw this scene. Not only was it convenient, but in the dangerous Underdark, the survival ability of a high-level mage was much better than theirs.
After walking in this complicated environment for almost a week, the angle of the spiral stone stairs began to level out, which meant that they were about to reach the first layer of the Underdark.
The Flaming Flower Caravan carried a large amount of salt and ale, as well as various materials that were not available in the underground world. They could trade with any race in the first layer of the Underdark for large amounts of ores and gems that could only be found in the underground world.
According to the total amount of materials carried by the Flaming Flower Caravan, they could at least earn a few hundred thousand gold coins on this trip.
After passing through the ground and the underground, the first layer of the continent's terrain changed relatively little. Although the ground was still very rugged, it was much smoother in comparison.
Marlin led the caravan around a certain area for a while and found a thick stone pillar. He found the mark left behind last time. With this mark as the center, he identified the direction. The caravan walked in one of the directions. They were heading towards a gray dwarf's castle.
The Flaming Flower Caravan liked to do business with the gray dwarves the most. These dwarves' close relatives also had excellent forging skills. The caravan traded with them with the urgently needed salt and ale that the gray dwarves loved the most. These high-quality weapons and equipment could be sold at a high price on the surface.
Lin Xiao was prepared to follow the caravan to the gray dwarf's castle. He would stay there for a few days to understand the situation in the underground world, and then decide where to go.
Although he already had a suitable target in mind, it was not bad to know more before that.
Along the way, they almost did not encounter any monster attacks, nor did they encounter any terrifying Drow raiding teams. The mercenaries and guards who had been very vigilant began to relax, and some even started to joke around.
But when the caravan passed through a narrow underground valley, suddenly a huge shadow fell from the top of a stone pillar into the caravan. There was a scream, and then the shadow quickly jumped up before the other mercenaries could react. It used its hands and feet to climb up another stone pillar, and quickly went around to a high platform behind the pillar.
At this time, the mercenaries reacted and took out their bows and crossbows. Some threw javelins and torches, but the shadow was extremely agile. It jumped back and forth between the stone pillars, and from time to time, there were chewing sounds and screams. The mercenaries who were caught were not completely dead yet.
Lin Xiao frowned slightly. His God's Incarnation had Night Vision, so he could clearly see that the agile shadow was about three meters tall with sharp claws. It was one of the most common predators from the first to the third layer of the underground world.
This kind of monster would eat anything, from ordinary beasts to drows. It was very cruel and cunning.
The mercenaries could not do anything to this kind of agile monster, and along with the noise, he could vaguely hear the same crawling sound from afar. He guessed that other Hook Horrors were rushing over.
Shaking his head, he pointed his finger. A white light flew into the air and exploded. In an instant, it was as if a hundred watt light bulb had lit up. The strong light illuminated the surroundings. The mercenaries below didn't have time to react to the sudden light and were thrown off their feet. A few Hook Horrors on the stone pillars directly fell down.
"Crack!"
A thick chain of lightning blasted out, and a few Hook Horrors in the air were turned into fireballs. When they fell to the ground, they had already turned into charcoal.
The mercenaries who reacted were stunned, and then withdrew their gazes with awe.
These Hook Horrors were hard to deal with even for a level 10 warrior. In this dark environment, at least 10 people would die to kill these Hook Horrors. But for Lin Xiao, they were all killed in a snap of his fingers. The mercenaries' eyes had changed from envy to awe.
Two days later, the caravan crossed a long underground canyon and arrived at a plain. From afar, they could see a huge stone castle in the middle of the plain.
On the way, they saw a group of grey dwarves patrolling. They rode low underground lizards on the rugged surface as if they were walking on flat ground, and soon arrived in front of them.
The leader of the caravan, Marlin, was very familiar with the grey dwarves. After chatting for a while, he took out a heavy bag and handed it over, and they were smoothly let in.
Soon, they arrived in front of the gate called Stonehammer Castle. The gate was made of high-quality brass and covered with huge copper nails. At the gate was a huge trading plaza and four radioactive streets. On both sides of the streets were small stone houses. Along the streets, they could see weapon shops with signs with hammers hanging on them. From time to time, there were all kinds of races coming in and out.
From time to time, they could see all kinds of orcs, humans, halflings, grey dwarves, taurens, goblins, and so on.
These humans and orcs were mostly explorers and adventurers from the surface, or criminals who couldn't survive on the surface. No one cared about their past here. As long as they didn't cause trouble, they were allowed to enter the castle.
After paying the entrance fee of ten gold coins, the caravan successfully entered the castle. Marlin spent twenty gold coins to rent a piece of land in the trade plaza as a stall fee. He unloaded all the goods and had the guards set them up properly before starting to shout.
He then shouted, "The most refined salt and the best ale on the surface!"
As he shouted, he opened the lid of the ale and poured a ladle of ale on the ground. In an instant, the aroma of ale attracted the grey dwarves in the surroundings, mixed with some orcs and other races.
Although the grey dwarves were far more cunning and treacherous than their surface counterparts, they also had the greatest weakness of their distant relatives. They definitely couldn't resist the temptation of ale.
Marlin was well aware that it was impossible to grow wheat in the Underdark, which was why most of the goods the caravan brought this time was ale.
Soon, voices of people offering prices sounded in the plaza.
"I'll give ten sets of steel half-body armor for two barrels of ale!"
"I'll give twenty fine arrows for one barrel of ale!"
"I'll give fifty sets of fine plate armor for ten barrels of ale!"
As the ale dwindled, the grey dwarves who hadn't exchanged for any were about to go green with envy. They kept raising the price, leaving Lin Xiao dumbfounded and tempted.
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