Chapter 136: A Bountiful Harvest

The physical form of the Corpse Mother Queen was shattered by the Sentinels, a process that unfolded with a smoothness exceeding Lando's expectations.

In the aftermath, all the blood-colored tentacles erupted in a frenzy. The Sentinels gathered into a spherical formation, with the sturdiest of them holding the perimeter, enduring the relentless lashing of countless tentacles. Gradually, the madness subsided; the tentacles grew increasingly limp, shriveling toward the central mass of flesh. This meat-ball itself began to develop countless fissures, leaking its accumulated essence like a tattered sack.

Seeing this, Lando immediately extended his Mindscape, enveloping and consuming the meat-ball. He harvested the essence within—a potent concentration of death energy that could bolster the strength of his undead minions; it was far too valuable to waste.

Deprived of its core, the meat-ball’s tentacles went limp as if their spines had been extracted. They lost all vitality, rapidly drying out and weathering away like dehydrated plants.

Within the Mindscape, as the meat-ball’s essence was fully extracted, it revealed the Seed of the Demon God and the vessel for its descent. It was a humanoid entity about five meters tall, its body encased in pitch-black chitin. Its head resembled that of an insect, with thick, powerful limbs. Its hands and feet, featuring four-fingered structures tipped with sharp claws, were joined by sharp bone spurs at the elbows and knees. A pair of demonic bat-like wings were folded against its back, and a long, segmented tail, resembling a multi-jointed whip, ended in a vicious barb.

In its entirety, the creature was a masterpiece of slaughter.

The power fluctuations radiating from this body were immense, exerting a pressure on Lando that surpassed even that of the High Priestess of the Tree Sea Elf tribe. Of course, with his current level of perception, he could not distinguish the finer degrees of power between the two.

Lando observed and probed carefully for a moment, confirming that the body possessed no mental activity—a perfect vessel for possession. This was an unexpected windfall. Even just looking at it, a series of experimental plans rapidly took shape in his mind. Regrettably, time did not permit; otherwise, he would have loved to enter a state of research immediately.

Ensuring nothing had been overlooked, Lando released a deluge of Corrosive Water and Flowing Wind to erase all traces within the cavern. After packing up his minions, he made a swift exit. Without the support of Lando’s Mindscape, the illusory portal slowly closed.

Half a day later, Lando appeared at the entrance of the Necrotic Caverns. His emergence startled several lower-year students who had exited earlier. They had clearly seen Nickta and his group head off to hunt him down, and they had assumed Lando was dead, never expecting him to return alive.

Lando’s appearance was indeed disheveled; he looked dusty and weary, his clothes tattered and marked by several wounds.

Three days later, Lorer and Erwin staggered out of the Necrotic Caverns, supporting each other. Lorer looked utterly exhausted, a deep wound piercing his chest, having narrowly missed his heart. Erwin was in an even worse state, his left arm severed at the root, and he was slipping in and out of consciousness.

The two had been quite unfortunate. After escaping Lando’s clutches, things had gone smoothly at first because Lando had already cleared out most of the fifth level. However, once they reached the fourth level, lacking the protection of the black gem, they encountered several waves of undead creatures. After a series of battles, they had barely managed to escape with their lives while severely wounded.

The instructors were surprised to see their condition, as both were known for their composure. They had not expected them to be so grievously injured.

Lando, feigning "great shock," immediately stepped forward to fret over Lorer.

Physically and mentally drained, the irritable Lorer had lost his usual humility. Upon seeing Lando, he felt an inexplicable wave of revulsion and said coldly, "Move aside, Dulan!"

Lando, whose warm greeting was met with a cold shoulder, ignored the surrounding jeers and retreated with a look of "disappointment."

Lando’s "docile" performance caused the disgust in Lorer’s heart to subside somewhat. He began to wonder if his composure had been compromised by the successive blows, and he quickly adjusted his mindset, having no time to worry about Lando.

Lorer handed the unconscious Erwin over to the instructors for treatment. Ignoring his own injuries, he hurried to the lead instructor to report the situation. Lando overheard fragments of the conversation; Lorer described a "normal" exploration, but Lando noticed that at one specific point, the lead instructor’s expression changed significantly for a fleeting moment. Though he quickly composed himself, he seemed distracted by everything Lorer said thereafter.

Lando surmised that they had likely exchanged information via code. It seemed the lead instructor was in league with the prince and Lorer, possibly serving that "New God." It remained unclear what role the Imperial Court played in all of this.

Realizing the lead instructor understood his meaning, Lorer spoke a few more casual words before feigning a relapse of his injuries and collapsing to recuperate.

To Lando, these were trivial matters, hardly worth the effort compared to considering the utility of the descent vessel. All he had to do now was watch the show and let the others perform.

As expected, the lead instructor soon proposed terminating the exploration of the Necrotic Caverns. Although many other instructors questioned this, arguing it violated protocol, the lead instructor insisted, eventually notifying the Imperial Court’s administrators. A portion of the instructors then led the students who had already exited back to the academy.

After Lando and the others left, the experts from the Imperial Court and the remaining instructors entered the caverns to search for the students who had not returned. The result left the instructors looking grim: excluding those who had already returned to the academy, a large number of students remained missing. A thorough search of the entire cavern yielded only a few survivors. Without a doubt, the others had met an unfortunate end.

This was, of course, Lando’s handiwork. After all, the best way to hide a grain of sand is to put it in a desert. He had also destroyed several seals between the levels and created corresponding diversions.

Ultimately, the frustrated instructors had no choice but to classify the event as an accidental tragedy.

Once the Central Academy instructors and the Imperial Court experts departed and the Necrotic Caverns were sealed once more, a gray-robed figure appeared. He moved swiftly toward the deeper levels. The undead creatures he encountered were cowed by his aura, not daring to approach. Those that could not dodge in time instinctively prostrated themselves and trembled as he passed.

The gray-robed figure reached the illusory portal on the fifth level without hindrance. With a flick of his mind, he activated the energy of a black gem in his possession, and the portal swung open. He stepped inside.

Upon seeing the state of the cavern, the gray-robed figure stood stunned for a long time, as if struck by lightning. Finally, he spat out two words through gritted teeth:

"Useless trash!"