Chapter 26: The Ancient Tiger
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"Here, this is for you."
Ella flew in front of Matthew with a badge the size of a bottle cap in her mouth.
Matthew reached out and took it.
He realized that it was a disciple badge of the Goddess of the Moonlight!
"Can I use it too?"
Matthew asked in surprise.
Ella's tone was somewhat embarrassed. "The Goddess is magnanimous."
Matthew could hear the sadness in the other party's words. 'I've already given you the badge in advance, just believe in it!'
He looked down at the badge.
In front of it was a bright moon that broke through the clouds.
On the other side was a forest under the moonlight. There were also the outlines of many small animals in the forest.
It was a very conventional badge design.
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[Assia's Smile (Divine Spell Badge):+30% movement speed under the moonlight.]
[Description: Can cast Moonlight 5 times per day. Even in a dark space, this badge can bring you moonlight.]
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If the badge only provided the Moonlight spell, it would undoubtedly be of little value.
However, the buff of increasing movement speed was still very good.
Now that Matthew had Sprint, coupled with the effect of the divine badge, he wondered how fast he could run!
"Praise the moonlight!"
Matthew quickly put the badge on his chest and sang loudly from the bottom of his heart.
Seeing this, Ella's originally low mood suddenly rose a lot.
"Thank you, Matthew. Well, there are a few things that I have to explain before entering the cave."
Miss Owl said seriously, " Firstly, as your guide, I will be by your side from the beginning to the end when you deal with the Zerg race. However, I hope that you can protect me…Because I'm not good at fighting. I don't want to enter the cave at all! But the goddess won't allow it. Please, Matthew, don't let me die!"
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"Where were we? Oh, secondly, this underground cave is extremely complicated. Not only does it belong to the Moonlight Woodland, but it is also connected to the material plane and some other unknown planes. There may be extremely terrifying monsters hidden in the depths, especially below the tenth floor!
"Therefore, we must be careful when exploring. Although the Zerg mostly only appear in the first ten floors, sometimes people will go too deep if they are not careful. I hope you are prepared."
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" Thirdly, there are a few Druids doing the same job as you in the cave. The Goddess doesn't want any conflict between you. In order to avoid conflict, she gave you the divine badge in advance. This is what those Druids look like.
"They are all very nice people, especially this Miss Samantha, who is also a Moonwalker like you."
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As she spoke.
A few magic portraits of Druids appeared before Matthew's eyes.
He glanced at them. His gaze lingered on the female Druid for a while.
"I'll remember this. It's not up to me whether or not something unpleasant will happen."
Matthew chuckled and glanced at Ella.
The latter lowered her head in shame.
Then, she said solemnly, "I'll vouch for you! These Druids like me very much. With me around, they won't find trouble with you!
"So you must protect me well!"
Matthew replied indifferently,"
"I'll try my best." Ella still looked a little nervous. She carefully stepped on Matthew's shoulder and asked, "Then, shall we enter the hole?"
Matthew shook his head." I'm afraid I can't go in like this. I have to go home first."
Ella immediately became anxious.
"Don't tell me you want to...?"
Matthew said frankly,"
"As you can see, I am a necromancer."
"No, absolutely not! I can't let the undead creatures taint the Moonlight Woodland! Even if they took one more step in the forest, it would be blasphemy to nature and the goddess!"
Ella was jumping on Matthew's shoulder emotionally.
Matthew had expected this.
After she calmed down, he then asked calmly,
"If I don't have my summons, are you going to fight for me?"
Ella fell silent.
"In short, no!"
"No, Matthew!"
"Oh, fine... Hiss…I hate you, Matthew!"
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"I'm in."
Half an hour later.
In the dark underground cave.
A row of skeleton soldiers was exploring the dark area in front of them in an orderly manner.
Matthew walked in the middle.
Ella was sitting on his shoulder with a resentful look on her face.
The visibility in the cave was very poor.
Fortunately, Matthew had prepared torches in advance. The two skeleton soldiers in front and behind each raised one, illuminating the surrounding environment.
The terrain here was somewhat similar to the underground karst caves. They were both tunnels that extended in all directions.
The only difference was…
The climate here was even more humid, as if the entire cave had been soaked in water for a long time.
Matthew walked among them.
The sound of dripping water and footsteps continued.
However, most of the underground plants here were in a state of decay and withering.
It was as if a force had taken away their vitality.
"Is this the Zerg?"
In the corner ahead.
A skeleton soldier was using his forearm to dig out a purple conch-shaped meat shell mechanically.
The meat shell was filled with yellow-green mucus and pus.
He could still vaguely see the severed limbs of insect-like creatures.
"This is a destroyed hive.
"Do you see the mark on the wall over there?" Ella tried her best to suppress her disgust. "That is the crescent moon mark. There was a tick above the mark, which meant that all the Zergs in the vicinity had been cleared, including the hive."
Matthew nodded.
He had seen the mark long ago. It was obviously left behind by other Druids.
"We have to pay more attention to this kind of mark."
Ella entered the state of a guide. "If there is an exclamation mark on the crescent moon, it means that there are many bugs nearby. There might even be Wild Zergs Guards! They are terrifying monsters. They are the elites of the Zerg Race."
The two of them continued forward.
They left very smoothly.
Apart from withered underground plants, destroyed hives, and a few traces of burning, they did not encounter anything new along the way.
Very quickly.
A Y-shaped intersection appeared in front of them.
The terrain on both sides of the road sunk.
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[Hint: You have found the entrance to the second level of the Zerg Nest.]
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Both caves led to the second level.
But Matthew was not in a hurry to move.
He could hear footsteps and conversation coming from the cave on the left.
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" It's too narrow here, Samantha. My wilderness form is restricted, and we have to be on guard against being infected at all times. I have to admit that this is indeed one of the more difficult challenges I've received." It was a deep male voice. His voice was extremely magnetic and carried a faint majesty.
"So you understand how I felt before, right? You are the Ancient Tiger, Eli! If you find it troublesome, imagine how I must feel." The female voice chuckled and said, "However, your transformation just now was indeed very cool. It's a pity that the Zerg guard ran away."
"Haha, do you think so too? I... Hmm? Who's there?"
The male voice's smugness stopped abruptly.
Not long after.
A man and a woman walked out of the cave on the left.
They were dressed in simple linen clothes. The man was tall and had an open chest, revealing well-proportioned and developed muscles and thick chest hair. The woman was tall and had a hot figure. Her eyes were very long, and her face had a wild beauty.
"Hello, Samantha!"
The moment the two sides met, Ella greeted them.
"Did you just come up from below? How's the situation down there? My underlings and I are going down to take a look."
Samantha did not say anything.
She just stared at Matthew.
However, the tall man beside him said indifferently,
"Samantha is the Moonlight Society's sole support, so the situation down there is a mess. The number of Zerg Guards is increasing, and they are also very good at escaping. I just severely injured one, but unfortunately, it escaped."
Ella looked at him in surprise.
"You... are you the ancient tiger of the Earth Society? The legendary Eli?"
Eli smiled warmly. "I'm only a 3rd rank Shapeshifter. I'm not worthy of the title of Ancient Tiger. You should wait until I complete my final hunting mission and demolish that evil dragon in the ice river will I be fit to use the title."
Then, he turned to Matthew like Samantha.
"A necromancer?"
Samantha asked.
Matthew nodded.
"It's not what you think!" Ella said hurriedly. Samantha, Matthew is a good man! He's here to help us! You have to believe me, I will never compromise with evil."
Matthew felt sad and amused when he saw her like that.
He simply opened his mouth to help explain, "Not every necromancer is evil. On the contrary, I came here to get rid of the evil in this place."
"Truly an eye-opener."
Eli sneered, his gaze sweeping over the skeleton soldiers.
He seemed to want to do something, but Samantha stopped him.
"Let's go!"
Ella urged Matthew into the cave.
Matthew shrugged and ordered a few skeleton soldiers to scout ahead before he followed.
He watched as the group of figures disappeared into the cave.
Eli frowned and said, "You should have let me take action. At least, you should have destroyed those skeleton soldiers. How could we allow those undead creatures to taint the Nature Sacred Land?"
Samantha shook her head. "Leave it be. The situation in the Moonlight Woodland Forest is indeed terrible."
"Is that why they're colluding with the necromancers?"
Samantha looked a little pained. "You're right, Eli. I'll consider your previous proposal."
Eli's eyes lit up. "You want to leave the Moonlight Society? This is great! With your strength and potential, our Earth Society has always reserved a seat for you! When are you coming with me to see the Great Elder?"
Samantha said seriously, " Calm down, Eli. I once swore under the moon that I must help the Forest eradicate the Zerg race. Even if I wanted to leave the Moonlight Society, this oath would not change. If I could not do this, I would never leave."
Eli was stunned.
Then, he revealed a satisfied expression.
"Very good, such is the will of a woman I like! The earth god will protect you, Samantha. When I go back and make my preparations, we will join forces and kill Queen Zerg!
" It's a pity that the situation at the Highlands isn't looking good either. Otherwise, I could have applied to the Church to mobilize the sacred object. Sigh, as you know, the Scar of the Dead is getting worse."
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