Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 645: Tunnel Pathway



Warehouse 560, Blinder Neighborhood, Corvid Quarter.

Several tiny black snakes silently slithered across the narrow streets of this district and made their way through the secret side entrance of this warehouse.

With great familiarity, they made their way into the briefing room where Adam, Daneli, Liriel, Kael, and a few other Acolytes had gathered around the central table, discussing thier plan of action for the upcoming masquerade ball.

HISSS!

The group stopped their conversation when they heard multiple hisses inside the room. Though they had gotten used to it, most still couldn't believe that they couldn't sense the presence of this group of snakes until it had made itself known.

"Hmm, this should be the last batch," Adam muttered under his breath.

The group of snakes crawled over one another and merged into one. This time, however, the snake's size wasn't as big as when it had first been summoned. The vast majority of the snake's body had not been summoned by Adam this time.

Reason? Because the task given to the black serpent had now almost been completed. Thus, its complete body wasn't required.

The snake coiled its body around the table's leg and then slithered atop the map of Ravenfell sprawled out on the surface. It looked at Adam with its piercing yellow eyes and hissed, "Human, all the secret tunnels underneath this wretched neighborhood have been mapped out."

"Well done," Adam replied in snake tongue. Then, under the guidance of the snake, he marked additional pathways with blue ink. Some of these pathways led directly to the Uptown Quarter, while others led to the Market Quarter and Downtown Quarter.

The black snake climbed Adam's hand and then coiled around his neck, whispering in his ears, "I managed to find something interesting, human."

"Oh? What is it?" Adam asked nonchalantly as he observed the new tunnel pathways running underneath Corvid, not at all bothered about the highly poisonous snake wrapped around his neck.

"An underground base," said the snake.

"What about it?" Adam asked, glancing at it sideways.

"It's near the Dell River and... it seems to have been abandoned for quite some time now."

Adam's eyes narrowed and he probed, "Where is the exact location?"

The black serpent slithered down Adam's hand and then pointed at a particular intersection near the Dell River on the map with its fork tongue. "Here."

Adam circled that point with the brush; his expression turned solemn as various thoughts went through his mind.

"What's there?" Daneli asked as he pointed at the new blue circle on the map. Naturally, neither he nor anyone present could understand the eerie language being spoken by Adam and the snake.

"He says he found a secret base in that location," Adam stated in a serious tone. "But it's been abandoned for some time now."

"A secret base?" Liriel frowned. "One that is not being used by the Red Fists?"

Adam nodded. "I have a feeling that it's a secret base that was used by someone other than the Red Fists in the past. Maybe that's the reason it's abandoned now. Perhaps the Red Fists aren't even aware of it."@@novelbin@@

He had a guess regarding who the base belonged to, however, he wanted to confirm it first before voicing his opinion.

"Shall we check it out then?" Daneli suggested.

"What if it's a trap?" Liriel spoke up, subconsciously glancing at the black snake on the table.

Adam assured them, "Your worries are unfounded." The terms of the contract in the Scroll of Coil were very strict regarding such things. So he wasn't worried about the snakes from that mystical plane backstabbing him. He was now one of their own, after all.

"Then..." Liriel went into deep thought before nodding. "I believe we should all check it out." "Alright then." Adam nodded. "All the Agents in this room will go check out the abandoned base. Meanwhile, the Acolytes will make preparations to secretly explore the hidden tunnel network."

"Yes, my lord!" All the Acolytes simultaneously straightened their backs and replied. "Good." With that said Adam turned around and left the briefing room, leading the three Agents of the Brotherhood toward the abandoned underground base.

--

By the time the group of Magi had arrived at the specific manhole that led to the secret tunnel system underneath Corvid, Adam had already cast multiple spells that had concealed them. The spells hid their bodies, the sounds they produced, and even the faintest of smells they emitted. Adam had practically erased their existence from the senses of Rank 2 Magi and below. Even a Rank 3 Magus would have to pay close attention to expose them.

Such was Adam's prowess in illusion magic even without the usage of the white lotus!

Liriel, who also considered herself to be an expert in the School of Illusion, looked at the barely visible dome of magic surrounding them and couldn't help but marvel. "How many spells did you cast simultaneously? Three? Four? Incredible..."

Adam turned to look at her and simply smiled mysteriously in response. Then, he crouched on the ground and removed the manhole cover. "Stay close to me," he instructed. "The range of this spell is five meters in diameter."

With that said, he jumped down the manhole. The rest of the group followed closely behind. Kael, who was the last one to descend, quickly put the manhole cover back in place before

jumping down.

With a loud splash, the group of four landed in the sewage tunnel. Naturally, the sound of their landing was only audible within the magical dome.

"This..." Daneli looked at the brownish-black water that reached up to his ankles in utter disgust. "Don't tell me! Is this..."

Adam grinned seeing the elf almost about to vomit. "Piss and shit, my friend." Daneli covered his mouth and gagged repeatedly, trying his best to not vomit. He glared at Adam who was taking great pleasure at his expense and spat, "You ugly bastard!"

Adam chuckled heartily for a few moments before turning serious. "Alright, enough jokes. We'll be entering the main tunnel pathway now. Should we come across any enemies, do not engage, understood?"

With that said, he turned around and led the way. Everyone nodded and followed after him. Liriel suddenly started to frown, not because of the stench but because of a sudden

realization.

Who made him the leader? And why are we... compliantly following him? Strange...

She saw Adam stand before an unassuming brick wall, seemingly observing it. Then, he took a step forward and passed right through it!

The secret tunnel network that the group entered as they passed through the wall was much wider than the one they were in. The stench was still there, however.

Two footpaths bordered the tunnel on both sides, illuminated by the torches that hung from the wall every few meters.

"I cannot believe I walked through all that!" Daneli grumbled in annoyance. As soon as he climbed the footpath he immediately changed into a new pair of boots.

Liriel was also disgusted by what she had to just go through, but she wasn't as expressive as Daneli. Kael was stoic as ever, and Adam just didn't care.

"Alright, let's follow this tunnel and visit that base," he said to the group. Then, he lowered his head and spoke in snaketongue, "Guide us properly."

A tiny black snake, coiled around the youth's neck like a pendant, pointed its head forward

and hissed, "Straight and first right." It then looked at Adam and added, "Human, what about

my payment?"

"Soon," Adam replied curtly.

The snake's eyes narrowed into slits, "The more you delay the payment, the higher the price

goes. I hope you haven't forgotten, one human sacrifice for every hour that I spend in this

world. And I've spent quite some time here."

"I know already." The youth replied flatly. "You don't have to keep reminding me."

The black snake's eyes flashed with an eerie light and it hissed again, "It seems like you're delaying the payment purposely. You don't quite like humans, do you, human?" "You talk too much!" Adam snapped. "The ones I'll be sacrificing are worth dying a hundred

times over. So the more the better. Besides, I'm certain that if these people are captured by the Magi behind me, they'll merely face a lifetime of imprisonment-a punishment far too

lenient for the crimes they've committed."

"How ruthless," the snake hissed. "I like it!"

"Adam..." Daneli suddenly called out to him.

"Yeah?" The youth turned his head around and looked at the elf. "What is it?"

Daneli glanced at him with a frown. "This strange language... is it the language of serpents?"

Adam nodded as he turned back around. As he took the first right in the tunnel, he answered,

"Yes, it's called Snaketongue."

"Snaketongue..." Daneli repeated the word, deep in thought. "I've never heard of this

language before. How were you able to learn it?"

Adam turned around and looked at him again. His lips formed a smirk and he asked, "Guess?"

"Tsk! Bastard!" Daneli harrumphed.

Meanwhile, Liriel gazed at Adam's back with narrowed eyes, thinking to herself, Even I've

never come across the language of Snaketongue in any of the libraries of the Brotherhood I've visited.

Where was he able to get his hands on this language? Perhaps, an inheritance? No, more importantly, how is he even able to speak it? It doesn't seem like something a human can master!