Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 326 The Laying Trap Continues to Deepen

Outside the ice cave, the wind and snow continued to howl.

The one-hour preparation time was tight yet well-organized.

Everyone understood what the next action meant.

No one spoke, only the faint sounds of tidying up equipment, checking potions, and chanting buff spells in hushed tones.

Luo Lin carefully stored the spatial stabilizing anchor and void crystal he was assigned to his body, and also tucked the purification scrolls into the most easily accessible position on his waist.

The fine gold short blade was wiped three times until it gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the dim light of the ice cave.

Oleg walked over and tossed him a metal tube about the length of a forearm.

"Here you go, high-intensity explosive bomb."

"It has a moderate effect on energy beings, but it can interfere with perception. It can be used to create chaos or escape at crucial moments."

Luo Lin took it; it was icy cold to the touch, and there was a simple safety pin on the tube.

"Thanks."

Oleg didn't say anything more, but patted him on the shoulder with a heavy pat, carrying a rough encouragement.

Lina then handed over a small bag of arrows, containing only five arrows. The shafts were made of some kind of lightweight black metal, while the arrowheads shimmered with different elemental glimmers.

"Exorcism, Freeze, Explosion, Wind Bind, and Silence, which can temporarily block out sound and energy fluctuations in a small area."

"Use it sparingly, I won't support you every time."

Rolin nodded and hung the quiver on his other waist.

Priestess Sharna approached, holding a sacred text, and softly chanted a prayer. A gentle white light rippled out like water, enveloping everyone.

A warm current seeped into my limbs and bones, dispelling some of the chill and making my mind clearer.

"Dawn's Blessing provides basic protection and mental resistance for approximately two hours."

Preparations were completed quickly.

Master Evelyn glanced at the still raging snowstorm outside and gestured, "Let's go."

Baal was the first to emerge from the ice cave. His towering figure almost instantly blended into the wind and snow, leaving only deep footprints on the snow.

Marcus followed closely behind, followed by Oleg and two team members responsible for clearing the traps.

Rolin followed beside Master Evelyn, with Lina and Priestess Sharna trailing behind. The rest of the team members were scattered to the left, right, and rear, maintaining a loose battle formation.

Upon leaving the canyon, the wind and snow immediately became even more violent.

Visibility was pitifully low, and mental perception was severely hampered by the chaotic energy of the wind and snow.

Every step felt like wading through thick, icy slurry.

Barr led the way, walking steadily and seemingly unaffected by the harsh environment.

Marcus, relying on his memory and the aid of instruments, continuously corrected his course.

Luo Lin focused his mind, and the power of [Quiet Dust Star] slowly rotated in his sea of ​​consciousness, filtering out the chaotic energy information around him, trying to capture that faint fluctuation of cold order and death magic intertwined from the direction of the ruins.

After walking about seven or eight kilometers, the team members who were scouting ahead suddenly stopped, squatted down, and carefully observed the snow.

"There's a trap," a team member whispered, pointing to several inconspicuous bumps beneath the snow with a faintly glowing probe.

"Death Magic Trigger, coverage radius is approximately five meters."

"The method was very subtle; it was buried beneath the permafrost layer."

Baal waved for the group to stop and looked at Master Evelyn.

"Clear it away," Master Evelyn said calmly.

Two team members skilled in runes and traps immediately stepped forward and began dismantling the trap with practiced ease.

They carefully cleared away the snow and frozen soil with special tools, revealing a simple magic circle buried beneath, made of black bones and dark green crystals.

The magic of death flowed slowly within, emanating a chilling aura.

The disassembly process was quick and triggered almost no alarms.

It seems that the Pale Hand set these traps in a hurry, or was confident that no one would find this place so quickly.

"Keep moving forward." After confirming it was safe, Baal took another step.

The closer you get to the basin, the more pronounced the energy turbulence in the snowstorm becomes.

Tiny, dark blue arcs of energy, visible to the naked eye, began to appear in the air, occasionally crackling.

The temperature was so low that exhaled breath instantly condensed into ice crystals and fell.

The edge of the desolate ice field came into view.

It was a huge, relatively flat basin, probably several kilometers in diameter.

The basin was covered with a thick, mirror-smooth layer of black ice, with almost no protrusions.

A fierce, cold wind swirled here, emitting a mournful wail.

In the center of the basin, a huge, hemispherical, dark gold metal dome, like a sleeping behemoth, is half-buried under the black ice layer, with only the upper part showing.

The surface of the dome is covered with regular geometric patterns, which faintly shimmer even in the dim light.

That is the legacy.

Even from several kilometers away, you can feel the heavy, cold, and ancient aura emanating from it.

The team stopped behind a protruding ice rock on the edge of the basin.

Marcus pointed ahead: "The entrance is on the south side of the dome; we are currently in the southeast."

"Going directly across would expose you to the open ice surface without any cover."

Master Evelyn raised her silver staff, the crystal at the top of which shimmered slightly, as if she were probing something.

After a moment, she put down her staff, her brow furrowing slightly: "There is a faint energy field beneath the ice layer in the basin, which may be some kind of outer defense or monitoring system for the ruins."

"Although it seems to have ceased operation, the risks of stepping directly on it are unknown."

"Go around it?" Barr asked.

"There's not enough time, and the risks are high." Master Evelyn looked at Rowling. "Rollling, you're most sensitive to those kinds of fluctuations in order."

"Sense carefully the energy field beneath the ice layer. Is it active?"

Does it resonate with your amulet or symbol?

Roland nodded, took a few steps forward, walked to the edge of the ice rock, and closed his eyes.

The power of [Quiet Dust Star] completely subsided, and the mind was as if it had sunk into the deep sea, becoming exceptionally sensitive to all energy fluctuations in the outside world.

The spiritual energy, like invisible tentacles, slowly reached out towards the ice layer of the basin.

Cold, lifeless, the ice itself contains a vast amount of inert ice-attribute energy.

However, about ten meters below the ice layer, there is indeed an extremely faint but extensive energy network with typical geometric order characteristics of the observer civilization.

This network, like a spiderweb, spreads across the entire basin, but most of the nodes are dim and the flow of energy is almost stagnant, like a circuit that has been without power for a long time.

Only a very few areas near the dome still have extremely weak energy pulses, like backup power maintaining a minimum level of operation.

Luo Lin carefully examined the frequency and characteristics of these pulses.

Cold and orderly, but—it seems to lack some kind of core command, appearing rigid and repetitive, more like some kind of basic function that is automatically maintained than active defense.

He tried to use an extremely weak wisp of his mental energy to simulate the protocol compatibility rhythm emanating from the amulet in his arms, and gently touched the nearest weak pulse node.

The pulse remained unchanged, repeating at its original frequency, showing no reaction to Rolin's "contact".

"The energy field is in a state of extremely low power consumption, with no signs of active defense, and no alarms or attack protocols detected." Rolin opened his eyes and reported, "The energy characteristics resonate with my amulet, but no interaction has been triggered."

"It is speculated to be part of the basic environmental maintenance system of the site, which may have become dormant due to its age or lack of energy."

A thoughtful look flashed in Master Evelyn's eyes. "Basic environmental maintenance—it seems this ruin has indeed been abandoned for a long time."

"The pale hand was able to break through the entrance, perhaps because the main defense system had already stopped working." She made a decision. "Cross the ice directly, keep the formation spread out, and watch your step."

"Baal, you lead the way, watch out for any anomalies in the ice."

"Understood." Baal growled and stepped first onto the black ice surface of the basin.

The ice surface was hard and smooth, and walking on it produced a slight crunching sound.

The cold wind blew through without any obstruction, accompanied by a piercing whistle.

The team spread out in a fan shape, about twenty meters apart, and advanced quickly and cautiously toward the central dome.

Rowling walked to the left and behind Master Evelyn, with Baha perched on his shoulder, his six eyes constantly darting around, alert to their surroundings.

His mental energy constantly monitored the energy field beneath the ice layer, while the power of [Quiet Dust Star] made him exceptionally sensitive to any subtle changes in the energy of his surroundings.

Everything seemed peaceful.

The procession continued until it was less than a kilometer from the dome.

The ice beneath the feet of a team member walking on the right edge collapsed without warning!