The Heartbeat of the Cruel Elves

"But, but," they said as they arrived at the tunnel entrance in the middle. The dark elf instructor faced the tunnel entrance and said in a panic, "What we are facing now is the 108th intersection."

"On our left is Junction 111."

"As for the intersection on our right, there is no number!"

"How is that possible?" Cassia stopped suddenly.

The dark elf instructor did not answer, but just looked at her with wide eyes, aggrieved and horrified, as if to say if you don't believe it, go and see for yourself.

Cassia stepped forward, approached the right side of the tunnel entrance, and found the obvious spider-shaped mark on the rock wall and the number below it: 108.

She quickly retreated, an expression of disbelief on her face, and then strode towards the other two cave entrances. Li Yin did not keep up with her pace and stayed where he was, but from Cassia's changing expression, it could be seen that the dark elf instructor's description was not wrong.

Cassia stood there, paused, then walked towards the entrances of the three tunnels again and inspected them one by one.

Li Yin knew what she was looking for. This time, she was looking for the mark left by the people she had sent before.

After a while, Cassia turned around. Her originally calm face had become as gloomy as water, and a layer of dark blue covered her snow-white skin.

"Intersection 108," she said coldly, looking at the guards and slave instructors around her, "and Intersection 111, they are not on the correct route map at all."

As for the unnumbered intersection, it means that even the previous explorer who died unfortunately had never entered it, so it naturally could not be on the correct route map.

"Besides, we have definitely not passed this intersection before."

It seemed that Cassia did not find the mark she was looking for.

"But we clearly took this route from point 98 to point 99."

She pursed her lips and said, "Can anyone tell me what is going on?"

The elves lowered their heads and remained silent for a moment. This time, they even skipped the process of looking at each other, because they assumed that it was impossible to get the correct answer from their companions in this bizarre situation.

"The maze..." A female dark elf said in a hoarse voice in the unbearable silence, "It's moving."

"…Is it alive?"

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the dark elves changed drastically. They exchanged panicked glances with each other, but this time, they were not seeking the opinions of their companions, but the creatures, driven by great fear, instinctively wanted to gain a sense of security through the presence of their companions.

Cassia frowned: "I asked you to give your opinions, not to talk nonsense."

The female dark elf who had just spoken immediately shut her mouth and remained silent, as if she was frightened by Cassia's sudden anger.

However, Li Yin, who had been with Cassia day and night, judged from the subtle expression on her face that the dark elf princess was not really angry at the moment. She did this to prevent the dark elf's remarks from shaking morale. However, this deliberate "bluffing" also showed that she did not completely deny the other party's speculation in her heart.

In this world filled with mysterious forces that cannot be understood by intelligent creatures, anything is possible. A "living" maze may not be so absurd.

Even Li Yin, who was standing by, had to admit that the dark elf's guess seemed to be the only reasonable explanation they could think of at the moment.

"How about..." After a brief thought, he looked up. He didn't find any other more reasonable explanation, but sometimes, although it goes against the spirit of the mage to seek the truth, Li Yin believes that exploring the truth of things is not the only way to solve problems. Avoiding problems is also an effective means in some cases, so: "Should we go back?"

"Your Highness has set up new markers along the way. If we follow them, we will be able to return to marker 125. Once we get there, we will make further plans."

Cassia looked at the dark elf warriors standing around her, and they still didn't say anything. So she nodded, "Then let's go back."

"Pass on my order, temporarily retreat to marked location 125." She ordered in a sonorous tone.

The team set out again, but this time they went in the opposite direction. Cassia's order to retreat made all the elves and slaves realize that this expedition had encountered some kind of irresistible failure, so whispers rose and fell in the team.

Li Yin accompanied Cassia and walked back calmly along the way they came. His face was normal, but his emotions were constantly rising and falling like the tide.

When Cassia said "go back", there was a rare hint of hesitation in her expression and tone, which was always quick and agile.

Not only her, but even Li Yin himself felt a little unsure when he presented the plan.

If they just walked back, would they be able to return to the 125th marker? The road from the 98th marker to the 99th marker was clearly the one they had walked before, but that road had led them to a completely wrong place.

If they could go wrong on the road they had already traveled, how could they be sure that this road back would allow them to really go back?

About half an hour later, the road ahead suddenly became clear, and another familiar oval stone hall appeared before the dark elves.

This is the location of Mark 98. Passing through this location, at the other end of the oval stone hall, are Marks 95 and 96. And the correct path, Li Yin vaguely remembered, was the tunnel marked with Mark 96.

He couldn't help but quicken his pace, but soon realized that he was in the middle of a formation and his pace was out of his control. But strangely, he didn't collide with the elves in front of him because of this sudden acceleration. It seemed that these dark elves were as anxious and anxious as he was.

It was No. 98. When passing the tunnel entrance, Li Yin glanced at the number under the simple spider-shaped mark on the stone wall beside him and breathed a sigh of relief.

After entering the stone hall, although the area ahead was clearly one that they had already passed safely, Cassia ordered the troops to pause temporarily out of caution, and then sent out three slave teams to explore the three forks in the road ahead.

After a while, the dark elf instructor of the second team made a confirming gesture.

Li Yin let out a long sigh. He looked around and saw that the expressions on Cassia's and the guards around her also relaxed a lot.

At least the way back is reliable.

The troops passed the 96th marker and traveled through another deep tunnel.

The next point is marked No. 125. As long as we return to that fork in the road, we can basically rest assured, Li Yin said silently in his heart.

This tunnel was extremely long. After about an hour and a half, the next fork in the road only vaguely appeared ahead.

However, the moment he saw the open cave entrance, Li Yin couldn't help but shudder all over.

He turned his head and looked at Cassia and the guards around her. The surprised faces of many dark elves looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Because... it's not long enough!

As far as I can remember, it took them more than four hours to get from marker 125 to marker 96. Even if you deduct the half-hour stop to rest, there were still more than three hours left!

No one spoke. Although they noticed something unusual, no dark elf dared to warn them. Everyone quickened their pace. The dark elf instructor in front of them also swung his whip more frequently to urge the slaves to move forward.

They still can't believe that they are on the wrong path - because this is the only "correct path" they can rely on. If this path is also proven to be wrong, then they will have nowhere to go!

Therefore, they still held on to the last glimmer of hope and strode towards the tunnel entrance.

A few minutes later, the team stopped at the exit of the tunnel.

117 - Below the simple spider-shaped mark on the rock on the left side of the cave, a terrifying and desperate number is marked in dark elf text.

The vast majority of ordinary dark elves and slaves did not have a route map, so they were not clear about the specific situation. They only clearly felt an abnormal atmosphere hanging over them from the retreating actions and the visible anxiety of the officers.

As for the middle-level officers, they were gathered together again by Cassia. They gathered together, surrounded Cassia, and discussed in low voices.

"Labyrinth..." A female dark elf warrior trembled softly and did not continue speaking, but the fear revealed in her flickering eyes was obvious.

What she wanted to say but couldn't speak for herself.

"The maze... is alive!"

The words of the dark elf who had just been scolded by Cassia echoed in the ears of many elves at this moment.

"Could it be... an illusion?" asked another female dark elf warrior.

"I have used divine magic to detect various key nodes," Cassia replied, "and found no trace of this."

"Moreover, this maze is so huge. If there really is some kind of illusion that can completely contain it and block my detection, then I'm afraid that magic is completely beyond the limits of what we can handle."

"So," Cassia paused, "let's skip this possibility for now."

"Could it be... that it's not the maze that's 'alive', but the 'elf'?" Li Yin said thoughtfully.

"Do you suspect that hostile forces are following us secretly and have tampered with the road markings?" Cassia looked at him.

Li Yin nodded.

"This situation is not completely impossible," Cassia whispered, "but, in fact, I have already anticipated this situation before."

"The soldiers I sent out to mark the enemy were all in groups of several, because they were not only responsible for leaving marks, but also for standing guard at the end of the team, watching out for the people who were following them as you said."

"But, after observing all the way, they didn't find such a thing. Moreover, until now, none of them has encountered an accident, been injured or died. All the soldiers I sent out to take charge of this task are intact - this means there is no possibility that those who know the truth will be killed by the enemy."

"That is to say, if there really are people following them, they are indeed there, and until now, they have not revealed any trace of themselves."

"If we are facing such a sophisticated enemy." Cassia raised her head, her eyes flashing with coldness, "Based on my understanding of my compatriots, they would be more willing to kill us one by one in the dark with poison arrows, flying knives, and magic than to see us wandering around in the cave unscathed like this!"

Li Yin couldn't help but shiver.

After a discussion among the dark elves, there was still no result, and the panic on their faces became more and more intense.

Cassia watched them talking without any clue, and gradually realized that allowing them to make such groundless speculations would do nothing but fuel the atmosphere of fear.

So she gritted her teeth and announced her method to them.

In the current situation where there is no clear way out, it is undoubtedly a very unwise behavior to continue to lead the large army to trek aimlessly, which will only increase the consumption of the entire team. Therefore, she decided to send out three advance teams to explore the maze first. During this period, the large army will stay in place and stop activities to maximize the preservation of supplies. Until the advance team finds a more reliable path, the large army will follow up.

Since the next three intersections opposite the cave are not the "correct" intersections on the route map, the first task of the expedition team is to find any "correct intersection" they have passed.

Don't worry too much. After assigning three commanders to lead the detachment forward, Cassia said to the dark elves around her in a half-comforting and half-encouraging tone. Just as we are starting from scratch now, groping in this maze without any information at all, and opening up a brand new way out, it's no big deal.

The most intricate path in the world is far from the maze in front of her. She held the holy emblem of the Spider Queen in her hand and spoke solemnly. It is the web of fate that the Spider Queen has woven for all living things.

With the generous favor of her supreme divine power, we will surely be able to easily find a way out of this small and simple earthly maze.

Chapter 128 Dilemma

"For example, hasn't our compatriot, Parsevard, already done it?" She let out a smile.

Parsevand was the name of the scout who discovered this maze.

"Wisdom is as boundless as the abyss. The goddess with no shores or cliffs has foreseen your confusion and hesitation at this moment," Cassia said in a sonorous and resolute tone, "so she showed miracles to Parsevand in advance to strengthen your faith."

But... looking at Princess Cassia who was speaking passionately, the godless Rein lowered his head and silently added in his heart that Parsevard was dead.

Of course, to be realistic, he did die outside the maze - but when it comes to death, this subtle difference... is it really important?

………………

The first advance team returned three hours later with the good news that they had found a marked location they had passed before. However, the other two advance teams still had no news until the agreed deadline of nine hours.

According to the agreement, all advance teams must return within nine hours, regardless of whether they have found the correct marked location or not.

The middle-level dark elf officers who gathered around Cassia again looked at the cave where the two advance teams disappeared, feeling worried.

In fact, this result was not unexpected by Li Yin. In fact, it should not be unexpected by most of the dark elves present.

Because even if the main force followed the route map and carved marks in advance, it could not accurately return to the place it had passed before. How could these advance teams that left the main force to explore guarantee that they would be able to return to the previous starting point after walking a certain distance?

Now, their disappearance only provides strong evidence for the horrifying fact that "the maze is alive".

In fact, being able to return an advance team and bring back "good news" was already a pleasant surprise.

Li Yin recalled the complex expressions of fear, resistance, and obedience on the faces of the three middle-level officers when they were selected. He believed that at that time, they had already anticipated the fate they might suffer.

At this moment, Li Yin could only pray for them silently, hoping that they had simply lost their way and were still wandering in countless tunnels and forks in the road, rather than having fallen into some traps or been caught by the claws of some dangerous creatures.

Cassia sent people to leave new marks at the entrance of the cave discovered by the first team - these marks were left for themselves as a precaution, and also for the two teams that had not returned yet. It was hoped that if they successfully returned, they could rely on these marks to catch up with the main force.

After doing all this, Cassia ordered the troops to move again along the tunnel that the first advance team had previously passed through.

After more than an hour's trek, the troops arrived at the next fork in the road.

Unexpectedly, yet logically, none of the three cave entrances opposite the stone hall had any familiar numbers marked on them.

In fact, none of the three holes had any markings at all!

Cassia stared at the dark cave entrance, stood silently for a while, then turned around and looked at the captain of the first advance team with cold eyes.

"Your Highness!" The female dark elf immediately knelt on the ground under Cassia's tangible murderous intent, her eyes wide open, full of fear and grievance.

"I assure you, when we arrived here before, there were clearly markings on the opposite side. They were 87, 89, and 92!"

"You, you can also testify, right?" She turned around hastily and looked at the other dark elf companions of the First Vanguard Team.

The dark elves, both men and women, nodded timidly.

Cassia didn't comment, just snorted coldly.

Li Yin was watching from the side and couldn't help but feel distressed for his mistress.

The so-called "testimony" of the first advance team was not convincing at all. It was entirely possible that they had colluded with each other beforehand.

As for the reason why they did this, it was also very simple... that is, they had anticipated the fate of the second and third advance teams and were unwilling to face such a fate, so they did not go far at all. They just stayed in the tunnel for a while, and then returned and lied about the results according to the colluded information.

Of course, this is just a guess. Maybe the first advance team really arrived here and found the "correct" location, but now, when they return again, they find that this place is completely different from the last time they passed by - this is absolutely possible, after all, the entire army has experienced such a situation before. It is such a situation that has caused the army to fall into a dilemma, no, it should be said that they can't even tell whether they are advancing or retreating at this moment.

In the final analysis, the method of detachment action proposed by Cassia was not a method at all. In the case that the maze has been proven to "change", dispersing the formation is likely to cause the detachment to be unable to find the way back and never return.

However, it is hard to blame Cassia for doing this. The reality is here. In this desperate situation, in order to survive, you can only try everything you can, even if it is a futile attempt. At least Li Yin himself, apart from this method, can't think of any obvious effective method.

In the absence of concrete evidence that the First Vanguard had indeed disobeyed her orders, Cassia did not punish the team leader.

After staring at the three unmarked dark holes for a while, she turned around abruptly and ordered the troops to move back.

After more than an hour's trek, fortunately, the troops returned to the previous marked location 117 - although this was a wrong marked location, it was at least recorded on the map and could be used as a reference for finding the correct path - maybe that's the case, if this was just an ordinary, unchanging maze. But now, Li Yin believes that the psychological comfort brought back by this return is far greater than the actual effect.

After that, Cassia ordered the troops to head towards the middle cave, where the second vanguard disappeared. Once again, fortunately, after two hours of marching, they arrived at a fork in the road with the correct mark.