BXBX NOVEL Chapter 574: Great Vortex
In fact, as soon as Marvin arrived at Rocky Mountain, he used the book of Nalu to call for the chess piece that he had left in the Underdark.
The Dark Elf, Raven.
After they fought off the Black Dragons’ attack on Rocky Mountain, Marvin had given Raven an order.
She had to do her best to establish a force in the Underdark, a force that didn’t follow any Gods.
Because of the Book of Nalu, if Raven sought shelter from the Black Dragon God or the Queen of Spiders, they might notice that she was being controlled.
Thus, Marvin had repeatedly warned Raven that she should establish a force that consisted only of non-believers.
Fortunately, the Gods had yet to descend. Although the Underdark had a very vile environment that made life difficult, at least a third of the lifeforms there believed in a God. Most of them believed in the Black Dragon God and the Queen of Spiders. However, the beliefs of these lifeforms were as fickle as their natures.
To be frank, some of them were fake believers.
They only actually believed in strength. If the Black Dragon God and the Queen of Spiders could bring them benefits, they wouldn’t care about selling themselves.
At the same time, the rest of those in the Underdark were non-believers.
After Clarke’s death, Raven very quickly gathered a group of followers from a small town.
It was also a matter of luck. The force she established settled just east of the [Great Vortex], adjoining a hill with a group of caves. This was a relatively gentle and safe part of the Underdark.
It was also because of this that they were able to survive the invasion of the Dark Specters.
Thanks to Raven’s narration, Marvin and Jessica gradually understood the current situation in the Underdark.
...
In short, the creatures of the Underdark weren’t faring well!
They had lost control of at least a third of the Underdark already, whether it was due to retreating ahead of time, or being swallowed by the Dark Specters!
From what Raven said, the area west of the [Great Vortex] had already fallen to the onslaught of the Dark Specters!
Marvin was worried by the speed of the expansion.
A map of the Underdark appeared in his mind. The Great Vortex happened to be under the Sage Desert.
In other words, more than half of the southern part of the Underdark had already been swallowed!
According to Raven, the Underdark was already way different than before.
Even the races that had long-held hatred between them put aside their differences and joined forces.
They relied on the Great Vortex and established a stronghold there with an impregnable defensive line!
All the Underdark’s races banded together to withstand the invasion of the Dark Specters!
This war had already gone on for more than a month. The losses of the defenders were disastrous, but they also won some victories.
A few days ago, during one of the Dark Specters’ attacks, their Ghost Mother’s location was exposed. Four Legends from among the allied defenders made a move together, going all-out, and forcibly killed the Ghost Mother.
Thanks to this, the pressure on the stronghold and the defensive line lightened.
The temporary and hastily established Underdark United Council was intensively studying how to resist the Dark Specters, but the problem was that their rate of progress was very slow.
There were clear signs that the council was preparing a small team of Legends that would launch an attack on the Final Ghost Mother in the Eternal Frozen Spring to solve the core of the problem.
...
"In fact, if not for the discovery of that Ghost Mother’s location, which eventually led to her death, I wouldn’t have been able to sneak over here."
Raven seemed somewhat nervous.
After all, the Dark Specters were too frightening.
Even those in the Underdark who were used to bloodiness and cruelty felt it unbearable.
Just imagining their own consciousness being destroyed, only leaving behind a walking corpse that was under the control of a Ghost Mother, becoming part of the Dark Specter army... This made them shiver.
Moreover, when the defenders fought against those that were possessed by Dark Specters, it was possible for Ghost Larvae to enter their bodies and successfully parasitize them.
No one liked to fight such a pernicious enemy.
The only reason the entire defensive line had yet to collapse was the natural defense of the Great Vortex.
If this defense was broken, the Underdark... might be done for!
...
As Raven finished her account of the situation, Marvin and Jessica sank into contemplation.
The return of the Dark Specters wasn’t just a disaster for Rocky Mountain. The entire Underdark was suffering from their attacks!
The Great Calamity didn’t affect the Underdark that much because there were few there that drew support from the Universe Magic Pool to cast spells. But the eruption of the Eternal Frozen Spring, the onset of the Underdark Winter, it was simply forcing them on the path to extinction!
According to Raven, the strongholds were currently under a huge amount of pressure. They were short on food, the climate was extremely cold, and the morale of the soldiers was terrible because many of their comrades had been turned into Dark Specters, who they then had to fight. It seemed almost a joke that these races that had been fighting each other for generations were now fighting side by side.
The town with Raven’s followers was mostly occupied by a branch of Dark Elves and a group of Half-Elves.
Because of the Book of Nalu, Raven had a very strong will. With that on top of her previous talents as a leader, she was able to convince these people.
But it would be another matter if she left for a long time. In the Underdark, the leadership position could change hands very quickly.
Jessica glanced at Marvin before saying, "You make the final decision, I believe you have an appropriate plan."
Although the Fate Sorceress was rather high-handed, she wasn’t unreasonable.
She knew Marvin had always been resourceful, and moreover, he knew a lot more about the Underdark and the Dark Specters than she did.
Considering how he had solved so many of Rocky Mountain’s problems, Marvin was the better choice for coming up with a plan.
Since he already had Jessica’s approval, Marvin nodded.
"Good. Let’s go to the [Great Vortex] first."
...
They were standing on the narrow ropeway, above a bottomless abyss that seemed like it might engulf them at any time.
Marvin and Jessica followed Raven through the shortcut.
They spent almost four hours meandering through the caves as they avoided all the dangerous locations, and in the end, they successfully reached the [Great Vortex]!
The so-called Great Vortex was actually a very frightening part of the Underdark.
In this underground part of the continent, there was a gap that seemed like a lake, in the center of which was an endless void.
Every day, a frightening storm would scrape the void for at least ten hours!
When the storm raged in the Great Vortex, no one could cross!
The last line of defense, the [Rosen Strongholds], had been established on the other side of the Great Vortex.
They relied on the vortex as a natural barrier and used their knowledge to deal with the Dark Specters.
The luck of Marvin’s party was pretty good. Not only did they manage to avoid the Dark Specter army, but when they reached the Great Vortex, the storm had already stopped.
They could slowly make their way over using the ropeways.
This was something that Dark Specters couldn’t do.
And the people of the Rosen Strongholds relied on this to determine whether or not those that approached had been possessed.
"I already signalled the stronghold that we would be arriving."
After a pause, Raven whispered, "But it’s best if you disguise yourselves. Although the Dark Specters are the biggest threat right now, the surface races are also not welcome in the Rosen Strongholds."