And this "vertical pupil" was now staring straight at a certain area on the surface of the blood moon, the area that had been torn open by the black-haired girl.
The gaze... was cold, cruel, and indifferent.
It was like the cries and screams coming from the underworld, looming in the abyss of eternal silence.
Chapter 454 Landing
Didn’t make it to midnight…this chapter will still be counted as the update on the 8th.
====================
"Distorted Earth", in the mysterious lost ruins, next to the entrance of the "Abyss".
Hill, who belonged to Team No. 3, stood less than five meters away from the edge of the abyss, looking at the deep and terrifying darkness in front of him with a complicated expression.
On the ground right next to the edge of the pit, a dozen people were fiddling with some strange-looking equipment.
Some people were working hard to move thick and sturdy logs, while others were using hammers to drive iron rods and wooden stakes into the ground.
They had a clear division of labor and assembled and spliced various materials together, gradually building a frame that was roughly in the shape of a triangular pyramid.
One side was tightly attached to the edge of the pit, and one inch further out was a bottomless abyss.
"Hill, are you ready?"
A cold male voice came from my ears, like a cold wind that suddenly rushed into my ears.
Hill, who was staring at the busy crowd in a daze, was startled and turned his head reflexively, and saw a figure in a gray-black robe walking slowly towards him.
This is a middle-aged man with a skinny body and a slightly hunched back. He has an elongated horse face and looks very old. His skin is wrinkled and pale, but there are no age spots, which means that his actual age is much younger than he looks.
The sunken eye sockets were filled with a thick haze. A pair of eyeballs with obvious bloodshot were hidden in the deepest part of the shadows, and at this moment they were staring at Hill's face with an unknown look.
"Master Julian, everything is fine!"
Hill hurriedly bowed slightly to show respect and greeted him.
The skinny man called Julian looked up at the eternal lead-black clouds above him, observed the intensity of the light seeping in from the gaps in the clouds, then retracted his gaze and said in a very cold tone:
"In ten minutes at most, we will go down the well."
There are no underground rivers in this land, so it is impossible to dig wells. The last country can only absorb trace amounts of water from the soil through special plants, and then extract water by harvesting the stems and leaves of the plants.
The word "well" in the language system of the Last Kingdom simply means "a cave or tunnel extending vertically underground."
The "abyss" before us actually fits this description very well.
"Yes! Lord Julian, I have no problem."
After getting the assurance from Hill, the "temporary team consultant", Julian in a gray robe nodded slightly, said nothing more, turned around coldly and walked to the back to inspect the first team No. 3 that explored the "abyss".
"The leader of this team, Lord Julian, is a little scary... Deacon Otilia is easier to get along with, although she doesn't talk much..."
Hill rubbed his forehead and took a few deep breaths to calm his slightly agitated mood.
About ten minutes later, the team at the edge of the abyss entrance finished their "construction" and waved to the members of Team 3:
"Everyone, it's done!"
"Set off."
Julian, the team leader, glanced at the triangular wooden frame and gave orders in a cold tone.
The wooden frame is a special rope descent device, which is firmly fixed to the ground with stakes. Then the rope can be released little by little using the rollers and hinges at the top of the triangular pyramid to lower a large platform that is large enough for ten people to stand on.
The function of this thing: It is obvious at a glance, it sends people down by rope descent.
Hill glanced at the pile of ropes next to the tripod, hesitated for a few seconds, then turned to the team leader Julian who happened to pass by him and asked:
"Master Julian, the depth of the abyss should be far beyond the reach of the rope descent. Are we sure we want to go down this way?"
Her tone was reserved and cautious when she spoke. After all, Julian's temperament was too sinister. He seemed to be wrapped in darkness and frost. Just one look at him was chilling.
Faced with the question, Julian just glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, said nothing, walked past her without stopping, and continued to walk towards the triangular wooden frame.
Seeing that his concerns and doubts were ignored, Hill was very embarrassed. He looked at his receding back, opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no sound came out.
Excluding Hill, the "temporary consultant", Team 3 consists of ten people, all of whom are "disciples" with more than one year of qualifications and practical experience, and all of them are combatants.
In terms of combat effectiveness, it can be said to be a very luxurious configuration.
As for the team leader Julian... he is even more of a heavyweight. He is the grand elder of the Church of Redemption and one of the seven supreme rulers of the "Final Church". He is a person that Hill may not be able to meet in his entire life under normal circumstances.
When Hill first heard his name, he was shocked, and then he realized that the Church of Redemption attached great importance to this "Abyss Exploration Operation" and even a big shot of this level had personally taken part in the battle.
No wonder Otilia was not allowed to continue leading the team. After all, in front of the final grand elder of the Holy See, a senior deacon of a diocese... really didn't have a rank.
The eleven members of Team 3 stepped onto the platform on the inside of the abyss entrance one after another. The weight of more than a dozen people immediately made the wooden platform creak.
And because of their footsteps, the entire platform shook quite a bit.
"Terrible……"
Except for Julian and Hill, who had personally experienced a long period of "falling", everyone in the team had a slightly changed expression, revealing an expression of fear that they could hardly suppress.
They can't be blamed for being timid. The terrain of the Gray Forest is basically plains and hills, and there is no very steep and tall natural terrain at all. The buildings in the Last Country are not hundreds of meters high.
Therefore, for the residents of the Last Country, "height" is a very vague concept. Now, under the feet is a pit so deep that even the skylight can't illuminate it... No one has ever experienced it.
The shock and torture that the completely unknown danger and fear brought to the human mind were beyond imagination, so the members of the team could not help but feel fear in their hearts and even their legs trembled.
Julian glanced at the expressions of his teammates. When his eyes swept over Hill's relatively calm face, he paused for a moment, then retracted his gaze and said:
"You can go down."
"Creak, creak, creak..."
Several strong members of the "construction team" next to the wooden frame immediately stood up and worked together to turn the joystick on the top of the triangular pyramid.
Amid the harsh sound of wood rubbing against each other, the platform filled with people descended steadily and gently.
Hill raised his head and watched with a slightly dull expression as the "ground" continued to rise, then gradually revealed an arc, and closed into a round lead-black sky, which was getting farther and farther away from him.
She knew that at the bottom of the abyss, there was nothing but a bunch of scattered strange spiritual objects. But as she had said to the "real creator" before: after a few days, who knew if the "actual situation" would change?
What kind of situation will I... and my team members encounter if I enter the abyss...
She really had no idea.
Chapter 455 Return to the Abyss
There were some special circumstances and I was unable to make it to midnight... This chapter will still be counted as the update on the 9th.
==================
Down, down...
The square wooden platform slowly and steadily descended, and the eleven people on it all had solemn expressions.
As they got farther and farther away from the ground, the light shining down became weaker and weaker. At first, everyone could still see the people and things on the platform clearly, but after ten minutes or so, they could only see the few people closest to them.
According to this trend, in half an hour at most... the vision will be completely dark.
Julian, the final Grand Elder of the Holy See who served as the leader, looked around and seemed to continue paying attention to the expressions on everyone's faces. The pair of dark eyes deep in his eye sockets were filled with an unfathomable darkness that was unpredictable.
Hill just looked into his eyes for a moment and couldn't help shivering. He pretended to casually avoid those dark and cold eyes, and carefully moved through the crowd to the edge of the platform.
"Hill, what are you doing...?"
Seeing the actions of this "temporary consultant" who had no fighting ability, a team member asked in confusion.
"I want to observe first to see if the situation is any different from...last time."
Hill kept his expression calm and spoke in an orderly manner.
The team members all knew that this little girl who was temporarily assigned to the team was a member of the original pioneer expedition team, and was the only survivor among several people who unfortunately fell into the "abyss" after it appeared.
Currently, all the information that the Last Kingdom has about the interior of the "Abyss" basically comes from her oral narration.
"Then be careful. If you fall again, you may not be so lucky."
The team member who was originally standing on the edge of the platform made way for her and kindly gave her some advice.
The platform is generally rectangular in shape, and is surrounded by a waist-high fence on the outside. It is quite sturdy and will not shake even if a person leans on it.
However, since it is hollow, if the platform shakes violently for some reason and someone accidentally falls, there is indeed a risk of slipping through the gap.
Hill naturally understood this. After reaching the edge, she placed both hands on the upper rail of the fence, holding on tightly, and stretched her neck to look at the endless darkness in front of her.
Under normal circumstances, she shouldn't be able to see anything in such a dark environment.
But after all, she is not an ordinary person who can only see with mortal eyes, but a mage who has activated her own spiritual power, a perfect "apprentice" mage who is only one step away from becoming a true mage.
With her back to everyone, she secretly called upon the spiritual power in her body and made it operate in a specific rhythm. Immediately, a cool feeling surged into her eyes.
"The dawn of flames, clear vision."
The moment she silently recited these words in her heart, her orange-red eyes... suddenly lit up with a faint light.
They were very faint, not even as bright as a candle in the wind and rain, but they stood out in this dark abyss, like two lanterns swaying and flickering in a pitch-black cave.
Fortunately, she had her back to her teammates, otherwise something unusual would have been noticed.
This is a small auxiliary spell that can give oneself the ability of night vision to see through the darkness. It belongs to the "Fire" field. I just mastered it a few days ago, and now I can quickly activate it without relying on any external objects.
As the two red flames lit up in his pupils, Hill's vision suddenly became bright, like a room with lights on.
The scene in front of my eyes, which was originally pitch black...at this moment, all the scenes were spread out in detail.
“…There’s nothing to see.”
After standing there and watching for a while, she became bored.
All that came into view was an endless series of rough stone walls, extending vertically downwards, all the way into the darkness that even "Flame of Dawn·Clear Vision" could not penetrate.
There are no living things, no buildings, and no other unnatural products.
There is only a silent space and lifeless stone walls.
"Hill, did you find anything else?"
A teammate next to him stepped forward and asked, and Hill immediately turned off the activation of "Dawn of Flame·Clear Vision", allowing his eyes to return to normal, and his vision once again fell into darkness and difficulty seeing.
"No... I can't see anything."
Hill tried to speak in a helpless tone. She was not lying, she really couldn't see anything.
The team members just thought it was because the environment was too dark and did not raise any opinions. After making way for her to walk back to the depths of the platform, they stopped talking and continued to stand in the same place, holding their weapons tightly in their hands, ready for battle.
The platform continued to lower its height under the traction of the ropes, until now, the round lead-black sky above had shrunk to the size of a pinhole, and the projected light could no longer provide meaningful illumination.
Julian pointed and winked at the nearest team member, who immediately understood and raised his hand to ignite the torch that had been prepared long ago using witchcraft.
"call……"
The orange-red firelight illuminated the narrow space. Although the vision was still hazy, it allowed everyone to see each other.
Looking at the inner side of the platform close to the rock wall, one can see that the uneven stone wall is rising at a slow but steady pace, giving everyone a subtle sense of solidity.
This calmed them down a lot as they were becoming increasingly uneasy.
The descent continued for nearly half an hour, and when the pinhole-sized bright spot above my head completely disappeared...
"Squeak!"
The ropes fixed at the four corners of the platform suddenly made a harsh friction sound, and an obvious shaking came from under their feet. Everyone immediately lowered their center of gravity to prevent falling.
At the same time, the inner rock wall that had been rising... also stopped.
Hill immediately realized that the rope descent equipment installed at the exit of the "abyss"... had stopped "releasing the line".
"Sir, the people above have stopped." Someone said to Julian.
Julian remained as cold and indifferent as ever. He did not reply. He turned around and faced the bumpy stone wall inside. He raised one arm:
"Please, Holy White Gate, grant us the power of indomitable will..."
As he was praying in a low, eerie voice but with a reverent tone, a flash of orange suddenly rose above his body.
"boom!!!"
Then there was an extremely shocking explosion! Hill's head was buzzing, and when she came to her senses, she saw a row of round holes with uniform thickness and distance on the stone wall.
Julian lowered his arm and ordered indifferently:
