Chapter 358

Anser stood bathed in the radiance of the Sunburst, his entire body gleaming gold. Aside from a slight heat, he felt no discomfort at all.

'Bathing in a Sunburst isn't half bad.'

Transcendent Form granted him immunity to radiant damage. What looked like a mutually destructive tactic was actually perfectly safe.

Everything was under control.

[Target killed. Gained 2,975 experience points.]

[Target killed. Gained 3,153 experience points.]

[Target killed. Gained 7,236 experience points. Level up!]

A dense stream of experience notifications flashed through Anser's mind, erupting all at once before quickly falling silent again.

No screams. No struggling.

It had begun without warning and ended just as abruptly!

Sunburst had no projectile to travel through the air, and its effect erupted far too quickly. Two castings in succession had killed even the Mind Flayer arcanist in under two seconds, never mind those ordinary Professionals.

'That felt damn good. No wonder everyone says Metamagic is a Sorcerer's greatest trump card.'

A smile lingered at the corners of Anser's eyes.

The radiance faded, and natural light once again filled his vision.

No one remained standing. Charred corpses lay scattered across the ground, hunched and curled into themselves, barely recognizable as human.

A light breeze swept past, carrying the nauseating stench of burned flesh into the soldiers' noses.

To avoid hitting his own side, Anser had exercised some control over the placement of the spells, but he had still killed several dozen rebels. Very few had been lucky enough to escape the blasts.

Those survivors were in no condition to flee. They lay sprawled on the ground, faces filled with terror, eyes bloodshot and streaming with tears.

They had barely managed to force their eyes open through the pain, only to find their vision filled with either flickering spots of light or grotesquely charred corpses. A chill immediately ran through them.

Only moments ago, they had all been fighting a bloody battle and had even held the advantage. Then, in the blink of an eye, it had all vanished.

"Arrest them all!"

Froidin finally snapped out of his daze. His thunderous shout jolted every naval soldier back to their senses.

The soldiers' morale surged. Ignoring the burning ache in their eyes, they rushed forward and kicked the stunned rebels to the ground.

Anser swept his gaze over them. There were no hosts among them, but there were several symbiotes. The others had probably been brainwashed or otherwise influenced by psionics.

Mind Flayers were masters at manipulating the mind. Reading thoughts, brainwashing, mental suggestion—those were all old tricks to them.

Anser landed and raised a hand, singling out several people.

"Keep these ones in separate cells. Don't let them come into contact with anyone."

"Yes."

Froidin immediately ordered his adjutant to handle it.

He himself remained respectfully beside Anser, his gaze fixed on the hem of Anser's clothes as though admiring a work of art.

"President, I gathered all the soldiers as soon as possible and immediately noticed that some of them were acting strangely. I didn't expect the other side to make the first move and trigger a large-scale uprising..."

Froidin had handled things cautiously enough. No one could have anticipated that the Mind Flayers had turned so many people.

The worst-hit areas weren't the regular troops, but the auxiliary units and the naval prison. One Mind Flayer had even disguised itself as a prisoner and hidden inside the prison. Who could possibly have expected that?

The other two Mind Flayers had come over from the army fortress, bringing reinforcements with them.

One of them was a Mind Flayer arcanist with formidable spellcasting ability. After only a few spells, Froidin had been forced to abandon the offensive and go on the defensive.

If Anser had arrived a few minutes later, the Mind Flayers might have seized control of the situation first.

Froidin spoke quickly and kept his explanation brief, but Anser could roughly picture what had happened.

"Come on. We're going to the army fortress."

Anser knew the situation there was probably bad and didn't dare waste any time.

He raised a hand and cast Fly on Froidin, then grabbed him and sped toward the fortress.

"It might already be... too late. Should we gather some reinforcements first?" Froidin asked cautiously.

He had complete faith in Anser's combat ability. He simply felt that, since the losses could no longer increase, there was no reason to rush over.

No one knew what was waiting for them there.

Anser glanced at him without answering.

That miniature sun just now had been impossible to miss. There was no way the Mind Flayers hadn't noticed it. If they arrived too late, there would be nothing left to see. They might even erase every trace of what had happened.

Just as the two reached the airspace above the fortress, several figures appeared near the edge of Bral.

Stoll, Delira, Evan, and the others were arriving simultaneously from different directions, having taken the official routes.

Anser waved to them from afar, then dove straight into the fortress.

The ground inside was a wreck. Dozens of corpses lay scattered about amid stains of blood.

Anser soon spotted a familiar blue cloak.

The man lay facedown on the ground. His skull had been opened, and there was nothing left inside.

'What a shame.'

Anser hadn't known the army commander particularly well, but they had spoken only a few dozen minutes ago. Now the man's brain had been eaten. He couldn't help feeling something at the sight.

"The army fortress also has an underground prison. It's specifically for serious offenders," Froidin reminded him.

The prisoners housed in the barracks outside were either petty offenders or serious offenders who weren't habitual criminals and had behaved well. Their daily work consisted of farming.

The real death-row inmates weren't even allowed outside for fresh air. They were little more than tools for the army to use in hardening its soldiers' nerves.

"Lead the way!" Anser said with a wave of his hand.

Froidin was clearly very familiar with the place. The two moved one behind the other, descending through the fortress's rather narrow passages until they soon reached a dim underground prison.

It was cold, damp, and clammy, with an indescribable mixture of foul, bloody odors hanging in the air.

Yet it was cleaner than expected. There were no corpses, no bloodstains, no living people, and no Mind Flayers.

"I thought it'd be here." Froidin gave a dry laugh.

He had wanted to show that he could be useful and make up for his earlier display of incompetence, but apparently...

"It should be here. I can smell it."

Anser's nostrils twitched. A very, very faint scent stirred a familiar memory in his mind.

He strode deeper inside, the dim wall lamps stretching his shadow far behind him.

The cells lining both sides of the corridor were empty, their doors hanging wide open. There were no signs of forced entry or damage. There was no need to guess—the prisoners had long since fallen under the Mind Flayers' control.

Anser made a circuit of the prison but found nothing.

"There's only one level down here. Serious offenders usually don't live very long," Froidin explained.

He didn't dare elaborate. The methods they used to deal with serious offenders weren't exactly honorable.

Anser said nothing. He trusted his instincts more.

He took a single step and entered the Ethereal Plane, then let his body drift downward.

Layers of dark gray rock rushed past him. Several seconds later, the stone vanished, replaced by a sealed underground prison with exactly the same layout as the one above.

The moment he raised his head, he found himself staring directly into a pair of cold white eyes.

The creature had a bald, swollen head and several long tentacles dangling from its mouth, grotesque and hideous.

A Mind Flayer!

The instant their eyes met, both moved.

Anser flashed back into the Material Plane and immediately expanded his antimagic aura.

But at that exact moment, the Mind Flayer's body blurred as it entered the Ethereal Plane, and the two passed right by each other.

The Mind Flayer glanced at Anser. Its figure flickered, then vanished from the Ethereal Plane.

'Huh. They've learned their lesson...'

If it had hesitated for even a moment, there was no way it would have escaped so easily.

Anser swept his gaze across the underground prison, and his heart jolted.

The surrounding cells were packed with people. Quite a few corpses lay on the ground as well. In the center stood a strangely shaped vat filled with a cloudy white liquid.

He stepped closer and looked inside.

Dozens—perhaps a hundred—tadpole-like creatures were swimming back and forth through the vat.

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