1078 Re-entering the Catacombs

"In addition, from the latest report provided by the military, it is suspected that the barbarian invasion this time is related to the abnormality of the ley lines a few months ago."

"After the anomaly in the ley lines occurred, many cracked passages leading to the catacombs appeared in many territories of the Empire. Most of them are concentrated in the northern and southern regions of the Empire."

"The Empire's military headquarters suspected that the barbarians transferred their forces through the tunnel under the ley lines. That's why they attacked the Empire from the West, catching the Empire off guard."

"However, the Empire has recovered. All aspects of the Empire are optimistic about the barbarian invasion. That's the general situation."

After saying that, Mo Jiawei glanced at Tang Mingyue who was beside him.

His investigation had been going well, and he had wanted to continue the investigation along the clues of the earth vein's unusual movement. He had thought of coming back to Tang Mingyue to ask for the investigation authority.

Good Lord. As a result, he was dragged to the capital of the Empire by Tang Mingyue and Fang Heng to fish for money as soon as he arrived.

"Thank you, everyone has worked hard."

Wei Tao didn't notice Tang Mingyue's strange behavior. He nodded and said, "I didn't expect our investigations to be together. However, my starting point is different from yours. I started my investigation from the background and identity of my team."

"Except for Tang Mingyue, the rest of us were mercenaries hired by her. Everyone's initial identity was different. As the investigation went deeper, I also found out about the cave-dwelling beast."

"I found something interesting. Come and take a look."

As he spoke, Wei Tao took out a map and spread it out in front of everyone.

He pointed at a spot.

"About a week ago, the Empire discovered an entrance to a catacombs' passageway outside the main city."

As Wei Tao spoke, he shifted his gaze to Tang Mingyue.

"Due to some special reasons, Tang Mingyue personally led a team to investigate. It's not clear what exactly happened during the investigation, but after the investigation ended and they left the catacombs, Tang Mingyue immediately ordered the entire catacombs to be sealed off, and no one is allowed to enter or leave."

Everyone looked at Tang Mingyue in unison.

"Meh?"

Tang Mingyue was at a loss. She shook her head and said, "I don't know,"

"Yes, just like you, we don't have any of these memories."

Wei Tao continued, "After this incident, Tang Mingyue recruited outsiders to form our team in a low-profile manner. We then secretly went to the catacombs' crack passageway outside Hani City to investigate. After that, it should be what we experienced when we entered the trial game."

"From the analysis of some scattered clues, we concluded that the original exploration team that entered the outer cave of Hani City should be larger in scale, and there was even a translator who knew the language of the cave's resident beasts. However, they encountered danger in the process of entering the cave, which led to casualties."

Mikhael rubbed his temples and tried to analyze, "Alright, let's make a reasonable guess. Could it be that Tang Mingyue found some clues in the catacombs and then went to search in Hani City? "

"Yes, I think the same as you."

Wei Tao continued, "I'm very lucky. While I was investigating, I found a scholar from the Empire who studied the cave-dwelling beasts. He was the one who brought Tang Mingyue into the cave."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

"And then?" asked Mikhael. "What did Tang Mingyue experience at that time?"

"They don't remember anything. They only remember accompanying Her Highness Mingyue into the cave. After leaving the cave, they were asked to enter the mage tower and voluntarily erase their memories related to the cave."

Fang Heng's brows were tightly knitted. Voluntarily erasing memories?

It seemed that they had encountered some special event that had a great impact and needed to be kept absolutely confidential.

It was very likely to be related to the mission!

Wei Tao then waited for a few minutes, giving everyone ample time to think.

Then, Wei Tao looked around at everyone.

"We don't know what exactly happened in the cave, but I think everything is connected."

"I suggest that the next step of our investigation is to use the cave as a breakthrough point and enter the cave again to investigate. Of course, this time we can bring along a translator who is proficient in the language of the creatures living in the cave. What do you all think?"

Fang Heng secretly gave Wei Tao a thumbs-up.

Not bad, a clear goal, and clear thinking.

With Wei Tao around, it would not be a big problem for him and Tang Mingyue to slack off.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded, "No problem."

"We'll do as Brother Tao says."

...

The catacombs found inside the Empire were located in a mountain range outside the Empire's main city, Atama.

The party first entered the Empire's main city through the teleportation channel. After that, the griffin team flew toward the mountain range.

After about an hour and a half, the team arrived at the military camp outside the entrance of the catacombs.

Ever since Tang Mingyue issued the order to seal off the catacombs, the Empire's military headquarters had set up a camp here and stationed troops there 24 hours a day. No one was allowed to enter or leave the catacombs.

Tang Mingyue led the Empire's team of guards and the players down from the griffin and met up with the Empire's guards outside.

The Empire soldier in charge of guarding the garrison stepped forward and reported with cupped fists, "Your Highness Mingyue!"

Tang Mingyue nodded and shifted her gaze to the entrance of the cave not far away. She asked, "How's the situation in the cave recently?"

"Ever since you gave the order, we've strictly sealed off the cave and expelled merchants and mercenary groups who tried to explore the cave. Recently, the frequency of these people appearing has increased a lot."

"Also, recently, we can often hear loud noises coming from the depths of the cave. This phenomenon is more serious in the middle of the night, and many soldiers can't get a good rest at night."

Fang Heng and the others couldn't help but look at each other after listening to the soldier officer's narration. They recalled the scene when they had just entered the trial.

This damn place wouldn't collapse too, right?

Since they were already here, they had to go in and take a look.

"Hmm, take a few people with you and follow me. The rest of you will continue to guard the outside."

"Yes!"

After listening to the report, Tang Mingyue led the team into the cave to explore.

This time, Tang Mingyue had personally come to explore the catacombs, and the elite Empire guards who had accompanied her were also extravagantly grouped with five Empire mages.

The two mages cast a flash spell.

The soft light dispelled the darkness.

The cave wasn't deep. After walking a dozen steps, they saw a huge crack in the ground.

Everyone tried to reach out with the torch in their hands, trying to light up the area below the crack.

The crack was very deep, and it was impossible to see the bottom with the naked eye.

The camp guard nodded and said, "Your Highness Mingyue, the catacomb is in the deepest part of the crack. As for what's down there, we've never entered it, so we don't know."

"Well, get ready. We'll go down for an examination."

The Empire's elite team was already prepared. They immediately set up ropes and used them to climb down.

Soon, the rope ladder was set up.