Su Mei was relieved when she saw that there was no one in the room. In front of her, embedded in the wall, was a large gem-like object that resembled a sconce but didn't emit any light. The room was airtight, and its total area wouldn't exceed ten square meters.
In this environment, even a normal person would be blind and have to fumble. However, Su Mei was completely unaffected by the darkness and could see every detail clearly. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling were covered in bizarre and intricate runes. Their style remained beautiful, but they no longer emitted a faint glow.
Su Mei had read many fantasy novels, and with a little thought, she vaguely suspected that these incredibly complex patterns were likely summoning circles. In Western legends, using a hexagram as the main pattern during dark rituals could summon demons.
Looking at it this way, perhaps Mr. Lich was the one to blame. It might have used arcane abilities for a summoning and perhaps even employed some ancient forbidden curses, resulting in a failed spell and summoning her as a lucky dog.
Su Mei hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should exit through that door. Everything outside was an unknown, and there might be even more vicious monsters lurking. However, she couldn't hide in this room forever. If the monsters outside sensed something wrong and entered the small room, she would be trapped with no hope of escape.
She rummaged through her bag, pulling out her phone. The phone was still functioning normally, with sufficient battery, but the communication signal was nonexistent. This was the expected result and not worth being disappointed about. To be honest, if the signal had been full, she might have been even more frightened than she was now.
Holding the phone, she quietly approached the door and gently pushed it. The door was unlocked and opened easily, revealing a smooth gap.
Facing all the potential dangers, Su Mei suddenly calmed down and extended her hand, positioning the phone's camera outside and slowly rotating it to observe the situation outside.
To the naked eye of an ordinary person, the phone screen was pitch-black, making it impossible to see anything in the darkness. However, Su Mei took just one look and discovered that there was a large platform outside. The platform was empty, except for a multitude of patterns etched onto it. Most of the patterns were dim and devoid of light, but a small portion still seemed to be active.
The phone quickly retracted, and the door was fully opened. Su Mei stepped out onto the platform, moving towards the edge and gazing into the distance.
With a single glance, everything became clear. She was inside a tall tower, standing on the topmost platform, and below her were more than ten other platforms. Each platform emitted a faint light, resembling the twinkling stars in the night sky.
The tower was empty, and silence reigned. She could vaguely make out the presence of windows below.
She wanted to move closer to the windows and take a peek outside. The Lich had cursed her to death. Those words were probably true. She needed to understand the situation before deciding whether she should meet her end quickly.
But just as Su Mei had this thought, she felt fluctuations behind her. A rather large stone sphere appeared seemingly out of air. It was situated on the platform, snug against the tower's wall, and had a circular opening.
Su Mei retreated step by step until she was at the edge of the platform. She was afraid this might be a monster's drop pod and stood dumbfounded for quite a while before cautiously climbing into the opening.
To her surprise, the interior of the stone sphere was mostly hollow, with several large black stone platforms inside. Weapons like swords, daggers, spears, and maces were piled on the ground, while more delicate items were arranged on the stone platforms, including several large statues.
What they all had in common was that the density of runes within was much higher than normal. If these symbols were indeed related to magic, then these should be magical items.
It was safe to say that the stone sphere was a storage warehouse. However, it didn't belong to the Lich; it belonged to the even unluckier Demon Lord. It had been perfectly concealed and would only appear once its master was killed. Now that its master was dead, it had been summoned back to the living fire pit and initiated its self-destruct program.
Lord Wendelthorpe was a compotent demon. He possessed qualities like being despicable, ruthless, and ensuring others had a worse time than he did, all of which were highly valued as a demon. If his enemies thought that killing him would allow them to loot, they were sorely mistaken.
In fact, the stone sphere was protected by intricate enchantments. If its master's life force vanished, upon appearing, it would enter an extremely violent self-destruct state, shattering all valuable items that could be shattered and throwing the unbreakable ones into a different dimension, while also punishing greedy foes.
However, the Lich had covered the entire tower with enchantments in search of the Eye of Chaos. This temporarily delayed the self-destruct process of the stone sphere, giving Su Mei a chance to enter.
She was completely unaware of this and believed her luck was getting better. She examined everything with amazement. Those weapons naturally spoke for themselves. Other items emitted an unusual aura, tempting her to pick them up.
After the Lich's death, Su Mei's rationality was rapidly returning. She wasn't thinking about how to get back home or lamenting her miserable fate; she was focused on how to get through the next ordeal. She nervously associated her extraordinary vision, the runes, and the Lich's words. Since she could see things she normally couldn't, perhaps this was the ability she could use to survive? When the Lich bitterly said she was lucky, was it referring to this ability?
She rushed to select items, occasionally touching them. Then she reluctantly realized that the brightest ones were often larger and heavier, even taller than her whole body, like the long spears and giant axes. They were likely weapons for cavalry, and if used for infantry combat, the wielder must have been exceptionally tall.
Therefore, she was a bit overwhelmed before making her first choice.
It was a short dagger, with a suitable length and weight. Its black sheath was polished and exquisite, with patterns carved on the hilt. Su Mei drew it from the sheath and immediately noticed numerous tiny runes etched into the blade. She held it and tentatively poked at a nearby stone, feeling as if she were poking tofu with a dining knife.
She considered this a suitable self-defense tool and stowed it in her bag next to the black robe. Then, her gaze moved to a battle axe on the right.
When most people thought of weapons, swords and daggers were the most common images that came to mind. However, Su Mei had read posts before that argued for the efficiency and value of an axe. They had great damage potential, were easy to wield, and readily available. If the opponent wore heavy armor, then a hammer would be a better choice than an axe.
Inside the stone sphere, there were at least seven or eight different types of battle axes, with significant variations in size. The largest one was definitely meant for giants, standing at least four to five meters tall and featuring a rough style. The smallest one looked like a toy, and it might have been snatched from a child's hands.
Su Mei picked up one of the battle axes from the recesses, noticing a faint green light on the blade, wondering if it was poisonous. She carefully gripped it and swung it a few times in the air, finding it lighter than she had expected and easy to handle. She carried it in her hand and went back to the other side of the stone platform to choose items other than weapons.
The display on the stone platform was even more dazzling and lacked any organization, indicating that the owner didn't have OCD. Among them were several large and eye-catching pieces that were obviously valuable. But she couldn't take them anyway, so she pretended not to see them and instead focused on examining the smaller items she could take with her, hoping to fill her bag before leaving.
She first picked up two nearby items: an exquisitely shaped gold flat bottle, surprisingly heavy for its size, and a small bag next to it, emitting a bright light. She didn't intend to take the bag initially but picked it up because it was close by.
In her mind, the most important items were weapons and armor. She would take at most four or five items and then temporarily abandon the rest. Also, she had to find some clothing to conceal her appearance; otherwise, she would have to wear the black robe and pretending she was a Lich.
But the fates had not given her that chance. She had barely weighed the small bag in her hand when the tower suddenly shook, eliciting a scream from her.
The tremors didn't stop; they intensified, resembling a level nine earthquake, and in an instant, they shattered every stone in the tower.
At the same time, the stone platform split open with a shocking crack, swallowing her up. In the blink of an eye, she had no idea what had happened, and she plummeted down, heading for the unknown world outside the tall tower.
The explosion had a vast reach, affecting countless creatures and causing an earthquake within the living fire pit. Su Mei was initially thrown by the tremendous force, then experienced a rapid descent from a great height, ultimately ending up buried under rubble. In theory, her luck was abysmal. However, ironically, she was affected the least by the explosion.
The tower was usually concealed and invisible until they fully manifested in their location, and this sudden appearance had been witnessed by tens of thousands of demons. They had been closely monitoring this place, eager to know the lord's movements, but they never expected it to happen like this. In their complete ignorance, their lord had already died.
The lowliest demons had no qualifications to investigate, so they could only wail and stare at the area in terror, resembling a group of ants facing a flood. Those with higher ranks harbored hope and were ready to explore the truth while preparing for battle.
Wendelthorpe's territory had five commanders, followed by legion leaders and various captains. They lacked the camaraderie typically found among kin; all eyes were fixed on the lordship.
Before confirming Wendelthorpe's fate, these commanders began to act. They needed to communicate with each other, try to win over allies who supported them, and be on guard against colleagues plotting their assassinations. They also worried that capable legion leaders might seize the opportunity to rise. Of course, they had to put up a façade. If, by any chance, the lord was still alive, the more radically they acted, the heavier their punishment would be.
It was foreseeable that this chaos would continue for a long time, and it wouldn't face any suppression from higher-ups because this was the way of life for demons. In a sense, it could be considered one of the rules of the Abyss itself.
In reality, the living fire pit was just one layer of the Abyss, an incredibly vast realm consisting of countless volcanoes and magma seas, with high temperatures and a strong sulfuric odor. Magma fountains occasionally erupted, making it highly suitable for demons' tastes.
Its central region was a giant lake surrounded by peaks. Reddish rocks jutted out of the lake, forming artificial peaks. Together with other peaks, they created massive fortresses and stone palaces in the high skies. This place was closely guarded by high-ranking demons at all times because it was the residence of the Mistress of the living fire pit.
At this moment, a jet-black, two-headed wyvern flew into one of these majestic stone palaces. Its appearance was fierce and fearsome, and it had decent combat capabilities, with one head capable of spewing ice shards and the other launching lightning bolts. However, now it behaved like a domestic pet, landing gently on the outstretched arm of its master.
The Mistress of the living fire pit, known as "Lady Serpenthair," stared at it, slowly uttering a sentence, "So, that fool is dead now."
As the saying goes, a living demon is a good demon, and a dead human is a good human. Since Wendelthorpe had died, he was no longer a good demon and held no value for discussion. Moreover, all demons considered others to be idiots, and if someone died, they deserved it. They often agonized over the loss of combat power but didn't lament the loss of the individual itself.
Lady Serpenthair had a striking resemblance to a six-armed serpent demon, but she was far more powerful. Countless venomous snakes with darting tongues cascaded down from her elegantly shaped head, covering her gracefully curving body. Her four arms were in front of her, while the other two were concealed beneath her dark wings. She was the offspring of a sexual union between demons, combining the strengths of both parents. Through lengthy and brutal struggles, she had become the Mistress of the living fire pit.
Two high-ranking demons still stood within the stone palace, both her direct subordinates. However, she didn't engage in conversation with them, only staring thoughtfully at the two-headed wyvern. Then, she raised her hand, allowing it to fly away.
Lady Serpenthair didn't care about the life or death of any demon, but Wendelthorpe had died too quickly, which was beyond her expectations and made her uncomfortable. As she contemplated, she strolled around the stone palace. Her body's scales rustled as she moved, sounding like the roar of a storm. Where her snake-like tail brushed, it left a trail of toxic slime that quickly evaporated into deadly fumes.
A demon with the appearance of a man-eagle spoke indifferently, "You seem quite restless. Even if he hadn't died, you would have killed him eventually. Isn't that right?"
Lady Serpenthair replied, "Indeed, but I cannot allow outsiders to run amok here. I was preoccupied with other matters earlier, and although I dispatched an observer, I didn't expect him to be so useless... Well, let them decide on a new leader themselves; it won't take long."
The eagle-headed demon laughed hoarsely and asked, "I'm curious about something. Who do you have in mind as the next Lord? Also, while Wendelthorpe's thoughts were indeed treacherous and unforgivable, his was powerful indeed. Do you know what drew him to secretly accept outsiders and take furtive actions under your rule?"
As he spoke, he suddenly felt uneasy because Lady Serpenthair had paused and was now gazing at him with her renowned Fire Eyes. Yet, her demeanor was unexpectedly mild. "If you're curious, why don't you investigate?"