This necromancer is going to seduce the beautiful girls who are already dead.

Abyss never expected that at this moment, a strange signal would invade his mind.

This is no trivial matter. The mental strength of the Abyss is something even a malevolent god like the Lord of Nightmares would have to consider carefully, and cannot be manipulated at will. To be able to invade the mind of the Abyss is a power far beyond that of mortals.

Could it be that someone in the Council of the Dead has already acquired such power?

Such a thought flashed through Abyss's mind, but he still did not draw a conclusion easily, because he found that the information that had invaded his mind was slowly becoming clearer, and he still needed to read the information first in order to roughly deduce where this powerful fluctuation came from.

"You've arrived."

However, once that information became complete in the Abyss's mind and could be read aloud, it became this sentence.

It was an audio message. The Abyss could tell that the speaker (or something else) had a hoarse, high-pitched voice, speaking slowly, sounding like an old woman in her twilight years. Just that one short sentence, nothing more. Even the tone of the sentence was very flat, revealing no extra emotion.

“I… am here.” Abyss frowned. The information transmitted by this fluctuation was far too little. Abyss could not deduce any useful information from this simple sentence.

It seems that something exists on this polluted land, using these words to welcome the Abyss's arrival. Judging from the content of the sentence, the speaker has likely been waiting for the Abyss for some time. How long that time has been, the Abyss doesn't know; what is certain is that the other party is extremely powerful, powerful enough to speak to the Abyss without its consent.

It's important to understand that the Abyss, for its own safety, usually keeps its mind closed, only opening it to its own spirits and trusted companions. This communication easily bypassed the Abyss's mental defenses.

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked Abis with concern. "You suddenly paused for a moment just now. Did you think of something?"

Abis shook his head and said to Sophia through mind sharing, "Did you feel a fluctuation just now?"

"Fluctuations...you could say there were." Sophia recalled briefly, then answered confidently, "Just now, I had a peculiar feeling, like something very powerful was suddenly existing beneath this land, but that's all. Did you sense any fluctuations?"

"Underground in the Shadowfall?" Abyss glanced at the surface. His usually reliable ability to sense underground cavities seemed to be ineffective at this moment. Perhaps there were no cavities at all, or perhaps the cavities had somehow obscured his innate perception, or perhaps his ability had temporarily malfunctioned.

"Did that thing communicate with you?" Sophia's eyes lit up as she considered this possibility.

“You are very perceptive, that’s true, but it’s not entirely communication. Something very powerful broke through my mental barrier and said to me, ‘You’ve come.’” Abis looked at Sophia and told her, “This sentence was incoherent and I couldn’t hear any emotion in it. I don’t know what it meant.”

"Eh... I can't believe something like this happened." A hint of nervousness appeared on Sophia's face. "Could it be someone from the Council of the Dead?"

“That shouldn’t be the case. If she had the ability to invade my mind, she should have taken advantage of my unpreparedness and launched a mental attack on me.” Abyss pondered for a moment and said, “In short, if I were a member of the Council of the Dead, I would definitely do that. But with such a good opportunity, she only came to say this simple sentence to me. It’s really incomprehensible.”

"It's alright!" Sophia, always an optimist, patted Abyss on the back. "Maybe that guy wasn't hostile at all!"

“Well, since I don’t know what’s going on, let’s make some preparations first. There’s no use just worrying.” Abis also thought Sophia’s idea made sense, so he nodded and said, “Well then, let’s go. We should hurry back to our lodgings.”

……

Abyss recounted the strange events that had just occurred to Rebecca. Rebecca herself didn't know what was going on, but she still instructed Flora and Agnes to prepare some support measures to deal with any emergencies.

Abyss and Sophia used magic to fly through the air, heading towards their dwelling.

After traversing vast, polluted forests and grasslands of the Fallen Lands, the Abyss reached a small hill. The hilltop was visible from the air; a river flowed through it, its water clear but probably not drinkable. Beside the river stood a thatched hut—their and their master's dwelling.

What appears to be a gorilla's hut is merely superficial; in reality, their dwelling is located in a sizable basement beneath it. This design prevents the building from being openly exposed to the shadow demons, while also aligning with the necromancers' preference for underground living.

From Spin and Anita's memories, the Abyss learned that the Council of the Dead did not build any cities in the Shadowlands. Most of the Council's facilities were built underground, and those who were not of a certain level were not qualified to know the location of the corresponding facilities—you could not know the location of facilities you were not authorized to enter, nor could you inquire about the purpose of a place you did not know.

While the Council of the Dead provides its members with considerable benefits and protection, it also has inviolable laws. If someone violates the rules by revealing the location of the Council's facilities to others, both the person asking and the person answering will die; trespassing into facilities that one is not authorized to enter is also an indisputable capital offense.

For necromancers, dying at the hands of other necromancers is a terrifying thing, so almost no one dares to break the rules.

Spin and Anita had spent so many years in the Shadowfall, and all they knew was their own residence, their master's experimental site, a trading place for peripheral members, and the mage towers that were openly displayed. They had also considered going to places they shouldn't have, but after learning from their master the consequences of doing so, they both gave up the idea.

"Why are you only getting back now?"

Just as Abyss and Sophia were nearing their destination, a very disgruntled shout came from inside the shack. It was clear the speaker was in a bad mood.

Chapter 269 The Acting Begins

Abyss and Sophia landed on the ground and went straight into the shack where the sound had come from.

It was clear who this person in a bad mood was: Spencer and Anita's mentor, Hollick, a grumpy old man with a terrible temper. Not only was he eccentric, but he also loved to yell and shout. Although he had been teaching Spencer and Anita, he wasn't actually kind to them, often making them do dangerous experiments for him.

This is why Spencer and Anita hated him and even plotted to get rid of him.

Abyss's men displayed considerable professionalism during the interrogation of Spin and Anita. They even learned from the two what their shack looked like, how to get in, and what the details were, all so that Abyss and Sophia would not leave any traces when they infiltrated.

Abyss and Sophia exchanged a glance, and at that moment, they both fully immersed themselves in their roles.

“Master, Anita and I are back.” Sophia walked into the shack, reached out and used magic to open a stone slab under the shack, and walked down with ease as if she had lived there for many years.

Abis remained silent, instead wearing a sour expression as he followed behind Sophia. His demeanor and movements were now perfectly indistinguishable from the real Anita.

"You two good-for-nothings, you finally know how to come back? What have you been doing all this time? Huh? Tell me! Huh?"

Abyss and Sophia descended a flight of steps and entered a spacious but dark basement, where a figure only half the height of Sophia stood.

This was an elderly halfling, holding a bone staff taller than himself, standing there in a somewhat lewd posture. His hair had long since fallen out, his teeth were missing, and his face was covered in wrinkled skin, leaving only a pair of round eyes that glared fiercely at Abyss and Sophia, who had just entered the basement.

“Master, please don’t be angry. On our way back, we accidentally provoked a high-level shadow demon, so we hid for a while for safety,” Sophia said to their “master” Holick.

Hollik raised his staff and slammed it into Sophia's leg: "Useless trash! You think you can mess with the Shadow Demon? If you get killed by the Shadow Demon, I'll resurrect you and turn you all into my undead!"

Hollik was far too old, and as a mage he rarely exercised, so his strength was laughable. When the hard bone staff landed on Sophia's leg, it felt like being flicked with a finger; it didn't hurt at all.

Sophia quickly smiled and said, "Oh, Master, don't be angry. We repaired the mage tower perfectly this time."

Abis almost laughed at Sophia's dramatic performance, but her face still held that displeased expression as if Sophia owed her several bags of money. She simply took a backpack off her back and threw it on the ground: "You brought back the repair tools. If you think we're too slow, go by yourself next time."

"Anita, how many times have I told you? If you give me that sullen look again, I'll beat you up! I'll tear your face off! Ah!" Hollik was so angry at Abyss's attitude that he charged at Abyss, brandishing his staff.

Abyss rolled his eyes as Hollik gave him a few light punches, then looked at him and said, "Have you had enough? Don't exhaust yourself. We'll resurrect you after you die."

"Hehe, that's true. Master, you're so talented, it would be a pity if you died. We can't let you benefit someone else. It's better to keep the talent in the family and let your two disciples use it." Sophia had that smooth smile like Spin on her face, saying what seemed like a way to smooth things over but was actually adding fuel to the fire.

"Waaaaah!" Hollick roared in fury, but he was indeed exhausted. After shouting and yelling for a while, he turned and walked away angrily.

However, the anger of their "master" did not make Abis and Sophia nervous; on the contrary, they were quite happy.

“You did a good job this time, Sophia,” Abis said to Sophia in the shared mind. “To make Hollick this angry is just like their daily routine.”

The information I got from the necromancer brother and sister is that this pair of brothers and sisters, who completely disrespect their master, argue with their short-tempered master every day over these things. If they come back this time and everything is peaceful, then something is not right.

“He didn’t suspect us at all.” Sophia was very happy. “Although I had learned the techniques of impersonation before, this was the first time I used them in actual combat, and I didn’t expect to do so well.”

“Very good. According to their account, Hollik will go back to his room to sulk at this time, then drink and sleep. Let’s release their test subjects at this time,” Abis said to Sophia.

“Okay, let’s get started right away,” Sophia immediately agreed.

The Abyss was vehemently opposed to experimenting on living people, as it was a serious violation of the necromancer's code. Therefore, upon arriving here and confirming that he had not aroused Horlicks' suspicion, the first thing he had to do was release the experimental subject.

Abyss and Sophia also came to the basement room that they used specifically for their experiments, and saw Spence and Anita's experimental subjects.

Spencer's test subject was a young man who had been enchanted and was now being slowly roasted on a barbecue grill. The magic caused the man, who was groaning in pain, to freeze and melt continuously, protecting him from being burned by the flames.

He hasn't suffered any fatal injuries yet, but he's experiencing alternating chills and fever; if he stays in the heat for a while longer, he might not make it.

Anita's test subject—a boy who looked to be only ten years old—was locked in a cage, his limbs all chained, his emaciated body covered with bruises and whip marks, and he was currently unconscious.

Sophia casually cast an ice spell on the blazing grill, instantly extinguishing the flames, while the ice on the man's body rapidly thickened after the flames disappeared.

“A continuous ice spell that doesn’t need to be maintained is quite useful.” Abyss immediately recognized the spell cast on the man, chanted a spell, and easily dispelled it. “There is currently no way to achieve this kind of spell on the continent other than through a magic circle.”

“Phew, that’s enough of the tension. Let’s release them—oh, right, what’s our next step after that?” Sophia breathed a sigh of relief and then asked.

“We have to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll go to that necromancer’s trading post. We’re sure to get some useful information or something then,” Abyss replied. “After we fake their deaths and let them go, we’ll live like they normally do.”

"Oh... um?"

Sofia suddenly thought of something.

These two, a brother and sister, are having an affair. Their daily life seems a bit inappropriate for children.

Chapter 270 Human Pasture

Abyss looked around the room, then his gaze suddenly sharpened and landed on a spider in the corner of the room.

“Heh, just as I thought.” He said to Sophia through mind sharing, while subtly casting a very subtle spell on the seemingly inconspicuous spider. Now, his illusion had taken effect on the spider, and it would transmit incorrect information back to its master.

This was undoubtedly Hollick's spy. Although Anita and Spin were his disciples, he had never trusted them and had naturally planted spies here to monitor them. Anita and Spin were unaware of this, but who was the Abyss? A wraith spider might be insignificant to others, but to him, it was as conspicuous as a firefly.

After doing all this, he took the man who was tied to the fire and roasted down, and placed him in a cool, well-ventilated corner, letting him recover slowly from severe heatstroke.

"Hey, wake up."

Then, he opened the cage inside the room and unlocked the chains on the boy inside, who was covered in wounds.

Judging from the boy's appearance, Abyss knew that he must have suffered a lot of torment before. He didn't react at all when Abyss and Sophia entered the room, seemingly sleeping soundly. Only after Abyss unlocked his chains did he slowly open his eyes at Abyss's call.

What came into view was the face of Abyss, who was now disguised as Anita.

The boy was terrified. His already extremely weak body suddenly found strength and he rushed to Abyss's side, trying to escape.

Abyss grabbed the boy's arm, and he could no longer escape. The struggle had exhausted his last bit of strength, causing him to fall to the ground. Even so, he struggled to get up and run away.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t do anything to you.” Abyss smiled and used a simple illusion spell on the boy, temporarily suppressing his fear. This was magic that Anita herself knew, and Abyss wasn’t worried that the magical fluctuations caused by using this spell would arouse Hollik’s suspicion.

The boy's fear was temporarily dispelled by the Abyss's magic, and he regained a sliver of his reason. Only then did he raise his head and look timidly at the Abyss: "Is it my turn?"

“No, it’s not your turn anymore. All experiments have been terminated. You are free,” Abis said directly.

"Really!" Upon hearing this news, the boy didn't doubt it at all. He looked at Abyss with overjoyed excitement, his breathing even quickening. "Then where should I go?"

“Of course I can go wherever I want,” Abis asked. “Where is your home?”

“I have no home.” The boy’s answer was quite straightforward, which surprised Abyss.

According to Anita and Spin, the people they were experimenting on were all captured from the mainland, but they didn't seem to care much about their origins, simply using these test subjects allocated by the Council of the Dead as if it were perfectly natural. Logically, this boy should know where his home is, but now, looking at the boy with clear eyes, Abyss couldn't tell he was lying; he truly had no home.

"Are you a beggar?" Abyss asked.

“I am not a beggar, my name is Nax-132.”

The boy answered honestly. Logically speaking, the Abyss's illusion shouldn't have turned him into a fearless warrior, but rather reduced his fear to some extent, making him less panicked for the time being. However, after the Abyss said he was free, he seemed to truly believe what the Abyss said, and now he spoke with a happy expression.

Sofia, standing to the side, began to wonder: how could someone be so easily trusting? This boy didn't seem like a fool.

“This name…” Abis wanted to pinch his chin, but since he was playing Anita, he used Anis’s thoughtful gesture—biting his little fingernail. “Is your name a number?”

Nax is the name of a letter in an ancient language, and no one would use an ancient letter as their name—first of all, the local government would not allow you to fill in a non-official language in your household registration.

“Tell me about your past,” Sophia asked, stepping closer.

The boy nodded and began to tell his story. As he spoke, Abyss and Sophia grew increasingly astonished.