Chapter 1: My Maze (2)
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Five thousand undead creatures sound like quite the army, but given the System’s nature, Lin Nan knew without much thought that high-level undead would definitely be few and far between.
When the randomly assigned numbers finally appeared before her eyes, she chuckled coldly—not surprised at all.
【5000 undead creatures, including 1085 skeleton warriors, 1000 skeleton archers, 800 kitchen kn*fe zombies, 500 cleaver zombies, 500 ghosts, 300 wraiths, 300 undead mages, 200 undead archmages, 200 liches, 100 great liches, 10 bone dragons, and 5 ghost dragons.】
From her years of gaming experience, she judged that ghosts, wraiths, and undead mages were mid-tier undead, while undead archmages and above were high-tier. But there were only about 500 high-tier creatures in total, overshadowed by the lowly skeletons and zombies, which were basically the enemy’s experience farming tools.
This gave Lin Nan quite a headache.
Bone dragons and ghost dragons could be considered mini-bosses, but according to the rules, Lin Nan could only dictate their spawn locations and timings—she couldn’t control their actions directly.
At this point, she would need the likes of Trissa and the demon race crew to take the lead and command them on-site.
This way, they could weaken the enemy’s living forces before they reached the final boss.
“System, do mini-bosses have the authority to command their subordinates?”
Lin Nan asked the System once more.
【Of course, that is indeed within your authority.】
Great! Now the next task was to explain to Trissa and the others that they would become the maze bosses.
That was certainly going to be a challenge.
While pondering, Lin Nan observed the panoramic view.
At that moment, Fu Yetian was hopping downwards like an energizer bunny and quickly reached the 25th floor.
Meanwhile, the Tiger Demon Zi Yi and the main forces of the demon race were advancing rapidly.
Little did they know, waiting for them was Lin Nan, who was watching them like a hawk, keen on halting their progress.
As the maze’s ultimate boss, Lin Nan still retained some perks.
After thinking it over, to successfully recruit Trissa and the others, ordinary explanations and pleasantries might scare them off. Maybe it was better to…
Suddenly, the nervous Trissa and her companions, hiding behind a rock and keeping a watchful eye on the enemy’s movements, felt a flash in front of them.
In an instant, it was as if they had been transported to a dream where a stream babbled and flowers bloomed in a forest.
Trissa couldn’t help but gasp “Ah!” before quickly covering her mouth.
Realizing she was no longer in the underground cave, she slowly released her grip on her mouth, utterly astonished.
“What… what is going on here?”
The others were equally dumbfounded, glancing around.
Beneath their feet, colorful fish joyfully leaped in the clear stream.
Surrounding them were vast patches of hibiscus flowers, and the forest seemed to be shrouded in a mesmerizing white mist, incredibly inviting.
“Lord Lin, this…”
Trissa looked left and right, almost unable to believe her eyes, until she pinched her thigh hard enough to feel pain, finally casting a nervous glance at Lin Nan, who remained composed.
“Shh… listen carefully.”
Lin Nan put a finger to her lips.
Trissa and the others immediately held their breath. Sure enough, after calming down, they could faintly hear a melodious harp playing in the distance.
“It’s a harp!”
Trissa, once hailed as a genius harpist, could tell immediately that the sound was unmistakably that of a harp.
It was already mind-boggling to be suddenly transported from the Sky Tower’s underground to a forest; hearing the beautiful harp music now left everyone even more bewildered.
At this moment, their rock-solid leader Lin Nan made a decision. “Let’s go check it out. Perhaps the one playing the harp is hoping for us to follow the sound.”
Naturally, Trissa and the others, who had loyally followed Lin Nan, closely trailed her towards the source of the music.
They thought they might encounter some trouble along the way, but it turned out they were just being overly cautious.
Apart from increasingly beautiful scenery and enticing fragrances, they faced no obstacles until they arrived at the edge of a vast sea of flowers.
At the center of this wave-like flower sea stood a towering swing.
A woman dressed in a flowing white gown was gracefully seated on the gently swaying swing, one hand gripping the ropes while the other casually strummed a simple four-stringed harp.
What astonished Trissa even more was that the four-stringed harp, with its limited range meant for emergencies on the battlefield, was being used by this extraordinary woman—whose grace and beauty radiated from afar—to produce an incredibly rich array of musical tones.
It turned the impossible into reality—unless…
Trissa and Lin Nan exchanged a glance, and they both found the answer in each other’s eyes.
The God of Harmony! Only the God of Harmony could extract such beautiful music from the most rudimentary of instruments. Even a single leaf in her hands could transform from decay to magic.
They dared not interrupt the Muse’s performance, especially in this boundless and ethereal flower sea. Listening to the enchanting celestial music that cleansed their souls made standing there for eternity feel like a blessing.
After a while, as the ethereal notes in the air slowly calmed down, everyone exhaled deeply, as if their spirits had been elevated.
“With such an opportunity, how can we not pay our respects?” Lin Nan stated.
“Ah… do we really have to disturb the goddess?”
The once proud Trissa, after listening to Lin Nan and the God of Harmony’s music, finally understood what it meant to be a frog at the bottom of a well.
In her youthful arrogance, she had once thought herself the God of Harmony, but now she realized how shallow and self-important she had been back then.
After enduring continuous blows to her self-image, her disposition began to humble, solidifying her determination to follow Lin Nan closely and learn from her.
Encountering the legendary God of Harmony and having the chance to face her filled her with indescribable nerves and sweat. And seeing Lin Nan maintain her calm demeanor despite their serendipitous meeting with the goddess made her painfully aware of the gap between them.
Just the level-headedness Lin Nan displayed would take Trissa a whole decade to master.
Under Lin Nan’s guidance, the group cautiously traversed the flower sea, with the increasingly sweet floral scent and dancing petals arousing their spirits uncontrollably.
“You have come.”
A gentle voice resonated in their minds, and Trissa could no longer hold back, promptly dropping to her knees in the flower field along with her fellow demon race members.
Even with the Muse’s benevolence and beauty, they dared not meet the divine gaze.
“Yes, beautiful Muse,” Lin Nan replied, bowing slightly while her gaze inadvertently drifted to the kneeling Trissa and her companions.
Seems like the effect is pretty good!
