"Squeak squeak!"
Inside the cave, Bona and Robocco used magical lighting around them to see what was happening below.
Endless mice were squirming below, and the giant pair of scarlet eyes they saw previously was the mother that had nurtured and divided these mice.
It was a giant, bloated rat.
When they saw the entirety of the scene below, accompanied by three screams, the three beastfolks in the cage fainted on the spot.
Even Bona and Robocco felt overwhelmed when they saw this.
Any normal person would have a nightmare seeing this scene.
As cultists, their psychological endurance was undoubtedly high.
Still, after confronting such a terrifying scene, they could not help but feel apprehensive.
"These rats weren't here just now. Where did these things come from?"
Robocco looked embarrassed. If possible, he wanted to turn around and not look at the mice below.
However, for the sake of his life, he had to pay attention to the situation below just in case.
Robocco answered without hesitation, "It's probably a mutated monster that was affected by the ritual."
Robocco could imagine the reason for such a monster's appearance without much thought.
It had happened before, so Robocco was not surprised.
In the past, such things were often encountered by nearby adventurers or experts sent by officials to deal with them.
It was their first time encountering something like this.
"We're unlucky this time."
This kind of mutation was rare but not uncommon. In short, it was dependent on luck.
Now that he had encountered it, Robocco could only blame his luck.
Bona felt helpless. Looking at the mice that filled the entire square in the blink of an eye, he could not help but complain.
"Look at what the ritual team did. They can't even stop causing trouble after dying, leaving such a huge problem behind."
A steady stream of mice separated from the giant rat, and the mice rapidly spread in all directions like a drop of ink falling into a basin.
Countless rats were climbing the walls as they spoke.
It seemed like they wanted to attack the two while they were in the air.
"Let's go!"
Robocco patted Liveras beneath him.
Liveras immediately understood what he meant. Hot energy condensed in its mouth, shooting a stream of flames that landed on the rats below.
"Squeak squeak!"
The surrounding rats immediately dispersed.
Some of the rats further away tried various methods to attack Robocco and the others in the sky.
Soon, there was progress for the rats.
One by one, the rats climbed onto each other.
They tried to use their bodies to build a ladder through the stacking method, but Bona noticed it soon.
"These rats can actually think. They are intelligent!"
Bona was shocked by the mouse's actions.
Upon hearing Bona's exclamation, Robocco noticed it too. He was shocked as well.
Typically, monsters that got mutated by the ritual would fall into madness and lose their minds.
However, these rats did not show any signs of that.
"Unbelievable, this is simply unbelievable."
While surprised, Robocco seemed to have thought of something, and his expression became pious and fanatical.
"Is this all because of the Goddess's power? Yes, it must be. Only the Goddess's power is this incredible."
"The power of the Goddess?" Bona was stunned for a moment. He fell silent as he looked at the figures who were struggling to climb up the ladder in unison.
Perhaps only the Goddess could make a tiny rat so intelligent.
If no one controlled these rats, they might be able to build their own country in a few hundred years.
Bona shuddered at the thought of the mouse's founding of a country.
"No, I can't let that happen. Damn rats, watch this."
As the incantation sounded, white mist seeped out of Bona's bone staff, followed by a string of disturbing faces.
The anguished wails of despair began to reverberate through the air above the square.
The moment the sound came, the rats below immediately quietened down, including the giant and most deformed mother rat.
Pairs of scarlet eyes stared hard at the smoke around Bona.
Seeing this, Robocco suddenly understood why the giant rat had appeared.
"Damn it, Bona! You're getting me killed this time."
"What the hell." Bona was stunned as he looked into the eyes of countless rats.
Then, he cursed unhappily.
"Damn it! I shouldn't have used this."
He had only prepared a barrier to protect himself just in case. He did not expect that it was this barrier that attracted the giant rat over.
"If only I'd known earlier."
As he waved his magic staff, smoke diffused, and countless white skeleton soldiers appeared in the white fog.
"Stop! Can't you tell that they like this?"
"Of course I know that, but look over there!"
Robocco immediately understood what his partner meant.
"It's the exit!"
"Let's escape from there while these rats are distracted by the dead souls."
"Alright!"
Robocco patted Liveras and sounded excited.
We're finally saying goodbye to these damn rats!
"Let's go, Liveras."
Roar!
Liveras responded and rushed for the exit.
Bona looked behind him. All the rats were captivated by his necromancy, and not a single rat came after them.
Bona could not help but shout excitedly.
"Great! Those damn rats didn't come."
At this moment, Bona suddenly heard the sound of running water. It sounded familiar.
He could vaguely sense that something was amiss.
Crash!
"Buddy, did you hear anything?"
Bona was slightly startled. Then, he looked at Robocco and saw that his expression was ugly.
Bona had a bad feeling when he saw Robocco's expression.
Crash!
The sound of flowing water continued. At this moment, Robocco finally said, "I suddenly remembered something. If those rat demons were attracted by your barrier, then what was Liveras wary of in the beginning?"
Crash!
At this moment, the sound of flowing water was getting louder and louder as it approached.
Bona and Robocco looked in the direction of the voice with ashen faces.