The Shelter Game: Me, Starting with a Tenfold Drop Rate

Chapter 302 The Battle Around the Abyss of Death

Surrounding the Abyss of Death were four massive marshes. These marshes were not directly connected, as there were peculiar forces isolating each one from the others. Anyone wishing to enter the Abyss of Death had to pass through one of these marshes.

Within the marshes, there were narrow paths that allowed a small team to advance. However, these paths were laden with numerous traps. Elder Lawrence and Sophia chose the marsh closest to them, eager to reach the Abyss of Death as quickly as possible.

Yet, within this marsh, the Night Blades had established a secret base. The members of the Night Blades had already learned of Elder Howard's death at the hands of Elder Lawrence, and they were fully prepared for a fight. Additionally, they had stockpiled a variety of powerful weapons in their secret base.

Even if their strength was significantly inferior to that of Elder Lawrence and Sophia, they could still mount a resistance, aided by their formidable armaments.

"We can't waste any time; we mustn't get entangled with them here! Let's use our power to completely destroy their stronghold!" Elder Lawrence said coldly, glaring at the members of the Night Blades hiding in their secret base.

He raised his staff and unleashed a powerful dark spell. While using dark magic around the Abyss of Death was a perilous endeavor, he cared little for the risks. His primary objective was to save time. With a violent explosion, the members of the Night Blades and their secret base were reduced to ashes by the dark forces.

Elder Lawrence and Sophia swiftly moved through the ruins of the base. However, shortly after they passed through, monsters began to emerge from beneath the wreckage. These creatures were drawn to the dark powers. As they appeared, the souls of the recently slain Night Blades members were reborn in the form of vengeful spirits.

A large number of these spirits coalesced to form a vengeful spirit horde. The horde surged toward Elder Lawrence. Although they had been killed, they retained the memories of their former lives. Their singular aim now was to eliminate Elder Lawrence and Sophia.

Elder Lawrence sensed the relentless pursuit of the vengeful spirits behind him but paid them no mind. He created a series of traps made from dark energy behind him, hoping to use them to block the spirits that had once been members of the Night Blades.

Elder Lawrence's actions met with some success, but he paid a corresponding price for it. His forward momentum had slowed significantly compared to before. Just as he was about to cross the marsh, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at the edge of the swamp. Upon recognizing the figure, Lawrence's expression darkened considerably.

Before him stood none other than the slain Elder Seville. The Night Blades had not wasted Elder Seville's soul; through some means, they had bound his soul to a puppet. This allowed Elder Seville to continue existing in a puppet-like form, still serving the Night Blades.

"How pathetic! You served the Night Blades in life, and now your soul must serve them in death! Don't you find that utterly unacceptable?" Lawrence called out slowly toward the distant Elder Seville.

Lawrence believed he could defeat Elder Seville. However, he also thought that fighting him would consume a lot of time. Therefore, he hoped to persuade him not to become his enemy.

But Elder Seville offered no reply; instead, he rejected Lawrence's plea with a direct attack. He extended his left hand, and five black orbs began to revolve rapidly around it. Then, one after another, shadowy figures flew out from the black orbs, racing toward Elder Lawrence.

Seeing this, Lawrence struck his staff against the ground. A surge of dark energy erupted from beneath the marsh, binding all the shadowy figures and converting them into puppets that Lawrence could control.

The first round of their confrontation ended with a slight advantage for Elder Lawrence. However, Elder Seville would not easily give up. His soul clung to a singular belief: to guard this place and absolutely prevent anyone from passing through.

Elder Seville gathered all his dark power, and numerous shadowy figures appeared beside him. These figures contained fragments of the souls of Night Blades members, giving their attacks tremendous lethality.

Upon witnessing this, Lawrence turned to Sophia beside him and said, "I must continue fighting him here! You don't need to wait for me any longer! Hurry and move deeper into the Abyss of Death!"

Upon hearing this, Sophia immediately advanced toward the Abyss of Death at full speed. Naturally, Elder Seville would not allow this to happen. He chose to redirect his attacks toward Sophia.

However, Elder Seville's actions did not succeed; Elder Lawrence positioned himself between Seville and Sophia.

"Your opponent is me! I will not allow you to interfere with Sophia's actions until you defeat me!"

Lawrence's plan had worked. He blocked Elder Seville's attacks, allowing Sophia to advance toward the Abyss of Death at full speed.

The moment Sophia touched the Abyss of Death, an astonishing power erupted from within. A massive surge of dark energy flowed out from the Abyss, but this was something everyone had anticipated. Neither Sophia nor Elder Lawrence had come seeking this dark power.

Without hesitation, Sophia jumped into the Abyss of Death. The instant Lawrence saw her action, a triumphant smile spread across his face.

"Even if you keep trying to stop me, my plan will not fail! Sophia will help me achieve ultimate success! Neither you nor any other members of the Night Blades can prevent me. I will ultimately possess all the power within the Abyss of Death, and I will become the ruler of the entire Abyss of Death, even the ruler of the entire Shelter world!"

Elder Lawrence believed his plan had already succeeded. But no sooner had he spoken these words than he felt a powerful presence behind him.

"Isn't it a bit premature to say that? Your plan has not been successful yet! Even if the Night Blades cannot stop your plan, I have the ability to do so!"

The speaker was Irving. He had ultimately decided not to bring Benjamin with him, realizing that having Benjamin along would slow him down. So, Irving had left Benjamin behind partway through.

After hurrying along, Irving finally reached Lawrence's side just before Lawrence could claim victory.

Lawrence turned around and glared at Irving. "Why do you always oppose me? Is my hatred for you greater than your hatred for the Night Blades?"

Lawrence could not understand why Irving had been so persistent in opposing him.

Upon hearing this, Irving let out a cold laugh. "My friend is still in your hands! And you brainwashed Sophia! Do you really think I could coexist peacefully with you after all that?"

Upon hearing this, Elder Lawrence chuckled.

"You truly are not a real strongman; a true strongman wouldn't concern himself with such matters. Your companions are all very weak, so why challenge me because of these weaklings? Moreover, the power you possess is simply insufficient to defeat me! Even if you team up with this puppet before me, you would still be utterly incapable of overcoming me!"

After saying this, Elder Lawrence shifted his target of attack, choosing to focus on Irving first. Although Elder Seville posed a significant threat to Lawrence, he lacked intelligence. Seville could only fight based on instinct.

Irving, on the other hand, was different. He had demonstrated a capacity for adaptability throughout all his previous actions. If Lawrence couldn't defeat Irving quickly, the longer the battle dragged on, the more likely Irving would devise a way to completely destroy Lawrence's plans.

Elder Lawrence transformed into a swirling mass of black mist and sped toward Irving. Irving was well aware of his opponent's attack methods. He had previously engaged in a long battle with Elder Howard, making him quite familiar with the mist formed by dark powers.

Irving summoned the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl to create a barrier that not only prevented the encroachment of dark forces but also allowed him to see his opponent's position within the mist.

Thus, a fierce clash ensued between Irving and Elder Lawrence.

Not far from them, Elder Seville gazed with his murky, lifeless eyes at the struggle between Irving and Lawrence. In the end, he chose not to intervene in the fight; instead, he moved deeper into the Abyss of Death.

Elder Seville's fundamental purpose was to stop anyone from reaching the deepest part of the Abyss of Death. Since Sophia had already entered the Abyss, Elder Seville had to first halt her progress.

As Elder Seville jumped into the Abyss of Death, the Abyss began to change form once again. This time, it emanated not only dark power but also the power of death. The surrounding areas were affected accordingly. Even Benjamin, who had not yet reached the Abyss of Death but was close enough, felt the changes taking place.

"What's going on? I can't miss this crucial battle! Please, let my delay not lead to the failure of our plan!"