Is that a Wisp?

"We could have grabbed hold of Lord Krune during that chaos," Hazak said in frustration as he looked at Feifei. "Why did you prevent me from doing that?"

"Krune would be fine for the time being. If we show that he's our target, the Black Demons would surely increase the security around him. That would make it impossible for us to rescue him. Plus, it'll take me too long to reach the strength on par with a Black Demon. We don't have that much time with us," Feifei explained, calmly staring at a bone tree before her. 

"Plus," She continued, "It might not have seemed that way, but the moment you tried to head towards Krune, tens of Black Demons would have stopped you. Quite a few of them are faster than the current you. Even if you manage to grab hold of the ice cocoon, its weight would reduce your speed, allowing the demons to catch up to you easily."

"So, let's first lead them on in circles and look for an opportunity to rescue him," Feifei said. "I've already grabbed their attention. Sooner or later, they'll enter the labyrinth I have prepared for them."

A vast underground network, that was what she had been doing for the past two years after arriving at Layer 2. She couldn't do much on the ground without fear of running into the demons. So, she simply headed underground, using the Monster Geckos to do all the grunt work. 

She created an elaborate network of tunnels, layering each with bone trees to prevent them from collapsing as the network proceeded deep into the ground. It was quite a vast network. Not only that, but the deeper one went, the lower the density of the miasma got as all the bone tree layers in the tunnels absorbed them. 

Just in case she battled demons in the future, this was to prevent them from overwhelming her using their advantages. And now, Feifei was fully using it to her advantage, inviting the Black Demons into exploring it. 

It was a giant maze, one whose entire dimensions were beyond what even she could fathom. After all, she gave the commands to her underlings, who continued to increase in number and execute the task on their own. 

There were numerous chambers in the labyrinth where Monster Geckos were produced endlessly. It was easy to do so once she figured out a trick in her ability, or better yet, understood her ability to a greater extent. 

The bone tree that produced a regular Monster Gecko was three meters in height. After birthing a regular Monster Gecko, it wilted. But if Feifei used a bone tree that was about to birth a Monster Gecko King to birth regular Monster Geckos, it wouldn't ever wilt.

It would keep producing the regular Monster Geckos without stopping. And that's how she began to lay down farms that produced regular and Mutant Monster Geckos without limits. For a Mutant Monster Gecko, she used the bone tree that might have birthed an Emperor Monster Gecko. 

Even though she had invited them, the Black Demons were cautious. So, they hadn't entered the labyrinth yet. However, she was also glad with their decision. After all, she wasn't strong enough to face them yet. 

She wished for them to take as much time as possible so that she could grow stronger while increasing the number of forces and also their power. After all, as she grew, her active and passive abilities also grew as a result. 

So, it caused the strength of her Monster Gecko army to skyrocket accordingly. As for her, she headed to a completely remote location, constantly training to increase her strength. The labyrinth was just a ruse, after all. 

It was her plan to distract the Black Demons so that Krune's ice cocoon wouldn't take damage from their attacks. Otherwise, they might try to experiment in breaking it down. Considering their numbers, if they focused on it entirely, they would be able to completely destroy it in a month. 

Even considering all the energy in the Healing Extract and the Blood Essence Crystals Krune had taken with him into the ice cocoon, that's the maximum duration it could last under the constant attacks. So, Feifei had to do something to distract their focus. 

And what best to do other than to lure them in with their desires? Moreover, she painted herself with a persona of a deity, one that was simply observing them as ants, testing them to see their mettle. And if they proved themselves worthy, she might take them under her wing.

The labyrinth was a test for that. With that, the Black Demons would focus more on the labyrinth, her motives, and so on, distracting themselves from Krune over time. That was her goal. 

If they weren't actively attacking Krune's ice cocoon, the duration he could last out in the open would continue to increase. With that, she would eventually become strong enough to grab him and escape from the place. 

Feifei had created select chambers in the labyrinth that were filled with bone trees to produce regular and Mutant Monster Geckos. To feed them with the energy needed for that, she created numerous small pipes using the bone trees, trailing them towards the surface, causing them to absorb the miasma from there. 

Plus, every such chamber acted as the beating hearts for the labyrinths, turning into energy sources for the Monster Geckos to carry out all their activities. The higher-ups among the Monster Geckos relayed them the plan as they continued to expand the labyrinth. 

As for Feifei, she never had to be actively involved in it. All she had to do was activate her active ability and let it manage everything. After all, the Supreme Monster Gecko she had killed in Layer 3 was different from all the other Supreme Monsters. 

It had used the bone trees to absorb the intelligence of countless humans, even obtaining some exclusive abilities to strengthen itself even further. Surprisingly, they were carried over as its traits, making it different from a regular Supreme Monster Gecko. 

With that, it used her passive abilities to expand the labyrinth while Feifei simply trained nonstop, protected by Hazak.

'Even though the labyrinth isn't strong enough to kill a Black Demon, it's complex enough to trap one in it for pretty long.' Feifei clenched her hand into a fist, muttering, "Just you wait, Krune.. I'll save you shortly."