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Chapter 155: The Groups Entering the Mountain
At the foot of the mountain, groups of dwarves and cloaked figures moved cautiously. Even though the heavenly tribulation had dispersed, they still dared not approach too closely, as a lingering fear held fast in their hearts. The power of the tribulation exceeded anything they had experienced before, as if signaling the end of the world, leaving them tempted to abandon the mission altogether.
Among them was Vandal, a guardian of the Badin family, clad in middle divine-grade armor. Despite his protective gear, his face was pale with anxiety, still haunted by the experience he had just endured. Now, he had to get even closer to the site of the heavenly tribulation. The fierce wind phenomenon, something he would normally dread, had been all but forgotten amid the overwhelming fear that gripped him.
However, Duke Badin continued to pressure everyone to search the mountain for any clues, still insisting on capturing Mardred and obtaining the blueprint. Duke Badin was also supported by groups of cloaked men, though they still wondered about their identities. Duke Badin appeared unusually polite to the two leaders of the cloaked group, and the men accompanying them seemed quite formidable.
But Vandal noticed something strange about these cloaked men. After the heavenly tribulation, their once-mysterious and powerful entrance suddenly faltered, and they appeared even more anxious than the dwarves. This made him wonder if these men were truly reliable as their support.
They appeared even more frightened than the dwarves, despite having an average cultivation level much higher than all his groups. Although their faces were masked, their anxiety was evident as they moved closer to the mountain, even while still at its base.
Vandal sighed, hoping these men wouldn’t become a burden on their journey ahead. The dwarves had already formed a defensive formation, their artifacts ready, especially for the feared phenomenon of the deadly wind. By now, all paths leading to and from the mountain were blocked by their own forces, ensuring that nothing within the mountain could escape without taking an unusual and far harsher route.
Only after an hour of walking did Vandal and the others realize that the wind phenomenon, which should have appeared when they first entered the mountain, was nowhere to be felt. This absence confused them, but their lingering fear of the heavens had delayed their awareness until now. The area was still saturated with a heavy heavenly aura, constantly reminding them of the tribulation.
The dwarves also observed that the cloaked men seemed to tremble and sweat more as they ventured further into this heavenly zone. While the dwarves were still uneasy in the presence of the heavenly aura, they pressed on, but it was clear that the cloaked men were struggling to keep themselves from fleeing.
Vandal looked at one of the cloaked men and asked, "Hey, if you can’t handle being here, you should turn back. I don’t want anyone becoming a burden if something happens—or worse, running away when things get tough."
The man he spoke to had a cultivation level at the low king stage, just like Vandal . However, the cloaked figure remained silent, and Vandal said nothing more; if they chose to continue and ended up as a burden, he would deal with it accordingly.
Though the cloaked man kept his silence, he cursed Vandal in his mind for underestimating him.
"This short little bastard dares to talk to me like that? In normal circumstances, you’d be dead a hundred times over!" For now, though, he had to endure. Not only was Vandal wearing middle divine-grade armor, but the thick heavenly aura and energy in the area made every step toward the mountain’s center even harder to bear.
This was very bad news for him and the rest of his group following close behind, as the heavenly aura and energy here were their greatest weaknesses. All of them were devils, and this kind of environment was unbearable for them. The heavenly energy was corroding their power, and with nothing to shield them from the heavenly elements, the effect was severe. Who could have known someone would trigger a heavenly tribulation here—and on a scale never seen before?
After a few hours, they finally arrived at the artificial land bridge, the place where Vandal had previously been forced to turn back with all his subordinates due to the ferocity of the winds in this section. He had lost several men here before, so returning to this spot irritated him. Beyond the bridge lay the vast, rocky field where Aldrian had comprehended death laws and undergone his heavenly tribulation, marking it as the very heart of the tribulation’s impact.
The heavenly energy here was so overwhelming that each dwarf felt the urge to prostrate, especially in the direction where Aldrian had stood during his tribulation. For the dwarves, the aura inspired full reverence, but for the devils, it was disastrous, with their powers already weakened by half. They had never felt this debilitated merely from the residual effects of a heavenly tribulation, and it left them feeling dreadfully vulnerable.
Despite lingering doubts, the group pressed on and crossed the bridge. As they glanced into the depths of the gorge, they shuddered, silently praying that the wind wouldn’t suddenly return to hurl them off. When they finally reached the other side, many sighed in relief, and once everyone was across, they found themselves on the rocky field.
Here, the heavenly energy and aura were thickest, making it almost unbearable for the devils, who felt an intense urge to escape. Yet they knew that desertion would only lead to certain death as punishment for disobedience—their leader was far more ruthless than any of them.
Thinking of their leader, they forced themselves to push aside their fear and weakness, beginning to walk again. The dwarves and devils moved in groups, when suddenly, they spotted a silhouette—a figure of a man. They halted, standing warily as they drew their various artifacts: hammers, swords, spears, and shields. The mere presence of someone here, in the aftermath of that terrifying heavenly tribulation, made them suspect that this man might be the one who had endured it.
The devils also fixed their eyes on the man standing there, though they struggled to detect him amidst the thick heavenly energy and aura. The figure was a young man with black hair and blue eyes, yet they couldn’t sense his cultivation level. He stood with his eyes closed, emanating an aura that made them uneasy, but they suppressed their instincts, keeping their distance.
"Who are you? State your name!" Vandal shouted at the young man.
The young man remained silent, his eyes still closed, ignoring them. Vandal, feeling a creeping sense of foreboding as he watched the figure, cautiously approached with a group of dwarves, intending to move closer. However, they all froze as the young man opened his eyes—and then, they heard his voice.
"Over a thousand dwarves surrounding this place—a considerable force you’ve gathered. And the devils also sent nearly a thousand of their own. Is the blueprint and Mardred really that important to you?" Aldrian remarked calmly.
He had been waiting here, at the very spot where he’d undergone his tribulation, anticipating their arrival. This was the only path to the cave where the secret realm lay hidden, so these groups would have no choice but to pass him to reach Mardred.
The dwarves were stunned by the young man’s question. Two things puzzled them: how did he know their objective, and what was he talking about? The devils? Where were these supposed devils? Suddenly, Vandal and the others thought of the cloaked men who had joined them. Could they be the devils?
"What are you talking about, boy? We don’t see any devils here, so stop your nonsense!" Vandal shouted, though unease crept into his voice. In truth, he didn’t know if the cloaked figures were devils or not, and he didn’t want to find out. If they were, it meant they’d have to silence this young man at any cost to keep that secret.
Observing the dwarves confusion and their intent, Aldrian realized that these groups of dwarves truly had no idea they were working alongside devils.
"Duke Badin is quite the meticulous planner," Aldrian mused, "not even telling his subordinates that these cloaked men are devils."
Aldrian then directed his gaze at the strongest devil in the group, the one Vandal had spoken to earlier. "Well, devils or not, the truth will reveal itself. Isn’t that right, Xarz Raliath?" he said, addressing the devil directly.
Without warning, the devils surged forward, unleashing their artifacts and various techniques in a single, relentless assault on Aldrian. It seemed they no longer cared that their identities had been exposed; their only focus now was to eliminate the young man before them.
As the attacks bore down on him, Aldrian remained calm. With a mere shift of his will, the space around him seemed to distort, becoming fragile. Suddenly, it cracked open, swallowing every attack in an instant before sealing itself shut again.
The devils, charging with full force, froze in shock, unnerved by the abrupt manifestation of space laws. But even more chilling was the predatory glint in Aldrian’s eyes as he watched them.
"Thank you for coming. Truly generous of you to deliver yourselves to me," he remarked.
What the dwarves witnessed next was a scene they would later describe as "Carnage."
