“So you really want to place your hope on the bespectacled man?” Simba was worried, as he did not believe in that fellow. “What if we can’t find the exit?”
“Regardless of his motive, I believe what he has said.” replied Wang Zhong. At this moment, he was worried about Ma Dong and his other friends. Nevertheless, thinking about the strength of Assassin, coupled with the assistance of the Potter Family, they should not be facing too big of a problem. Furthermore, Ma Dong was smarter than him in dealing with such matters.
Simba responded with 2 dry chuckles. Although he had raised the idea of heading back to the army camp, after a more detailed thought, he knew that with the combat might and personnel present over there, death was 100% guaranteed. Furthermore, it was impossible for Wang Zhong to fight head-on against the armed forces. “Ah well, there will always be a way.”
“I’m worried about Ma Dong and the others.”
“Damn it!” Simba patted his chest. “Are they trying to change the heavens? As long as we get out of here, we can just tour around a few of the Federation’s dimensional base stations to give them a scare. Doesn’t our “Fate Master” character have quite a powerful reputation in the Federation? If we do this, we’ll scare the living daylights out of them! If not, we can gather baldy (Mu Zi) and streaking man (Aiolos) together! The 4 of us can go and squash those Federation dimensional base stations, and force them to release us! Hmph! So they think they can find trouble with their puny strength?”
Although it sounded like a child’s tantrum, that might really be a viable plan if they were able to find the spatial coordinate and get out of this hellhole. Nevertheless, it might also be a bad one, as the Federation’s overall might was indeed unfathomable. With just the 4 of them, they wouldn’t be capable of creating shockwaves large enough to shake the Federation’s foundation.
“Let’s talk about that after we get out of here.” Since they were already in deep shit, being pessimistic would only worsen the situation. On the contrary, being optimistic and positive was the right way to face this matter.
Wang Zhong nodded his head, tossing all of his frustrations away and replacing it with a hearty chuckle. Simba’s power had shown its effectiveness once again. However, he might get beaten to death by Aiolos should the latter find out about the nickname of “streaking man” that Simba had given him. The progression of his strength from the epic final CHF showdown had given him a clear picture of the terrifying strength that Aiolos and Mu Zi had. In terms of pure combat strength, there was still a massive disparity between him and the other 2.
After a day’s journey, they were finally able to see the edges of the desert when noon arrived.
Far in the distance, a majestic mountain came into sight. Although it wasn’t covered in greenery, it would be as good as striking the lottery if they spotted something that looked like a cave where they could rest. That would basically be paradise for them, having endured the scorching hot sun beating down on them for an entire day.
Little Xin could not help but cheer loudly. Even Sister Hong, with her extremely exhausted expression, could not help but reveal a smile on her face, while her already fatigued legs started to be filled with some additional power.
“After crossing that ring-shaped mountain range, we will reach the meteorite crater, the so-called passageway to hell in this cursed lands,” said Gong Yi, as a sliver of a smile appeared on his tired face. “That region is the main area where Evil Demon Blood is harvested. If we enter the second layer, the Evil Demon life forms present there aren’t easy to kill. Furthermore, there are extremely few Evil Demon life forms inhabiting this mountain range, so it’s rather safe for us to stay there. We can find a place to establish our collection point for harvesting Evil Demon Blood, as we’ll probably be staying there for a few days.”
Originally, all of them believed that they could find a place to rest before night fell. However, due to them running all the way, while being subjected to the 7x gravity, the consumption of their bodily strength was considerably massive, resulting in them being extremely tired and exhausted. Therefore, despite appearing right before their eyes, it still took them 2 to 3 hours before they finally arrived at the base of the mountain range.
After moving along the massive mountain range for 20 to 30 kilometers, the group of incomparably exhausted people finally found a narrow valley to tread through. By then, night had already covered the entire area.
The night in this place was exceedingly dark, filling the air with much more dark energy than in the desert. The density so high that even their torchlight beams were being devoured, resulting in them only able to see 2 to 3 meters ahead.
There were no stars sparkling in the skies, making them feel as though the entire area had been covered by jet black curtains. It was pitch-dark, and there was already no difference between opening or closing their eyes.
The unknowns and uncertainties contained within the darkness were the roots of terror within people. From time to time, they would hear terrifying sounds ringing out from the depths of the ring-shaped mountain ranges, sounding just like the shrieks and howls of Evil Demons, shaking their minds and souls.
Gong Yi no longer dared to lead everyone to grope around blindly in the darkness. Without talking about this jet black night, it was also nigh impossible for them to orientate themselves with just the weak lights coming from their torches.
Fortunately, as they moved and groped around, they found a sizable cave present by the side of the mountain. Present at the entrance was a pile of bones originating from life forms that had probably died many ages ago, causing them to emit a pungent rotting smell which caused disgust to surge in their hearts. Nevertheless, as opposed to the terror from the jet-black darkness, the discomfort from the smell was utterly insignificant.
There were many bones that made up the large pile, while most of the flesh had already been picked clean. From the proportions of the bones, they appeared to originate from bird-like life forms that possessed 2 heads, and had massive degeneration of their wing structures. Their long beaks were filled with razor-sharp teeth that reflected a chilling glint under the torchlight, causing their hearts to palpitate in fear.
The 3 men present immediately took action together, enduring the disgusting smell as they shifted all of the bones out from the cave. Using those bones, they built a ragged makeshift fence to seal up the entrance of the cave. All while doing so, they started to gradually adapt to the darkness.
The only issue they faced while running through the desert was physical fatigue. However, upon arriving here, the fringes of the doors of hell, and hearing the waves of demonic roars, ghostly wails, and wolf howls coming from the depths of the meteorite crater, their fear and terror were raised to their limits when coupled with the descent of jet-black darkness. Therefore, only when day broke did everyone breathe a long sigh of relief.
Even Wang Zhong was unable to endure the drain on his physical strength after running all day long under the 7x gravity. By his side, Sister Hong was so tired that she couldn’t even sit up straight. Nevertheless, all of them had to relax, so they proceeded to gather around the firepit to eat some dry rations.
After everyone started to slowly regain their strength, Gong Yi proceeded to take advantage of this mealtime to explain the detailed plan to everyone.
Although everyone knew that they had to harvest Evil Demon Blood, this was just a general term used to describe the item being harvested, and not the particular life form they needed to harvest it from. Every dimensional life form present in the cursed lands was classified as Evil Demons. Although it was unsure whether they were the evil demons referred to by people, during the process of researching the dimensional worlds, mankind still followed along with their culture, appropriately bestowing this name upon the life forms that lived within those projection worlds.
Every life form present here possessed Evil Demon Blood, and they could not be found anywhere else. As of now, the cursed lands was the only place where it could be harvested. Furthermore, the harvesting method was extremely difficult to execute successfully, as it had to be collected instantly upon the death of the life form.
“The majority of the life forms that move around within the 1st layer of hell are small rock hell Evil Demons.” Gong Yi proceeded to draw a rough sketch of a humanoid figure on the ground. “They’re humanoid-shaped figures, and appear extremely skinny in size. Their eyes burn with hellish flames, and they aren’t very big, standing around the height of little Xin. They’re most likely the weakest life forms present in the cursed lands, and are the easiest targets for the harvesting of Evil Demon Blood. However, the term “easiest” is relative. According to the information collected by the armed forces, they are classified as 3rd rank life forms, and possess combat strength higher than that of 3rd rank mutated beasts.”
Frowns appeared on the faces of Sister Hong and scarface upon hearing this.
The weakest life forms here were of the 3rd rank? Both of them had assumed that there would only be 1st or 2nd rank dimensional life forms present here, as this was supposedly the most relaxed outermost layer of the cursed lands. Truthfully speaking, it was extremely troublesome for an ordinary Heroic Soul Stage soldier to deal with a 3rd rank dimensional life form.
However, the troublesome matters unfortunately didn’t end here.
“The most troublesome aspect is that those small rock hell Evil Demons have a herd mentality.” Gong Yi tapped his finger on the ground. “Ordinarily speaking, they will always move around in a herd, with there being at least 200 to 300 heads within one. With our strength, death will be inevitable if we alarm them and get surrounded by the entire herd. Therefore, we can only grab and snatch when they’re alone. Perhaps, we might meet 1 or 2 that move by themselves. We can deal with at most a dozen of them at one time, though that would already be extremely dangerous, as well as being extremely energy-consuming. We should absolutely not take action if there are over 5 small Evil Demons together. With my estimation based on the resources given to us, spending a month here will not affect our journey to the 4th layer to search for the spatial coordinate.”
“The small Evil Demons can move at very high speeds, and are also very agile, so its extremely easy for them to escape if we get careless. If they escape and bring back large numbers of compatriots, we might not be able to end up with a clean victory. Furthermore, if the fight drags on for too long, it will attract the nearby small Evil Demons.” He looked towards Wang Zhong and little Xin. “Therefore, we need a formation even if we encounter individual ones. Me, Reynolds and Sister Hong will be our main fighting force that will create a surrounding ambush. As for you two, you need to lure them over to us.”
Although Wang Zhong nodded his head in agreement, a look of fear instantly appeared on little Xin’s face. Appearing to resonate with the little girl, Sister Hong butted in. “How can a little girl go out and lure enemies? Before she can lure Evil Demons over, she’ll become dessert for them.”
Little Xin nodded her head furiously as she shot an emotional gaze towards Sister Hong.
However, Gong Yi only smiled in response. Naturally, both he and Reynolds knew what Cao Hong was talking about, causing him to reply in an indifferent tone. “There’s no one out there who would endanger their lives for others without any reason. We’re a group, so everyone has to contribute so that everyone can stay alive, regardless of who they are! If they don’t contribute, why should others risk their lives for them?”
“Don’t we have enough people here?” Sister Hong curled her mouth. If this pure little girl’s face was damaged, how would she be able to do any business in the future?
“You want to let Wang Zhong take the risk every single time? Do you think it’s fair for him?”
“Furthermore, little Xin performed pretty well throughout yesterday’s rush. She’s able to keep up with us even under the 7x gravity.” He replied while shooting an ambiguous look towards the little lass. “Have you really not done any training before? Did you rely purely on medicines to cast your Heroic Soul?”
Little Xin nodded her head shyly, though she proceeded to reply with haste. “I’ve said that I can run very fast. After casting my Heroic Soul, I’ve gone through some trainings with my family’s bodyguards. They’ve said that I’m pretty talented in combat, though I’ve destroyed my roots by using the medicines too early… I, I will go and lure those small Evil Demons over! I’m fine, Sister Hong!”
“Aristocratic families are just so high-maintenance.” said Sister Hong as she shook her head. Nevertheless, she still agreed with the plan in the end.
Gong Yi made some further arrangements, before getting a more detailed understanding of Sister Red and Reynolds’s combat strength. Both of them were pure Heroic Soul Stage soldiers without any special abilities whatsoever.
Reynolds used a runic blade, possessed great strength, and excelled at offence. Sister Hong excelled in using soft weapons. The armed forces had included a barbed whip in the weapons attached to the backpacks, allowing her to launch attacks from a distance. Gong Yi was half an assassin, as, after all, he had been with the Gui Family for a very long period of time. His weapon of choice was a runic shortsword.
There weren’t any roles for Wang Zhong and little Xin in terms of combat, as one of them was a little lass that had casted her Heroic Soul via medicines, while the other was a Casted Soul Stage student who merely had a pretty good physical strength. Clearly, their combat strength wasn’t something that Gong Yi would take into consideration. Clearly, luring the small Evil Demons into their ambush should be their number 1 priority.
“That ass is clearly looking down on people! He actually dares to underestimate our Wang Zhong! I’ll fight 10 of him!” Simba started shouting rampantly in Wang Zhong’s Soul Sea, obviously feeling extremely dissatisfied with this division of roles. “That bespectacled male should be the one to lure those freaks over! You’re not an assassin, right? There’s definitely no issue with him doing the luring, and who gives a shit if he’s a Heroic Soul Stage! Let me come out and seek justice!”
Immediately, Wang Zhong completely ignored Simba. At this time, it would be utterly idiotic to act pretentiously. Frankly speaking, most Heroic Soul Stage soldiers did not mean anything to Wang Zhong. Nevertheless, with him hiding his true strength, how could he be sure that the others were showing their true strength?
Although everyone was collaborating together to get out of this vile place, everyone still had their guard up against one another. On the surface, Cao Hong appeared to be protecting the little loli, though wasn’t it the same as forming an alliance. On the other side, there was Gong Yi and Reynolds. All of the people here were cunning and shrewd.
After completing the arrangements towards the hunting of the small Evil Demons, Gong Yi appeared as if he were reaching his limits, removing his spectacles to rub his temples in exhaustion. Stopping to talk about matters concerning the cursed lands, he proceeded to ask more relaxing questions towards everyone.
If they weren’t able to relax a little when in such an environment and under such pressure, their tightly-wound minds might snap, causing them to go mad. Clearly, being an expert in this, Sister Hong was able put her mind down, causing everyone to start smiling and laughing after telling a few stories.
In the beginning, little Xin was extremely reserved, though she too had started to open herself up after a few jokes, no longer as nervous and frightened as before.
Little Xin loved the various stories of heroes the most. Appearing to be rather fond of this little lass, Sister Hong started to tell stories of some legendary figures to spike her happiness, causing the little lass to squeal in delight. Despite being in the despair-inducing cursed lands, the cave was now humming in joy.
“So what happened? What happened?”
“Later, this Great Fate Master just walked away.” Sister Hong replied, her lips curling into a smile. “That Stuart Family’s big miss, Carolyn, escorted him respectfully when he was leaving the Diamond Base, kneeling before him and begging him to accept her as his disciple. However, the great Fate Master didn’t even give a shit about her! With a single stride, he shattered the void, before disappearing with a trace! Ha ha, he left that great miss in a complete loss! Those aristocratic families only dared to act viciously towards us little commoners. When they meet those truly formidable people, they would become obedient grandsons and granddaughters.”
“Oh really?” Little Xin’s eyes blossomed with radiance.
“Ha. You’re exaggerating a little too much, Sister Hong. Nevertheless, most of it is true. He’s the most mysterious Heavenly Soul Stage within the Federation that has revealed himself to the public. He’s absolutely at the peak of the peak.” said Gong Yi with a smile, appearing to worship this Fate Master. Within the Federation, there might not be a single Heroic Soul Stage expert who had made contact with the Hyperdimension, who didn’t know about the great Fate Master. “Dealing with an S rank secret realm, hmph. He’s a person who would cause all of the Federation’s dimensional base stations to tremble with a single step.”
Without talking about little Xin, even the cold and unfriendly scarface appeared to be rather engrossed in the story. At this moment, a scorching hot and worshipping shade had unexpectedly appeared within his cold gaze. In fact, there were even shades of desire present within.