"That damned ugly bitch!"
A roar shook the forest. It was laced with endless fury and unwillingness. It was the kind of shout that caused birds to flee and an unwitting silence to overwhelm the immediate aftermath.
At that moment, a young man stood in the midst of a group of warriors. He had sharp features and a hidden air of elegance beneath his current anger. It was clear that he was very much used to the lifestyle of a noble.
At the same time, he wasn't alone in his rage. There were two others of equal standing to his own that felt the same rage toward the same woman.
One of them was a young lady whose delicate, expressional features reddened beneath the gnashing of her teeth. And the last was a stocky young man who was a head shorter than even the young woman.
These three young masters represented three of the most powerful powers on Terrain. In fact, there were only a handful of other territories that could match them in strength. Yet, they all felt infinite rage toward the same woman.
The Cliff's Edge Terrace. The World's End Falls. The Mirage Pavilion.
Each of these were names that shook the hearts of those born on Terrain. Yet, they had actually made a move together.
"Spread out the encirclement. Do whatever you have to do to find her!"
"But… Young Heir, the Mountain Sands Range is too dangerous. If we spread out too thin, it will become too difficult to protect you."
An older man stepped forward to say these words.
The attire from those on Terrain was quite unique. They all wore a cross of robes and soft armor that made their clothing look somewhat like delicate art pieces. However, the truth was that these seemingly soft pieces of cloth provided more defenses than heavy duty armor ever could.
The older man and the young master he spoke to both wore deep black robes crossed with dark blue soft armor. The combination made them look somewhat sinister mixed with a touch of an ethereal feel.
These robes were the marking of the Cliff's Edge Terrace, a power ranked within the top ten of the Terrain world.
The words of the older man was exceptionally tactful. The truth was that the ones that would be in the most danger would be those who separated from this young master of theirs. With all the protective treasures this young man had, even if he was alone in this mountain range, he would still have better than 50% odds of survival.
However, the old man had seen too much life to argue from the point of view of a servant. He had to convince the young man that he would be in danger, otherwise why would he care? This was the reality of the world.
Hearing the name Mountain Sands Range, the young man immediately grew sober.
It was an odd name for a mountain range, especially since there were no deserts anywhere within hundreds of kilometers of this place. In fact, when the young man heard that a Tier 1 Bronze Zone would appear in this place, he had been hesitant to go at all until he heard it was a Variant Zone.
There were a total of four different kinds of Zones. Regular Zones, Unique Zones, Mythological Zones and finally, Variant Zones.
Variant Zones were unique in that unlike the others, they didn't pull from culture or history. Rather, they came from the future.
Regular Zones represented the trials of a world. Unique Zones represented the invasion of a world. Mythological Zones represented the potential of a world. And, Variant Zones represented… the end of a world.
For higher Dimensions, toying with the timeline of a weaker world wasn't difficult as long as an appropriate price was paid. However, in this instance, it wasn't another world trying to sabotage Terrain, but rather the future generations of Terrain trying to save their own world.
Whenever a Variant Zone appeared, it meant that a world had entered a crossroads. Choosing to go one direction or another would decide whether they would sink or swim. A Variant Zone could be considered the universe giving a world a few more chances before they perished.
Of course, the appearance of just one Variant Zone didn't necessarily mean a world was on the brink of destruction. But, what it did mean was that if appropriate measures weren't taken, a world would be in danger given due time.
What truly differentiated Variant Zone from others was that… treasures could be taken out of them!
Usually only Gold Zones and above would have this ability. But, only Variant Zones could completely ignore this restriction.
It was no wonder, then, that this group was so infuriated. The penultimate treasure of this Variant Zone was snatched away by an unknown young woman. And to make it all worse, she had somehow managed to escape their encirclement.
However, even with all the pent up rage, the young heir still calmed the moment he heard the name…
The Mountain Sands Range.
It gained this name not because of its terrain, but because of the fact it was a danger zone countless individuals had lost their life in. The legends said that the deeper one entered this mountain range, the more difficult it was to get out, just like quicksand.
They had already traveled deeply enough to have entered the so-called 'sand box' region. If they entered too deeply and reached the true 'quicksand' region, even the young heirs wouldn't be confident of escaping.
However, it was clear by the actions of that young woman that she had no intention of escaping outward. In fact, she was putting more pressure on them the deeper she entered.
The young heir to the Cliff's Edge Terrace grit his teeth.
To pursue or to not pursue. What should he do?
After regaining his calm, he became several levels more thoughtful.
"Send out communication talismans. I want to hear from Miss Falls and that short bastard first before we make the next step of the plan."
In the end, he was the young heir of a great power.. He had initially lost control of his emotions because he couldn't stand the thought of such an ugly woman with no backing causing him to suffer a loss, but now that things had come to this, he had to take the next step carefully.