Sienna, who was holding onto Orson’s arm, was completely confused by what was happening, her curiosity piqued as she studied Blank in front of them. She knew Blank’s title as the “King of Assassins,” but there was an unspoken tension between the two that felt different.
“How much longer?” Blank asked urgently, clearly uncomfortable with leaving her fate entirely in someone else’s hands.
Orson lightly shook his head and replied, “If I knew the exact timing, it wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing for you. If you continue with this anxiety and obsession, you’ll see the outcome.”
“Orson, can you stop being so cryptic?” Blank frowned, her patience wearing thin.
Sienna, noticing Orson’s reluctance to elaborate, took a step forward with a smile and extended her hand. “I’m Sienna. Blank, you’re even more beautiful than in the game.”
Blank looked at the outstretched hand in surprise, and then it hit her. Orson’s earlier words about “anxiety and obsession” suddenly made sense. She realized that the soft look in his eyes was meant for her. This man, capable of standing against the strongest guilds for his goal, was doing so for the woman standing before him.
“I understand. I’ll take you to see it,” Blank said, giving Orson a grateful nod before leading everyone into the elevator to go deeper into the underwater base.
“That thing? Beirut? What kind of name is that?” Bradley asked, puzzled.
“Demonic Immortal, or in worldly terms, think of it as a kind of monster,” Blank said with a mysterious smile.
“A monster?” Nightshade and the others perked up at the mention of monsters. They had encountered many types of magical creatures in Infinite Dimensions, but a real-life monster was something new and exciting.
“Everyone, put on your protective suits! Don’t get too close to the experimental target’s designated area!” Blank called out as the group was handed black protective suits, which they all put on.
Bradley clicked his tongue. “With these outfits, you’d think we were getting ready to land on Mars.”
“Given the current technology, it’s far more dangerous than landing on Mars,” Blank shot him a look and warned everyone again to stay within the designated safety zones.
“Orson.” A staff member handed him a protective suit.
Orson shook his head, and to everyone’s surprise, a golden skull mask appeared on his face as he switched to his Chaos Swordsman state. The dark red energy emanating from his armor burned like flames, and the Supreme Arcane Blade in his hands gleamed with a deadly, chilling light—he looked like a hellish messenger from another dimension.
“Dual classes, dual forms!” Blank gasped, her eyes widening in shock as she saw the fiery glow of his eyes, a mix of fear and anticipation building within her.
The hatch opened.
“Let’s go.”
Orson stepped out, and the space inside the underwater base felt much more cramped compared to the upper levels. The walls were lined with strange bronze plaques as they moved through an artificial tunnel drilled through by a mining machine.
As they moved forward, the sight before them left everyone speechless. The tunnel walls, once smooth, had now become mottled, and the space around them had expanded. The walls were covered in countless bronze plaques, each no larger than a palm, some only a few centimeters tall, with ancient, incomprehensible script etched onto them.
“These are Spirit Tablets!” Madman broke the silence, his words stirring everyone’s thoughts.
“Correct, these are memorial tablets of human heroes from millennia ago!” K.D, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, then continued, “The 11th Tomb houses the souls of 35,201 Immortals. Most of them only have names, but their remains have never been found.”
“Immortal Souls…” Orson’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at K.D and asked, “So, this ‘Radiant Shuttle’ you mentioned, was it a large guild or organization from the last ‘Infinite Dimensions’ event?”
“Correct,” K.D responded honestly.
Orson took a deep breath. If his guess was correct, the Bruce Family, Ziegler Family, and other US elite families were likely descendants of a very powerful organization from Era of Immortals.
“How many of these ruins have you discovered?” Orson tried to suppress the shock in his heart.
K.D forced a smile. “According to the records passed down by the Ten Overlords of the US, there are 93 confirmed locations. So far, we’ve only been able to excavate 8.”
Upon hearing this, the others were still puzzled, but Orson felt as though he had been struck by lightning. “A guild with at least a million members… almost wiped out.”
In the past, Usher’s Dragon’s Kiss Guild was a dominant force, with its main and affiliate guilds numbering only about 300,000. While Dragon’s Kiss Guild had a reputation for being domineering, it was once seen as the hope for US trial-goers to defeat the Heaven Demon.
But now, it seemed like a joke.
When Orson was erased by Usher, trial-goers were only facing the vanguard of the Heaven Demon army, yet it still resulted in a global population reduction, with devastation and destruction wherever the Heaven Demon went.
After passing through the tunnel lined with bronze spirit tablets, their vision gradually opened up to a larger space. It was a gray area just under half the size of a football field.
In the center of this space stood an oddly shaped blue stone tablet. Below it lay a broken black stone statue, its head missing, leaving only the body behind.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Whether it was the frigid temperature of the space or an ominous premonition, they couldn’t say, but staring at the black statue made them feel deeply uncomfortable.
Orson, leading the way, felt a sudden jolt in his chest as he descended a spiral-shaped set of ancient, blue stone stairs.
The gray space around them was now filled with faint golden mist. The mist swirled around the stone tablet, forming a rough triangular cube that enveloped it. Upon closer inspection, they could see several bodies scattered on the ground, dressed in black protective suits, with several small cranes tilted awkwardly nearby.
“What is this? It looks like some kind of magical barrier,” Stewart remarked, puzzled, reaching out to touch the drifting golden mist.
A white-bearded old man suddenly grabbed his shoulder, angrily scolding, “Hey! Didn’t you see their fate?”
Stewart quickly jerked his hand back, startled.
“Right, this is some kind of ancient barrier, but according to their term, it should be called an array,” Blank explained.
“Array…” Bradley and the others wanted to laugh but held back.
Now that Orson had become a real-life mage, the idea of a cultivator showing up didn’t seem all that out of place.
“Alright! But didn’t we come here to see the monster? Let it come out. I, Orson, will fight it solo!” Bradley couldn’t hold back and peered around excitedly. Everyone laughed, unable to contain their amusement at his antics.
“It’s over there,” Orson said with a slight smile, pointing at the black statue on the ground with his Supreme Arcane Blade.
“A weird Buddha head statue?” Everyone paused, confused.
Orson didn’t explain further but turned to K.D and asked, “This is the thing that crawled up from the depths, right?”
K.D steadied himself, then said, “The ancient array here forms a special field that suppresses it. Not only does it have the ability to control people’s minds, but it also occasionally emits terrifying sound waves.”
“I see,” Orson nodded with a smile. Then he stepped forward, heading toward the array.
Blank frowned, then quickly stepped in front of Orson, blocking his path. “You’re very important to us. I advise you not to take unnecessary risks, especially since we don’t know if you…”
“Will I die? Of course,” Orson shrugged, a little helpless. “But I can’t help it, it specifically called for me.”
A bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face.
Kill it!
Kill it!
His hand holding the blade trembled slightly, his blood boiling in his veins.
And this was the instinctive reaction of a trial-goer facing a nemesis!