143: Enter

"Here?"

Baal furrowed her brows.

"That place is heavily surrounded by the Blue Star Alliance and Radiant City. How are we supposed to get past?"

"Besides, hasn't the blood mist there already dispersed? Those two useless wastes, Ignis and Echidna, are dead. What could possibly be left there?"

"Precisely because everyone thinks it's safe now, it is our only chance."

The purple light in Maergan's vertical pupil became increasingly eerie.

"Do you really think those two Legendary Guardians were capable of orchestrating a 'Blood Tide'?"

"Hehe! Behind that rift is the true 'gift' the Dark Star Empire prepared for this world."

He slowly stood up, his voice tinged with a hint of madness.

"I must say, that fellow Kasa disguised it quite well before, hehe..."

"That is a failed 'World Seed,' a contaminated, hungry Planar Embryo that possesses nothing but the instinct to devour."

"The Dark Star Empire's original plan was to let it silently consume the core of Woma World, transforming it into a permanent resource node for the Empire."

"But now, the plan has failed."

"However, for us, this is also an opportunity—an opportunity to perish together."

Inside the hall, everyone was rendered speechless by this shocking secret.

"Since we can't have it, then no one shall."

Maergan spread his arms like a madman ready to embrace the end of the world.

"We will gather all our remaining forces and move to the Red Soil Plateau. Not to occupy, not to defend, but to... awaken it."

"We are going to break its final Seal and completely release that hungry monster."

"Since the Blue Star Alliance loves this victory so much, we will turn the entire Woma World into a burial offering for their triumph!"

"A fight to the death, where everyone perishes. This is the final conclusion I have prophesied for them."

Baal was stunned. She looked at the frenzied Maergan, the red light of the single eye on her chest flickering rapidly.

A moment later, a hideous smile actually appeared on her face as well.

"Ha... Haha... Hahahaha!"

She burst into laughter...

"Destroy the whole world? Drag that group of victors down to Hell with us? This plan... I like it! It's better than being hunted down and killed like a rat!"

Baal's wild state ignited the suppressed powder keg in the room.

Some lords and professionals, who had also lost everything and had nothing left but hatred, stood up as well, their eyes flashing with the same madness.

"Exactly! Lord Baal is right!"

"Since we can't get anything anyway, what else is there to worry about!"

"Let the Blue Star Alliance's victory celebration become their funeral!"

Fanatical shouts rose one after another, but not everyone was infected by this madness.

The Three-Eyed Race lord who had asked the question with a trembling voice earlier was now pale-faced.

His lips quivered as if he wanted to say something, but as soon as he met Baal's single eye burning with the desire for destruction, he swallowed his words.

Maergan remained silent throughout.

He just watched quietly with a bizarre smile on his face.

The vertical pupil on his forehead slowly scanned the room, landing on those who showed hesitation.

That deep purple light contained no killing intent, yet it caused those people to freeze up.

They understood.

To speak up was to die.

Here, you either became a madman or a corpse beneath a madman's feet.

Maergan withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and lightly raised a hand, causing all the clamor in the room to cease abruptly.

"Very well."

His voice was calm and steady. "Since no one has any objections, then... assemble the legions."

Next, he took out a cracked black crystal from his robes.

The moment the crystal appeared, the surrounding light seemed to be warped and devoured, and a heart-palpitating spatial fluctuation radiated outward.

"Legendary-tier teleportation beacon, 'Void Seed'."

He introduced it softly, as if stroking a lover's cheek. "It is enough to send us all silently to the heart of the Red Soil Plateau."

The undead lord, who had been silent, suddenly spoke in a dry voice.

"The Blue Star Alliance's intelligence capabilities are not to be underestimated, especially that 'Grand Void Azurewood Palace' of Infinite City..."

"That palace?"

Maergan's smile grew even wider.

"Rest assured, it will only see a grand feint. By the time it realizes the truth of the Red Soil Plateau, it will be too late."

He held up the 'Void Seed'.

"Go now, assemble your final forces."

"Let us present our enemies with the grandest funeral of all."

...

Red Soil Plateau.

The land once shrouded in endless blood-colored mist now revealed its original appearance.

The soil was an eerie dark red, as if it had been soaked in massive amounts of blood for thousands of years; it was hard and cracked, making a 'crunching' sound when stepped on.

The air was excessively clean, without a hint of wind or a single grain of dust.

Around the entrance of the Blood Mist Secret Realm.

The allied forces of the Blue Star Alliance and Radiant City had already established a heavily fortified forward base.

Countless psionic turrets and arrow towers had their muzzles fixed firmly on that seemingly peaceful rift.

A peculiar team was standing quietly before the Secret Realm rift.

The composition of the team was clearly divided.

On one side was the vanguard from Radiant City.

The paladin leading them was named Lyon. He wore finely crafted Dawn Holy Armor and held a massive shield engraved with solar runes.

The man himself was like a small luminous body, exceptionally eye-catching on this dark red land.

The clergy behind him were also solemn, surrounded by a faint Holy Light, like a group of walking exorcism lamps.

On the other side were the elites of the Blue Star Alliance.

At the very front, Shadow One stood quietly like a silent stone, yet he naturally became the core of this mixed squad.

Behind him was 'Shadow,' along with a team of Spirit Pivot Sword Envoys.

Tong, a Ninth-Rank Spirit Pivot Sword Envoy, was closing his eyes, his palm resting lightly on his sword hilt, carefully sensing the surrounding environment.

His Mind Unleashed ability leaned toward illusions, making him particularly sensitive to fluctuations on the mental level.

"Look at those people from Radiant City,"

An elite shock trooper from another lord's command whispered to his companion.

"They're so bright they're about to blind me. If I didn't know better, I'd think the sun had fallen."

His companion nudged him with an elbow.

"Keep it down. Those are paladins; they have sharp ears. Besides, once we enter that godforsaken place, who knows what'll happen—having it a bit brighter makes one feel more at ease."

Paladin Lyon's ear twitched imperceptibly, but he didn't look back, merely staring calmly at the pitch-black rift ahead.

The Commander of the garrison forces jogged over and saluted Lyon and Shadow One.

"Reporting! Since the blood mist dissipated, the rift has shown no energy fluctuations and no matter has emerged. Every detection method we've used has returned 'nothingness'."

"It's... it's just like it's dead."

The Commander's voice was a bit dry. "To be honest, this is even more hair-raising than when the red mist was coming out."

Lyon nodded, his voice steady: "Thank you for your hard work. We'll take it from here."

Shadow One didn't speak, only giving a slight nod.

The shock trooper couldn't help himself again, whispering: "See that? That's what you call a big shot's aura. A single nod and the conversation is over."

After a simple handover, Lyon raised his massive shield: "Everyone, prepare to enter. May the Holy Light protect us."

Shadow One merely raised his hand in a simple gesture to move forward.

The team moved silently...

The moment their toes stepped into that darkness, a dizzying sense of disorientation suddenly struck.

The world before them was torn into countless bizarre patches of color, and an indescribable sharp noise rang in their ears.

It felt as if their internal organs were being gripped and twisted by an invisible giant hand.

But this feeling lasted for less than a second.

The next moment, everything suddenly became clear.

Everyone was stunned by the sight before them.