Chapter 175: Abyssal Scar

Chapter 175: Abyssal ScarAs he walked, Apollo glanced at the Pussy King perched on his shoulder and asked, "What do you think this piece does?" He had bought it on a feeling, unsure of its true purpose.

Pussy King, still lazily grooming himself, paused for a moment and looked at the item. "It should be part of some divine item," he replied. "Although it seems to have lost all its divinity, the material remains intact. Even a small piece like this could be enough to create a semi-divine item."

Apollo nodded thoughtfully, hearing its potential value.

After that, Apollo bought some dragon blood and various materials that were ideal for body tempering. He had never used anything for this purpose before, as his body was already incredibly strong, and ordinary items had no impact on him. The resources needed to temper his body were rare, even for his master.

However, now that he had access to high-quality resources in this place, he naturally couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enhance his strength even further.

He continued to stroll through the market, browsing through various shops and stalls until late, with Pussy King perched on his shoulder. After a while, they made their way back to the designated meeting place. When they arrived, the others were already there, each looking pleased, as it seemed everyone had found something valuable or useful during their explorations.

They decided to leave the next morning for the Abyssal Scar, which was actually a little bit far and would need more than two weeks if they went on their own, so they decided to board the Sky Ship that leaves every day from Chaos City.

The next morning, they all gathered and boarded the Sky Ship after paying the required life essence stones. The Sky Ship was similar to the one Apollo had boarded back on Rion, but this one was making multiple stops throughout the journey.

After just a day of smooth sailing through the skies, they finally arrived at their destination.

They landed near the Abyssal scar, as even the sky Ships didn’t go through this place as it could be attacked by robbers or others who wanted bloodthirsty monsters and criminals in such a chaotic place.

Outside the Abyssal Scar stood a small base station, where a group of soldiers remained stationed to monitor the area. This base had been attacked and destroyed countless times, only to be rebuilt again and again by the various forces from across the continent, determined to maintain a presence near the Scar despite its dangers.

Many horrifying creatures and entities are lurking within the Abyssar Scar, so every force on the continent needs to stay vigilant in case they start moving out. This is why the base is so important and has been rebuilt multiple times, even after being destroyed. Its presence serves as a crucial line of defence against the dangers that may emerge from the Scar.

They didn’t stay long but took the opportunity to ask the stationed soldiers about the current conditions and any dangers to be aware of, offering some money in exchange for information.

As for the people, they weren’t surprised someone was trying to go to such a dangerous place to die. There are always people like them who came here either to run from someone or try to find treasure.

The soldiers, grateful for the extra wealth, shared what they knew, warning them about the unpredictable movements of the creatures within the Abyssal Scar that were corroded by the weird peculiar energy of despair and blood to turn into abominations and countless bloodthirsty criminals who hide there from the world.

Knowing all of this, they finally entered the Abyssal Scar, which was a massive valley-like place filled with an aura of blood and slaughter. After just entering the place, can feel the change in aura and smell blood.

The oppressive atmosphere hit them like a wave. The very air seemed to hum with the remnants of ancient battles, thick with the stench of blood and death. Every step they took echoed eerily through the hollowed, jagged landscape. Twisted remnants of what might have once been trees now resembled gnarled bones, and the ground beneath them felt brittle and unstable.

"Ah," Apollo and Pussy King on his shoulders felt something.

Kaleb, his sword ready at his side, scanned their surroundings. "There’s something wrong with this place. I can feel it... like the land itself is watching us."

Alyona nodded slightly. "It’s more than just the creatures we need to worry about. The aura here could affect our minds if we’re not careful."

All of them nodded, fully aware of the dangers.

They moved forward cautiously, with Lyra taking the lead, as she had a rare skill of sound waves like a sonar. Here, because of the aura of blood and slaughter, they find it difficult to scan the area with their spiritual sense. Even Apollo’s spiritual sense cannot feel as far as her.

"Hmm, a group seems to be approaching towards us."

"How many?" Kaleb quickly asked as Lyra found a group of something approaching them.

Lyra closed her eyes for a moment, focusing as her sound wave ability expanded through the dense, corrupted atmosphere. Despite the overwhelming aura of blood and slaughter, her skill was sharp enough to penetrate the chaos, providing her with a clear sense of the surroundings.

"About twenty-five," she replied after a brief pause, her voice steady. "Humanoid, but... something’s off about them."

Kaleb’s grip tightened on his sword. "Abominations?"

Lyra shook her head slightly. "No, they’re not like those creatures. These are people—possibly criminals hiding in the Abyssal Scar or robbers that the soldiers at base outside mentioned."

Kaleb’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the area. "Desperate people can be more dangerous than monsters." He glanced toward the others. "We stay cautious, but prepare for a fight. Let’s not underestimate them."

Everyone nodded; their expression became serious. "Got it. We’ll take them down if they dare to attack."

As they were ready and slowly the group moved ahead, suddenly a beam of energy came from the other side. But they were all alert and weren’t ordinary warriors; they all quickly jumped and evaded the energy beam.

Boom!

The energy beam struck the ground where they had been standing moments before, leaving a smoking crater. The shockwave from the blast rippled through the air, kicking up dust and debris. Apollo, Kaleb, and the others landed a little far, their weapons drawn, their eyes scanning for the source of the attack.

"Looks like they made the first move," Apollo muttered, his eyes narrowing as he spotted several shadowy figures emerging from the smoke.

The figures were hunched and ragged, their eyes gleamed with madness, and they wielded different weapons and enchanted relics—likely stolen from other travellers who had ventured into the Abyssal Scar. The leader, a tall man with a crazed grin, held a glowing staff, the source of the energy beam that had just missed them.

"Look what we have here!" the leader sneered, his voice carrying through the eerie stillness. "Fresh meat! Hand over your valuables, or we’ll carve you up and take them ourselves!"

Apollo and others looked at the group and felt their strength, which was very good; the leader himself was a saint, and the rest weren’t weak; they were third- or fourth-rank in strength.

But they weren’t afraid, as now they had some understanding of their group strength as they fought against numerous zombies in the Crimson City. Even though they fought in different areas, they still heard about their battle performances. Especially the strength of Apollo and Kaleb both showed strong saint-level strength and defeated fifth-rank zombies.

The leader laughed, his voice a grating cackle. "Oh? We’ll see about that!" He raised his staff again, the tip glowing ominously, as he prepared another attack.

But this time, Apollo was faster.

Before the leader could unleash his spell, Apollo vanished, leaving the Pussy King, moving with such speed that he seemed to flicker out of existence. In an instant, he appeared behind the man and punched him. The leader gasped as it was too fast, even for saint standards; he quickly raised his staff to block it.

Bang!

The collision created a strong shock wave with a loud noise, sending the others beside the leader flying.

The robbers didn’t even get the time to react as Kaleb, Alyona, and others also made their moves and, with shocking strength, beat the shit out of the group of robbers.

"Not good!" The leader wanted to help, but Apollo held him, "No, you are going anywhere."

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

And fought back with him, but he wasn’t matching him in close hand-to-hand fighting and was suppressed.

The leader’s face contorted in frustration as Apollo’s barrage of punches rained down with overwhelming force, not giving him time to release his domain. Each hit landed like a thunderclap, creating shockwaves that reverberated through the air. His staff, once glowing with energy, began to crack under the relentless pressure of Apollo’s assault.

With a final flurry of punches, Apollo knocked the leader’s staff out of his hands, sending it spinning across the battlefield. The leader stumbled backwards, gasping for breath as blood dripped from his mouth. His eyes widened in disbelief as he realized the futility of his situation.

"Y-you’re a monster!"