The group of 62 tired warriors spent the next 5 hours taking shifts to recover as much as possible before finally departing for the 'Valley of the Dead'. Of course, that was easier said than done.
Everyone present was so tense that they could barely get any sleep. And who could blame them? When they knew what was coming next…
The plan was pretty simple. To time the attack as such that they would reach at the same time the rift would open.
The Spirit realm cultivators along with the highest-ranked soldiers would take the lead and protect the four sides while the scientific team would set up the device that stabilized the rift.
Once that was done, they could set up a self-destruction timer and enter the rift, making it so it would explode a few seconds after everyone left.
The only problem was getting as close as possible without alerting any of the undead. The closer they could get, the less they would have to fight.
****
Jin Wang laid atop a small hill about five kilometers away from the entrance of the valley, squinting hard. The entrance was blocked by thick fog and nothing inside was visible. Even Jin Wang wasn't able to see anything. But he could 'sense' that something truly evil waited for them inside.
For the first time since he was born into 'this' world, he felt fear. True fear.
Whatever was inside spelled certain death for him and everyone else that was foolish enough to follow him in there.
His fists were clenched so tightly that the knuckles became white. Every fiber of his being was screaming "Run! Just run away! At least you'll survive a few more days."
His breathing quickened and small beads of sweat came down the side of his face. Others might not know, but he did. He knew what that gate inside was, what laid on the other side of it, and was trying to crawl its way out.
And right now he wished nothing more than being able to forget that. Whoever said ignorance was bliss was god damn right.
If that….'thing' had truly arrived on this plane of existence, then nothing could save them.
"Relax."
*Pat*
A surge of hot Qi entered his body, waking him from his stupor. Still a bit dazed, he turned around and saw Zeng Yu's deadpan expression staring back at him.
He looked towards the valley's entrance and sighed, "Whatever happens, happens. It's not on you, me or anyone else…well, maybe Yin Da, but even that doesn't matter anymore. Our one and only option is to go through that rift. We will not survive here otherwise. Simple as that."
He looked back at Jin Wang, "Don't overthink things, just follow the plan. And what are you afraid of anyway? What're they gonna do? Kill us? So what? We have trained for this our entire lives. Don't forget what the Red Legion Stands for!"
Perhaps for the first time since they started out on this journey, Jin Wang saw Zeng Yu smile.
He always kept a straight face no matter the situation, barely showing any emotions at all, so seeing him smile now was…..strange, to say the least.
"Weird smile aside, thanks for the pep talk," Jin Wang smiled and winked back, making Zeng Yu glare at him.
"Is it time?" he asked while looking back at the valley one last time.
"An hour till the rift opens. It's now or never."
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Jin Wang grinned and walked down the hill, followed by Zeng Yu a few seconds later.
Everyone was ready and waiting for them. The entry would be on foot, and if or when they were discovered, the mounts would take them as far in as possible before they would get off and carry-on on foot once again.
The valley was about 15 kilometers long and only 200 meters wide. The rift was located about halfway through it. The more than 500-meter long black gate was about three kilometers behind the rift, so there was no way to avoid a battle if they were detected.
Zeng Wu stood in front of the group and said somberly, "Remember the plan, do not let out any Qi, they can feel it. Keep quiet, stay down, and don't wander off!"
"Yes!" everyone replied at once.
Zeng Yu and Jin Wang were at the front, Zeng Wu was in the middle, while the Shi and Ma clan were bringing up the rear. Ma Qigong was protecting Ma Yu as well who was being carried by some of the Ma Clan guards.
After going over everything once again, they slowly crept into the valley.
The fog was so thick that nothing further than five meters was visible. The first enemy they encountered was a four-legged undead beast.
It was about three meters big and was just standing in one place like a statue. If they hadn't seen similar creatures attack them for the last few weeks, it would be hard to believe it was something so…vile.
Zeng Yu gestured for everyone to stop as soon as he saw it. With bated breaths, everyone looked at it without blinking, but it did not react at all.
With its hollow eyes, it faced the direction of the gate and no movements.
When he was sure it didn't detect them, Zeng Yu raised his hand once again, gesturing for the party to keep moving.
Just like that, they encountered thousands of other creatures that were in the same dazed state.
Jin Wang looked at the one closest to him and couldn't help but worry. The feeling of dread was getting stronger the deeper they went in. He had to keep reciting the Red Legion oath to keep himself from running away and gather some courage.
About one kilometer away from the rift, the creatures stopped appearing. Not a single bone or piece of flesh could be found in there. The entire area was deserted. It was so eerily silent that even Zeng Yu couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Forty-five minutes in, they finally reached the place where the rift would appear.
"Set up a defensive formation but do not activate it just yet. Science team, set up the equipment. Once the rift appears, how long will it take for you to stabilize it?" Zeng Yu inquired from Yin Da.
"No more than ten minutes," Yin Da replied resolutely.
As heartless as he was, he recognized that it was basically all his fault that they were stuck here. And if Zeng Yu had told the other party members about him, he would most certainly be dead. Not to mention even if he got out, the Ma and Shi clan could come asking questions.
So he was truly grateful to Zeng Yu at the moment and did his best to redeem himself.
"Good, get started!" Zeng Yu nodded and walked off.
Time slowly trickled by. The formation was set up and Jin Wang was standing on the back, facing the direction of the gate.
Due to the fog, the gate wasn't actually visible, but he could still feel the stupendously enormous energy it was giving off. He could just imagine any number of things coming out of it.
*Crumble*
A piece of rock came loose from the side and came rolling down, echoing throughout the silent valley. A nuclear missile might as well have gone off, as the sound reverberated in everyone's ears.
All four Spirit realm experts quickly ran over to Jin Wang, "What happened?"
He didn't reply, only staring up above them from where the rock fell from.
With a light voice, he asked, "By any chance, did anyone check what was ABOVE the valley?"
The spirit realm experts looked at each other and shook their heads together.
*Sigh*
"That's what I thought," he looked back at them while taking out a wooden stick and some fabric, "Activate the formation and light some fires, we're under a horde of Wraiths!"
He tied the piece of fabric to the stick and made an old-school torch before lighting it up.
*Screeeeech*
A high pitched screeching noise came from all sides as ghost-like apparitions came into view.. Hundreds, no, thousands of them stood all-around defensive formations, looking at the people inside viciously.
