Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance
Zeuss was in a very complicated state after being saved by Lin Yun, and he didn’t know what to say.
Lin Yun shook his head. He didn’t need to think about it to know that Zeuss must have encountered the monster and had his mana drained.
He softly asked, “What happened?”
Zeuss recounted the story with pain and regret.
“We were separated as soon as we fell on the Intrepid. I only found Rhet and Arthus, and I soon saw Falton. Falton taunted me and I lost all reason and started chasing him…”
As he said that, Lin Yun understood. When he met the Orachiss, Falton had put Zeuss in a very bad spot. They had ended up getting split up, yet instead of trying to reconcile, Falton had taunted him. It was understandable for Zeuss to burst out on the spot and start chasing Falton.
And as Lin Yun expected, that Falton was a fake and was luring Zeuss’ group into a trap. Arthus’ aura ended up being absorbed by that monster as he screamed miserably. Zeuss’ mana also ended up being absorbed, and he almost died. And Rhett had been controlled by the monster.
Zeuss was barely conscious at that point. Even if he knew that this Rhett was fake, he couldn’t do anything about it.
“I was the one that harmed Rhett and Arthus… Ah…”
Zeuss was agonizing and regretting what had happened. He had lost his mana and was now no different from an old man with a foot in his grave. His prestige as an Archmage had already disappeared, nothing was left.
Lin Yun let out a long sigh. He also wasn’t in the mood to quarrel with Zeuss. Although that guy used to have a bad temper and Lin Yun didn’t particularly like him, surviving in that state was worse than death…
“Xiuban, take Zeuss along with you.” Lin Yun instructed.
Xiuban looked unwilling to waste his power on that old man. He would rather swing his hammer around.
But Xiuban could only bear with it, so he roughly put Zeuss on his shoulder.
When Zeuss noticed that Lin Yun still planned on entering the passage, he was greatly alarmed. He promptly warned, “Merlin, by all means, don’t go. Flee! That monster is too frightening. Before I was dragged out, I even heard that the monster had infiltrated over half of the Intrepid and had a good grasp of the Intrepid’s controls. Going down would just be throwing away your life!”
Lin Yun glanced at Zeuss and shook his head, not saying anything. The Book of Ten Thousand Mantras was something he absolutely couldn’t give up.
Lin Yun walked at the forefront and cast a Runic Shield as well a Light spell, which lit the tip of the Draconic Staff.
The dark passage was about four to five meters tall, but the environment didn’t change as they kept walking in. Everything was dark around them, and from time to time there would be a chilly wind blowing, echoing with whimpers and wails.
The walls looked like they had absorbed all the light, and the Light spell could only illuminate the area around them for ten meters. The front was always dark.
The sounds of the muffled footsteps made everyone feel nervous. And the further they went in, the thicker the evil, the resentment, and the death energy.
That anguished wailing was getting clearer and clearer.
Suddenly, a person dripping blood appeared in front of them. He had lost his skin and was covered in red flesh. He was looking over, extending his hand to grab at them.
Xiuban waved Carnage because he was startled, and the shadow disappeared.
Lin Yun frowned and cast Spirit Defense on everyone. This place was too strange.
With the addition of the Spirit Defenses, the whimpers became quieter. But then, another illusion appeared.
This time, Spirit Defense didn’t have much of an effect, and the frightening illusion caught everyone in the surroundings.
Many dead people even appeared.
Warriors that had lost half of their heads, mages so twisted they didn’t even look human, female corpses dragging their intestines on the floor…
More and more illusions appeared, and everyone seemed to be walking through this terrifying hallway. It looked as if the path was leading to Hell.
Xiuban was extremely pale, and his teeth were chattering. Although he knew this was fake, when he saw a zombie approaching him, he couldn’t help swinging.
All kinds of terrifying things were crammed into the passage, and although they knew it was an illusion, they still felt scared as they moved onward.
Soon after, those miserable howls echoed in their minds like soul magic.
Zeuss, who had lost all his power, had already sunk into the illusion, and even Spirit Defense didn’t have an effect. Xiuban had to knock him out to keep him quiet.
Lin Yun’s expression was very unsightly. He actually couldn’t stop the illusion from attacking his mind with ten Spirit Defenses up. Although he knew that those things were fake, those soul attacks made his body believe that they were real.
After over an hour, they finally saw something different.
There had been nothing different so far. The passage had been repetitive, and it looked like an endless maze filled with illusions, slowly torturing their minds.
A huge hall appeared after they left the passage. The surrounding walls were completely black, and only a black vortex could be seen covering the entire hall.
Spatial fluctuations were circulating there, carrying things that looked like large, rotating spatial fragments.
Lin Yun stood at the entrance of the passage and would occasionally see his silhouette within those spatial distortions.
The chaotic spatial structure was like a completely obscure maze. A simple glance gave Lin Yun a headache.
Strands of dark energy revolved around the vortex. Those strands frequently condensed into sinister and terrifying skulls that laughed oddly at Lin Yun and the others before once again turning into black smoke and returning into the black vortex.
In fact, all kinds of terrifying things condensed within the vortex. With a surge, a pair of eyes filled with malice looked at them, causing them to shiver.
They stood at the entrance of the passage, looking at the vortex that almost filled the entire hall, before looking across at the other entrance on the other side of the vortex. It was clear that they would have to go through the vortex to get there.
This black vortex, besides the illusions and evil aura, didn’t seem to have any way to attack directly.
But Lin Yun was still worried. He couldn’t help recalling the First Mate mentioning the vortex, and the whirlpool on the map indicating certain death.
“Everyone be careful! Stay resolute as we move forward. Remember, everything you see is an illusion!”
Lin Yun added a pile of Spirit Defenses on the others before taking the lead and entering the maelstrom. Although this black vortex was strange, Lin Yun only sensed illusion energy within. Even the chaotic space was caused by the obscure, continuously changing maze. They only needed to spend time and energy and they would be able to walk through.
As they stepped into the vortex, all the darkness was swallowed. Not a single sound could be heard, no light could be seen, and no one knew where to go.
Lin Yun blinked and realized that he was losing consciousness. He was attacked by a wave of sleepiness and he subconsciously felt that the situation wasn’t good, but he didn’t have time to react. His power that could overwhelm an Archmage felt lacking against this sleepiness.
‘The power of Laws…’
This was the final thought that appeared in Lin Yun’s mind before he fell asleep…
He didn’t know how long he slept…
Maybe a year, maybe a decade, maybe a century…
In short, when Lin Yun opened his eyes once again, what appeared before his eyes was a dusky sky.
The sky was covered with sinister and terrifying cracks caused by the Netherstorm continuously tearing the sky apart.
The bloody red sun was letting out a cruel light that made all the moisture in the atmosphere evaporate. The extremely high temperature caused the air to distort. Looking into the distance felt like looking through a wall of flames. Everything was continuously swaying and twisting.
‘Heiss City?’ Lin Yun rubbed his eyes as he looked at the familiar environment. He didn’t know why, but Lin Yun constantly felt like he had forgotten something…
Unfortunately, before Lin Yun could remember what he had forgotten, the dusky sky suddenly combusted. Endless darkness covered everything as blood and flames sprinkled over the earth. The Netherstorm crazily tore the sky apart, expanding the cracks…
Meteors fell down from the sky. In the distance, a huge meteor that was a kilometer in diameter could even be seen falling down. Space itself was like a fragile mirror that instantly shattered. The impact of the chaotic energy dissipated the area in an instant.
“Boom…”
The earth started shivering, and the sand outside Heiss City flew a kilometer into the air and was blown around by the gales. Nothing outside of Heiss City survived.
Lin Yun raised his head and saw a meteor falling from the sky to Heiss City and mumbled, “It’s going to be completely destroyed again… Eh? Why again?”
Lin Yun watched the huge meteor fall, but to his surprise, it didn’t fall on Heiss City. Instead, it landed a few kilometers outside. The huge shockwave spread, and all wails, wretched howls, and begging voices were instantly drowned out.
The land outside of Heiss City was thoroughly disintegrated…
This area of fifty kilometers flew up. Lin Yun stood atop Heiss City and watched as all of Noscent exploded into countless pieces like a cookie slammed against the ground.
