Several of the Rainbow Birds died a minute after they started to explore the valley.
Millennial Beasts at their peak stages, Pseudo-Myriad Beasts, and Myriad Beasts could be found all over the valley.
Beads of sweat formed on William's forehead as he checked the map on his status page. Orange, red, and purple blinking dots littered the entirety of the map. A single glance was more than enough to tell William that he was surrounded by monsters in every direction.
The orange dots represented the monster at the Peak of the Millennial Rank. The red dots represented monsters that were only half a step away from becoming Myriad Beasts. The Purple dots, on the other hand were bonafide Myriad Beasts, and William would be stupid if he were to carelessly traverse their territories.
According to Optimus' scan, most of the Myriad Beasts were located in places that held resources, similar to the Golden Fruit that the Diabolical Hell Ape sought out.
Even now, William couldn't believe that so many Myriad Beasts could be found inside the Forbidden Ground, and it filled him with dread.
The reason for William's anxiousness was very simple.
If so many Myriad Beasts could be found inside the Seventh Sanctum, it could only mean one thing.
There should be a Demigod, or Demigods, who stood at the top of the food chain. With such a high concentration of powerful beasts, it would be next to impossible if there weren't any Demigods that stood at the Apex of this Domain.
'Vlad is the Demigod who ruled over the Strathmore Forest,' William thought. 'Since that is the case, I should prepare myself for the worst case scenario.'
After getting a general understanding of his surroundings, William began to make his move. He treaded lightly through the territories of the powerful beasts in the valley, and stayed clear from the Myriad Beasts' Domains.
He made his way Northwards, because one of the Angray birds noticed lightning strikes in that direction. Although he wasn't too sure about his hunch, he believed that the Hall of Thunder should be located in a place where there was lightning.
William gave the surviving Rainbow Birds a new order and all of them flew towards the North.
B1 alone took the lead because B2 had already died, after it had unknowingly trespassed into the territory of a Flying Myriad Beast.
With every minute, more of the Rainbow Birds died. Two hours later, even B1 died after being hit by a fireball from the ground.
When all of the Rainbow Birds had fallen, William also stopped his advance. He made a small cave at the base of a mountain. He then engraved several runes that would hide his presence, and scent, from the Beasts that roamed his surroundings.
After making sure that his new hiding place was safe, William then opened a portal that led to the Thousand Beast Domain in order to rest.
The journey had stretched his nerves to its limit because he had to be wary of his surroundings at all times.
He was only able to breathe a sigh of relief after he had entered his Domain. The moment he appeared outside the Villa, Chiffon immediately sensed his presence and came running.
"Will, are you alright?" Chiffon asked as she looked up at him. "I sensed B1's and B2's deaths and became worried about your safety. Also, your face looks pale. Did something happen outside?"
William sighed as he gave Chiffon a light hug and patted her head.
"For the time being, you and Lilith will be staying here," William replied. "It is too dangerous to go outside."
Chiffon nodded and pulled William towards the Villa.
"Is it that bad outside?" Lilith inquired. She had followed Chiffon when the latter sensed William's presence, so she was able to hear their discussion.
"Yes," William answered.
Lilith then looked at William with a serious expression on her face as she asked him a question.
"Is it really okay for me to know about this place?" Lilith asked. "Or are you planning to brainwash me like you did to those Elves?"
Lilith wasn't a fool. Although she had only been inside the Thousand Beast Domain for a few hours, she knew that she had stumbled upon William's core secret. The Amazon was afraid that in order to protect his secret, William would resort to foul means in order to prevent her from divulging his secret to other people.
William smiled evilly as he looked at Lilith. "Now that you know my secret, you will not be able to leave this place alive… is what I'd like to say, but you can rest easy. I'm not going to brainwash you or do anything to you."
The Half-Elf smiled as he approached Lilith. "All I ask is that you keep everything you see here a secret."
"That's it?" Lilith asked. "Only a verbal promise that I won't say anything about this Domain of yours?"
The Amazon Princess snorted.
"I don't know if you're bold or stupid. Aren't you afraid that I will betray your trust?"
"Although it is risky, I've decided to trust you this once."
William looked at Lilith with a serious expression. "If you share this secret with anyone, especially your mother, I will never trust you again for the rest of my life."
"Are you a kid?" Lilith teased. "So what if you don't trust me for the rest of your life? Do you think I will not be able to sleep at night knowing that you are disappointed in me?"
William didn't say anything to Lilith's provocation. He just smiled and pulled Chiffon towards the Villa.
He was very tired and wanted to rest as soon as possible. Although there was a possibility that Lilith would betray him, he decided to believe in her for the time being.
Actually, he was relieved when the latter took the initiative to tell him that there was a possibility that she would betray him. William could tell from Lilith's words, and actions, that she was a very smart person.
If the Amazon Princess hadn't voiced out her thoughts out loud and remained silent, William would feel more anxious because that meant that there was a higher chance of Lilith betraying him.
Lilith watched his retreating back with a look of appraisal. She could tell that William was truly exhausted and didn't have the strength to argue with her.
Also, when William said that he was willing to trust her once, the Amazon Princess felt that a pressure had disappeared from her shoulders.
Unlike her calm expression on the surface, she had been quite anxious at the possibility of being brainwashed by William. If that were to happen, would she still be herself? Or would she be servile like Charmaine and the others?
This thought scared her.
Fortunately, William had washed away her fears with a few words.
After making up her mind, Lilith walked towards the Villa with determination. She decided to get to know more about William.
Lilith wanted to know more about the boy who had cleared the Devil's Floor.
She wanted to know more about the boy who had been chosen by her sisters that belonged to the Seven Deadly Sins. It was very difficult for someone to accept them because they were the abnormalities that broke the rules of the world.
Even so, two of her sisters had married William. Not many people could accept them for who they were, and their predecessors' love stories almost always ended in tragedy.
The Amazon Princess wanted to know why Princess Sidonie and Chiffon had chosen William to become their partner for life.
Lastly, she wanted to know more about the boy that said that he was willing to trust her.
Lilith never trusted anyone aside from her mother and the Goddess Mammon. For her, the word Trust had a symbolic meaning, and shouldn't be used casually.
"Fine," Lilith muttered as she walked with steady steps towards the Villa. "I will also trust you once. If you break your promise, I swear that I will make you regret it for the rest of your life."
High above the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods, the Goddess Mammon, smiled ever so lightly.
"Daughter of mine, trusting people is hard. Knowing who to trust is harder," Mammon chuckled. "Don't worry.. If that Half-Elf dares to harm you in any way, I will steal everything from him… until not even his sanity is left."
