If it were any ordinary ice layer, Rhode wouldn’t be this cautious. But now, the problem with the ice layer was that not even Lydia’s and Erin’s attack could leave a single scratch on its surface, and this put Rhode on guard. There were very few objects that could survive unscathed from the attack of an archangel in the Dragon Soul Continent. And for such an object to appear on Earth, Rhode couldn’t help but feel concerned. But even so, they continued moving ahead because no matter what, the mysterious ice layer didn’t seem to possess any consciousness and was just purely ice.
Although the ice layer was extremely thick, it was pure and transparent in appearance, where even the hair of those people trapped within could be seen clearly. The people weren’t clad in ancient costumes made of animal skins as Thomas and the researchers had imagined, but wore gorgeous long robes and beautifully-carved armor instead. They also wielded and raised swords, shields, and staffs in their hands as though they were frozen into ice in the midst of battle. If this was all there was to it, it wouldn’t be considered too strange. But the problem was that there was nothing in front of them.
One of them clad in armor widened his mouth, raised the sword high, and his other hand held a shield before him as though he were in battle with a ferocious monster. However, there was nothing apart from the empty ice crystal in front of him. That didn’t only happen to him. On the other side, a woman embraced her child and looked ahead in fear, extending her right hand in despair as though she were helplessly defending her child. And similarly, there was nothing in front of her.
These guys should be the former Void Dragon’s subordinates.
Rhode scanned the people sealed in the ice and pondered. Based on this, it was apparent that they were suddenly frozen into ice during a battle against some mysterious enemies. Besides, it was obvious that they weren’t mentally prepared for this and didn’t detect the arrival of danger. On the other hand, they were determined in fighting against the enemies. No, perhaps even until the end, they didn’t know who they were up against.
What’s this?
Rhode extended his hand and touched the ice surface that was permeating cold air. Then, he made a hand gesture and the little mermaid appeared before him again. She stretched out her arm and released a cold wind to the ice surface. But even with her power, she couldn’t affect the thick ice layer one bit. Shortly after, the little mermaid retracted her arm, gazed at Rhode with a sorry expression, and shook her head. It seemed like this wasn’t a problem with the elements. Perhaps this ice layer in front of everyone wasn’t exactly ice despite it displaying properties of one. If not, it wouldn’t be possible for one at the little mermaid’s level to not affect it at all. As a water elemental elf, she should be more or less able to sense similar elemental presence from the ice. However, she clearly told him that she couldn’t sense any presence of the water element, which explained that this thing wasn’t ice at all. It would be more appropriate to treat it as a crystal instead. It was just that the cold air permeating from the surface made them misunderstand it as ice, perhaps.
“Do you know what this is?”
Rhode sauntered forward, sized up the people trapped in the ice, and asked his younger sister softly. Then, he heard her response.
“No… Big Brother, I’m not aware. But apparently, it is likely something ‘used to seal up everything in this place to not be disrupted by the outside world’… I think this might be the work of Marybelle.”
“Hmm?”
Rhode was taken aback.
“Didn’t you say you don’t know what this is? How are you sure Marybelle did it? Do you have some impression of this thing?”
“No, Big Brother. Just like what I said, this is likely something ‘used to seal up everything in this place to not be disrupted by the outside world’. It doesn’t have a name, but due to this reason I think this was done by Marybelle. Because she is the Presence Deity Warden. As long as she recognizes the existence of something, that something will exist no matter how miraculous it is.”
“…”
After hearing his younger sister’s answer, Rhode couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his brow. According to what she just said, it meant that no matter how strange the thing was, it would exist as long as Marybelle recognized its existence? How ridiculous was that? Even though Rhode already knew that the six deity wardens were godlike figures, it was simply too insane for them to be this powerful.
“In this case, if Marybelle wished for a weapon that could instantly kill a dragon soul heir, she can create it and defeat a dragon soul heir in a second?”
“That isn’t the case, Big Brother. No matter what, dragon soul heirs are beings who inherited the dragon essence of the Creator Dragons. Although she isn’t as powerful as you, who reincarnated and gained even stronger powers, she more or less needs to expend some amount of power.”
Hmm… more or less needs to expend some amount of power, huh…
But… what exactly were they fighting with? Could it be the monsters that we fought earlier?
At this thought, Rhode puckered his brows and pondered deeply. After a few moments, he shook his head.
No, it isn’t too likely. Even though I don’t know how strong these people were, it seems like they more or less possessed battle strength in the Legendary Stage and the monsters surely couldn’t defeat them. Besides, since the original Void Dragon sent them over, it proved that they had the ability to overcome challenges. At least, they were neither ones who would give up at the sight of stronger enemies, nor would they be defeated by terrifying-looking dinosaurs that weren’t all that powerful… So what exactly is the reason? Just who were they fighting against?
“Let’s move on. Be more careful.”
Rhode arranged his thoughts and said softly to Lydia and Erin, before scanning the left and right. Shortly after, Lydia and Erin intuitively moved to the left and right of the group, while gazing vigilantly at the surroundings. They weren’t fools. Since even Lydia’s blades failed to leave a scratch on the ice layer, it went to show that there might be even stronger monsters ahead. That was why maintaining a certain level of vigilance was essential.
Just like this, everyone followed Rhode’s lead and headed toward the enormous pyramid structure in the middle of the plaza. Although Rhode wasn’t sure if what he needed was there, at least it seemed like it was the most eye-catching place in the entire plaza, where perhaps he could find some clues.
Thomas had lost his right to command, but he wasn’t furious at all. Meanwhile, he clenched his fists in excitement and chatted with his colleagues.
“You see, I knew it! I knew this would happen! My judgment was right!”
“What are you talking about, Thomas?”
The fat man closely following Thomas grunted, lifting his belly and barely managing to catch up with him. Then, he asked in confusion.
“Have you forgotten? Back then when we unearthed the first four ruins, we discovered a new and highly-advanced civilization that was present before humans existed. But we didn’t manage to find evidence of their existence as though they only existed in that era! That was a really strange matter. Do you know what I mean?”
“What’s so strange about that? Back then, it was the Late Cretaceous Period and dinosaurs went extinct after. So isn’t it normal for those people to perish alongside the dinosaurs?”
“No-no-no, that isn’t the case. You see, this advanced civilization is entirely different from ours. Besides, since they were able to bury the Apocalyptic Slates under the moon’s surface, it means that they had already obtained the ability to leave Earth and travel to the universe. So even if the dinosaurs went extinct, it didn’t mean those humans would either. I initially thought they had already left Earth, but it is apparent now that they didn’t! And they have always been hidden in Earth!!!” Thomas shifted his gaze to Rhode who stood ahead as though he were a precious historical relic.
“The skills these people have are fundamentally different from our civilization. Perhaps they are the descendants of this civilization—no, not only that, but if this is the case, there will also be an explanation for the existences of Gods from the legends of every country! These so-called Gods must have been survivors of this civilization! Look at them. They can control flames and even have the ability to cast holy light. Doesn’t this coincidentally link up with the outrageous stories and legends about Gods? That’s right. These people must have hidden themselves among humans of the new era in their unique identities and guided us along the way! No wonder during the early days, even though humans weren’t able to migrate, the myths of Gods’ image appeared to be so similar. The cultures were clearly different and yet there were descriptions of humans. It must be that they have personally seen the survivors and received their blessings!”
He sure knows how to come up with some ridiculous theories.
Even though Thomas lowered his voice to the best of his ability, ordinary people like them couldn’t keep any secrets in the face of a powerful legendary being like Rhode. After hearing Thomas’s remarks, the corner of Rhode’s brow twitched. He didn’t expect such an explanation for this situation at all. He was racking his brain as to how he should conceal the identity of his group and provide a reasonable explanation to various governments. But now…
Seems like such theories may also work?
At this thought, Rhode swirled his eyes. He had decided to slaughter Thomas to keep the secret, but it seemed like things might turn to Rhode’s favor if he let Thomas off instead. After all, Thomas seemed confident in his theories and it did make some sense. On the other hand, he was also an expert in this field. Perhaps in this case, Rhode could use Thomas’s mouth to cover up the whole incident perfectly.
In this case, Rhode could only reluctantly let them live…
At this moment, Rhode turned around abruptly. His blade flickered in a dazzling radiance that flew toward Thomas.
Thomas who was speaking enthusiastically with this colleague didn’t realize the oncoming danger at all. As soon as he realized something was wrong, the shimmering ray had arrived before him and shook him. At that moment, he felt like a fat swine in a slaughterhouse, widening his eyes as the ice-cold blade ray struck him. It only needed one second to slash his stomach open.
But at the next moment, the chilly wind brushed past him and flew toward the back. Almost at the same time, he heard a frantic scream.
“Ah…!”
Everyone turned around quickly, only to witness a soldier wrapped in snowy spiderweb collapsing to the ground. Right above him, the severed spider thread quickly retracted to the top. It was apparent that a few moments ago, the spiderweb had caught the soldier and attempted to drag it away. But Rhode wasn’t slow either. Almost right after the spider web was launched, he turned around, slashed a blade ray to slash it apart, and rescued the pitiful soldier from meeting the Grim Reaper.
“Are you okay? Pull yourself together. What exactly is…”
Looking at what happened, the captain ran toward the soldier hurriedly, deftly ripping off the spiderweb from his body. Then, he raised his gun and aimed at the top, where the spiderweb was released from. But shortly after, this well-trained captain turned pale immediately.
“Damn it, what is that!”
At that moment, six enormous monsters dangled in the spiderwebs hung from above and surrounded everyone. Their lower body looked like spiders, but the two-meters-long upper body looked entirely different, like the strange evolution of a human from dinosaurs. They lifted their heads high and their two yellow eyes emanated mysterious flashes. The front claws that should have been useless became as strong as human arms. Not only that, but their bodies were also crystal-clear, where one could see the various squirming organs within. Just this scene was enough to make everyone’s hair stand.
“Attack! Bubble, protect the others!”
Shortly after, Rhode gave an order as the true ‘leader’ and this order also hinted to Mini Bubble Gum to temporarily put an end to his plans of killing Thomas and the rest. But now, Mini Bubble Gum wasn’t in the mood to find trouble with that nerdy researcher anymore. She wasn’t a fool. After witnessing Lydia failing to leave a scratch on the flawless ‘ice layer’, she had also raised her guard. After all, all players knew that every monster who grew in a unique environment had their own unique features. Since the ‘ice layer’ wasn’t damaged by Lydia’s blades at all, things would get troublesome if any accidents were to happen!
That was why the two Mini Bubble Gums didn’t hesitate at all as they extended their arms immediately. Shortly after, layers of defensive barriers expanded around the group. Upon witnessing the defensive barrier, the civilians heaved a sigh of relief. Although they didn’t know what it was, they knew it was effective defensively from its earlier performance. The soldiers also became less panicky as they quickly grouped up in a circle and aimed their rifles at the monsters. Although they knew their rifles were advanced weapons, they were also aware that they were far less powerful than the swords wielded by Rhode’s group. However, it would be enough for them as long as they fulfilled their duties quietly and not cause trouble for Rhode’s group. One had to admit that these professionals sure were considerate.
While Mini Bubble Gum cast the defensive shield, the six strange crystal spiders widened their mouths and spurted out thick strands of silk at the defensive shield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Silk that should have been ultra-soft struck the shield like they were powerful military weapons, sending deep and loud rumbles echoing in the place. Not only that, but the shield flickering in a golden radiance also instantly became dull. Mini Bubble Gum was surprised.
“Leader, they are in the Peak Legendary Stage at the very least!”
“I got it!”
Upon hearing her words, Rhode’s heart sank slightly. He knew the monsters here were tough, but didn’t expect the difficulty to rise so much at once. If only Canary, Mini Bubble Gum, and him were around, perhaps they would be in a flurry for a while. After all, the strength of Canary’s most adept flame wind declined greatly in this ice-cold environment and Mini Bubble Gum had to focus on defense. But now…
“Your Highness Lydia, Your Highness Erin, we’ll split up and defeat them!”
Rhode ordered and a black light flashed in his hand. Then, three petite figures appeared—Gracier, Madaras, and Celestina. They dashed ahead, pouncing on a crystal spider each. At the same time, Rhode clutched his sword and darted toward the remaining three spiders with Lydia and Erin. Upon detecting their assault, the crystal spiders let out a loud bellow. They shuddered, widened their mouths, and sprayed huge spiderwebs at them!
