...
Nathan did not take another step forward when he saw the statue at the center of the platform before asking through the communication device. "Didn't you say that the Head Priestess of the Shrine is in this mountain peak before the incident happened?"
"And they are performing some sort of ritual during that time before they disappeared," he added with an amused tone.
John nervously gulped a mouthful of saliva when he heard that as he could tell that there was something wrong. He took a deep breath before carefully giving an answer. "Yes, Commander. We believe that they have been abducted by the organization when after slaughtering all of the guards."
"There seemed to be a resistance during that time. Based on the reports that we overheard from the police inspectors investigating the scene, a huge battle seemed to have broken out during that time."
Nathan could not help but chuckle when heard that before correcting. "It is indeed true that a huge battle broke out. But it is not because of the head priestess and the shrine maidens putting up a resistance. Instead, it is because of the other party protecting their lives."
John was slightly confused but Nathan did not explain any further. He just stood at the edge of the mountain peak while looking at the battle traces left behind in the battle.
From his observation, the person who step onto this shrine uninvited, who is most likely Butcher, encountered the guardian of the mountain when he was trying to abduct the head priestess and the shrine maiden.
And based on the traces left behind, that high-profile criminal was beaten black and blue during the entire process. It was a one-sided beat too, which was rather funny given the nickname given to him.
After that, Nathan focused his gaze on the statue situated at the center of the altar platform. It was a statue of a knight with armor that was covering its entire body. It was standing straight while holding a glaive in one hand, stabbing on the ground, while its other hand was raised in the air and was. It seemed to be calling out the lighting from the sky.
Its eyes seemed to be alive as they stare at Nathan, who was standing just behind the entrance at the edge of the mountain peak.
"The Thunder Lord," muttered Nathan as he stared at the statue.
After seeing this statue, he was now starting to understand the purpose of the opposing organization in picking this place as their main base of operation aside from its little isolation from the other cities.
Not only they could abduct the talented people here without being suspected that much because of the superstitious beliefs of the citizens, but they also discovered a huge secret.
This also explained why they were targeting the head priestess and the shrine maidens and planning to abduct them.
…
There was a legend before that during the ancient times, there were known 'Lords' in each land across the world.
They were the true monarch of the world. And under their reign, the war between the ancient cultivators and the prehistoric creatures continued for a very long time.
Based on the very few records that had been retrieved and deciphered by the best archaeologist and the great historians of the current era, these lords were from both sides.
In the prehistoric creatures, the Dragon Lord was one of the greatest monarchs followed by the Titan Lord and the Dark Lord. The three of them stood at the absolute peak to the point that no one dared to challenge them.
Aside from the great monarchs of the ancient cultivators.
On the side of these cultivators, a lot of monarchs were born, and they lead their respective forces to fight against those powerful creatures.
But despite their number, they were still way too weak compared to the monarchs of the other side given the innate abilities and attributes of those creatures.
Though, it did not mean that all the monarchs of the ancient cultivators were the same. There were a few that could stand toe-to-toe against those great monarchs of the prehistoric creatures such as the Thunder Lord, the Martial Lord, the Immortal Lord, and others.
There were temples, great halls, and cultivation caves that had been discovered throughout history which proved the existence of those lords.
Some of those places even had the inheritance of the ancient cultivators as well as the lords.
This information was not disclosed to the public because of the allure that they had for the people with ill intentions – like the current organization that was currently hiding in these mountains.
Of course, these inheritances could not be inherited through normal means. Based on the studies and the research conducted by the government and other institutions, people had to follow certain traditions and rituals to awaken the ancient powers within the inheritances.
At the same time, they had to be acknowledged by that power to fully inherit them.
It was similar to the inheritances that the Martial Arts and Mentalism Families as well as the old sects had with a much stricter requirement.
The Springfield Family had a similar inheritance process, so Nathan was familiar with these kinds of things.
The moment he set his eyes on the statue standing at the center of the altar platform, he instantly understood what kind of place this was. And given that the people of the city were treating this place as a sacred ground, where their guardian resided, he knew that this was most likely the reason why the organization was targeting this place.
He was just surprised that the government did not discover this place up until now and plundered it for themselves.
He also got a rough idea of why it was the case after seeing traces of battle left behind. He knew that the so-called guardian of these mountains was strong, but not strong enough to tempt those greedy people.
"It is an incomplete inheritance, but it is still an inheritance nevertheless," muttered Nathan as he stared at the statue.
When he took a closer look into it, he could see that this inheritance, albeit incomplete, was very hard to get. It seemed to be needing a specific person, or most likely a particular constitution, to receive the inheritance.
Nathan suddenly got the idea that the organization was most likely looking for someone with a perfect constitution to receive the inheritance aside from them doing experiments on the people that they captured.
Or worse, they must be constructing a body that could become the vessel that would contain that inheritance.
This further explained their need for the head priestess and the shrine maidens.
"Heh!"
If that was the case, then Nathan could just stand here and guard this place. He could wait here all day and see if the opposing side would dare to come.
But before that, he had to tame the berserk powers that were already on the verge of erupting right now.
"John, tell the others that we are going to make some minor adjustments."
"I will not be included in the main team that is going to assault their base. I will be staying here on the mountain peak and guarding this place. Arrange the formation without me," he said as he took a step forward.
John started sweating profusely when he heard that. Not only the main troublemakers were giving him extra work, but even his superior also joined that side and started becoming a troublemaker himself.
Moreover, he could not nag the other side nor refuse the order. He could only nod his head and proceed as ordered. "Yes, sir!"
Nathan did not hear that reply any longer as he was already focusing everything on the statue at the center of the altar platform and the raging power that was boiling inside it.
Rumble!
Right after his foot crossed the red arc in front of him, which was also serving as the main entrance of the altar, thunderous sounds could be heard from the sky.
Not only that, but dark clouds also started to gather. It seemed to be a storm suddenly arrived in the mountain out of nowhere.
It was only the start. It seemed to be a warning of sorts. Something seemed to be warning Nathan from advancing forward.
Unfortunately, the guy seemed to be ignoring it and continued to enter. And when his steps increased, the explosion of the thunderous sounds from the sky continued to reverberate, alerting the people of the city.
They raised their heads in the sky and discovered the dark clouds gathering above the mountain. They started to panic, thinking that the guardian of the mountain was enraged once again.
In a sense, they were right. Though, this time, it seemed to be a little more than that.
Someone was purposely provoking the guardian.
…
On the peak of the mountain, Nathan put his hands behind him and crossed them as he walked with steady steps. And with each step he took, the more intense the thunder raged in the sky.
"Stand down. I am not your enemy," said Nathan with a calm yet arrogant tone, seemingly ordering the spirit of the mountain guardian.
The guardian of the mountain became even more enraged when it heard his words and finally erupted.
Boom!
A golden lightning suddenly struck down from the sky, heading straight to Nathan like a falling blade.
Nathan smirked when he saw that and released his aura.
Bang!
Right after he did that, the descending lightning strike suddenly dissipated.
Then Nathan stared at the statue and said. "It looks like I need to remind you that your time is already over. You are nothing but a remnant of the past. Now, it is our turn to write the history."
"It is our era."
"Let me show you why I am called the Dragon King by the people."
BOOM!
...
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢