"Sir, is something wrong?" Nebai asked, noticing the tense expression on the whale’s face, her eyes filling with concern.
The dwarves knew the unusual abilities of that figure well. If he sensed something, it meant that big problems could be on the horizon.
"Just follow him quietly and obey every order to the letter. You don’t need to worry about anything else. He’s in charge now, and if something bad happens, only he can fix it," Zaimo said calmly.
Nebai listened, narrowing her eyes, but didn’t respond. Just follow orders without question? That was something she would never do, not even for the king. But this was the God of the Forge; she wouldn’t dare to defy him.
They continued climbing the steps. Two hours passed, and the others had already rushed ahead while they moved slowly. The group advanced cautiously, making sure all the runic seals on their armor were fully charged. This left them at the back of the line.
The staircase was incredibly long, and the higher they climbed, the greater the pressure. Each step became more and more difficult.
Even the strongest cultivators were only halfway up. There was still a long way to go.
As they walked, the whale sensed the curtain of golden runes in the sky. Alm and Bruno noticed that as time passed, this curtain grew thicker, emitting strange fluctuations that moved toward somewhere.
After another hour, the whale’s group began to move at a faster, steady pace. Their storage seals were fully charged, so there was no need to lag behind.
With the increasing pressure, many of the other participants began to lose strength and were forced to slow down.
"BLEEEAAARGH!"
Suddenly, as they climbed, one of the nearby participants started coughing up blood uncontrollably. He was a beastman from a mid-tier sect. Clenching his fists, he forced himself to continue; as a result, more blood spurted from his mouth.
Alm and Bruno clearly sensed with their divine souls. The blood fell on the steps and disappeared strangely, as if absorbed by some force. In the sky, bloody lines appeared in the curtain of golden runes.
"Brother, are you okay? If you can’t go on, take a rest. Don’t push yourself too hard," another beast in human form advised gently.
"I’m fine. Anyway, no one can die in the convention. I need to see how far I can go," the man replied, gritting his teeth and continuing to climb slowly, already covered in blood.
Taking a deep breath, he roared and pushed forward. When he climbed more than ten steps, something shocking happened.
*Poof!*
The man’s body exploded into pieces, turning into a mist of blood. As soon as the mist formed, it was absorbed by an invisible force and disappeared as if nothing had happened. Only Alm and Bruno noticed.
"This..."
At that moment, the faces of countless people changed. They finally realized something was wrong.
"He... he died? We’re on the stairs now. The challenge arena hasn’t even fully opened yet. It’s impossible to die!!" someone exclaimed, stunned.
"If he was eliminated, he would’ve been sent out! How could someone die? Was it a sneak attack?!"
People shouted in disbelief, their eyes reflecting fear. They saw exactly what happened, but couldn’t accept it.
"I’m not staying here." Someone, panicking, started running down the stairs.
*Poof!*
As he tried to descend, the burly man seemed to hit an invisible wall, and with a bang, his body disintegrated, turning into a mist of blood.
In that instant, the faces of countless people on the stairs, and those watching from outside, changed. The rules of this convention had completely changed, but why hadn’t the heroes said anything?
The onlookers outside turned to the faces of the members of the great sects; there was no surprise in them. The people from the mid and lower sects turned pale.
It only took two minutes for the sound of explosions to start echoing nonstop, as the weakest began dying rapidly.
After these people died, their blood mists were absorbed by the mysterious power. The bloody lines around the runes gradually intensified as if they were absorbing all of it.
"How can this be? When did the rules become so cruel? Is there no escape for the weak? Is everyone going to be killed?!" someone shouted, tears and despair in their eyes.
But no one answered. Everyone stared at the stairs leading to the challenge arena, horror etched on their faces. They were mothers and fathers, masters and teachers, all watching their loved ones and young disciples die helplessly.
It didn’t take long for some, in despair, to be unable to stand still any longer. They roared, unleashing their cultivation, and tried to approach the stairs.
*Boom!*
A supreme golden light emanated from the runes, covering everything around and instantly blowing the cultivators apart. They were like eggs smashing against a city wall, with the power of the runes barely moving. In the face of that force, the cultivators’ power seemed insignificant.
At that moment, the hearts of countless people sank. Although some believed themselves to be invincible, close to the limits of divine cultivation, before the strength of something that emanated from a hero, they were like insects.
Their attacks were like tickles. No matter how powerful they were, all they could do was watch helplessly. The older generation was anxious, while the disciples inside were even more terrified, their faces showing fear.
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"It’s a trap to kill us!" a disciple roared in despair.
The whale just let out a dry snort until Bruno accepted his fate and addressed the dwarves: "Don’t walk fast or spread out. If you stay together, the strong can protect the weak. The pressure here isn’t concentrated. Just share the bigger burden with those who can bear it."
Hearing this, the dwarves smiled lightly in approval and immediately took action.
Thanks to the runic seals fully charged with power, everyone could withstand the pressure easily. They approached the weaker, more desperate people and brought them into their group. As the whale had said, the pressure on the weakest suddenly decreased.
At that moment, many people watched the scene with pleading eyes, but they didn’t dare speak due to their pride.
"If you don’t want to take risks, come with us!" Bruno said, looking at them.
They all belonged to different races and came from different sects. Their pride was greater than their lives; they would rather die than ask for help. However, the whale’s words filled them with gratitude. They moved and looked at the round figure as if he emanated divine light.
After that statement, millions of disciples approached the dwarves and joined them. With only a hundred thousand dwarves, they managed to bear more than 90% of the pressure around them, allowing everyone to breathe easier.
The dwarves, faced with so many people to help, had no choice: all the power accumulated in their storage seals was used up. What was full was quickly consumed, burning their energies.
Alm and Bruno lamented, having lost a card, and the army would no longer have the runic storage seals. To ensure everyone’s safety, the whale didn’t speed up the pace but waited for the disciples further down to join them. If they climbed faster, all the weaker disciples would surely die.
Outside, some people praised them with tears, while others considered that the actions of that round figure represented an unparalleled sense of honor and chivalry.
However, most thought the opposite: this action was a waste of the strong’s strength. It was foolish to bring so many people along; what would they do after reaching the real challenge arena? Everyone would die anyway. It seemed extremely pointless.
However, the disciples climbing the stairs couldn’t see or hear what was happening outside. Of course, this didn’t apply to Alm and Bruno, who could feel everything with the clarity of their divine souls.
Bruno wasn’t in the habit of meddling, but he couldn’t help but assist. Even Alm remained silent with this choice. As for what others thought, they couldn’t care less.
The two acted according to their hearts and did what they wanted. Since they made a move, they would take on the responsibility of leading the people to the end. The further they advanced, the greater the pressure, but everything was within their support range.
Everyone walked slowly, being the last group and at the same time the largest. As more people joined, the team grew more and more.
Quickly, their numbers reached nearly ten million. Many of these disciples had been considered geniuses in their sects. Although they had great talent and strong backgrounds, they were overwhelmed by the fear of hardship and death, reluctant to work hard in cultivation or take risks.
As a result, their foundation was unstable, and their momentum was just an illusion. They lived in their dreams, believing themselves to be top specialists; they came to the convention certain that they would be defeated, but would only be expelled, just like on all other occasions.
Reality was becoming clear to them: they were mediocre, with nothing to show for it except an identity. If it weren’t for the whale who took them in, they could only wait for death, helpless.
The convention was divided into two stages: the stairs and the final stage, the challenge arena. The arena was larger than a hundred planets, currently packed with people to the point of being impossible to count.
When the whale’s group finally approached the arena, many had already been standing there for a long time, but the challenge arena remained silent, without any movement.
Some excited men shouted and cheered for the whale’s group, as among the protected people were their sect mates. There were also some who, with cruel words, mocked those people as if they were trash, claiming it was better to die on the stairs than to be protected so shamefully.
However, most just watched the current situation thoughtfully. Although they had climbed to the arena, there was no change in the dynamics. They weren’t sent to one-on-one confrontations as historically occurred. This convention had become an unpredictable mystery.
At the top of the arena, everyone could feel an intense divine energy. There should be the karmic blessing and the treasure, but everything was blocked by golden runes.
Some younger, more innocent people approached, trying to get a better feel, but soon ’bumped’ into others, crashing into the runes, which exploded them into pieces.
The more powerful ones looked at the demons smiling sinisterly and sighed; being innocent was a sin. But this situation served as a test, and now no one knew what to do, leaving them only to wait silently in the challenge arena. At that moment, the whale’s group finally stepped into the arena.
"Finally! I want to see who can protect him. It’s your time to die!"
Thus, a human voice echoed toward the whale. It was a disciple of the Three Sovereign Gods Sect.
Whooosh!
Suddenly, as soon as he finished speaking, a sphere of dark red flames hit him. There were no screams or anything... he simply disintegrated into ashes.