Everyone felt their souls and bodies tremble in the presence of that figure. It was a human immortal cultivator with a completely unique aura around him. He wasn’t a hero, but at the same time, he wasn’t a Divine Inquisitor either. Still, everyone sensed that he was in tune with the will of the heavens... or almost.
Alm and Bruno’s eyes widened; they felt something similar when they saw Mihkriel for the first time. It was a connection between them. However, this human was different. An instinctive rage took over them, as if that figure was a mortal enemy.
’An ex-missionary.’ Alm spoke coldly.
It wasn’t a surprise. They knew, from the Chaos Dragon Yang, that some missionaries had also chosen to switch sides to the queen’s during the past. And now, they had encountered one for the first time.
But, clearly, the power of his will had changed; disconnecting from the one that supported Alm and Bruno. It was probably replaced by the queen’s power. And that was what made the two feel mortal hatred.
If they felt it, that figure also sensed the connection between the missionaries, even though it had changed. Alm and Bruno quickly thought, becoming serious: they hadn’t even entered that planet, and they had already been discovered?
But for the Heavenly Will to send him, there had to be a way. And the fact that this figure didn’t immediately attack them and instead asked a question meant that he only felt something vague, even meaningless to him.
"Hm? Heavenly Will?" The golem asked, with a confused expression. Then, he gripped his spear and turned to it, his face changing as if he remembered something.
"Ah, that must be it. My weapon is a Legendary Divine-Level Immortal Item. They say it has a connection to the Heavenly Will, right?"
The human narrowed his eyes, staring at the golem. It wasn’t just the subtle sensation of seeing him. Upon feeling the fluctuations of his soul, something very strange seemed to flow from him. It was a very powerful soul, but it didn’t seem divine.
Everything about this golem seemed wrong, or maybe he was imagining things. He thought, confused, but returned his attention to the spear in the golem’s hands. The immortal core fluctuations truly matched his words.
"May I know who the senior is? Did something go wrong?" The golem asked, with an innocent look, while the figure stared at him coldly.
Five seconds passed before the human snorted. "I’m the one in charge of this generation’s test. Did you bring this weapon from your universe?"
"No. I found it in the underworld by chance, and I’ve kept it as my secret weapon. Then, I was brought here."
The golem spoke calmly, offering a logical explanation. The underworld was vast, much larger than all the universes combined, making it impossible for the queen and her subordinates to find everything hidden there. Hidden weapons like this could exist, left by those who lost the war and hid there.
Alm and Bruno worked using their celestial soul to hide anything wrong from his senses. Meanwhile, the human felt the golem’s fluctuations and saw nothing but the truth, and an innocence as pure as a saint’s.
"I see. Well, at the end of this little world are the rules of the test. I wouldn’t need to say this, but I’ll share something interesting." He sighed, his eyes then focusing on them. Clearly, he was interested in the golem and wanted to help, perhaps aiming to have him as an ally in the future.
"This test is a little different from the previous ones. Overall, it’s still the same, but you won’t stay in just one little world. This place you’re in has almost no dangers, which is intentional. In the end, you’ll be able to cross into a second world, where the dangers and treasures will multiply a thousandfold. And at the end of that, a third and final little world will await you."
Hibria and the draconic beasts were surprised; they’d never heard of a test in multiple places before.
"This test will last three days, and the last little world has so many treasures and dangers that, if only those who reached the center were approved, everyone would fail. So, at the end of the time, everyone who is there will be approved."
"If you’re a coward, you’ll think there’s a loophole: just go to the second world, wait until the last minute, and cross to the third. But that won’t be possible, I warn you. In the first and second worlds, on the last day, things get more dangerous every hour, to the point that, in the last twelve hours, it will be hard to say whether the third world is the deadliest or not. You have to keep advancing because, in the last hour, it may be impossible to cross. It was designed this way to avoid cheating. Lastly, the first to reach the final place will receive a bonus."
The human concluded, slowly ascending to the skies and waving at them. "I’ve spoken more than what’s written. After you pass this test, find me," he said, glancing at the golem before ’disappearing.’
Or at least that’s what the draconic beasts thought. But Alm and Bruno clearly sensed that the human was simply hidden within the spatial laws, watching them.
’Fuck! He’s not going to leave us alone as long as he has suspicions.’ Bruno complained.
Earlier, they had been excited about the possibility of recovering the Qi in their bodies and having all their cards at their disposal again. But now, they needed to keep everything hidden. They had to complete the test using only what they had already shown: the spear and their mastery over the laws of earth.
If they activated their physical cultivation or used their tattoos, they would be immediately investigated under grave suspicion. They were walking on the edge of a cliff, and that human certainly wouldn’t leave them alone even after the test.
They turned and sent a message to Ruri. Her situation was similar. Initially, they planned to go to the center of the location, and Ruri would try to infiltrate the formation. There was a possibility that her divine soul could completely dominate everything, but now doing so silently had become impossible.
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēwebnovel.com.
’This mission is, indeed, the most dangerous one we’ve ever been on. We have to do everything without revealing any of what we have, and still, there are eyes watching us the whole time.’ Alm murmured to Ruri through the array. ’Not to mention that, on that planet, other ex-missionaries must be waiting for us. At the slightest mistake, it’s over.’
Ruri grabbed their arm and squeezed, her determination only growing: ’The God of the Forge, Almin, Lyra, and Isla are waiting for us. Master will save them. These bastards won’t catch us.’
Alm and Bruno sighed at her blind trust in them, but they didn’t mind. In fact, they felt calm and at ease, knowing that the reason was having her with them on this mission. They trusted each other, and both felt good and excited to be together.
Without delay, the army began moving through that place. After an hour, it was confirmed that there were temporarily no dangers in the area. Of course, this only applied to them, who had arrived first.
Fluctuations from a dozen treasures could be felt in this small world. When all the other armies arrived, they’d surely kill each other to steal them. In the first world, the greatest mortal danger was the competitors themselves.
However, these treasures didn’t spark the slightest interest in Alm and Bruno. The fluctuations indicated they were merely fragments of Emperor-level immortal weapons. To them, this was irrelevant; nowadays, they could forge complete weapons of that level with ease.
They then proceeded to an area near the end of the world, where the passage to the next world was. There, they felt the presence of a treasure that seemed different from the others. Even better, they noticed that everyone who had advanced was converging on that spot. What was there mattered little. The true treasure was the people.
When they arrived, they were surprised to discover that, while everything behind them was a devastated, dead land, the area ahead radiated life.
There was a green lake there, as if formed of pure natural energy. Nayr and Hibria’s instincts went on alert, sending shivers down their spines.
Around the lake were millions of enemies, from all the armies that had advanced. Only the most powerful seemed absent, probably inside the lake. The ones there were soldiers, guarding the place.
The sight of the draconic beasts approaching provoked deafening war cries. The enemies, fueled by some Qi absorbed from the environment, rushed forward furiously.
Something felt off.
Everyone’s eyes were scarlet. All the draconic beasts noticed that the enemies seemed consumed by madness, as if they could no longer reason, simply following orders to eliminate intruders.
"Let’s go!" the golem ordered coldly, surrounded by the laws of earth as he moved forward.
Faced with the avalanche of enemies, the draconic beasts swallowed nervously and stopped, startled. Their numbers were a few hundred thousand, while the enemies outnumbered them by twenty times. Fighting seemed insane and utterly suicidal.
The golem, however, raised his spear and struck the ground. Immediately, countless metal spears emerged beneath the feet of the first waves of enemies.
*CRACK!*
The spears pierced the enemies’ bodies, while a violet shadow shot out like a blur, creating a rain of blood soaring upwards, with heads being decapitated.
Ruri advanced with all her power, and her katana was like a celestial blade. Every movement of hers was perfect, killing several at once.
But the golem was even more brutal. Without showing mercy, he advanced rapidly, his spear spinning, turning anything that came within five meters into pieces. He trusted his defensive abilities to keep moving forward, with his weapon destroying everything it touched.
The blood golems advanced right behind, without hesitation, fighting in the midst of the tide of enemies. Nayr, Hibria, and the draconic beasts were in shock. They knew the couple was powerful, but what they were witnessing was beyond imagination.
If they were alone, it might take hours, but certainly just the two of them would easily massacre all the enemies. Having allies just made the process faster. How the hell were they so powerful? Then the two roared, commanding everyone forward.
Alm, Bruno, and Ruri had no choice but to eliminate anyone who faced them. They couldn’t reveal more than they had already shown, and the enemies were clearly under mind control. Trying to spare them wasn’t an option. They’d had a choice before, and they’d chosen to be in the army of those bloodthirsty bastards—this was their karma.
With the help of the army of blood golems and the draconic beasts, everything ended in three hours. The couple in front was like a meat grinder, while those behind dealt only with the wounded and the stragglers.
In the end, the army was covered in blood and panting from the victory, but when they looked at the couple in front, they were speechless. They were serene, as if it had only been a light warm-up. They had barely used anything special; their weapons were scary enough on their own.
Ruri’s katana was still an Emperor-level Immortal Item, of the lowest grade. She had only been forced to restrict its power to a maximum of 50%, and could never use rune seals. Still, her skill combined with the weapon was enough to slice anything. These mutants weren’t very intelligent anymore, and with their minds controlled, it only got worse. In front of her, they were pathetic.
The couple walked toward the lake, and when they were a meter from the shore, the green water began to ripple. At that moment, about fifty figures emerged, all with scarlet eyes.
They were the most powerful of the armies. Interestingly, they were all in their true forms, and the more humanoid ones were naked. In the center of them, a red-haired demoness appeared, equally naked, staring at the couple with a wicked grin.
"Such a shameless bitch..." Ruri spat.
The army behind stopped, stunned. Even Nayr and Hibria felt suffocated, as if death was hanging over them. They swallowed nervously, unable to move.