"Okay, okay, that's enough of the chitchat," Tarosse cluded, having said all he repared to. "The rest you'll naturally discover upoering. Whenever you're ready, feel free to proceed."
With that, Yunaia gracefully dismounted Oscar's back. Together, they ventured forward, entering their respective tunnels without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Ad his panions were on the brink of stepping into the passage when they noticed Linley gazing into the distah a perplexed expression.
"What's up with you?" Aquired, his curiosity piqued. "Is something wrong?"
Linley hesitated for a moment before responding, his voice tinged with fusion. "I 't quite put my finger on it, but it feels as if something is bei's remi of the sensation I felt when entering the Azure Dragon all those years ago..."
Ad the rest of the group followed Linley's gaze, attempting to dis the source of his unease. Yet, despite their collective efforts, whether it was Ace, whose soul was the most powerful of those present or Bebe, who had an innate e to the young Baruch Patriarone of them could perceive anything out of the ordinary.
With a determined resolve, Linley decided to put aside his uainties. "It’s not important now," he affirmed, squashing his lingering doubts. "In a pce like this, distras be deadly. To uncover more, I'll just have to asd to the higher levels."
With these words, he took a step forward, leading the way into the passage to the Necropolis of the Gods.
Ad the rest of the group exged uanding gnces before nodding and following Linley's resolute stride.
Before pletely disappearing into the passage, Ace turned back to look at Amira and the others. “Be careful!”
The first batch of Deathgod Golems only had the power of an early-stage saint, so he was fident that no one in their group would struggle much at all. Still, upoing, they would have reached the sed floor, and acc to Tarosse's description, that was a locatiht with danger.
Whether it was Wukong, Kimika, or Lazerim, they were all extremely powerful. As such, he wasn't particurly worried about their safety, but Amira and Leona were different...
One was his familiar and long-time parthe other was his... Well, it was plicated. Still, although in terms of talent and potential, they were almost without peers, unfortunately, they hadn't had enough time to truly live up to their potential. He khey were far from the weakest entering this time, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried.
"We'll be fine,” Amira, perceptive as always, picked up on Ace's . She reassured him with a fident nod. “See you oher side."
With those parting words, Atered the passage, the group vanishing from view as they eheir respective tunnels.
Upoering his desigunnel, Ace found himself in a vast underground cavern. At the far end of the cavern, an imposihgod Golem stood guard, blog access to the stairway leading to the floor.
As Ace fidently ehe cavern, the Deathgod Golem sprung to life, hurtling toward him with menag i. Uurbed, Ace tio stride forward as if he hadn't even noticed the approag adversary.
It was only when the Deathgod Golem was on the brink of striking distahat Ace sprang into a.
Like a dormant volo unleashing its fury, Ace's give surged forward with astonishing speed and power. The crimson streak it left behind sliced through the air, striking the puppet squarely in the chest and propelling it in the opposite dire with double the velocity it had approached.
Remarkably, despite delivering such a devastating blow, Ace's unhurried gait remained unbroken as he tinued his leisurely walk toward the exit.
Simir ses pyed out iher tunnels as the initial group of ten adventurers made their way through.
To the rest of the ti, saints were regarded as lofty, almost godlike figures. Still, fag these ten individuals, it was clear that it would take far more than the power of an expert at the early stages of the saint realm to pose a challenge of any kind of significe.
Exiting the passage leading to the sed floor, Ace found himself in the midst of a scorg desert, an inviting oasis with crystal-clear blue water standing before him. The surreal ndscape was dominated by numerous t voloes, their peaks seeming to pierce the very heavens.
Yet, what struck Ace most profoundly was the lingering st of blood that taihe air, apanied by an eerie undercurrent of bloodlust that permeated the sweltering atmosphere.
After a brief moment of initial surprise, Ace selected a dire and began his purposeful march.
Just moments after he arrived on the sed floor, he had already sehe presence of Leona, located dozens of kilometres away.
Their spiritual bond allowed them to always remain aware of each other's whereabouts as long as they were within the same pne of existence.
The strahing, though, was that Ace was moving in the plete opposite dire of his familiar.
Although he still couldn’t uand how or why, Ad Amira also shared a simir e, though not as keen as his oh Leona.
Regardless, it was Amira's location he was moving towards.
It wasn’t that he thought Amira was more important; it was simply because, as their e was clearer, Ace was able to unicate directly with Leona. As such, he khat Leona was fine and slowly making her way towards him.
Oher hand, although he could sense Amira was also making her way towards him, he wouldn’t be able to see if she got herself surrounded or hurt.
Unfortunately, before he could reach Amira, Ace found himself encircled by a group of more thay demonic creatures.
Though an early saint might not pose a signifit threat to his current power level, fag twenty of them simultaneously was airely different challenge.
Although he had never ehe Necropolis of the Gods in the past, thanks to Arianna’s family records, he was able to get his hands on a lot of information from previous years. In particur, the beings that called the ruins home.
As soon as he saw the semi-humanoid-shaped creatures with bodies made from pure, scarlet-coloured va ed by faint wreaths of fme, he instantly reised them as Magma Demons.
However, Ace greeted the situation with enthusiasm. "You lot will serve as a good warm-up for what lies ahead in here," he grinned wickedly, morphing into a bzing crimson blur as he charged headlong into the small army of Magma Demons.
His give dahrough the air with fiery grace, each thrust breaking the sound barrier with a resounding roar. The pained cries of the demons faded into insignifice as Ace systematically dismahem, leaving behind a trail of fallen adversaries.
As the st Magma Demon fell, Ace's insatiable appetite for battle remained unsated. Amira, who had yet to enter a worthy oppo, couldn't help but feel a hint of envy.
"Seems like you were having fun," Amira ented, her tone ced with jealousy.
Ace offered a wistful smile before releasing a helpless sigh. "Perhaps a little. But I could’ve doh there being a few more of them."
"You're just greedy," Amira pyfully retorted. "I haven't even had a ce to fight since reag the sed floor."
Ace relented with a nod. "You take on the batch when the opportunity arises."
Amira's pouty expression persisted. "Who knows when that will be? Haven’t you noticed how stable this world is? I barely extend my spiritual essence half a meter beyond my body."
"I've noticed," Ace aowledged. "I oend my spiritual essence about five meters around my body. Even with my [Observation Hak, I only expand it to 100 meters without pressing it."
"100 meters?" Amira queried, a dangerous light flickering in her eyes. "Are you showing off?"
"Of course not. I wouldn't dare!" Ace replied, raising his hands in mock surrender.
However, before he could tiheir versation, he sensed something which caused him to pivot his head in the dire where Leona was located; his eyes suddenly filled with worry and a trace of ess.
Without the need for words, both Ad Amira uatingly took off, their bodies appearing as mere blurs as they raced toward their panion.
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