Chapter 576: Ancient City Fragment
Their destination was not far from where they began.
With the weakest among them being a King, the group crossed the distance in a matter of hours.
Before long, a massive plex of buildings came into Liora’s view.
Although it had been described as a fragment before, in person, it resembled a floating continent far more than a city district.
Just looking at it was enough to speculate how colossal the original ancient city must have been in the past.
As they approached, the group came to an abrupt halt.
No one attempted to enter immediately. They stopped just outside the city’s boundary and stared at the space before them.
The reason was obvious. A translucent, semi-white barrier enveloped the fragment, sealing it off from the outside world.
According to the memories Liora had obtained from the demon, attempting to force one’s way through would lead to disastrous consequences.
At the very least, all of the World Lords who had once acpanied this expedition were nowhere to be found.
Looking at the barrier, every member of the group, including the Venerables and the Emperor, grew solemn.
Silence settled over them, and their previous experiences with it appeared to have surfaced in their minds.
After several seconds, the tentacled demon finally took the initiative to speak up.
“I believe everyone already knows the gravity of the situation. Do not make any unnecessary moves. We’ve already paid a heavy price to uncover this barrier’s rules.”
“If we obtain any treasures, I promise that we will split them evenly.”
“If anyone tries to be clever, however…”
The tentacled demon left that sentence unfinished.
Yet the cold gaze from its million moving eyes was enough to send chills through everyone’s hearts.
The demons immediately nodded, not daring to argue at all.
Without saying a single word, each of them reached into their respective storage space and took out a black token.
Liora also did the same.
She had found this object among the remains of the lizard demon, and it had been one of the few objects that had survived the Cosmic Sea’s onslaught.
The fact that it had endured such power had already convinced her of its extraordinary nature.
After digesting the demon’s memories, she came to understand its true purpose.
Just as the name “token” implied, this thing was a key.
More precisely, a key to the city fragment standing before them.
Only after a sufficient number of these tokens were gathered would the barrier permit entry to outsiders. Otherwise, anyone who dared to enter would face its counterattack.
“In the past, these tokens were probably carried by the city’s residents, or perhaps its soldiers.”
“Fortunately, although the city itself remained relatively intact, its fragmentation scattered several treasures throughout the battlefield. These tokens were included.”
Otherwise, gathering enough of them in such a short period of time would have been impossible.
Countless thoughts flashed through Liora’s mind.
Outwardly, however, she continued maintaining the indifferent expression of the demon she was impersonating.
Her acting skills seemed to have improved even further, as even the Emperor failed to discover anything.
Once everyone had taken out their token, no one spoke any further. They advanced toward the barrier in unison.
Several people among them looked visibly nervous. Holding their tokens tightly, they carefully approached the translucent wall.
One of the Venerables, in particular, appeared especially cautious.
Every movement of his was slow and deliberate, as though he feared that the slightest mistake would result in his death.
His cautiousness should have ensured that nothing happened.
But things often went unlike what one would expect.
The Venerable’s token touched the barrier as half his body passed through it.
Nothing happened.
Seeing this, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
But the next moment, his expression froze.
The black token in his hands… slipped out of his grasp.
Recalling the fate suffered by his previous panions, the Venerable’s eyes shrank.
He instinctively waved his hands and retreated, attempting to exit the barrier’s range as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
A streak of light emerged from within the barrier.
Before anyone—including the tentacled Emperor—could react to its appearance, the light had already reached the Venerable.
The next instant… his vitality vanished.
The intelligence in his eyes disappeared. His soul was instantly extinguished.
His enormous body silently collapsed before drifting away from the city fragment, gradually disappearing into the depths of space.
From beginning to end, no one managed to capture the light’s outline, much less stop it.
“Damn it! What is Ektor doing?! Does he want to kill us all?!”, one of the demons cursed, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
The barrier required nine tokens to open, while their team had prepared twelve.
Originally, the extra tokens had been insurance in case anything unexpected occurred.
None of them had expected to need one so soon.
Silence once again enveloped the group. No one moved.
Only after several seconds did the tentacled Emperor speak again. This time, its voice was even harsher.
“I already warned you to be careful. It seems that Ektor was simply seeking his own death. Hmph!”, its cold snort echoed through space.
Then its countless eyes swept across the remaining demons.
“I don’t want to see this happen again. If anyone else makes such a mistake, I don’t mind taking their token for myself.”
The barely concealed threat in its tone caused several demons to stiffen.
They hurriedly nodded, their expressions far more serious than ever before.
Satisfied with their reactions, the tentacled Emperor turned around and continued leading the way.
The others quickly followed.
None of them noticed the brief flash of surprise in the eyes of the lizard demon near the rear of the group.
Likewise, no one would have ever imagined that the Venerable’s death had been caused by that very demon.
It had merely been an experiment.
Liora had simply wanted to witness the barrier’s power with her own eyes.
The result caught her off guard.
Not because it had the ability to kill a Venerable so easily, but because, unlike everyone else, she had managed to catch a glimpse of the blow’s true form.
It had been a sword light.
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