In disbelief, Kriss and Pauline watched him destroy the landscape in rage.
After seeing his extraordinary strength and having witnessed him doing several seemingly impossible things, all while appearing mostly calm and collected, they had co to view him as a dangerous but level-headed guy.
So, seeing him rage like this, they couldn't help but wonder just what he had heard in the ssage he received a while ago that made him go out of control like this.
They also felt a bad feeling well up in their hearts because they vaguely felt whatever had happened had affected them too. The only reason they were just watching him while suppressing the unsettling feeling in their hearts was because they didn't know what exactly had happened.
They, of course, tried connecting their family mbers in the battlefield, knowing they were too far for their communication crystal to send or receive ssages to and from the Royal City, but they weren't able to contact them. However, they didn't find it abnormal because he had been unable to contact them ever since they entered the demon territory.
But this also made them curious.
'How was he able to receive a ssage when we couldn't?'
"Arrggghhhh!"
After a while, Max finally stopped rampaging, but his enraged roar that made them shiver told them his anger hadn't cald down even a bit. He was just trying to control it.
They exchanged a glance between them.
'Should we talk to him now?' Pauline seed to ask with her eyes, concerned.
'Let's wait for a while.' Kriss shook his head.
After that roar, Max stood still for several minutes, but his aura was still fluctuating violently. It only started to calm down a quarter of an hour later.
Kriss and Pauline walked over when they saw this.
Kriss put his hand on his shoulder and asked, "You alright?"
Ha!
Max heaved a deep breath and exhaled it before nodding slowly, his voice uncharacteristically cold. "Yes,"
"What happened?" Kriss asked,
Max turned toward them, his expression cold and indifferent as he said, "A mass sacrifice."
Kriss and Pauline paled when they heard this. "Was our…"
Knowing what she was going to ask, Max interrupted Pauline, "Countless living beings throughout the kingdoms and empires outside the central plains were sacrificed to an ancient formation."
"This shouldn't be true, no, it can't be true…" Pauline trembled, shaking her head in a mixture of disbelief, denial, and despair, while Kriss stood there, motionless and emotionless, but a black haze covered his eyes, making him look demonic.
Max stayed silent for a few minutes, letting them co to their senses, but when they didn't, despite sympathizing with them, he said, "I'm going back ho. Are you guys coming with or…"
"I'll go to Royal City." Kriss and Pauline simultaneously said,. After thanking him once again in a daze, they turned and left in a hurry.
Despite knowing Max hadn't lied to them because they had felt this sacrificial formation lock on to them, they wanted to see for themselves if their families were alive or… they were also sacrificed.
Watching them leave, Max also rushed away, heading toward Ashroth's place. Since very few people should be alive now, he wasn't worried that they would run into so trouble. This mass sacrifice… it had practically ended the war, maybe for good… or maybe it was just the beginning.
…
A mont after Barren and two Quasi-Supres vanished, they appeared in a secret location deep underground. There were already several people—Humans, Elves, and Demons—present there.
At a glance, one could see humans were the dominant faction here, while the number of elves was less than demons.
"So?" One of the demons and elves asked at the sa ti, their voices filled with anticipation.
Barren swept his gaze across them.
Save for a few from his faction who wore slightly conflicting expressions on their faces, everyone else was eager to go ahead with the plan. They did not, not even a bit, care about the countless lives that were going to be lost in the next short while to pave their paths to the outside world.
But he was sure if he ntioned this, they would wear pitiful and guilty expressions for a few monts, and then they would say that their sacrifice was necessary to break out of this cage and it would be rembered by every generation to co, which, in his opinion, was utter bullshit.
But…
'I'm a hypocrite.' He chuckled bitterly.
He wasn't much different than anyone else here. His desire to break out of this cage and be free was just as strong, though his reasons might be different from so of theirs…
And to be free of the constraints placed on him, even if it pained him or caused him to feel guilty for the rest of his life, he would go ahead with the plan.
When the demons saw his expression beco cold and determined, their eyes flashed with a triumphant glint. As for the elves, they showed no changes in their expressions.
"We got lucky." Barren said, his words causing everyone to raise their brows in confusion. Barren had no desire to explain himself, so he continued, "Our chances to break out of the Three Grand Sealing Formation have increased by at least one-third. So, let's not delay this any longer and activate the sacrificial formation."
Saying this, he took out a piece of violet rock and placed it in the hole at the center of the hall they were in. After that, he sat down, placed both his hands on either side of the hole, and closed his eyes.
The demons and elves narrowed their eyes and looked at the blood demon and the Rivervale ancestor for explanation. They weren't going to complete the key without knowing everything, especially when Barren seed to want to control the formation.
"Keke, no need to be so wary." The blood demon ancestor chuckled, "Through a stroke of luck, he managed to get the coordinates of the spatial tunnel of the sealing formation."
Everyone's eyes glinted upon hearing this.
"This ans we don't need to waste energy while opening the passageway at a random point of the sealing formation…" A human expert, another Quasi-Supre muttered in realization. "No wonder he said our chances increased."
After that, he stood up, took out a similar piece of rock, and placed it in the hole, followed by another human expert. After that, two demons stood up and did the sa, leaving room in the hole just enough for another piece of rock.
Everyone looked at the beautiful, green-haired elven woman, who seed to be lost in her thoughts.
Feeling their gazes, she stood up, walked over to the hole, and took out the piece of rock but didn't put it in right away. Instead, she looked down at Barren and asked in a soft voice, "Are we doing the right thing?"
Everyone frowned but didn't say anything. Barren opened his eyes and t her gaze.
After a mont, he shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I'm willing to proceed."
Saying this, he paused for a mont before adding, "However, if you don't want to do this, I'll make sure no harm cos to your people."
While his words caused so dissatisfaction among the humans and angered the demons, the elven woman smiled bitterly.
"Don't try to make feel responsible."
Saying this, she put the rock in the hole, completing the activation key, which activated the sacrificial formation.
A minute later, a massive amount of energy was gathered beneath the hole, which Barren forced toward the spatial tunnel hidden in the massive sealing formation.
BANG!
Whirl!
"IT'S DONE!!" A demon shouted, ecstatic. However, in the next mont, his expression changed, becoming enraged.
His gaze flicked over to the exhausted Barren, who was staring at the spatial tunnel in front of him with narrowed eyes, and he shouted,
"HOW DARE YOU DECEIVE US!!!"
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