At the gate, the soldiers already turned their attention toward the gate, weapons raised, ready in case the ones erging were not Mason or the otherworlders beside him.
Not far ahead of the gate, the general stood with his hands behind his back. Tension filled his body, yet anticipation stirred in his chest.
Could this gate really be cleared by only those four otherworlders?
He already knew the information about Aldrian and his wives, including the fact that they possessed power beyond SSSS-rank. He wondered if that kind of strength would be enough to clear a gate that had already beco one of the greatest threats in North Arica.
'But isn't this too fast? It has only been four hours since they entered the gate. Did sothing happen inside, forcing them to abort the clearing?'
That thought was not his alone. In fact, it lingered in the minds of everyone present. They assud the attempt had failed, forcing an early escape.
That was the logical conclusion. How could a gate like this be cleared with only five people inside?
Even thousands had proven insufficient.
So of them grew pissed off. They did not like the idea that those otherworlders might be treating a place where so many of their comrades had fallen like nothing more than a proving ground.
Even the last joint operation between the Hunter Association and the major guilds, with more than twenty thousand hunters, had lasted a day before they were forced to retreat.
The general let out a quiet breath.
'If that were the case, Leader Mason's reputation would take a hit. Allowing only four people to attempt clearing the gate would make him look like a complete joke for even entertaining such an idea.'
A few seconds passed.
Then, at last, he and the soldiers saw several silhouettes erging from the gate.
The general's eyes glimred when he saw that Mason and Aldrian's group had co out. But confusion quickly followed as he looked at their expressions.
Mason's face was blank. Aldrian wore a slight smile. Two of his wives looked pissed, while one of them looked strangely happy.
He could not make sense of it.
He approached them and gave a salute.
"Welco back."
His voice pulled Mason back to his senses. Mason looked at the general, sighed, then gave a small nod.
"So, how about the gate? Were there any problems that made you co back this early, Mister Mason?"
Mason shook his head. He tapped the general's shoulder before stepping past him.
"Just send a clearing team. This gate is cleared."
After saying that, he walked away, leaving the general stunned.
Aldrian smiled as he glanced at the general.
"Thank you for your and your troops' service in guarding this gate. But you don't have to worry about it anymore. My wives have already cleared it."
Aldrian then walked away, following Mason. Sylphia and the others followed him, though not before giving the general a respectful nod.
The general blinked several tis before his eyes widened in shock. The soldiers who heard Mason and Aldrian could not believe it either.
Cleared? What?
The general quickly turned toward Mason and Aldrian's group. He wanted to question them, to demand details about what had happened inside, but they were already floating into the air.
Then Mason's voice resounded across the entire region.
"The Land of Blood Gate has been cleared. For the aftermath, please ask the military after the cleaning process is complete."
Hearing that, the press fell into complete shock.
The gate was cleared? With only five people inside? And in just four hours?
It sounded absurd to many of them, and they imdiately wanted to question Mason, Aldrian, and his wives. But as the press began throwing questions at them, Mason and Aldrian's group did not entertain any of it and simply flew away.
The press could only stand there, stunned as Mason left. Soon, they redirected their attention toward the fortress. However, even the military could not tell them anything, as everything had happened too suddenly.
At this mont, there was nothing they could do except send in a cleaning team, just like what Mason had said.
The sign that the gate had truly been cleared.
But the general wanted to see it for himself first.
He dashed toward the gate, followed by two SSS-rank and several SS-rank individuals who shared the sa thought. As they stepped through to the other side, they were imdiately shocked.
The environnt was completely different from what they knew.
On the other side, the gate was supposed to stand in a barren land that reeked of blood and death. A land where no greenery could grow. They were also supposed to be surrounded by the otherworlders' camp.
But what they saw instead was a lush, dense forest, filled with towering trees and giant flowers in the distance.
There were still dead bodies, bloodstains, and the remnants of the camp scattered around. A lingering aura hung in the air, sending chills down their spines. They quickly realized that this aura must have been left behind by the otherworlders beside Mason.
It was the strongest aura they had ever felt.
They then flew upward to get a better view of what had happened, and what they saw only shocked them even more.
They saw that the forest stretched all the way to the horizon, with many giant flowers rising far taller than the Statue of Liberty. The beautiful blooms released a pleasant fragrance that soothed their senses.
Their hearts trembled, and even their eyes shook.
Did those otherworlders really do all of this?
This kind of power was beyond what they could comprehend. Even the general found nothing in his mind except disbelief.
'Is this the power beyond SSSS-rank?'
After a few monts of silence, he finally spoke.
"Give the order to the cleaning team to begin their work in this area. I will fly deeper to check further."
"Yes, sir." One of the SS-rank soldiers replied before returning to the other side of the gate.
"All of you, form groups and spread out. Check the entire region. We will confirm whether this world is truly cleared, just like what Leader Mason claid. If you encounter enemies, eliminate them if you can. If they are stronger than you, do not fight. Retreat imdiately."
"Yes, sir."
They responded in unison before splitting into groups, each heading in a different direction to inspect the entire area.
-----------------------------------
In a place far from the fortress, Mason continued flying alongside Aldrian and his wives, still wearing a look of disbelief. His mind returned to what had happened inside the gate.
There was only one word to describe it.
Carnage.
The savages of the Land of Blood did not stand a chance against Aldrian's wives. They were utterly destroyed, obliterated, wiped out, and any word would fit their annihilation.
They could not escape.
They could not resist.
They were truly powerless.
Every camp, every fortress, every city, every place where the otherworlders of the Land of Blood gathered, all of them were slaughtered without exception.
So were frozen to death. So were pierced by a rain of ice spears. Others were devoured by carnivorous plants, corroded by acidic rain, or erased by holy light. And there were more.
From what he saw, Aldrian's wives were testing their various techniques on those poor bastards.
He had also sensed presences deeper within the territory, beings whose auras surpassed SSSS-rank. Yet when he reached those areas, they were already dead.
The existence of such beings in the Land of Blood proved that they had been wrong about this gate's rank all along.
This gate should have been classified above SSSS-rank!
They had no idea it contained such terrifying secrets!
Fortunately, those beings were already dead, which brought him a great sense of relief.
All of this carnage happened at an unbelievable speed. Aldrian's wives did not waste ti. Like a speed run, they destroyed one place and moved on to the next without pause.
And just like that, the entire Land of Blood was cleared in four hours.
Mason did not even have the ti to verify every location. Their speed was far beyond what he could follow, so he could only trace the aftermath they left behind.
He finally stopped when one of them, Sylphia, told him that no enemies remained in the Land of Blood. He had no choice but to follow her back as she rushed to return to Aldrian's side.
Looking back at the destruction they left behind, he could only accept it.
The Land of Blood had truly been cleared.
Aldrian, who had barely moved from his position, gave his own confirmation that not a single otherworlder or monster remained alive.
"I will surely win the next round."
Mason's thoughts were cut off by Baek Jimin's voice.
"Sister Angelica's heavenly technique is the bane of those devils. With its wide area of effect, she could kill far more and much faster than us."
Sylphia spoke with a slight pout before letting out a soft sigh.
"It looks like in the next round, if I want to win, I'll have to use techniques on a much larger and more destructive scale."
Angelica smiled brightly as she looked at Sylphia and Baek Jimin.
"I'm sorry, sisters, but no matter what, I'm still the winner this ti. Husband's reward is still waiting for ."
She spoke in a playful tone, which made Sylphia and Baek Jimin look even more jealous.
Aldrian could only smile as he watched his wives' interaction.
After this, they would head to another gate that still bore the status of unclear, one that was just as dangerous as the Land of Blood. After the challenge there, Sylphia and Baek Jimin, who were not satisfied with the result, had already asked for another round.
Angelica agreed as well. She wanted to prove that she still would not lose.
And just like that, the competition between the three won would continue at the next gate they entered.
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