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Join the Server“Quick, over here!”
Lilia was inwardly cursing Aivia when Aivia’s voice suddenly rang out.
Both of them looked in the direction of the sound, spotting Aivia, who had already found a suitable hiding spot.
Lilia and Gern exchanged a glance. Without hesitation, they swiftly followed Aivia, concealing themselves behind the dense bushes.
A large hollow provided perfect cover here. The overhead foliage completely obscured the three of them, making it impossible to discern their presence from the outside.
“Hurry, keep up! Don’t dawdle,” the leading Serpentman soldier urged those behind him. By his demeanor, he seemed to be the squad leader.
Lilia, Gern, and Aivia held their breaths, their gazes fixed intently on the approaching Serpentman squad.
The average strength of this Serpentman squad hovered around that of a Second-tier Knight, with their leader having even attained the formidable level of a Fourth-tier Knight.
The collective combat prowess of this squad was vastly superior to the ragtag groups they had encountered before.
Though all three of them possessed strength above the Third-tier, they lacked complete confidence in their ability to eliminate this search party of several dozen Serpentmen.
Should they be discovered, their troubles would escalate immensely.
“Hm? Men, search over here.”
As if drawn by their deepest fears, the Serpentman squad leader’s hand inadvertently pointed directly towards their hiding spot.
With the Serpentmen drawing ever closer, the hearts of the three women pounded in their chests.
Seeing this, Gern gritted her teeth. A faint, dark mist began to emanate from beneath her feet.
Netherworld Steps was one of the Heretic God Cult’s exclusive movement techniques, a fact known to all. Once the characteristics of Netherworld Steps were revealed, Gern’s identity would be compromised.
Yet, in this dire situation, Gern had no choice but to employ the Netherworld Steps.
Even if her next fate was to be dealt with by Lilia as a cultist.
Unbeknownst to herself, Gern had unconsciously prioritized Lilia’s safety above her own. It was a realization that even Gern had yet to grasp.
One step, two steps…
The Serpentman had already approached the dense bushes where they lay hidden. The thick foliage completely obscured what lay behind it, making it impossible to see anything from this distance.
Thump-thump, thump-thump~
In the profound silence, Gern clearly heard the rapid thumping of their hearts, including her own.
Gern’s body was taut, stretched to its absolute limit, like a fully drawn bowstring. She was poised to unleash Netherworld Steps at any moment, ready to whisk the other two away.
The Serpentman furrowed its brow, then cautiously parted the grass with a hand, slowly peeking its head into the foliage.
“Agh!”
Just at this critical juncture, a Serpentman on the other side suddenly let out a shriek of agony, diverting everyone’s attention instantly.
The Serpentman who was about to discover them hurriedly rushed towards the source of the cry.
Witnessing this, everyone present breathed a collective sigh of relief. It was only then that Gern realized her palms were slick with sweat.
Had it been just a moment longer, she would have had to use Netherworld Steps. Fortunately, their luck held, and an unexpected incident disrupted the Serpentman’s search.
Wait!
Gern suddenly sensed that something was amiss, for she detected a faint, yet undeniably familiar, aura.
It was an aura she could never forget in this lifetime—the very essence of Chaos power.
Cautiously, she peeked her head out, gazing into the distance, her pupils constricting sharply.
Not far from everyone, an overwhelming deluge of black mist, akin to a virulent plague, began to rapidly engulf everything in its path.
The sky, the earth, the flora, the trees, and all manner of life were saturated by this encroaching darkness, turning pitch-black as if the entire world had utterly collapsed.
“‘Chaos Land’, how could it possibly appear here?!”
The Chaos Land, also known as the Land of Death, lived up to its name by transforming all living beings within its affected zone into creatures of chaos.
In a sense, those people and creatures who hadn’t managed to protect themselves were as good as dead.
In her previous life, Gern had encountered these phenomena countless times, and she intimately understood their devastating peril.
Recalling the information she had gathered from Mina previously, Gern surmised that something must have gone terribly wrong with the secret realm; otherwise, such a situation would be impossible.
“What’s wrong, Gern? Why do you look so terrified?”
Lilia was still unaware of what was transpiring ahead. She had only seen Gern glance forward, after which the expression on her face shifted dramatically.
There was dread, unease, and a subtle hint of fierce resolve.
“Go! We need to leave this place, now!”
“Huh?”
Lilia and Aivia were utterly bewildered, but Gern had no time to explain.
The black mist was clearly advancing towards them. If they didn’t flee immediately, their entire group would likely be engulfed by the power of Chaos.
Gern herself would be relatively safe; having dealt with Chaos power for so many years, she could at least activate the Heretic God Cult’s cultivation technique to protect herself.
However, Aivia and Lilia lacked such capabilities. If they remained within the Chaos power for too long, they too would be assimilated into creatures of chaos.
This was something Gern, under no circumstances, could ever accept.
Without another word, Gern seized both their hands and began to sprint back in the direction they had come from.
Bolstered by the Swallow Reversal, Gern’s speed reached an astonishing level. Fearing that the other two wouldn’t be able to keep up, she transformed into her Silver Dragon true form, carrying them both as she fled rapidly from the area.
From the dragon’s back, both women finally witnessed the full horror unfolding behind them.
The black mist devoured trees, swallowed sand, and consumed the sky, as if that place had become the very end of the world. Countless grotesque monsters, cheering with feral delight, surged outwards from within.
Soon, this black mist spread to the exact spot where the three had just been standing. The elite Serpentman squad, fleeing too slowly, had already seen some of their own caught by the encroaching darkness.
The moment one Serpentman stepped into the Chaos Land, an overwhelming torrent of black mist surged directly into his body.
Without even his consent, the darkness completely saturated his entire being, instantly dulling his thoughts.
Everything before his eyes became ethereal and indistinct. His body, no longer under his control, arched into a grotesque, unnatural curve.
“Hahahaha, hahahaha!”
His thoughts completely dissolved, utterly consumed by the black mist. The entire Serpentman became a vessel for the darkness, his body simultaneously swelling to an enormous size.
Hideous arms and heads sprouted from his body; he had transformed entirely into a monstrous creature, now lunging at his former comrades.
From the dragon’s back, the two women, having witnessed the entire horrifying transformation, were utterly dumbfounded, unable to believe the scene that had just unfolded.
A chilling wave of fear washed over them. Had Gern not reacted so swiftly, carrying them away from that place, they might have been the ones transformed into monsters.
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