Chapter 199: The Elder
There wasn’t much to tell his men.
Captain Amros had already appointed an acting captain that would take charge of things in their care and gave instructions on how they should manage the castle.
So Vacuse only nodded and smiled at the bowing they did when he walked out of the castle.
Vacuse, Captain Amros, Harkon, Kagerou, and Devour Bandit with the remaining New Dawn members, five of them. Moonblame was also with them to be dropped off.
Since it was morning, they quickly walked toward the golden ship where Iron Knight was already hovering in the air.
They met Eloryna Stormhaven and her ten subordinates there, already waiting.
This morning, Eloryna didn’t glare at him. She only watched him with indifference.
Vacuse sighed as he watched her. He began to wonder how many artifacts and treasures she had with her and her subordinates. All of them wore faint blue robes with deep blue cloaks on top that covered most of their heads with hoods.
All the subordinates she took were in the third stage and they were strong with the energy pressure they were radiating, not to talk of the artifacts they had with them.
They outclassed Vacuse’s team and it wasn’t even close. But that was all right with Vacuse, since it wasn’t as if he was going inside to fight her. The opposite even, he was going to do everything to make sure that their paths didn’t cross.
"So this is what a Grand Duke’s child should look like. I still have a long way to go, it seems."
Iron Knight looked down at them dully. "Well, you’re here. So I’ll start. First, there are no rules in the Dungeon but I am going to suggest strongly that you should not fight each other.
"Burnis City is divided into two and so, the very first thing you should do is try to separate and decide which side each of you want to explore. Maybe you will then come back to fight the boss together, but that’s not really my business. You can do things how you want."
Iron Knight stared at the two of them a little more, then he floated down and gestured for them to follow him.
He led them to the middle of the city, then down the old mine shafts, toward a hallway that was flooding with green light. They walked toward the end silently until they reached where the green light was the most intense.
They all shivered.
The green light that they recognized as necro energy had diminished so much that it was unlike when it first appeared and turned countless zombies loose as well as caused massive illness.
Right now though, the light was cold and invasive, as if it wanted to burrow underneath the flesh.
Right where the green light was the most intense stood the portal, a jagged tear in the fabric of reality, and in front of the portal stood a construct that seemed like a rag.
"Here it is," Iron Knight said, green light flickering across his eyes as he turned to them. "You really should conquer the Great Dungeon because I don’t want to deal with the mess when it ejects the monsters."
Nobody said anything. They all had been anticipating entering the Dungeon, but now that they were standing in front of the portal, they realized they might not really be as ready as they thought.
And it wasn’t even because the portal was radiating pressure that weighed on their soul. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Dungeon didn’t have a specific power level.
It wasn’t strong or weak... it was just there.
For Soulbearers who calculated based on how strong or weak things were, they found themselves lost as they stared at the portal. It was a very strange feeling, not sensing danger and yet feeling weary.
"Well then, you can go in."
Vacuse clasped his hands together. "Thank you for the help. Please don’t forget Moonblame... the Morrowling."
Iron Knight grunted and stared at Moonblame standing at the very back as if he was just waiting to bolt from the tunnel.
Vacuse took Iron Knight’s grunt as affirmation, hopefully, and then he turned to Eloryna. He did not have the best impression of the young lady and she probably had none toward him as well.
To be honest, Vacuse thought of her as a very foolish girl, but he couldn’t deny that she was strong. Not even close to him, but then, how many second stage Soulbearers could stand up to him?
Besides, she controlled a powerful group of Soulbearers and had wonderful artifacts.
By this conclusion, Vacuse had deemed it necessary that they should not fight, not in the Great Dungeon at least. After all, their aim was to gain as much from the Dungeon as they could.
But when he remembered how he had beaten her, he silently winced. Either way, he clasped his hands together. "Lady Eloryna, I look forward to our cooperation in the Dungeon."
She gave him a long look and then she bowed slightly. "So am I. I am looking forward to it. Now if you’ll excuse me."
With that, she turned around and led her group forward, directly going into the portal and disappearing.
Vacuse stared at the portal and then he turned back to his team. "I guess it’s our turn."
Kagerou raised his brows. "What? Are you getting cold feet, Dragon heir?"
Vacuse smiled. "Never. I’m just wondering if your mouth won’t get you killed in that Dungeon. I hear undead like to keep their silence."
Kagerou laughed. "Then I’m sure they are going to love Harkon."
Harkon shifted, his bag of swords shifting with him as he glared at Kagerou.
Vacuse clapped. "Right. Don’t die."
Then he turned around and went toward the portal. The coldness increased, so much so that it almost stiffened his limbs, but he pushed through and entered the portal, the others fast behind him.
The portal was unlike any he had ever entered. It felt like liquid. A liquid that was alive. It felt both wrong and strange.
But then he was through and everything went blank.
It took him a few seconds to realize that maybe something had gone horribly wrong.
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The End of Volume one!!
I’m so much grateful, thank you for reading my book.