Cuirass immediately got to work, and a signal fire rose from where they stood, sending out some sort of message. Lucas tensed up when he saw the smoke, hoping that Adrian and the others would be able to get to him first.***Adrian was still standing in the large tree, scanning his surroundings through his binoculars. The rainforest was not especially dark thanks to the moonlight, so he could spot any sort of smoke immediately.Finally, he saw smoke rising into the air approximately six miles away. "Gloria!" Adrian shouted. Gloria climbed up the large tree and took the binoculars from Adrian to have a look. After checking the location on her communicator, she had a much clearer idea of the situation and said, "That place is behind us, somewhere close to point 1408. Ivy's nearby."Adrian jumped off the tree and spoke through his communicator. "Ivy, I need you to head to point 1408 and check the situation.""Yes, sir."Adrian quickly made sure he had his dagger on him and was
Lucas drew the dagger by his waist, took a deep breath, and said, "We must hold out until the legate arrives. Eliminate those b*stards from Bloody Rose at all costs!" "Yes, sir!" Cuirass waved, and all of the other men hid in the surrounding bushes. One minute…Two minutes…Finally, after ten minutes, around two thousand people showed up through the darkness, their footsteps messy and could be heard from afar. They were wearing Bloody Rose’s battle suits, signifying them as killers from the organization. They scouted the area with weapons in hand.Lucas clenched his fists, while the others held their breaths, preparing themselves for the incoming battle. Finally, their enemies got close enough.The leader of the enemies was a masked man. At his signal, his unit split up to carefully scout their surroundings.Lucas frowned at that point. 'We may have had a chance at winning if we could’ve surrounded them after they fell for our ambush. But they've split up, crushing whate
Yet, they were unable to locate the snipers' locations no matter how hard they tried. Suddenly, some of those from Bloody Rose became hot-headed and tried to attack in all directions, but their bullets swept through the rainforest and hit nothing. After five minutes of silence, they exchanged looks. "Did we get them?""Are they still there?""It's gotten quiet!"The moment the last person said this, someone else yelled, "Look out! Above you!" "What?!"The group was stunned, but before they could comprehend what was happening, an explosion erupted beneath them, sending everyone within a small radius flying before falling onto the ground lifelessly. Bloody Rose began to yell furiously after being bullied again and again.They ran around like headless chickens after losing their leader.***Meanwhile, somewhere around the bushes, Cuirass smiled when he saw everything that happened. "Sir, those snipers are really good. I can tell there are only six of them, yet they're making
Ivy smiled widely. "Who would've thought you'd need me to save you someday? You better remember this!" Lucas smiled back. "As you wish!" "All right, enough chit-chat,” Ivy said, "We shouldn't stay here any longer. Get everyone out of here to meet up with the rest. The legate is already here, so let's leave the rest to him. Let's go!"Lucas wasted no more time and had Cuirass carry him before waving toward the others. His entire unit silently retreated from the scene, while the sound of gunshots from afar continued.Bloody Rose's killers were in complete shambles. ***Lucas and the others got out of danger after more than two hours, ending the escape for their lives over the past few days upon reuniting with Adrian's group. Gloria and the others got up when she saw Lucas, Ivy, and the others entering their camp. "Lucas!"Lucas smiled when he saw Gloria and replied, "I'm so happy to see you, Gloria. I thought I would never see you again after what happened at Isle 416."Glor
Lucas lowered his head when he heard this. 'All those from Wyvern Peak surely wish they could go home right now… This is going to be a gamble, and our survival is at stake!'"It's getting late. You should get some sleep." Gloria patted Lucas' shoulder before heading to the outer parts of the camp to stand watch. It was late at night in the rainforest, and vision was extremely limited. Gloria came back after a quick patrol around the area to find most already asleep, while the rest of them were ensuring that the coast was clear. She was not feeling drowsy yet, perhaps because she had been asleep for five long years. Even after standing watch for a large half of the night, with the others switching shifts several times, Gloria was still wide awake. She looked toward the darkness in the distance, thinking about the futures of everyone present that day, and the dangers that were still waiting for them up ahead. Nobody could guarantee that they would leave this island alive."Why
Gloria asked Adrian a tough question. 'If we want to send Ridge out of Serpent's Haven, we're going to have to enter the enemy base directly. But right now, there are still tens of thousands of people missing. It's only a matter of time before our enemies find them…'At that thought, Adrian held Gloria's shoulder and turned on the screen on his communicator. "I did a rough calculation of the distance. The enemy base is on the plains to the northeast of the island. We should come across a lot of our stranded men on our way there. Along the way there, we'll take a look around the swamp area. I'm sure we'll find a lot of them there."Gloria squinted. "How do you know?""It's a deduction. If I were separated from my unit, I wouldn't go looking for them to reunite with them. Instead, the only thing I could do to get back in contact with them would be at the enemy base. If my guess is right, our comrades are thinking about the same thing. They're going to head to the enemy base and find
Lena played the signal on the communicator. “Scratch-scratch-scratch!”“Scratch-scratch-scratch!”A series of scratching sounds came out.Gloria anxiously said, "That's it. That's all there is to the signal. It might be like this because the signal's barely within range. Wildfire, try extending our signal's range.”"Wait." Adrian stopped her. Gloria became confused when she heard this. "Play that signal again,” he said.Gloria did as she was told. When Adrian heard the scratching sounds once more, he quickly said, "That's not caused by a lack of signal strength, it's Morse code! It's Morse code for S.O.S!""An S.O.S. in Morse code?" Gloria asked curiously.Meanwhile, Adrian instructed, "Wildfire, quick! See if you can find out where the source of the signal is. The rest of you, prepare to rescue whoever it is. They're probably nearby.""Yes, sir." Everyone prepared themselves.A while later, Wildfire said, "Sir, our technology isn't advanced enough to pinpoint the lo
Right after Mya gave the warning, a gunshot was heard, followed by a shiny bullet flying toward them from the mountaintop.Adrian backflipped, barely avoiding the bullet. He dashed away upon landing, and another shot was fired.Naturally, the second one was fired by Mya, and a man rolled down from the mountaintop not too far from her. She immediately switched spots and said, "They're using our men to lure us in. Be careful, everyone. We may have company!" The others became vigilant upon hearing this. Mya, who excelled at anti-recon, scanned the mountaintops and said, "They're up in the mountains. From the looks of it, there are probably around two hundred of them, with twelve snipers among their ranks."Bang!Mya fired another shot and took down a second sniper."Alan!" Lucas shouted, "Grab ten men and follow me. We'll take them by surprise from behind.""Yes, sir!" Bang, bang, bang!While they were deploying their strategy, another wave of gunshots was fired, a few of the
The Daemon Emperor was startled."What is happening? This power..."Formless energy was surging forward, pressuring his nerves and senses.Below, Andy and the others trembled uncontrollably."Who is it?" Finnian stared into the crimson mist.Even Andy was horrified, his gaze locked on the unfolding scene in disbelief, and asked, "What is this? What exactly is happening?" At this moment, Adrian abruptly opened his eyes.Apparently, the Daemon Emperor had once conspired with Adrian's subordinates to ambush him.However, Adrian had managed to annihilate the traitors and sealed this Daemon Emperor. Now, fate had brought them together again."If I killed you once, I can kill you again." Adrian stood tall, his white robes fluttering in the air.The Daemon Emperor was stunned into silence."This is impossible! You're not that mortal boy!""Is that so? In this life, your end has come, and so has the era of the daemons." Adrian's voice was calm yet resolute. He stretched out his han
Adrian's face hardened at the words. He despised threats above all else. While he understood what the mysterious entity desired, he couldn't yet fully comprehend its implications or find a way to counter it. His only choice was to focus on growing stronger.Within the hot spring, waves of raw, terrifying power surged and crashed violently against Adrian's body.The force, though beneficial, was brutal and overwhelming. Adrian's body struggled to endure, cracking as though it were disintegrating."Arghhh!"A heart-wrenching scream echoed as Adrian's flesh was torn apart and his aura gradually dimmed."Ahhh!"His agonized cries echoed once more. He could no longer withstand the pain.In the distance, a towering figure appeared and sneered. "What's this? Can't take it anymore? Pathetic. Humans are truly the epitome of stupidity."Suddenly, Adrian erupted with an explosive surge of energy, and in that instant, he broke through to the pinnacle of the Void Stage."Hmm? He actually b
At that moment, the crowd was speechless.Adrian had ascended as if it were the easiest thing in the world.Faced with such a sight, no one could say much beyond admiration. Even if the Holy Son claimed Adrian had cheated, many secretly wished they could cheat the same way.Lacking Adrian's means, all they could do was envy him.Finnian chuckled. "Haha! You really caught us all by surprise, kid. Still, I'll count this as you repaying me a favor."For Finnian, the outcome couldn't have been better. With a broad smile, he seemed to have achieved his desired result. Adrian's successful climb was all that mattered to him.Once Adrian had vanished, the focus shifted to the rest of the group and their trials.When Adrian opened his eyes again, his entire body ached, but an oddly comforting sensation flowed through him. Surveying his surroundings, he realized he was now in a pond."Where am I?" he asked.Though uncertain about the place, Adrian knew he had cleared the trial and arriv
The onlookers stared in bewilderment, their faces etched with confusion as they struggled to grasp the unfolding events.Meanwhile, Adrian seethed with barely contained rage. This wasn't his first encounter with such torment. Every few steps he ascended, another trial awaited.To Adrian, the relentless punishments felt suffocating. Yet he pressed on—this was the final stretch of the climb. "Adrian, hang in there!" Andy shouted, urging him to conquer the last step. To Andy, reaching that final step symbolized Adrian's growth. He had witnessed Adrian's remarkable resilience countless times and held unwavering faith in his potential. In Andy's eyes, Adrian was destined for greatness. Adrian's expression turned cold as he locked his gaze on the steps ahead. Determination flickered in his eyes. "If reaching the top guarantees a reward, it doesn't have to be me up there. As long as someone makes it, that's enough." With that, he shifted his focus to the void above and formed
Adrian felt as if every nerve in his body was beyond his control. A deep sense of grievance filled his heart as the divine thunder from the void relentlessly crashed down.Rage surged within him, but under the onslaught of endless forces, he felt weak and constrained.Still, he had no choice but to press forward. He knew victory was within reach if he could endure a little longer—giving up now would mean death.If he fell, the shame and humiliation would crush him.Below, the Holy Son and others waited, eager to see him fail and mock him. This left Adrian no option but to push forward, striving toward the void above and his ultimate goal.The violent forces continued to bombard him from the sky.With every step, the thunder's impact intensified tenfold. His soul, already battered from a fierce battle with a horde of beasts, now felt as though it was dragging his exhausted body forward.Anyone else would likely have succumbed to despair. After all, under such immense pressure, ev
The oppressive forces descending from the void seemed determined to halt Adrian’s ascent up the staircase.Yet he refused to yield. To him, these overwhelming challenges were merely obstacles to conquer.He pressed forward with relentless determination.Thunderbolts continued to rain down, but the ominous red light from before did not return—a relief, as he never wished to endure its crushing weight again.The memory of that light still haunted him, leaving a lingering sense of helplessness. Its suffocating pressure had drained his strength, reducing him to a gasping, powerless state.Despite the toll on his body and mind, Adrian remained singularly focused on reaching the final step. His burning desire for greater power drove him forward, unwavering and resolute.Step by step, he ascended, reaching the 95th step in what felt like an instant.Only five steps remained. His gaze locked onto the summit, and a wild glint lit his eyes. A daring idea sparked within him, consuming his
Adrian pondered his situation, his cold gaze reflecting simmering frustration. Yet deep down, he recognized that whoever had designed the staircase was far from ordinary.Creating such a formidable trial required unimaginable power.Even a pinnacle Void Stage expert—or perhaps someone of the Multiply Stage—might bow in reverence before the ladder's creator."He won't last much longer. The divine lightning in this void is utterly destructive. In moments, he'll be reduced to ashes," sneered the Holy Son, his sharp eyes gleaming with malice.To the Holy Son, Adrian's demise was inevitable. Adrian had dared to offend him, and he was certain such audacity could only lead to death.Adrian caught the Holy Son's words and cast him a frosty glare. His intent to kill was unmistakable, though now wasn't the time.The staircase was no place for personal vendettas—eliminating him here would require careful planning.He also knew the Holy Son carried seals of immense power. A reckless move co
Finnian's sharp gaze reflected a hint of admiration. "Kid, you owe me a big favor this time. You'd better treasure this opportunity."Adrian remained silent, unsure how to respond. His cold eyes revealed no emotion, though he fully grasped the challenges ahead.Fear was a luxury he couldn't afford—he'd come too far to back down now.Suddenly, a streak of red light surged from the void, hurtling toward Adrian with terrifying speed. His eyes widened in shock as the crimson beam struck him, slamming him against the staircase.Caught off guard, Adrian collapsed, sprawled helplessly on the steps.The crowd below watched in astonishment. No one had expected his seemingly indestructible body to be overwhelmed so easily.The Holy Son sneered. "Haha! It seems he's triggered some kind of taboo. Let's see how arrogant he is now!"His voice dripped with schadenfreude, his eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction as he relished Adrian's struggle.Despite the crushing force, Adrian refused
"What exactly is up there pulling me so strongly?" Adrian's expression hardened as he pondered the mysterious force drawing him upward.A surge of violent energy erupted across the sky, crashing down like a raging storm.Adrian advanced cautiously, each step deliberate and precise.Gone were the reckless strides of before—now he moved with steely determination, fully aware of the lurking dangers.He'd learned that the void's formidable forces seemed to target him directly, compelling him to proceed step by step. Any attempt to bypass its unseen barriers would provoke a devastating strike."Ridiculous," Adrian muttered. "If I've chosen to climb, nothing will stop me."The void's relentless power intensified.Bolts of thunder hammered down mercilessly, battering Adrian's body. Yet fear never crossed his mind.What was there to be afraid of?To him, the divine thunder wasn't an obstacle—it was a crucible, a tool to temper his body and strengthen his resolve.Despite the storm, A