Chapter 240 - 239: Revenge
The wind now began to pick up, even around Zelir.
Gusts of a savage, bloody wind swept past, whipping up sand and dust that stung the man’s skin like needles.
A faint, shrill sound, barely audible within the wind, made one’s eardrums ache.
Zelir strained to make out what the shrill sound was.
After focusing his attention, he finally understood.
It was the sound of countless living beings, their wails converging into one.
It traveled from far to near, spanning thousands of miles, coalescing into a symphony of death that echoed between heaven and earth.
A chill shot up his spine.
Zelir’s first instinct was to flee, but the owner of the body he was in did no such thing.
Instead, he suppressed his overwhelming fear and knelt piously in the direction of the approaching bloody storm, kowtowing heavily.
The humans penned up nearby did the same.
All of them knelt before the bloody storm, kowtowing heavily.
Zelir’s consciousness trembled. ’This world... is completely insane!’
Wherever the storm passed, it felt as if heaven and earth themselves would be overturned.
As the bloody torrent drew nearer, the chorus of a thousand wails grew ever clearer.
Though his body trembled like a leaf, the man still did not rise to flee.
Finally, just as the storm was about to bear down and utterly crush them, the man tremblingly raised his head to behold the divine miracle of destruction.
In that instant, Zelir looked through the man’s eyes and saw a sight he would never forget.
At the far end of the horizon, behind a crimson curtain of blood and wind, a hazy figure emerged, its form blotting out half the sky.
It was so colossal, as imposing as a mountain range.
Zelir couldn’t even find what might be considered its head, for its body was studded all over with enormous red eyes.
From each eyeball, countless black tentacles writhed and stretched.
Without a doubt, this was the being that had unleashed the bloody storm, letting despair wash over the entire world.
Suddenly, as if it had sensed this intrusion from beyond time and space...
Hundreds of red eyes swiveled in unison, their gazes converging to fixate on Zelir.
An immense pressure washed over him, shattering the boundary between illusion and reality, and instantly crushed Zelir’s Spirit.
BOOM...!
A colossal roar echoed in his mind.
Zelir shuddered and was immediately jolted out of the vision.
The dilapidated scene of the Underground Tomb was before his eyes once more.
He gasped for breath, his heart pounding with residual fear.
’That just now was...’
Zelir subconsciously touched his cheek. The terrifying sensation of being stared at seemed to linger upon his very soul.
’Was that one of the Old Gods...?’
’Perhaps it was the one these Cultists worship?’
’In the final moments of the vision, did it really look at me?’
’Did it sense my presence?’
’No... that shouldn’t be possible.’
’I only received a memory fragment from the old world...’
’Besides, all of these Evil Gods should have been destroyed by the Creator God’s Great Creation Skill.’
Zelir suppressed his turbulent thoughts.
Suddenly, another line of pale blue text materialized in his vision.
[Great Creation Skill, Analysis Progress—3%]
That single line of text immediately washed away the unease in Zelir’s heart.
The Divine Level Magic that shaped the world had just jumped from 1% to 3% in a single go!
This gain was perhaps even more valuable than the unconditional jump of five levels from before!
Zelir recalled the circumstances each time the Great Creation Skill’s progress had increased.
The first time was in the library, prompted by the Spell Structure engraved on a small slip of paper tucked inside an ancient book written in the Elven Language.
And then there was this time...
Seeing one of the Old Gods in the vision.
’It seems the key to advancing the Great Creation Skill’s analysis is to collect information from the old era...’
’Perhaps continuing to hunt down these Cultists who love performing rituals is a good idea?’
’In that case...’
’I should start with the ones behind Vance this time.’
...
「Meanwhile.」
After confirming there was nothing left to salvage on the battlefield outside, the others in the exploration party ambled back through the open stone doorway.
It was the tomb of the successive Patriarchs of the Wenmier Clan.
The scene inside the tomb was not as lavish as one might expect.
The space was not large, and it lacked any extravagant decorations. It was simply a dignified, square room.
On the wall directly opposite hung a life-sized portrait of the tomb’s occupant.
The man in the painting wore heavy Armor, his expression dignified, but the frame had rotted away and the pigments had faded considerably.
Beside the portrait stood a solitary Armor stand.
It should have displayed the Armor this Patriarch wore in life, but it was now empty. It had probably been taken and worn by one of the Skeleton People.
Aside from that, only a single coffin remained in the tomb.
Maki strode forward without a word and immediately began prying at the coffin lid with the pommel of his Heavy Sword.
"Hey, hey, hey..."
Valles cautioned, "This is someone’s final resting place, you know. You wouldn’t want someone prying open your coffin after you’re dead, would you?"
"Is that right?"
Maki replied, but his hands didn’t stop moving.
"After I’m dead, forget prying open my coffin. I wouldn’t care if someone pissed on my bones."
The coffin lid was pried open, pushed aside, and crashed to the floor with a THUD.
But it too was empty, containing only some fabric that had long since rotted to dust.
Clearly, the remains of the Patriarch Wenmir who had been laid to rest here had been awakened by an evil ritual, transformed into one of the Skeleton People that had besieged them earlier.
"Tch..."
Maki snorted in disgust. "For such a grand tomb, I thought there’d be more gold and jewels buried with him."
"Maybe whoever set up this Array already took it," Marcus said with a shrug.
Zelir also leaned in for a look, then shook his head.
"Vance is so filial," he said sarcastically. "To think he’d dare raise these things in the tomb where his ancestors are supposed to be resting in peace."
"It’s worse than that."
Gray sneered. "Their bones were probably all converted into Bone Centaurs and Skeleton People. They can’t even rest in peace."
At the mention of Vance, everyone’s expression turned cold.
This life-or-death battle was all thanks to that sanctimonious bastard.
All that talk about restoring his family’s glory, earnestly asking them for help.
Bullshit!
Although they had all survived, their losses were staggering.
Marcus’s weapon, Shield, and Armor were all destroyed.
Maki’s Armor was ruined as well.
Zelir had used two Healing Potions and an Overclocking Potion.
And on top of that, everyone was severely injured.
Humiliation, anger, betrayal!
These emotions intertwined, and a single thought rose in the mind of every team member.
Revenge!
"That bastard..."
Maki ground his teeth. "He has to pay for this. We can’t let him get away with it!"