BXBX NOVEL Chapter 56: Then We Die
The mountain was one of the largest landmarks in this dimension and could be seen from anywhere as long as one stood and glanced upward. In front of this mountain, a dark tunnel that appeared to have been dug by miners stretched inward.
Why was Nox here? Because Gorgart was apparently stuck inside this cave, which happened to be a ruin of a past civilization that once inhabited this dimension. Snakey and her group had attempted to explore the ruins because such places were usually filled with lots of treasures.
There were even rumors that the current lord of Blight Castle had once explored a ruin and found thousands of Beast Cores inside, propelling him to first place in the legacy Demon rankings.
Hoping to achieve something similar, Snakey and her group tried exploring the ruins. In the process, they ran into a high-level magical beast. In their rush to escape, they left Gorgart inside along with the terrifying beast.
But somehow, they knew he was still alive because his name was still on the ranking board; if it disappeared, that meant he was gone. So they asked for the help of a higher Demon to conquer this ruin and save their friend.
Of course, Nox had only accepted this offer because he had a way to deal with the beast. This wasn\'t arrogance or anything; it was just confidence.
"How far does this tunnel go?" Standing in front of the tunnel, Nox asked aloud, his gaze on the small body of water beside the entrance to the cave.
As he stared at the water, Nox couldn\'t help but notice something strange about it—the color was blood-red. Due to his terrible experiences with caves, Nox turned to the demons for answers.
A bloody body of water just outside the cavern was far from a good sign; instead, it was a warning for him not to proceed, which meant that he would have to return the over 200 Beast Cores that would help cultivate his pets to become stronger monsters.
\'I could just be overreacting, and a Level 100 Demon shouldn\'t be afraid of mere red water; it could just be dirty water for all I know,\' Nox thought, but then he heard a voice in his head.
[Sniff sniff, It\'s blood] Fluffington, who had sniffed the body of water, reported its finding. Because of beasts\' enhanced senses, they could differentiate between contaminated and bloody water, hence Nox didn\'t doubt Fluffington\'s words.
"Where did the blood come from?" Nox felt it was better to be safe than sorry before mindlessly heading into the unknown.
"It\'s the territorial marking of the guardian beast of this ruin," Snakey explained. "The guardian beast is the protector of this ruin; they have a habit of marking their domain with blood to warn trespassers from entering inside."
"The guardian beast—what level was it again?" Nox inquired; it was only appropriate for him to know the level of the beast he was up against so he could proceed with his plan or make adjustments.
"King Tier," Snakey replied, flicking a bit of sweat from her forehead.
"With my enhanced invisibility, I should be able to get past its senses." This was Nox\'s foolproof plan. With [Phantom Cloak], he and the Ant Scourge Queen would deal with the King Tier beast in their invisible state, while Fluffington and Thirteen would provide support.
For Nox, being invisible meant more than just being able to perform sneak attacks; it also meant he could hide his not-so-refined fighting style from the demons.
Although he had improved through training with Master Eve, his fighting skills were not worthy of a Level 100 status, and any amateur could quickly spot it.
\'But with the invisibility skill, they\'ll not see a thing!\'
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Later on, Nox and the demons ventured into the dark tunnel. Nox had summoned his trusted daggers and paid strict attention to his surroundings. He had also given his pets mental commands to do the same.
Since they were about to face a King Tier beast, they needed to be cautious. Without the Phantom Cloak, not even Nox would have been this confident.
Everyone was tense—the demons, the Ant Scourge Queen, even the arrogant Fluffington. He knew very well what a King Tier monster signified; it was the same as Doombringer, that annoying Wyvern back at the Barony!
Although he possessed the Fear-Inducing Skill [Mornach Aura], anytime the cat got close to the half-dragon, it got petrified.
So why wouldn\'t it be anxious when they were going to face a creature of similar rank?
Perhaps the only level-headed creature was Thirteen, who was currently walking with a hop in its step to catch up with Nox\'s brisk pace.
Thirteen: [Fight! Panda fight!]
When will we fight?! When will the monsters show up?! Thirteen had an eager expression on its face as it asked.
Ever since Thirteen heard they were going off to fight beasts, he had been very excited. The panda didn\'t feel contented with the fight with Fluffington because it was never a life or death situation.
The fight could be said to have been controlled to a certain extent, which was true, as Fluffington never went all out.
"Soon," was the only thing Nox could tell the panda cub. He gently patted Thirteen\'s head to calm it down.
Heavens, this panda\'s blood was too hot!
\'Don\'t tell me its lust for battle would increase with each evolution?\' Nox thought, because it wasn\'t like this in the past.
However, ever since the panda leveled up, it had become much more restless than usual.
Their feet soon carried them to a pair of tunnels that were diagonally cut into the walls, adjacent to each other.
"From this tunnel, beasts would start appearing," Snakey spoke up. "The left one leads to the gatekeeper\'s room, while the right one is where Gorgart is stuck. We\'ll take the right to try to rescue Gorgart while you face the guardian, stopping it from coming to the aid of its minions."
Nodding his head, Nox and his pets took the left tunnel. Immediately upon entering, they encountered a massive, overgrown humanoid rodent in their path.
"Thirteen, you\'re up!"
[Yay!] The panda exclaimed, curled itself into a ball, and charged forward at the rodent.
Meanwhile, outside:
Instead of heading into the left tunnel, the group of demons was actually heading outside.
"We must escape from this dimension," Viper stated. "If that higher demon finds out we deceived him, he\'s going to come for us. Don\'t forget, demons can hold grudges for a long time."
Snakey fell quiet; if she had had a choice, she wouldn\'t have tricked the higher demon into coming to this dimension, but she had no choice.
Goliath was the kind that wouldn\'t take no for an answer. If she\'d delayed any longer, she and her entire party would have been killed on sight, and Goliath wouldn\'t be far behind. Here in the Demon Empire, life was very rough.
"Let\'s not be hasty. As soon as we get news about who the winner is, we\'ll make our decision."
"If we had not made a decision, then we would have been dead."
Thirteen crashed into the rodent. Due to its body being like iron when using its skill, all the bones in the poor rat were shattered, and all it took was a slap to end it.
The Ant Scourge Queen\'s spear flashed in the air as it impaled another giant rodent that had tried to execute a sneak attack on Nox.
Then there was Fluffington, in its humanoid form, the fat cat fought more efficiently with its claws.
"It\'s a gamble. We just have to hope Goliath deals with the higher demon. That way, we could still stay alive," Snakey said to the others as they arrived outside where Gorgart, the rock-ball-like creature, was waiting for them.
"What if he kills Goliath instead?" Viper nervously asked.
At the same time, Nox finished dealing with all the creatures in the tunnel and arrived at a double door. He could feel a powerful aura emanating from within those doors. He nodded at the Ant Scourge Queen, and they headed inside.
Meanwhile, Snakey stared at Viper. "Then we die."
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