Deep within a mountain range, Oakes led an adventurer party forward at a slow pace, while at the very back of the group, a seasoned assassin meticulously erased their footprints and scent, also setting up poisoned traps along the way.
"Lord Oakes, we are not far from where we last left."
At that moment, the archer in the party jumped onto a large tree beside them, enduring the sensation of stepping on flesh and blood beneath his feet as he looked into the distance, where a clear open space marked the location of their previous escape.
Some time ago, nearly hundreds of adventurers, including them, had entered the Edras Kingdom, but immediately upon entering, they were ambushed by numerous gluttonous monsters. However, the adventurers who came to carry out this task were all elites, possessing various means to conceal themselves.
Therefore, after several adventurer parties died, they all scattered and infiltrated various parts of the Edras Kingdom. Unfortunately, they encountered Flora, and from then on, they were constantly pursued. The party led by Oakes teleported away at the first sign of trouble, thus saving their lives.
Before teleporting away, they witnessed a continuous stream of gem monsters pouring out from inside this mountain peak. This was very likely the place they were looking for, which is why Oakes and his team risked teleporting directly here this time.
"Everyone be vigilant! This time, we carry the fate of all the Western countries on our shoulders. We must succeed and absolutely cannot fail!"
Oakes raised his head and glanced at the archer on the tree, directly ordering everyone to be vigilant as they walked towards the open space ahead. The other adventurers revealed serious expressions upon hearing this, especially the mage in the party, who raised his staff. The next second, the light around the entire party suddenly twisted.
Subsequently, the figures of the entire adventurer party disappeared from the spot, but upon closer inspection, a slight anomaly could still be detected. However, this was enough. As long as they concealed their own aura, the probability of being discovered would be greatly reduced.
Before long, led by Oakes, the group arrived at the open space. After careful observation, they walked towards a certain direction of the open space. Soon, a stone wall appeared before them. Oakes, as the strongest in the party, stepped forward and placed his hand on the stone wall, beginning to sense it.
"It's here!"
After a few seconds, Oakes opened his eyes, his face revealing a hint of undisguised excitement. In his perception, there was a huge passage behind this stone wall, and dense magical energy emanated from within the passage.
"Lord Oakes, how do we get inside?"
At this moment, the warrior in the party looked at Oakes and asked. They knew that making too much noise would definitely attract the attention of many gluttonous monsters. What worried them most was not those gluttonous monsters, as the gluttonous monsters in the Edras Kingdom were all newly born, with the truly powerful ones all on the battlefield.
However, they had not forgotten that there was still a Demon Lord-class existence in the Edras Kingdom. Once Flora noticed them, all that awaited them was death.
"Follow me."
Oakes turned his head and looked at the warrior, not explaining anything but simply telling him to follow. Then, the hand Oakes placed on the stone wall glowed with an icy blue light. Visible ice spread from Oakes's palm towards the surroundings, and the surrounding temperature began to drop rapidly.
Crack! Crack!
After a few seconds, a sound like glass shattering rang out. Visible cracks began to spread along the frozen stone wall. When the stone wall was covered with fine cracks, Oakes raised his hand and gently tapped it, and the entire stone wall collapsed with a bang, revealing a deep, dark passage in front of them.
"What is this?!"
At this moment, an adventurer in the party looked at the broken stone wall. Only then did he realize that the so-called stone wall was completely composed of clumps of flesh, and the appearance resembling a stone wall was just a layer of grayish-white skin.
"It's coming!"
At this moment, Oakes at the very front of the party suddenly raised his head and looked into the depths of the dark passage. Only the sound of heavy, dense footsteps was constantly heard from within the passage, and even the flesh and blood ground beneath their feet began to vibrate slightly.
"Roar!"
The next second, a large eyeball with a diameter of nearly five meters rushed out of the passage. Beneath the huge eyeball grew densely packed human hands and feet, and in the center of the eyeball, a hideous chrysanthemum-shaped mouth roared as it bit towards Oakes at the very front.
Pfft!
Looking at the indescribable eyeball monster in front of him, Oakes gently flicked the hair that had been messed up by the monster's roar. The next second, countless ice spikes rose from the ground centered on Oakes. The sharp, cold spikes directly and easily pierced the monster's body in front of Oakes. The huge eyeball was instantly turned into a hedgehog, and viscous blood flowed down the spikes.
"So strong, as expected of Lord Oakes!"
Behind Oakes, the others looked at the monster that was easily killed and the countless sharp ice spikes, all revealing admiring gazes. Although they had seen Oakes's power before, no matter how many times they still marveled at Oakes's powerful strength.
Pfft!
At this time, they did not notice that Oakes's expression was becoming increasingly solemn. Visible magic elements began to entwine around his body, the surrounding temperature continued to drop, and the moisture in the air constantly solidified as white snowflakes began to fall.
"Spirit Summoning · Ice Spirit · Absolute Zero!"
The next second, Oakes's deep voice rang in everyone's ears. Instantly, the entire earth was directly frozen, and behind Oakes, an upper-level ice-attribute spirit whose body was completely composed of ice appeared. Then, Oakes and the Ice Spirit simultaneously raised their hands and aimed at the front.
A beam of deep blue light instantly enveloped the gluttonous monster in front of Oakes. In an instant, that gluttonous monster turned into powder, and the deep blue beam of light directly flew into the depths of the passage. When the light dissipated, everyone realized that countless monsters in the dark passage were frozen in place.
And those monsters had all made attacking poses. If it weren't for Oakes's attack just now, then the next second countless tentacles, claws, and magical attacks would have submerged them like raindrops.
"Alright, let's continue forward."
Oakes raised his head and glanced into the passage, took a deep breath, took out a few bottles of potions and drank them, and then walked directly into the passage. They didn't have much time to waste now, as the demon oni Flora could appear at any time.
"Yes!"
Upon seeing this, the other adventurers quickly followed, but whenever they passed the frozen gluttonous monsters, they would curiously touch them with their hands. Instantly, the frozen gluttonous monsters would explode, turning into countless icy crystal-colored dust.
Before long, the entire team disappeared into the depths of the passage. After they left, slender tendrils of flesh sprouted from the ice in the originally frozen passage. In just a few seconds, countless tendrils intertwined and wrapped around each other in mid-air, and finally the entire passage completely disappeared.
