Ch 42: The Cave

Emrys had already utilized the Node Shift ability three times today, leaving him with only two remaining uses. Once exhausted all five uses, he would have to wait until tomorrow to utilize this ability again.

He took a deep breath and started walking.

Rather than utilizing Node Shift to infiltrate the Darkborne Family stronghold once more, Emrys opted to tread cautiously deeper into the mountain range. This time, he chose a different path, not intending to get caught by anyone from the Darkborne Family. His priority was to ensure his safety and avoid detection.

Rumble~

As he walked deeper into the mountains, hours later, a rumbling sound was suddenly heard. This noise was very low, however, he was sure that it was the sound of something rumbling.

What is that?

Emrys's attention was piqued. He slowly walked in the direction from where the sound was coming. To his surprise, he can see a small cave about a hundred meters away from where he was standing.

A group of five Advanced Bronze Soul Masters were guarding the entrance of this cave.

"It seems to be yet another important place that belonged to the Darkborne Family. Otherwise, there wouldn't be five Advanced Bronze Soul Masters standing guard at the entrance."

Emrys concealed himself behind a tree, cautiously peering out from his hiding spot.

After watching for a while, Emrys noticed the five Advanced Bronze Soul Masters were guarding the cave entrance very seriously. They weren't relaxed at all.

Emrys was powerful, but not enough to go against five Advanced Bronze Soul Masters all by himself. However, he did not want to go back that easily.

There seemed to be a big secret inside this cave. That is why the entrance was being guarded by five powerful Soul Masters.

What about the inside?

Emrys could not help but think that there must be many powerful Soul Masters inside the cave, protecting whatever secret they were trying to hide. Perhaps, this cave might have been what he wanted to investigate in the first place. If he managed to somehow enter the cave, he might be able to find out something about the Gracia Family.

"The distance between me and the cave is within the range of my ability. I can directly enter the cave without alerting these five guards. However, there might be other dangers inside, I have to stay alert all the time."

Emrys took a deep breath and his silver eyes suddenly glowed with a glittering radiance. The world before his eyes instantly transformed into a three-dimensional world. Of course, this world was only two hundred meters in radius.

Now, Everything was crystal clear before his eyes. The guards, the inside of the cave, the people within—it was all as clear as day. He could even see how many ants were crawling on the ground a few meters away from him. Within this three-dimensional world, it was as if he was seeing things from the perspective of a god, and nothing could escape his gaze.

"There's a fork tunnel inside the cave, and each tunnel is ten meters long. Interestingly, every tunnel is being guarded by an Elementary Silver Soul Master. Three of the four tunnels lead to a spacious hall, while the last tunnel leads to a darker underground cave. Inside this dark cave, there's a secret path hidden behind a wall, guarded by an Intermediate Silver Soul Master."

Emrys couldn't see what was at the end of the hidden path because it was beyond his range of two hundred meters. He could only see everything within two hundred meters. Nonetheless, he gathered a lot of information and could clearly tell that something extremely important was hidden in that underground cave.

The only special place inside this cave was the darker underground cave and the hidden path that led somewhere. As for the three spacious halls, there was an altar in each hall with a statue of a giant standing at its center. These giants had a humanoid appearance, but they were unmistakably not human. Unlike humans, they had four eyes and two long demonic fangs protruding from their mouths.

The three statues were identical, except for the items they held. In the first spacious hall, the statue gripped a demonic blade, while in the second, it held a demonic trident. The statue in the third hall clutched a demonic spear. All three weapons emitted a sinister dark radiance.

Emrys could not understand the purpose of these statues holding three different weapons. Unlike the statues that appeared to be made of stone, the weapons were real. Emrys was sure that these three were at least F-2 Grade Weapons.

What are F-2 Grade Weapons?

These are weapons that only Gold Soul Masters are qualified to hold.

Emrys looked more closely, noting more important things. The altar was carved with strange patterns. These patterns were also exuding sinister radiance. What attracted Emrys's attention was the blood that filled with surroundings of the altar.

Yes, a groove was built around the altar and it was filled with blood. Emrys was sure that this blood did not belong to beasts, instead, they were the blood of humans who were killed ruthlessly by the Darkborne Family.

He was so sure because he could see a small mountain of human corpses that were thrown at a corner of each spacious hall.

"Just what is the Darkborne Family planning?"

Emrys took a deep breath and muttered. He could not think of anything logical with his limited knowledge, however, he was sure that whatever the Darkborne Family was planning, it was definitely not a good thing.

Emrys thought for a while and decided to shift directly inside the first spacious hall.

Why did he not choose to enter the darker underground cave instead?

It is because the darker underground cave was being guarded by an Intermediate Silver Soul Master. Additionally, beyond the underground cave, he couldn't see anything except for a hidden path leading to an unknown destination.

Emrys's plan was simple.

First, he planned to enter the spacious hall and attempt to steal the demonic blade from the statue's hand. Whether he succeeded or failed wouldn't matter much. Once inside the hall, he could materialize the three-dimensional world again and see what lay beyond the hidden path. Then, he could shift the node and appear there directly.