Chapter 148: Into the Netherworld Mountains
The next second, a cold voice echoed.
"Will, what happened in the Divine Realm? Why did everyone who entered die?"
A man in a black robe, with dragon horns atop his head, appeared in the main hall.
This was Tans, head of the Radiant Temple—a Deity Emperor and a member of the Dragon Race.
"My lord, I am still unsure of the details. It was Commander Guba who went to oversee the Divine Realm. He can provide a complete explanation."
Will said, glancing at Guba.
Guba quickly recounted everything he knew, but Tans frowned deeply.
Even after Guba spoke, it was still unclear what had happened.
"So, you're saying a powerful individual appeared in the Divine Realm, causing all others to perish?"
Tans narrowed his eyes.
"That's right. There were few survivors, and one of them was a youth named Lancelot, the disciple of Horas of the Radiant Temple. He can testify."
Guba nodded.
But before he could finish, Tans erupted with a fierce aura, causing Guba to scream as blood spurted from his mouth, his face turning pale.
"You went to the Radiant Temple?"
Tans asked coldly.
Did Guba not know that the Radiant Temple and the Radiant Temple had always been enemies?
"My lord, it was Lancelot who requested I escort him back. I had no choice, so..."
Guba's eyes were filled with grievance.
This made Tans frown, and after examining Guba closely, a trace of surprise crossed his eyes.
"You were injured?"
"My lord, Lord Horas inflicted this injury. When he learned of what happened in the Divine Realm, he said I was as good as dead and wanted to kill me. For some reason, he ended up letting me go."
Guba replied cautiously.
Hearing this, Tans's expression darkened.
It seemed Horas knew him well, realizing that Tans intended to use Guba as a scapegoat.
By injuring Guba, Horas was baiting Tans to take action. If Tans killed Guba, it would only create dissatisfaction within the temple.
"He's trying to provoke me into killing Guba. If I do, the members of my temple will become resentful. Horas, you truly are cunning!"
Tans thought to himself.
This meant that he couldn't kill Guba—otherwise, he would be falling into Horas's trap.
"Tans, what should we do now?"
Will asked, his gaze also drifting towards Guba—he, too, had hoped Guba would take the fall.
"Hmph, those who entered the Divine Realm should have been prepared to die. Now that they're dead, they want to make trouble for my temple? Do they think we're that easy to bully?"
Tans snorted coldly.
"If anyone wants answers, tell them to come to me directly. I'd like to see who dares oppose my temple!"
Will was taken aback by Tans's resolute stance.
He hadn't expected his leader to be so bold.
Meanwhile, Guba was overjoyed—he had survived.
"I'll inform the other temples and report to the Deity Emperor. Opposing my temple is a path to self-destruction."
Tans said calmly.
He indeed intended to stand firm but not alone—he planned to drag all the other temples into the fray.
That way, it wouldn't just be his temple facing the consequences.
Upon hearing this, Will realized what Tans intended—he wanted to implicate all the temples.
If the Radiant Temple suffered, so would everyone else.
"Wise decision, my lord."
As Will spoke, Tans slowly disappeared.
Will turned to Guba.
"You were fortunate this time. Go and recover."
"Thank you, Lord Will."
Guba nodded and left.
But inside, Guba was sneering.
If not for Horas injuring him, he knew he would have been dead by now.
Unaware of the events at the Radiant Temple, Sylvus had arrived at the Netherworld Mountains.
"So, this is the Netherworld Mountains? It truly lives up to its name."
The endless mountain range stretched for countless kilometers, with an eerie atmosphere enveloping it.
While the area outside was clear and sunny, the inside was shrouded in dark clouds.
Suddenly, a few figures flew over from afar.
Sylvus looked over and saw that it was the three people he had overheard in the inn.
The three appeared to be of human descent, and their power was impressive—all at the True Deity level.
"Brother, are you also here to deal with the bandits? Why don't we join forces?"
The bearded leader smiled at Sylvus.
Sylvus was a bit surprised. This was their first meeting, and yet they were so friendly.
He found it hard to believe they were just being altruistic.
"Brother, there's no need to be suspicious. We're from the Spirit Clan, and we have a strong sense of intuition. When we saw you, we felt that following you would make everything easier."
One of the others added with a smile.
"But I'm just a Lower Deity. I'm not that strong."
Sylvus smiled faintly, releasing his aura.
Sensing Sylvus's aura, the trio exchanged surprised glances.
How could it be possible?
A mere Lower Deity, yet they felt a sense of safety from him?
"Brother, you're traveling alone anyway. Let's go together."
The bearded leader, Macken, said after some thought.
Although he didn't understand why Sylvus's low level gave them a sense of safety, they trusted their clan's intuition, which had saved their lives many times before.
"Alright, let's go together."
Sylvus nodded, figuring it would be convenient to have guides.
The four of them continued deeper into the mountains, getting acquainted along the way.
The three turned out to be triplets: Macken, Medd (the chubby one), and Mackie (the tall, thin one).
"Brother Sylvus, according to the mission we received from the temple, our destination is just ahead. We've also seen some corpses along the way, which means others have been here. We should be careful."
Macken warned.
There were thousands of temples across the Divine Realm, each overseeing different areas and issuing missions for the strong to aid in maintaining order.
Although there were plenty of people in the temples, they couldn't manage everything on their own.
Sylvus nodded as the four continued.
As they crossed over a mountain peak, they suddenly froze, hiding themselves while looking down the mountain.