Although Rocky couldn't wrap his head around it, he decided to complete the task solely because it
was passed down to him by the gods. Trusting that the gods had some cryptic purpose behind
commanding them to subdue the Nether Dragon King, Rocky rid his heart with all doubts.
However, he was more focused on finding a way out of this space to return to Valeria and the others.
With Valeria's current strength, she wouldn't fare well in a fight against the other Godly Geniuses.
Now that the cave's ceiling above was blocked off, Rocky contemplated diving underwater to search for
another exit.
Inhaling deeply, bracing himself, he nosedived into the water, exploring the new territory.
After he searched restlessly for a while, Rocky's efforts soon bore fruit when he came across a
promising cave immersed with bubbles at the bottom of the water. Growing impatient from slowly
running out of oxygen, he penned all his hopes on it to provide him with a safe exit without considering
the risks involved in entering unknown grounds.
Upon entering the cave, he had to slip past a painfully long yet narrow opening. Time was of the
essence since he was running out of breath. Soon, his vision began to blur, feeling dizzy from the lack
of oxygen in his body before subtle flashes of light flickered before his eyes, signaling hope. Snapping
out of his hazy state, he darted upwards, swimming as fast as he could. As he resurfaced, he swung
his head back, gasping for air. Regaining his composure, he looked around to make sense of his
surroundings but what stood in front of him left him shocked and confused.
Blinking several times, he found himself to have come out of a lake, surrounded by luscious green
grass. The pasture extended to distances far and beyond what the eyes could fathom, and at the end
of it stood a castle-like structure basking in the sun, majestic and tall.
Of course, what earned Rocky's shock wasn't the pleasant scenery in front of him but the fact that the
serenity of it was secured within an enchanted barrier. Outside of the barrier was barren land, engulfed
in flames, tattered, and in ruins.
'This might be the holy land of the Shura Race's royal family that Esteban mentioned before, '
he thought to himself. Rocky never expected to stumble upon such a place while looking for an exit.
Unbeknownst to him, sooner or later, this was bound to happen. Previously, the dark abyss Rocky fell
into was actually a space transfer station. The royal bloodline flowing through his veins contributed
towards leading him to the royal family's holy land, drawing him in its direction, almost like it was calling
out to him to return home.
It wasn't a mere coincidence. This was part of his destiny!
"Since I'm here already, I guess it wouldn't hurt to go inside to have a look!"
The splendor of the manor laying at the end of the lustrous meadows piqued Rocky's interest enough
to not pass up on exploring it. After all, the Shura Race's royal family was both the supreme ruling class
and one of the most revered forces in all of the Shura Race.
With his mind made up, Rocky activated his spiritual power and flew to dry land. Incorporating his
spiritual power, he dried himself before heading to the castle.
Walking up to the castle gate, he paused to admire the hefty girth of it, realizing the challenge that
stood before him. Second-guessing himself, he wondered if his current strength would be enough to
push it open.
Alas, after several failed attempts, the gate refused to budge.
'Esteban said that only the members with the royal bloodline can enter the holy land. That is to say, this
gate needs to confirm my royal bloodline first before allowing me inside...'
Rocky recalled. Instead of trying to force his way in, he decided to study the patterns on the gate. Upon
closer inspection, he noticed the structure of a three-eyed beast's head perched atop the center of the
two doors. Two of its eyes were wide open, adorned in blood, while the remaining eye on the forehead
remained closed.
Nodding to himself, he confidently bit his thumb and smeared the closed eye with his blood.
The next moment, the eye soaked in Rocky's blood. Reacting to the fusion, the head let out an
agonizing scream, causing the doors to quiver violently in response.
But soon, the unyielding doors gave way, slowly unraveling the contents that laid behind the walls. As
the doors opened up, a bone-chilling cold breeze escaped from the other side, grazing Rocky's skin,
causing him to shudder in fear. At the same time, he could feel that the world inside was ripe with
powerful and unusual auras.
Fully aware of the risks involved on the other side, he willingly stepped in, strangely feeling attracted to
the unknown that laid ahead of him.
While Rocky got sidetracked from exploring the holy land, Valeria suffered alone in the lair.
Although the diabolic beasts didn't travel in flocks to overwhelm her, powerful beasts were spread
across the lair. Although most of them were at lower grades and could be disposed of with ease, there
was only so much Valeria could handle alone.
When she feared being overwhelmed, she would avoid them and remain out of sight. However,
inducing such stealthy tactics cost her a considerable amount of time, slowing her down.
After she had just managed to get rid of a beast, consuming a fair amount of energy, another appeared
before her, fraught with hostile intentions.
Still exhausted from the previous fight, Valeria opted to retreat to catch her breath.
However, the beast seemed to have anticipated her action as it opened its mouth and sprayed the silk
threads, aimed at the direction she was heading, blocking her path.
Coming to terms with her situation, she decided to muster up every last bit of strength she had left to
fight this beast to ensure her escape.
In the first half of their battle, Valeria was easily overpowering the beast. However, as it continued on
for longer, it began to take a toll on her since she hadn't recovered from her previous fight.
Soon enough, the beast caught on to her predicament and claimed its advantage. Swinging its knife-
like leg all the way, it stabbed straight into her, piercing her flesh.
Since the beast and Valeria were fighting in close combat, her reflexes weren't quick enough to dodge
it. It had struck her right abdomen and pushed with force before pulling out, allowing her blood to spray
out, forming a pool below.
Staggering backward, she gritted on her teeth to keep herself from screaming, planning to summon the
wooden giant as her last resort.
Suddenly, two figures planted themselves in front of her, both petite and dainty in appearance.
"What a letdown. I expected the Godly Genius of the Flower Fief to be more capable than this. You
can't even handle a medium-grade Emperor Realm beast!" one of the girls taunted, poking fun at
Valeria's predicament.
The other immersed herself in rushing to her side and keeping the beast from injuring Valeria further.
Snapping out of her confusion, Valeria recognized the two figures and addressed them, asking, "What
are you doing here?"
"Why do you look so surprised? Should we not have been here?"
one of them asked politely, adorning a charming smile.
The two girls were none other than Gloria and Purple.
They had closely followed Rocky and the others when they arrived at the Nether Fire Land. The two
women disguised themselves and sneaked into Drew's guard team.
After Drew and Quentin led their people to attack and break into the lair, Gloria and Purple too snuck
inside without being noticed.
Never did Valeria expect to rely on them to protect her. Stubborn as she was, she blurted out, "Out of
the way. I'll be the one to kill this beast!"
Amused, Gloria and Purple exchanged glances before turning to Valeria. "We honestly don't care
whether you live or die. But you're the only one who knows about Odin's whereabouts. So where is
he?"
"He is dead!" Valeria exclaimed, her voice trembling in suppressed anguish.
"You're kidding, right? This can't be true."
Denying her statement, Gloria shook her head.
"It's true! He fell into the abyss trying to save me! It's all my fault!"
Forgetting all about the striking pain in her abdomen, Valeria fell to her knees, a pained expression on
her face vouching for her words.
Shocked from the revelation, Gloria and Purple stood stunned, eyes wide in disbelief.
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