Free Web NovelChapter 562: A Massacre
Gabriel wanted to ask more questions.
Several thoughts already moved through his head, and each one felt important enough to press further. The Demonic Sect, the spike, the sealed god, and the possibility that his future memories were becoming unreliable all carried dangers he could not ignore.
Before he could speak again, the projection suddenly flickered.
The old alchemist’s figure distorted once, and the light forming his body weakened sharply. His expression changed immediately, irritation flashing across his face as the recording became unstable.
"Tch... the remaining energy is running out," he muttered.
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. "Wait."
"If you survive long enough, junior, you will eventually understand something," the alchemist said quietly. "Strength alone does not decide who reaches the end."
The light around him cracked apart.
A second later, the projection vanished completely, leaving only silence behind inside the chamber. The glowing formation beneath the table dimmed rapidly until even the faint traces of light disappeared.
Gabriel remained standing there for several seconds.
His fingers tapped lightly against the side of his arm while his thoughts moved carefully through everything he had learned so far. The alchemist knew little about the tomb itself, but the information about the Demonic Sect was troublesome enough already.
Slowly, Gabriel took out the shard given to him by the knight.
The dark red crystal rested quietly in his palm, and faint lines still moved beneath its surface. Compared to the projection, this felt far more reliable.
"The answers are probably inside you," Gabriel muttered softly.
After studying it briefly, he returned it to his inventory. Extracting it inside the tomb was still too dangerous, especially now that he knew unknown enemies could already be moving through these passages. freёweɓnovel.com
Several minutes later, Gabriel returned toward the main resting area.
His footsteps echoed lightly through the chamber before he even appeared fully from the deeper corridor. The sound immediately made several ChaosKnight members tense up from instinct alone.
VV’s helmet lifted first after recognizing him, then it returned to whatever it was doing.
ChaosCleric turned sharply while gripping his staff tightly, and two injured members near the shelves nearly stood up before realizing who it was. The atmosphere only relaxed slightly after Gabriel stepped fully into view.
"You walk too quietly," ChaosCleric complained while exhaling slowly. "One day somebody is going to attack you from reflex."
Gabriel ignored the complaint; his gaze slowly moved across every single ChaosKnight member present inside the room. His eyes lingered longer than normal this time, and although his face stayed hidden behind the mask, the suspicion in his posture became obvious enough that even IceQueen noticed it.
The chamber became quieter and awkward.
One wounded member shifted awkwardly under the stare while another frowned slightly in confusion. ChaosCleric lowered his staff a little and looked between Gabriel and the others.
"What?" he asked cautiously.
Gabriel did not answer. The alchemist’s warning kept repeating inside his head. The Demonic Sect hid themselves well, avoided drawing attention openly, and could already be inside the tomb.
Meaning anyone here could potentially belong to them.
IceQueen’s eyes narrowed faintly. "Did something happen?"
Gabriel finally looked toward her, and after a moment of prolonged silence, he replied, "Nothing. Just curious about our teammates."
Silence followed for a few seconds after that.
Several members exchanged uneasy looks, but nobody pushed further. Whatever Gabriel had discovered deeper inside the chamber had clearly changed his mood slightly, and no one here was foolish enough to ignore that.
Eventually, Gabriel looked toward the corridor again.
"We should continue moving. Staying in one place too long inside this tomb is not smart."
IceQueen gave a small nod immediately.
Most of the injured members had already recovered enough to walk, and resting longer would only increase the chance of another wave finding them. ChaosKnight reorganized quickly despite the tension still lingering in the air.
VV lifted the massive sword again.
ChaosCleric muttered something under his breath while checking the remaining mana potions attached to his belt. Several others gathered their supplies before the group finally moved again.
Gabriel walked near the front this time.
His perception remained spread quietly through the nearby passages while his thoughts stayed divided between the shard, the Demonic Sect, and the increasingly dangerous qi deeper inside the tomb.
The corridors gradually changed again as they advanced.
The walls became darker, the dead qi thicker, and even the old stone carvings along the sides appeared more damaged than before. Several places showed long claw marks cut directly into the walls as if something large had once forced its way through here violently. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"I really hate this place," someone muttered.
"No one forced you to enter," another member replied tiredly.
"Money forced me."
After crossing another narrow corridor, the group stepped into a much larger chamber and stopped instantly.
The atmosphere changed completely.
A dry metallic smell filled the air, and several ChaosKnight members froze the moment they understood what they were seeing. Even IceQueen’s calm expression shifted slightly at the gruesome sight before her.
Bodies.
An entire Tianlan guild had been wiped out inside this chamber.
Broken corpses lay scattered across the stone floor in different positions. Some were cut apart completely, while others looked crushed by enormous force strong enough to cave armor inward. Blood stained nearly every part of the room.
One corpse had been thrown hard enough to leave a human shaped crater almost three feet deep in the wall. Another still gripped half a broken sword despite missing both arms.
ChaosCleric swallowed hard.
"What... did this?"
Nobody answered him because that was the exact question in each of their minds.
The silence inside the chamber became heavy as every ChaosKnight member instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons. Fear spread quickly after realizing the truth.
This was not a few casualties.
An entire guild had been massacred.
...
Thanks to all those who support this novel with their valuable Golden Tickets, Power Stones, and gifts. Apologies for the low number of Chapters these days. We are slowly getting our stride back! Another Chapter is coming up.
