Chapter 668 Entering The Palace (2/2)

It was a terrible, blood-curdling scream.

”So much for that young man—poor thing!” bewailed one of

ugh, Darren and Hobson could see blackened ruins in front of them.

”Even this palace had been destroyed?” Darren murmured.

He knew no more than anyone else about what had happened in the ancient times. But judging from the scattered Holy Will Crystals outside and the barren, ravaged landscape, he could guess that the war of annihilation there had been truly unprecedented in its cruelty.

Still, he hadn't expected to find that its effects had spread to the inside of the bronze palace as well.

For a long time Darren and Hobson simply stared at the devastated remains, unsure of what to do next.

In fact, there was little even that was recognizable, except for a huge, lone pillar that loomed off in the distance.

For some minutes, Hobson studied the ground. ”Darren, look at this!”

Saying this, he took a multicolored crystal out of the dirt.

Darren took the rock from his friend and studied it. He soon recognized it as a Holy Will Crystal, clearly one from ancient times.

”I have no use for this. You can keep it,” he said, handing it back.

Hobson accepted the crystal gladly, regarding it as a great treasure. ”What should we do now?” he asked, staring into its mesmerizing glow.

”We fly north,” Darren said after thinking it over.

”Why? Did you sense something up there?”

Darren shook his head and pointed at the earth. ”Look, there are no tracks going that way. That means that the five sect leaders who came here before us all went in other directions. So we need to go north if we want to avoid running into them.”

”Oh, I get it,” replied his companion. Hobson smiled awkwardly, realizing he ought to have noticed something so obvious himself.

Without trading any more words, they confirmed the direction and took flight, aiming north.

After several days of travel, they seemed to reach the boundary of that land. Before them they caught sight of a great, lofty wall. On closer inspection, though, it appeared to belong to the outskirts of a palace.

Then, without warning, Hobson cried out in pain and fell from the air.

He struck the ground and rolled about, covering his eyes as though he was in great pain there.

Without wasting a second, Darren hurried down to his side. ”Hobson, what's wrong?”