Chapter 1634 (2/2)
A harmless Skill activation became the key they needed to proceed forward. But of course, even if the array was weakened, most others still wouldn’t be able to take advantage of such a weakness.
In that thin passage where the disintegration was weaker, Randidly proceeded carefully forward, eventually standing only five meters from the Nether Array. And at that distance, his eyes began to glow. He reached forward and tore down the carefully designed array like he was ripping off chunks of old wallpaper. His skin burned and sizzled, but he had plenty of health to spare.
Congratulations! Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle (M) has grown to Level 263!
Congratulations! Your Skill Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 343!
Like a wave of dominos falling, the destabilized array fizzled and ceased to operate. Without the protection of the anti-image Nether Ritual, the spectral hand of the Grim Chimera slashed left and right, destroying the core components of the disintegration barrier. There was a horrid sound of air being sucked away in the barrier’s frantic last few moments, but then it was gone. It took him about seven minutes, but the defenses had been neutralized.
“Good, good!” Seeker Thunder Wing walked forward laughing. “Heh, the Lady of Talons is going to be extremely disappointed that she had such little faith in you! Thank you, Mr. Ghosthound. Please, allow me to head through first and pacify the surroundings.”
Without waiting for an answer, Seeker Thunder Wing strode confidently forward and pressed his hand against the spatial wall. In the next instant, a group of six individuals who wore tan jerkins with a Crimson Eagle stitched across the front marched past Randidly to follow their leader. The individual at the head of the column, the woman who Randidly had seen fighting against the yellowed skeleton during their arrival on this spatial island, gave Randidly a look of warning.
Inwardly, Randidly could only chuckle awkwardly. Do you think I expected Seeker Thunder Wing to become such a chatterbox when I showed him this Fatepiece? If you are jealous, blame yourself for not stumbling across any artifacts in your travels…
Helen leaned casually against her spear next to Randidly and nodded toward the departing Pinnacle Seekers. “Want me to challenge that woman for you? I cannot think of a single thing I’d rather do than defend your honor repeatedly against all the people you offend. Every hour of the day would be so fulfilling.”
“You would do that? How thoughtful.” Randidly grinned at Helen. “And here I thought I would need to exhaust myself just to make sure everyone respects me.”
Helen snorted. “Yea, fat chance of that ever happening. You don’t scowl nearly enough to be respected in the Nexus.
DiOrtho and Raymund wandered over, followed by Kerwin and a still horror-stricken Lay’mel. But just as Randidly was about to say something to his other subordinates, two other figures passed by the minor festival orbiting around Claudette and made a beeline for Randidly.
Randidly looked at them solemnly. The two figures were rather similar to each other, the first an older woman with long white hair and bushy, black eyebrows while the second was a young man with similar features. Both wore long white cloaks.
The older woman smiled at Randidly. Her teeth were slightly yellowed. “Well met, Mr. Ghosthound. I am Pinnacle Seeker Ozaer. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Your ability to defeat the barrier… truly astounding. It is an honor to witness your potential.”
Randidly chewed on his lip for a second as he considered this woman; she was the Pinnacle Seeker in the group other than Seeker Thunder Wing that made him nervous. He couldn’t see through this woman’s power. “The pleasure is all mine, Pinnacle Seeker Ozaer. I would assume based on your aura… you two utilize the image of the cloud with black raindrops?”
The woman nodded in satisfaction. “Truly a discerning eye. Yes, our image is that of the Final Storm. It is a myth of my people that when the end of our existence approaches, there will be one last storm when the heavens will cry tears of black blood to see us go.”
After such a friendly opening, Randidly didn’t suppress the question that occurred to him. “Have you ever considered then whether you are fulfilling the prophecy of your own doom? That your image might very well become so powerful that it will spell the end of your people?”
The woman showed Randidly a different smile this time, still centered around those yellowed teeth. There was altogether too much relish in the expression for Randidly to be comfortable. “Oh, yes. That thought has crossed my mind.”
Further conversation was interrupted by the return of one of Seeker Thunder Wing’s underlings, who informed the group that the Seeker had established a beachhead, but that there was significant Nether resistance on the other side. Randidly politely disengaged with Seeker Ozaer and walked away.
As he did so, Helen poked Randidly in the side with her elbow and spoke in a near-inaudible voice. “You can defend your own honor with that one. She’s got the look of a woman who likes to suck the marrow out of bones.”
“Then should you two get along?” Randidly flashed a smile at Helen but inwardly agreed. When they reached the spatial wall, Randidly’s group was given the honor of being the second party to travel through to the next area. His subordinates linked hands and they headed deeper.