Chapter 623: Chapter 623: Zen's Goal

Everyone left the area as fast as they could.

Even in the outer area of the Dark Nether Cave, any place of great danger was an inescapable one. If any one of them was not careful enough, everyone would die there as a result.

A faint green light flashed in Zen's eyes. Even if he was retreating, he was still extremely alert.

Although the Bull-like Giant Toad and its long tongue were proven to be very fast, Zen had quite a distance away from it, and he had plenty of room to either hide or dodge.

However, if the giant toad were to pounce at him, he would be at his wit's end. Everyone would definitely die.

Zen noticed that the toad had already left the huge pond. It had taken two steps forward but then stopped and became still. Its dark figure had blended into the darkness, but its two large eyes, which were about the size of a house, were gleaming - and they were staring coldly at him!

“Fortunately,” Zen whispered, his breath labored. “It doesn't intend to chase us.” As he continued to retreat his eyes never left the toad in the darkness. After making sure that he was at a safe distance away from the huge monster, he finally turned around and followed the group.

“Okay, where did that toad come from?” Lavender asked, turning to Yolande who was by her side.

Several war lords glanced at Lavender with confused looks, wondering why she was asking such a question. The giant toad had been in this cave for a long time, and its site had already been clearly marked on the map of the Dark Nether Cave. It was said that this toad had never moved out of the pond, and there were no stories as to how it got there. It just had always been there.

The monsters in the Dark Nether Cave were all very complex and varied, and they were all usually strong enough to shake the world.

If any powerful monster rushed out of the Cursed Land, it could bring a calamity to the Sea God Continent. Take this giant toad as an example, perhaps no one on the entire Sea God Continent would be able to deal with it!

It was fortunate that although the Dark Nether Cave was full of powerful monsters, none of them had ever stepped out of the cave so far. No one knew what the real reason was, but most people speculated that these creatures were afraid of the Cursed Land and didn't dare to walk out of the Dark Nether Cave's domain.

However, this conjecture was quickly proven to be false. The Dark Nether Cave was underground, so these monsters could easily dig a passageway and come out to another part of the Sea God Continent. But then again, none of these powerful monsters had done such a thing. Obviously, it was not that easy to figure out the truth of the Dark Nether Cave.

“It's the Bull-like Giant Toad, one of Richards' spirit beasts,” Yolande answered directly.

“Richards?” Lavender repeated, slightly surprised. “The man who nearly became a world lord?”

“Yes, but he's dead now,” Yolande said flatly.

Although the conversation between the two was brief, everyone understood what they were talking about. And it didn't matter if they didn't - they now knew that the giant toad could be tamed as a spirit beast, and there were actually some people among them who were proficient enough in capturing beasts.

But then, a question remained - would they be able to capture a spirit beast of a man who was powerful enough to be a world lord? That would be equivalent to courting death.

Everyone followed Fabian and kept retreating until they finally returned to their normal route.

Many of the people's faces were still as pale as a sheet of paper.

Jarrod counted the number of people. After being chased by those strange birds, out of over a hundred human warriors, only less than fifty survived, while a dozen top-level war lords had also been killed.

In a terrible situation like this, it was fortunate enough that they were not annihilated completely.

“Why don't we just return to the tower?” A top-level war lord suggested.

He was not afraid of death. Once before, he had entered the Dark Nether Cave, but he had never encountered such a great danger. Because of this, he felt that there must have been some sort of change that happened within the Dark Nether Cave and it led him to his suggestion. ṛАＮÔ₿Ę𝘚

The moment other war lords and war generals heard him, they overwhelmingly agreed to his suggestion.

“I agree. The monsters in Dark Nether Cave have been acting too actively this year. I feel that something is amiss.”

“Just to be on the safe side, I think we better leave. The Dark Nether Cave opens every year anyway. We can wait for that and just enter again.”

“I don't want to stay in this place any longer. I heard that anyone who enters the Dark Nether Cave has a slim chance of surviving. But in my opinion, it's a 100 percent chance of dying!”

As everyone joined in the discussion, Fabian and Jarrod slowly nodded in approval. This trip to Dark Nether Cave was indeed unlucky, coming in and immediately encountering such a huge crisis. To be safe, it was better to give the mission up and return to the Tower of Sin.

However, they were not the one who would make the final decision.

Fabian looked at Zen. He was the one who had a say in the whole thing.

When Zen felt Fabian's gaze on him, a faint smile graced his lips. “If you guys intend to go back, of course I won't have any objections. But I won't go with you. I will stay here.”

Lavender stayed quiet, but her calm gaze and red pupils that seemed to have faint flames circulating within seemed to convey that she would be staying with Zen. Yolande then broke the silence and said, “I will not leave Zen's side. With him, I also intend to explore the Dark Nether Cave.”

When he heard Zen's response, Fabian quickly knew that it would be a difficult decision for him to make.

To put it bluntly, all of the top-level war lords here including Fabian himself weren't as important as Zen alone!

The Purple Heart Sacred Place was actually relying on Zen to control the Tower of Sin. Even if all of the top-level war lords they were with died in this cave, the Purple Heart Sacred Place would be able to train more top-level war lords in the future, so they basically were unimportant characters. However, without Zen, the status of the human race would be restored to their former position.

The reason why the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place of the Demon Night race had allied with the Purple Heart Sacred Place was also because of Zen's sword spirit, Lavender. To put it bluntly, it was still for Zen's sake. After all, there was no need for a seventh grade sacred place to ally with the Purple Heart Sacred Place, which just qualified to be regarded as a sixth grade sacred place.

Fabian was not the only one to think of such things. Many other top-level war lords had the same thoughts. However, they were also aware how difficult it would be to further explore the cave.

“The Dark Nether Cave is too dangerous to be in this time. I suspect that the Tide of Chaos has broken out. Why don't we make the wiser choice and just retreat this time?” Fabian wasn't ready to give up. In his mind, he knew that he would be able to persuade Zen to go back.

“Tide of Chaos?” Zen asked doubtfully.

“Yes, but that is just my speculation. It is said that the Tide of Chaos would erupt in this cave once every ten years, and when the Tide of Chaos breaks out, the monsters in the Dark Nether Cave would become much more active, and the degree of danger of the place would greatly increase. Whenever those years roll by, we normally cancel our explorations,” Fabian explained as he stared at Zen.

His words were a reminder to Zen of the dangers of the Dark Nether Cave. 'You can't ask so many humans to die with you, right?' Fabian thought to himself.

However, Zen was thinking about a totally different thing.

After the run-in they had with the giant toad just now, the dangers of the cave were already crystal clear to Zen.

But he didn't have much time left. He had been in this continent for close to a year. The more time passed, the more worried he would be.

If Zen were to miss this opportunity, he would have to wait for another full year!

If that ever happened, he would most likely become a war lord, or even a top-level war lord. If he had such strength as he entered the Dark Nether Cave, it would be much safer for him, and for everyone he was with. But then, a year's time was more than enough for there to be too many crucial variables in the Central Region.

“I'm sorry. Although I know that this place is very dangerous, I really can't wait for another year,” Zen apologetically said, while shaking his head and staring at Fabian. His eyes were brimming with determination.

Fabian let out a deep sigh. After all, there was no reason for him to leave Zen alone in the Dark Nether Cave. If he did and Zen survived, it would be okay. But if Zen was unable to return to the Tower of Sin, Fabian would undoubtedly be the first one to be punished by the Purple Heart Sacred Place!

But then, considering how so many of the people they were with were already set on leaving the area, he couldn't bring himself to say that they needed to stay.

Eventually, he opened his mouth and announced the decision. “Jarrod,” he said slowly, taking a deep breath. “You and I will stay here with Zen. The rest of you,” he continued, his eyes sweeping everyone that was with them. “You can retreat and wait for us in the Tower of Sin.”

Jarrod did not hesitate and nodded in approval. He understood Fabian's thoughts immediately, and very well.

With that, all of the other top-level war lords let out a sigh of relief. Their expressions were also as if a heavy burden had been lifted from their hearts. Many of them did not want to stay in the cursed place for even a second longer.

It wasn't difficult to return via the same route as they had come, as they had only gone a few dozen miles after being chased by the Swallowing Birds. It wouldn't take long for an expert of their level to close the distance.

After the top-level war lords left with the war generals, Fabian turned to Zen and said, “Well, now that we have chosen to stay, we will accompany you as far as possible! Zen, the thing that you want to obtain after entering this Dark Nether Cave must truly be something extraordinary.”

Hidden in the Dark Nether Cave were immeasurable treasures and endless good fortune. Even the people who had only reached the outer layer had been able to enjoy it. Although the treasures in the outer layer had been decreasing in number after so many years of people scavenging for them, there were still people who had been lucky enough to find precious objects during their ventures.

“I don't know,” Zen answered vaguely.

“You don't know?” A strange expression appeared on Fabian's face, “Then do you at least have a goal?”

“Maybe. If possible, I would like to enter the core area of the Dark Nether Cave,” Zen said. As these words came out of Zen's mouth, Fabian's and Jarrod's faces were instantly colored with disbelief.

'What is this kid even thinking? Entering the core area of the Dark Nether Cave? Crazy!'