The towering building stood silently in the solidified dusk, with no sound around it, as if it were merely an oil painting.
Traveling through such an environment,
After entering the dusk-shrouded area, the entire exploration team, including "Demon Hunter"
With one side weakened and the other strengthened, their advance became difficult. After several fierce battles, the
Faced with this, "Demon Hunter" Colin Iliad had to break the silence to warn them:
"This means we've truly entered the '
Upon hearing this, a small number of team members, affected by the "dusk," began to waver. In their view, although they dared not stay for long in the earlier stages, fearing encirclement by the rotting giants, they had still managed to clear out all the monsters in small areas, allowing for rest and reorganization. They had obtained a good number of Beyonder characteristics, magical materials, and potion formulas. This exploration had already yielded sufficient rewards; there was no need to push deeper. The current priority should be to find a suitable building to establish a forward camp for the second exploration.
Facing this suggestion, Colin Iliad didn't say much, only emphasizing that the purpose of this exploration was to gather as much information as possible about the general layout of the "Giant King's Court" to accumulate enough intel for future actions.
Then, he had a member named Antirna "soothe" those whose will had wavered.
Since the "Shepherd" Elder Lovia also supported the Chief, the small number of wavering members quickly adjusted their mindset and followed the Chief in silence.
After a while, they saw a huge stone staircase. It was entirely grayish-white, yet tinged with an orange-yellow light, both dazzling and lifeless.
The steps of this staircase were relatively high. For a normal human, climbing it would be very strenuous. Fortunately, the shortest member of this exploration team, Elder Lovia, was close to 1.9 meters tall and could command the wind.
Above the gigantic staircase was a majestic city wall, so tall one had to crane their neck to see the top. It bore many marks of destruction and scorching. In some places, tree-trunk-thick, several-meter-long arrows were embedded, causing some stone blocks to collapse.
In the middle of this wall was a double door dozens of meters high. Its color was more on the grayish-blue side, studded with gold nails. Outside stood two guards whose mere presence created an intense feeling of oppression.
They were a good five or six meters tall, wearing exquisite and sturdy silver full body armor. One wielded a greatsword, the other rested a giant axe on the ground. Behind their visors, each had a cluster of orange-red light, like a single eye.
"Silver Knights..." "Demon Hunter" Colin raised his right hand, holding his straight sword horizontally to block the path of the team members behind him.
—He had already drawn the two straight swords from his back and coated them with different drugs.
Silver Knights... Derrick Berg felt his eyelids twitch and his heart pound.
He had only recently learned from the Chief some intelligence only available to high-ranking members, learning that Sequence 3 of the "
What startled and terrified Derrick was that the gatekeepers of the "Giant King's Court's" core were two Sequence 3 demigods, a level higher than the City of Silver's strongest combat power!
And this was merely the gate area of the Giant King's Court. If they could go deeper, they had no idea what they would encounter.
After his initial shock, Derrick couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation: Perhaps, within the "Giant King's Court," they could find the potion formulas for Sequences beyond Sequence 4 of the "Giant" pathway.
If so, the Chief might have the chance to become a "Silver Knight," greatly enhancing the City of Silver's strength. Then, they could further explore the "Giant King's Court," find more potion formulas, hunt more monsters, and harvest more high-level Beyonder characteristics and magical materials.
Subconsciously, Derrick glanced around and noticed that the reactions of Joshua, Heimm, Antirna, and other team members were essentially the same as his own: a mix of tension, fear, and a glimmer of hope.
At that moment, "Shepherd" Elder Lovia stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Colin Iliad. Looking up at the grayish-blue gate and the two "Silver Knights" in an unknown state, she said: "If there was only one, we would have a chance to deal with it."
Her real meaning was clear: there were two Silver Knights now. Even if they were willing to suffer heavy casualties, they couldn't eliminate the enemy. Even if the Chief could wield a mythical creature form and normally fight against Sequence 3, the environment here wouldn't allow him to make a similar attempt—the shroud of dusk brought decay, and what he could previously withstand might now be too much.
Colin Iliad nodded, glancing at Lovia and Derrick Berg respectively. After observing the area ahead for a while, he said: "It seems that as long as we don't approach the gate, the two guards won't attack us."
"Maybe we could try to lure one of the 'Silver Knights' away and deal with it separately?" a female warrior named Antirna suggested carefully.
She had medium-length wine-red hair. Her facial features weren't delicate, but the combination was exceedingly dignified and bright.
In this expedition, her main task was to rely on a sealed artefact in her possession to treat the psychological issues of the team members and to counter enemies with mental domain abilities.
Antirna's specific idea was for some members to lure away one of the "Silver Knights," relying on the terrain and coordination to keep it occupied, while the Chief and Elder Lovia teamed up against the remaining one, striving to finish it off quickly.