Protagonist?Antagonist? I Reject Both

Chapter 67 67:Road To Lost Jewel[II]

From the outside one may think that place was a secret hiding place carved inside the mountain but as one explored inside, they would be up to a surprise cause as it was incredibly vast.

Once they explored inside they encountered innumerable runic structures and tattered corpses.

The decayed clothes worn by some showed many patterns indicating extravagance whereas some wore simple tunic clothes and were identified as slaves.

On the corpses of some, there were many chains of gold, diamonds, and many precious treasures. They also had their storage rings intact, some of which were quite rich.

"Damn, this is really a treasure land."

"Now I know why this is known as Lost Jewel."

"Holyshit, if I loot this corpse, I don't think I need to work my ass off and risk my life for meager money. The wealth in this ring is enough for us to last throughout our life."

The Mercenaries who followed after danced crazily in joy. While some looted without giving a damn, some worried due to superstitious reasons didn't dare to touch the corpse.

At that time, someone spoke solemnly, "This is weird?"

"What's weird?"Others asked worriedly.

"Their deaths…The way they died is so strange. Some looked as if they committed suicide like this one whose hands had been grasping the thief's own neck firmly."

The man's rotten skin between his palms and neck had been joined like glue over time.

"And look there, they seemed to have been killed by fellow humans and it's odd cause in a real sense we are just on a baren mysterious land and there isn't any treasure. And seeing their wealthy clothes, I don't think they killed each other for wealth or some treasure here."

Hearing the expression, their gaze rotated between the corpse and the man who guessed the happening.

Cold sweat started trickling from their forehead. They felt a shiver down their spine just by imagining the brutality and bizarre phenomenon that occurred here.

Their nerves tensed up and they decided to be on guard all the time. Since the space was vast and might be filled with danger, many mercenaries formed a huge group and decided to stick other and take it slow.

On delving deeper inside, they found murals and many ancient artworks on the walls of rocky structures depicting people worshipping a bright round spot scattering rays.

At first, they mistook it for the sun but on researching it carefully, they found that it was a record of ancient events.

A catastrophe occurred that changed the structure of the world. Humans suffered from coldness, depicted by a shivering posture in humans circling the fire with drops of flakes dropping from the clouds.

One day, lightning flashes occurred, and a battle occurred high up in the sky that tore the sky and submerged the world in a bright light that blinded everyone's vision.

And when it ended, a huge ball of fire crashed into this place emitting mysterious energy that shook the world and changed the climate of the world…

"Wait a minute! Is this the thing that ended the Ice Age?"Someone muttered, unable to restrain his composure.

"We can't be sure. Who knows how accurate this thing is?"

"But what is this thing about meteorites?"

A hush silence followed the question. All of them already had a rough guess about that but no one dared to voice out their words.

They couldn't help but feel their heart freeze as they studied the ancient record.

On advancing further, they soon found an area covered by a thick fog that was wriggling around covering one vision. The fog was white at the beginning but it became crimson ongoing further.

Some people lighted flash torches and stepped in but none of them returned even after a long time.

Feeling the odds of a bad omen, they decided to bind themselves in rope to stop themselves from scattering and went in...

However, the moment they went in, they heard a bewitching soft voice tantalizing their soul.

[Kill yourselves otherwise, it's even better to kill your friend. Kill them and the fortune of God would be yours. All yours.]

The moment they heard the voice they started losing their mind and went wild.

Soon a gruesome massacre took place as the groups started attacking one another.

ARGHHHHH!

AAAAAH!

KHUEEEM!

Those who were still outside halted in their steps hearing bloody yells of pain and death.

It didn't take long for them to find out the cause.

The fog seemed to cast some evil sorcery on their mind and make them lose their composure. Thier minds were affected making them crazy and turning into mindless killing machines who attack anyone surrounding them to kill.

If you are alone, you will kill yourself whereas if you are in a group, you try to slaughter your teammate.

And if by chance someone managed to control his or her suicidal thoughts, they found many wild beasts of the high realm inside that shredded them into pieces

The heart-shocking truth behind the veil of fog left many terrorized and many immediately decided to retreat as the mere opportunity wasn't good enough if they couldn't even stay alive to get it.

.....

Many people who entered, retreated with cold shivers going down their backs. They felt a creepy claw scratching their heart when they saw shadows and piles of bones.

It might be a place of treasure for some but for them, it's a trap leading to death.

The Mercenaries who stood at the entrance felt a cold sweat dripping from their backs.

Viper, the leader of Viperblade looking around, asked the people who came out in fear.

"Has someone managed to get in?"

The question drew other Mercenaries' interest.

Those who came out looked at one another in bafflement. At that time, someone among them shouted.

"It's the Vice-Captain of Wolfgang. I have seen her along with a handsome man going inside the fog and I think they have a way to go in."

"Really?"Marcus, the captain of Steelblade mercenaries, asked skeptically.

The group of people flinched back upon seeing Marcus's serious expression.

They didn't know if they managed to get past the fog as they didn't dare to venture deep out of fear so it was just an assumption.

Viper clicked his tongue in annoyance seeing Marcus exerting pressure on his men. Since when did an outsider provoke his people?

"Hey, don't show off here. Why don't you go and ask your men?"Viper spoke coldly, meeting Marcus' gaze.

The veins over Marcus's forehead bulged.

"Are you making fun of me?"Marcus shouted.

BOOM!

The aura of two Martial Lords surged and clashed against one sweeping away the dust and debris.

The air grew heavy as they simultaneously unleashed their powerful auras. One emanated a fierce, crimson energy, swirling with intensity, while the other projected an azure glow that seemed to dance with the wind. The clash of their auras struck fear in the hearts of those around them.

"Fuck!"

"Run away!"

"Shit!"

Many even saw the illusion of sparks flying in the air as the two heads of the mercenary group locked their gazes and screamed for their life. They ran away in fear so that they wouldn't get caught up in their fight.