Chapter 257: the aragan ruin

Going outside the cave, Clark and the others observed that it was already evening, but this did not deter them from going through with their decision. They already made their choice.

With their blotted bags held firmly on their backs, they started the long journey of fate that would determine the outcome of the efforts they’ve put in for the past 1 and a half months.

Josh also followed them. Though he was fatally injured and his hand was dislocated, he still decided to follow this group as he, despite being a 3rd rank high-grade soldier was not confident of surviving in this region if he decided to leave alone.

The countenance of mourning and sorrow was no longer among them, now only determination could be felt tangibly from them.

They felt like completely new human beings compared to a few hours ago.

Though they were kilometers away from where the alpha ape just wreaked them, they could still see the billowing black smoke rising up in the distance which was clearly the work of the king of demolition.

At this moment, they didn’t care about that though, only their mission was in their mind.

As soon as they left the cave, they went northwards according to the direction that was described to them by King.

On the way, they crossed a rare oasis filled with freshwater, they climbed a steep slope upwards as it was the only way there, they killed lone exobeasts, and at last, they met another animal kingdom.

Seeing this, they were not frightened though, the king of demolition already warned them about this.

According to him, the secret passageway of the Aragan ruin that he found was just at the back of this animal kingdom territory. They only had to bypass this last hurdle and they would find their target.

Crossing an animal kingdom was not a trivial matter, but the king of demolition was also kind enough to show them a secret tunnel through which they could bypass it.

This was the moment where they would test how trustworthy the king of demolition actually was. No matter how many good things he did for them, they still had to confirm now that he was actually who he acted to be.

Though they felt a little apprehensive entering a completely unknown tunnel, they were not going back. They could only trust their nerves in hopes that they were right.

“Let’s go in”. Clark said with a stern face.

Not wasting any more time, they silently breached a small gap in a dense cluster of snow, and as expected the secret door revealed itself to them.

Clark didn’t say anything on seeing this, he took hold of the door’s handle, inclined it downwards to open it before entering inside decisively. He would not just talk; he would prove it with his actions.

He already lost a lot of subordinates today, he no longer wanted to feel the sorrow that followed. If there was life-threatening danger in there, he was ready to die first before anyone else could.

As soon as he entered, the rest took deep breaths before following him in.

As the tunnel was underground and was dark, their passing through it was tense and extremely oppressive. Despite all these, they made it to the end safely.

First, they no longer had lots of subordinates that may bust their cover, thereby exposing them. They were all experts; they made no mistakes that could potentially expose themselves.

The most important point was still that no Dipers were close by.

After getting to the end of the tunnel, unlike the entrance that had a door, the exit only had a huge rock blocking it.

Exerting a little effort, Clark and Dickson easily rolled the stone aside. After everyone crossed over, they rolled the stone back, perfectly hiding this secret tunnel again.

They continued their journey, but it was not even 5 minutes before they found their target.

Seeing the countless peaks rambling randomly across their vision, they all stopped to take in the full splendor of this scene. This did not seem like a place on earth at all, it looked more like a scene from an alien planet.

White mist slowly saturated the atmosphere as a rapidly flowing current of water sped down the slope, forming an otherworldly sight, while various rock peaks stood sturdily in this flowing water.

Seeing the rapidly flowing water, the first thing that came to the soldiers’ minds was cold!

Even at such a distance, the cold being emitted from the water was seeping through their thick climbing uniforms directly to their skin. Falling into such a water body, the outcome could only be said to be horrifying.

This was not the only noteworthy sight of this place, the others that greeted their sights were even more impactful.

Hundreds of monoliths, hoodoos, pinnacles, and rocks stood, delicately balanced atop other rocks to form a sight that made the soldiers suck in a sharp breath of air.

“My eyes have seen things!” Josh’s eyes widened to the limits on this sight. It was at this moment that he felt that his inclination as an adventurer was not without basis.

He was fairly confident that such a sight could not be easily seen in any part of the world, he really struck gold this time. This was something that he could brag about for generations.

The delicate natural arrangement of the rocks made the soldiers’ hearts palpitate. It felt like the rocks could fall any moment under the influence of a small breeze blowing, but the fact was there that the wind here was fierce.

What a wonder of nature!

At the very end of the peaks stood an extremely large rock cliff. The cliff stood majestically like a dragon soaring the heavens, its peak was out of sight as the clouds shielded it from the eyes of mortals.

According to the king of demolition, climbing this cliff to the very top would lead you straight to the upper heights of the Everest, though the climbing would probably take months.

The secret door to the Aragan ruin was built into one of the rocks delicately balanced together. It was built in such a way that even the current big 5 organizations needed a huge amount of luck to find it.

King found it due to sheer dumb luck.

Despite knowing that this was the place, Clark and the others could not still notice any irregularity among the rocks. The Aragan researchers of old really overdid it that even their predecessors could not find this ruin.

“We are here!” Clark had a solemn look on his face.

“Then what are we waiting for? We should go in”. Diana spoke with determination on her face.

“Wait, I want to have a private talk with Dickson”. Clark hesitated, but he still said his mind in the end. He gave the latter a deep look before going to an isolated corner.

No one objected, so Dickson shrugged before going forward to meet Clark.

Though there were already at a safe distance, Clark still activated a sound dampening device that would assure him that the others could not hear what they were saying before he started.

“We are here”. He repeated.

“I know, what do you want to tell me?” Dickson answered without showing much emotion on his face.

Clark inclined his head to give Diana one last look, he sighed before speaking out. “It’s like this…”

…

“What? Only 2 of you are going in?” Diana was shocked, blowing out immediately after comprehending what she just heard.

Surprisingly, after having their secret private talk, Clark and Dickson suddenly decided that both of them were the only ones going to enter the Aragan ruin, shocking the others.

“Please explain”. Anna also frowned.

Josh just kept quiet. He didn’t have the right to speak here, in the end, he was just a bystander who met them by chance. He had no leverage to join in their mission target, plans, and results.

“Diana, Anna, please listen to me”. Clark did not have any change in expression on hearing their protests, he spoke calmly back at them.

“I already lost too much!”

After waiting for a few minutes but hearing nothing else, Diana grew more puzzled. “That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s it”. Clark sighed.

“As Dickson said, there’s a high chance that all our soldiers probably already died completely. I lost Benny also to get here, I don’t want to lose anyone else that is close to me”.

“Before you complain, listen to me”.

“This ruin is not an animal kingdom, it’s not a horde of beasts, nor is it a lone exobeast brainlessly attacking us. This is a work of advanced human civilization; I want you to know and acknowledge that”.

“If you both follow us in, perhaps, you will be a source of help to us. But to me, you will be more of a burden”.

“I want to acquire the mission target, that’s why I persevered for so long. And I don’t think that you want to botch my chances just because you want to join, think rationally”.

“And the most important thing of all is that…, the moment Benny died, I don’t care to know the relationship the both of you had, I vowed to protect you for life with my life”.

“But…”

Before Diana could speak further, Clark grabbed and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Forget any buts, Diana, I already made up my mind”. He muttered into her ears.

As he did this, Dickson also pulled his fiancée into a tight embrace.

“Clark is right, Anna, I think it’s ok for the both of us to take it from here. You already tried, you already fulfilled your mission, now it's up to us to carry the mantle forward”. He whispered into her ear.

“Don’t worry, I’m not dying”.

“You’ve witnessed Clark’s strength in his peak, he’s not to be trifled with, and I’m not a cannon fodder either. If we die, then it means that we would have all died if we entered”.

“You surviving means the whole world to me. If you die, I think that will be even worse than death to me”.

“In short, no matter what happens, know that I love you”. He kissed her intimately on the forehead before breaking from the embrace.

Clark also released Diana. He cleared his throat, made his face took on a formal serious tone before addressing both second in commands.

“Diana, Anna, you guys will not be idle. I have a mission for you both”.

“As we go inside the ruin, I want you guys to go back and try to look for any of our soldiers that survived. Only one thing is paramount, your life should be held above all. Understood?”

They both nodded.

“Good!”

Clark finally turned to face Josh. “Good friend…”

“Don’t worry, I understand, I’ll help them to look for your soldiers”. Josh waved his hands nonchalantly.

“Thank you, I will remember this kindness”.

After saying a few more necessary words, Clark and Dickson held their bags tighter. Their eyes gleamed, flashing sharply like those of eagles.

Dickson brought his shield and sword out while Clark grasped his 2-form gun tightly. They were ready!

They moved out the next second.

[Thank you for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it.]