Chapter 535: 535. Gorge

The group flew past the snowy plain and entered a land filled with rank 4 Spiked roots.

Elder Laurel seemed fascinated by those magical plants, but she forced herself to remain focused on the mission, that wasn't the time to study the flora of the piece of Immortal Lands.

The Spiked roots though began to diminish as they advanced, large patches of burned terrain could be seen from time to time as they went deeper into the eastern coast.

Then, a tall obelisk appeared in their field of view.

The group stopped when it saw the colossal structure, that sharp change in the environment surprised the cultivators who immediately halted their flight to analyze the area.

The obelisk seemed to absorb the "Breath" in the air, Noah and the others were immediately able to notice that particular feature due to the lower density of "Breath" around them.

Their consciousnesses expanded to inspect the environment at the bottom of the structure, some gasps resounded in the group of elders when they saw that a small city had been built around the base of the huge pillar.

"They found a way to colonize these territories in less than five years, the Hive pales in comparison to the three big nations."

Elder Hope couldn't help but give voice to those words when she saw the city.

What was even more surprising was that its inhabitants were human cultivators!

'There are even cultivators in the second rank, the Elbas family has created the perfect cultivation ground for its human assets.'

Noah thought while his consciousness probed the city.

The obelisk reduced the density of "Breath", making the area around its base an ideal environment where human cultivators could train.

'The traces left by divine beings for the heroic assets and the cities for the human ones, Elder Hope is right, the Hive is still far behind.'

Noah agreed with Hope's evaluation, but he had always known that the three big nations were simply too powerful.

He couldn't be sure about the Papral nation and the Empire, but he had gained a clear understanding of the heroic assets of the Utra nation.

'The Elbas family alone is stronger than the entirety of the Hive. Then, there are all the heroic cultivators of each noble family… I would say that there are around two hundred heroic cultivators in the ranks of the Utra nation. I wonder how many of them are on Chasing Demon's level.'

Noah knew that the real power of every organization could be found in its strongest members.

The number of ants at your disposal didn't matter if the enemy had a dragon, the cultivation world gave more importance to single but unmatched entities rather than to many pawns.

Of course, rank 4 cultivators weren't ants, but the power held by a single rank 6 existence was too great, which was one of the reasons why the Coral archipelago managed to become independent as soon as it obtained a chance.

"What do we do?"

Elder Pansy asked when she saw that the group continued to remain still, she didn't like to remain out in the open for such a long period.

"Can't we just destroy the city? Losing these humans won't affect the Utra nation too much, but this obelisk seems expensive, it should be a harsh blow to endure even for a big nation."

Elder Jason suggested, but the others hesitated to pursue that approach.

"Destroying the obelisk will force to a stop the attack of the Elbas family on the Empire. We want to inflict as many losses as possible while also exploring their territories and remaining anonymous. These humans might become a threat only in the distant future, but our focus must stay on the present now."

Noah expressed his opinion on the situation.

Taking down the structure would be the right approach if the Hive wanted to conquer that area, but that wasn't possible with its current strength.

On the contrary, reducing the heroic assets of the Utra nation would give more room to the forces of the archipelago, allowing them to maintain control over the lands on the other side of the southern coast and the western coast.

"We don't even know if there are defenses around it. I don't think the Elbas family expected an attack, but building something so important without protections it's simply reckless."

Elder Hope added, expressing her agreement with Noah's vision.

Silence enveloped the group for a while before everyone agreed to avoid the city and keep ambushing the heroic cultivators on their path.

Noah and the others flew around the area occupied by the obelisk, and Spiked roots reappeared as soon as they left the range of the city, it seemed that the Royals had decided to clean only that zone.

They lowered their flying speed since they had officially entered the territories controlled by a big nation, it wouldn't be surprising to meet heroic cultivators plundering and studying the materials there.

Then, Noah felt his instincts tremble when a dark gorge appeared on the ground at a few kilometers in front of him.

The gorge didn't escape the eyes of his companions, the terrain around it had been cleaned after Lord Delbert discovered that place, the Spiked roots hiding the canyon had been eradicated in the years that had passed.

"Such an ancient aura!"

Elder Jason gave voice to his thoughts as he stared at the gorge, his companions thought something similar when their eyes fell on that place.

Only Noah had something different in mind.

Low growls resounded from the bottom of the gorge, their roars carried anger, pain, and even some helplessness.

'They are trapped. Mighty beings trapped in the darkness by the hands of a higher power.'

His mind began to wander as he used his dragon side to understand the meaning behind those growls.

'A hunger that has lasted for centuries, and only the screams echoed in the darkness as their companion. A yearning for the light that knows no limits, a desire for freedom that will never be suppressed.'