Chapter 1072: 1072. Cage

Noah slaughtered his way through the army of Pterodactyls. Their bodies didn't disappear if he killed them inside the darkness, so he stored them as life left them.

Snore did most of the work. Its elemental attack ignored most of those creatures' natural defenses and shattered the frail lines that made their bodies. Noah kept on wondering how such a species had managed to thrive for so long, but he could only use their captivity as an explanation.

He didn't know the Immortal Lands' environment, and there were no existing reports about that place. There was the chance that weaker beasts could survive in the higher plane due to particular areas that featured fewer threats.

Yet, the prison-like structure was artificial, which meant that someone or something had chosen to build it and trap that species before the piece of Immortal Lands fell. That added some value to the Pterodactyls. Still, Noah didn't find the reason for that even after hundreds of specimens had died by his hand.

The two rank six specimens took some more effort to kill since they worked against Noah together. However, that species could only fly and attempt to cut with its strange body, so they posed no threat to Noah.

Hundreds of corpses had accumulated inside Noah's space-ring by the time he defeated the army. Only silence and darkness remained in the depths of the Gorge.

Noah inspected the walls before exploring the depths further. There were more cells there, but no inscriptions at all.

He reviewed his idea of the formations on the surface. They probably had the purpose of preventing those creatures from going out of the fissure at night since the Elbas family had opened all the cells.

Nevertheless, he still didn't understand why the Royals had even decided to preserve that area. After all, those beasts appeared useless for most purposes. The metal of the cells seemed more valuable since it came from the Immortal Lands.

Even Noah's physical strength wasn't enough to bend the bars. The Royals might have met the same problems seizing that metal since most of the cells were still virtually intact.

Another strange aspect of that pack was that all its specimens appeared malnourished. Ordinary magical beasts would resort to cannibalism at that point, but that didn't seem to be the case for the Pterodactyls.

Noah dived toward the bottom of the Gorge full of doubts. There had to be something worthy of spending "Breath" to trap hundreds of creatures, and he had all the intentions to find it.

No more Pterodactyls appeared in the darkness. It was as if that spot had an empty area entirely devoid of life. Yet, there were cells on the walls there too. The decision to live in the fissure's initial parts had come from the beasts.

Noah eventually reached the bottom and landed on a broad valley. The scene resembled what he found in the Granite Abyss, with the only difference being that the darkness there was due to the Gorge's depth.

His consciousness could cover almost the entirety of the place, so Noah could confirm that one of the valley's sides was empty and explore the other one directly.

Nothing made no sound in that environment, and he floated right above the ground to avoid making sounds with his steps. He didn't feel any danger in front of him, but something told him to be careful anyway.

That sensation was unusual for a being like him. Magical beasts' instincts would ether differentiate between dangerous and safe, without nothing in the middle.

However, he felt something different there. It was as if something mysterious was at the end of the valley, but nothing that he should be afraid of.

Noah reached the end but found nothing unusual. There was only the rocky wall in front of him. Still, the eerie feeling remained, so he continued to investigate the area with his consciousness.

Something began to appear in his mind as he continued to look for clues. The laws' layout started to feel unnatural, and a peculiar detail became visible in the ground's structure.

It wasn't anything flashy. Noah sensed all of that in the form of faint instincts that told him that something was off.

He suddenly realized that the ground should feel differently, and a pattern appeared in his mind at that understanding. There were inscriptions that he couldn't see there, and even his consciousness struggled to give them a form.

Noah retracted his senses as he pondered over the matter for an instant. He didn't have any method to unlock formations, and his expertise in the field was inadequate. He could only opt for one approach, and his fist landed on the ground right after he accepted that.

The whole valley trembled, and even the walls shook to no end. Yet, no cracks appeared on their surface, and the rocks under Noah showed no sign of breaking either.

Noah had found his confirmation that something was there. The only problem now was whether he could reach it.

A torrent of punches landed on the ground. Noah attacked relentlessly, using all the strength contained in his body. Intense earthquakes spread through the whole Gorge, but the rocks didn't give in to his assault.

The ground held on even after his assault continued for an hour. The protections in place weren't something that his physical strength alone could handle.

Noah stopped his assault before heaving a helpless sigh. The Royals had probably uncovered what laid underground, and they had decided to preserve the Gorge because of that.

He couldn't imagine the Royals spending resources on something useless, and King Elbas wasn't the type of powerhouse to accept defeat in front of a barrier.

Yet, King Elbas had most likely breached the barrier due to his expertise in the inscription field. Noah had to rely on his abilities if he wanted to do the same.

The Demonic Sword landed on his palm and its shape condensed. The weapon became even smaller than a knife. It resembled nothing more than a shard of a dark metal when it reached its highest density.

Noah's dark star sensed his feelings and empowered his understanding of the world. Arrays of laws appeared in his eyes, and the minute differences in their layout became more evident.

Mental energy went on the lines of the Divine Deduction technique to improve Noah's understanding. Faint ideas on how to destroy that array became more transparent as his mind's capabilities surpassed their normal limits.

When he felt ready, Noah let the destruction of his individuality guide him. Both his hands wielded the shard-like Demonic Sword and pushed it toward the ground in a slow motion.

Noah saw the fabric of the world breaking as his weapon reached the ground. The pressure that fell on it was so great that a crack appeared on its surface.

When the Demonic Sword's tip touched the ground, a series of white lines lit up and covered the entire area. Yet, Noah's sharpness spread through them and made the whole shining structure crumble.

The ground became transparent, and the bars of a large cage appeared right under him. Noah only needed a glance to understand what he was seeing.

There was another strange Pterodactyl inside that cage, but its aura was immense. Noah could only remain speechless when he realized that he was in front of a proper rank 7 magical beast.