Lux, who was leading everyone to take the safest route toward the Sacred Dungeon, decided that he'd only summon his Father, Alexander, and Cai's Grandpa, Maximilian, after they'd reached their destination.
That way, the observers outside of the Gate of the Fallen would have no chance to see that two Saints had snuck inside the Domain in order to loot everything, while all the teenagers were challenging the Sacred Dungeon.
For some reason, the High-Ranking Monsters were quite active, so Lux took breaks from time to time in order to let the dangers pass.
Fortunately, after what happened in the Safe Zone, everyone was convinced of his ability and followed him without a doubt.
ραпdα- n૦νe|`c,0m Even Prince Cyrus and the representatives of the Skystead Alliance behaved themselves as they followed behind the Half-Elf, listening to his orders as they traversed the dangerous forest.
While they were traveling, Lux did his best to try and talk to Keoza, asking him what he knew about the Crystal Palace.
He had a feeling that the Crystal Dragon knew about them, but no matter how much he tried to call Keoza from the Dragon Token, he didn't get any reply.
It was as if the Token and the Dragon inside it had become dormant, becoming an ordinary artifact.
Of course, Lux suspected that the Crystal Dragon was deliberately ignoring him and playing dead.
'I'll just ask later,' Lux thought as he continued to check his Soul Book for any dangers that might be in their surroundings. 'Still, the monsters are very active right now. They weren't this restless when we tried to go to the Sacred Dungeon in the past.'
A few hours later, all of them arrived safely at the entrance of their destination.
The vicinity of the Sacred Dungeon was also a Safe Zone, so no Monsters would try to attack them now that they were inside its protection.
"All of you, wait for me for a bit," Lux said to the people that planned to join his team inside the Gate of Famine. "I need to pee first."
"Sure, take your time," Jasper replied. "We'll rest for a bit too."
Lux nodded and started to walk toward the exit of the cavern.
The Half-Elf could sense several gazes glued on his back, but he ignored all of them. Just to be safe, his Soul Book was still active to check if someone was brazen enough to follow him.
After making sure that no one had followed him, the Half-Elf looked for a secluded place and summoned the Two Saints, who had been waiting patiently outside the Domain of the Fallen.
The space crackled around Lux. It was as if something was preventing him from summoning powerful individuals inside the Domain. This lasted for five minutes before two people, wearing black robes, and silver masks on their faces, appeared in front of him.
"That was terrible," Maximilian complained as he poured some Rejuvenation Potions on the wounds on his shoulders. "I thought I was going to die. Good thing we came prepared."
Alexander, on the other hand, drank a Rejuvenation Potion before opening and closing his hands as if he was testing something.
"A portion of our strength has been sealed away, but overall it's still good," Alexander stated.
"It has been a while since I felt like this," Maximilian took out another Rejuvenation Potion and chugged it. "Right now, I'm only an S-Ranker. How about you, Alex?"
"Same," Alexander replied. "But we're only dealing with Argonauts anyway, so it's not a problem."
Maximilian nodded. With their current strength, they would be able to easily solo an Argonaut-Ranked World Boss without any problem.
Of course, the two had already considered the chance that there might be a Dreadnaught, or worse, an Empyrean-Ranked Monster hiding in the Domain of the Fallen. But, they came prepared and were confident that they would be able to handle any tricky situation that the Domain might throw at them.
"You go back, boy. They might get suspicious if you are gone for a long time," Maximilian said. "Don't worry. We will split it evenly and give you 20%."
Lux nodded, and immediately left the two Rankers who didn't want their identities to be known by anyone. Since they were planning to loot the Domain of the Fallen before any of the other Factions did, they would certainly take everything and not leave any scraps behind.
—--------
Sacred Dungeon…
"Did you take a dump?" Prince Cyrus asked in a contemptuous tone. "What took you so long?"
Lux arched an eyebrow as he gazed at the Second Prince of the Vahan Empire.
"You're still here?" Lux asked back. "Are you perhaps waiting for me to hold your hand before you enter the Sacred Dungeon? Last time I checked, we're not on the same team, so why are you waiting for me?"
"It's not me who's waiting for you, you prick! It's our leader."
"Aur? Is there anything you want from me?"
The Half-Elf shifted his attention to the angelic-looking teenager, whom he believed was a Crystal Dragon in humanoid form.
"Before we enter, I would like to discuss some things with you first," Aur stated. "Since you are affiliated with Karshvar Draconis, that makes me your enemy, but I am willing to turn a blind eye to our differences while conquering the Dungeon. I advise you to not get in my way.
"Although I have a good impression of you, that doesn't mean that I will hesitate in turning you, and your comrades into Crystal Statues if you interfere with my mission. You have been warned."
"And, your mission is?" Lux crossed his arms over his chest. "Spill it, so that we will not accidentally get in your way."
"That is none of your concern."
"Cethus. How about you talk to this person? It seems we're not speaking the same language."
The black-scaled Dragon Born eyed Aur before heaving a sigh.
"We're here to conquer this Dungeon," Cethus replied. "I don't care what the Crystal Palace is here for, but if you get in my way…"
"What will you do if I get in your way?" Aur asked in a challenging tone. His handsome features became sharp as he held the Dragon Born's gaze as if finding his threat very amusing.
"If you get in my way, I'm going to go and tell my Grandmas about it."
"...."
"""...."""
The Dragon Born raised his chin arrogantly as if daring Aur to talk back to him.
Although the handsome Dragonoid (Dragon Humanoid) held a position of power within the Crystal Palace, Cethus wasn't afraid of him.
Why?
Because one of his Grandmas was the Steward of the Crystal Palace, whose authority was only second to the famed Crystal Dragon, Keoza, who had vanished on the day of his coronation ceremony.