"How long will they take? It's already been over seven hours since they left. Could something have happened to them?"
Sitting in the underground hall, Jia was still waiting for the two to return. However, as more and more time passed, she started getting worried about them.
On the other hand, Karyk didn't seem to care about it in the least. Jia wondered if she should wake Karyk up and tell him how long it had been since the Goddess of Nature and Gabriel went missing, but she couldn't gather her courage to disturb him.
As if being able to read her mind, Karyk opened his serene eyes.
"Don't worry. They should be back soon."
After only speaking one sentence, he closed his eyes once again, focusing on his recovery. Even he didn't expect how fast it was. Only less than a week had passed and he felt that he had almost healed!
At this rate, he could completely heal himself before the banquet. At this speed, he believed that only one more day was needed before he could recover completely. Not only recover, but he could also go farther since his understanding of death and souls had improved.
After half an hour passed, a void opened in the middle of the hall. From the void, the Goddess of Nature came out. She looked perfectly fine. However, there was a small cut on the corner of her sleeves, as if made from some dark energy.
Behind her, Gabriel also came out. He also didn't look much worse. He didn't have any wounds, at least not something that could be concerning. He more or less looked the same as he did before he left. However, something felt different about him.
"I suppose you finally won?" Karyk opened his eyes once more. Even though the two didn't say anything, he could understand what happened through their expressions.
The Goddess of Nature still appeared slightly surprised, as if she was unwilling. Even though her defeat at the hands of Gabriel wasn't as brutal as it has been in Karyk's hand, she still felt frustrated.
It was the second time she had lost, and the first time it happened at the hands of someone who was so much younger than her. However, even through this discomfort, she felt slightly pleased. They had another strong person in their group now. The chances of their success had increased.
"I will go to the banquet," Gabriel said, reaching out his hand, as if asking for the invitation token.
Karyk didn't react much and tossed the invitation token. "It doesn't matter. We'll be getting more such invitation tokens soon. All of us will be going there together."
Initially, he had to change his plan to attend the banquet because of the sudden change in his condition due to corruption. However, now that he felt that he could heal himself soon, he once again returned to the old plan.
This was their perfect opportunity to get to the Southern General, after all! And if they were lucky, the other Generals could be there as well!
****
The next morning, Karyk finally stood up, stretching his arms. It had been a long time, but he finally felt that he was back to his usual self. His soul and his strength was back to its peak. Moreover, his Elemental Control had also improved more.
As soon as he recovered, he opened a void before him, and told Gabriel and the Goddess of Nature to follow him.
All four of them left the temporary hideout and entered the outskirts of the Southern World once again.
However, since these people already knew that he was in the Southern World, Karyk didn't bother being cautious to the previous extension.
Karyk appeared before the Wester Clan once more, which was connected to the Southern General. He didn't like leaving things incomplete. Since these people tried to kill him the last time he was here to talk nicely, he could only return the favor.
Over a hundred Undead Beings appeared all around the clan. This time, Karyk took the lead, destroying everything in its path. Not even the strongest Warriors in the Wester Clan could resist. What was even worse was that Karyk wasn't alone.
Vines that could drink blood... Plants that could eat humans.... They saw many times come out of nowhere, overwhelming them in an instant.
The Patriarch of the Wester Clan was horrified at the gruesome sight before him. He hadn't expected the Death Star to be this scary. He didn't even think that he could resist against this man, even if he was stronger! In fact, the thought of standing against the man didn't even cross his mind.
Instead, he rushed inside his mansion, to contact the Southern General. His heart was racing as his whole body was drenched in sweat because of fear. He knew that the Southern General was the only one who could aid them in this dire situation.
He pushed the door of the secret chamber open, hastily rushing inside. However, as soon as he stepped inside, he was horrified. Karyk was inside there! But how was it possible? He had just seen Karyk outside? Moreover, why did Karyk change his clothes so suddenly? Something didn't make sense.
As the man noticed the hands of the person before him, he was even more shocked. The young man didn't have the Elemental Mark of Death. Instead, he had a strange mark which appeared to be a merger of the Elemental Mark of Light and the Elemental Mark of Death.
The person before him wasn't Karyk! It was evident. But why did he look similar? Was he a clone? The Patriarch of the Wester Clan was flooded with questions in his mind.
"Looking for something?" Gabriel held a small item in his hand that was used to contact the Southern General.
Before the Wester Clan Master's eyes, Gabriel destroyed the item, making it impossible for anyone here to contact the Southern General! Everyone was trapped here and no one could escape, just like they had trapped Karyk and the rest previously.
