"I think I finally understand that feeling of tension that everyone was exuding before we entered the Hidden Domain," Keane said as he ran beside Lux and with the rest of the members of the Rowan Tribe.
"Yes," Lux replied. "They knew that the moment they entered the portal, their lives would be in great danger. This is probably why all the Guilds banded together at the very beginning in order to advance as a single unit.
"If we had all headed towards the Sacred Dungeon by ourselves, we would have been easily killed off one by one by the Monsters that lurk within this forest."
Cai didn't say anything and simply carried the members of the Rowan Tribe who were injured on her back. This was the first time she had entered the Hidden Domain, but everytime her grandfather sent an expedition to challenge the Sacred Dungeon, more than half of the teenagers he sent didn't return.
This was also why going to the Hidden Dungeon wasn't a compulsory order. Everyone had the right to reject him. Even so, more than twenty people answered his call, and accompanied Cai to one of the most dangerous places in Elysium, which had already claimed countless lives.
Out of the thirty members of the Rowan Tribe Faction, five had died, and four more were injured during their retreat.
The other guilds had also suffered several casualties, but now was now the time to assess how many members they had remaining. What mattered was reaching the Sacred Dungeon as soon as possible.
As soon as they were able to enter it, even if they died inside the dungeon, they would just be teleported outside the Gates of the Hidden Domain, allowing them to live another day.
Countless roars, growls, and shrieks could be heard behind them, but no Beasts followed their retreat.
They were busy devouring the corpses of the Mosquitoes, as well as their Beast Cores, like opportunistic hyenas enjoying the hardship of others.
Half an hour later, the long march ended as they all entered a spacious cave.
A collective sigh of relief was heard from around them because they had finally entered the path towards the Sacred Dungeon.
But this relief was fleeting once they saw the ten-meter-tall creature that was barring their way.
"An Adamantite Golem," Henrietta said with a grim look on her face. "This is bad. The pigmentation on its body shows that it is nearing the Deimos Rank."
For some reason, an Adamantite Golem stood at the path that would lead them to the Sacred Dungeon.
This Golem was incredibly sturdy and has a very high resistance against physical and magical attacks. Usually, it would take a thousand-men team to defeat a Golem of this rank, which was considered a Rank 5 World Boss.
—---
< Adamantite Golem >
– Ancient Construct
– Pseudo-Deimos Ranked World Boss
Health: 6,000,000 / 6,000,000
Mana: 100,000 / 100,000
Strength: 4,500
Intelligence: 200
Vitality: 4,000
Agility: 400
Dexterity: 400
Active Skills: Smash, Body Slam, Earthshaker, Gaia Smash, Rock Throw, Piledriver, Stone Edge, Jack Hammer.
Passive Skills: Enhanced Fortitude, Guts, Adamantium Body
Title: Unstoppable Juggernaut
—--
< Unstoppable Juggernaut >
– During battle, the Adamantite's Golem attack and defense would increase by 10% every time its health was reduced by 10%.
– When it initiates a charging attack, anything that gets hit by it would be instantly stunned, and knocked back without fail.
—--
None of the members of the various guild dared to step forward and even utter a sound. They were afraid that the Adamantite Golem would take their movements as a sign of aggression and immediately initiate an attack.
If in the past, they would welcome such a Boss Monster as an opponent, now it was different. Many of their comrades were injured, and they still had to challenge the Sacred Dungeon.
They couldn't afford to have any more casualties, so they didn't do anything that might provoke the towering Giant that was staring at them from a distance.
The standoff lasted for exactly ten minutes before the Adamantite Golem walked away. Only when it had disappeared from their sight did everyone manage to regain their composure.
Not all monsters inside the Hidden Domain were aggressive. Some, like the Golems, preferred solidarity. Since the teenagers didn't do anything to provoke it, the giant construct didn't label them as its enemies, and left the cave to look for another place to rest.
"Damn, I almost peed when the Golem looked at me," Cai said with shaky legs. "I don't think I'd survive if I got punched by that thing directly."
Lux and Keane nodded their heads in agreement. A Pseudo-Deimos Ranked World Boss was definitely bad news, so not engaging it in battle was the best option they had.
"Let's go," Einar said as he led his guild members to march forward. His guild served as the Vanguard, so he and his men walked at the front of the formation.
Everyone followed suit. Finally after half an hour of walking, they finally reached a place that looked like a Mausoleum for the dead.
It looked very creepy, but at its center was a red portal that glowed faintly amidst the dim light that surrounded it.
"We will rest here for an hour before we set out to fulfill our own missions," Enlil said. "From here onwards, everyone is on their own."
The heads of each guild, and factions all nodded their heads in understanding. All of them had been ordered by their respective kingdoms, and factions to gather resources in the Sacred Dungeon.
As to what level of difficulty they would choose, only the high-ranking members of their guilds and teams knew.
During that hour-long break. The guilds that had healing classes like Clerics, Priests, and Life Mages, tended to the injured.
This included the injured members of the other guilds who had accompanied them along the way. This was the agreement that everyone continued to agree to anytime the Hidden Domain was challenged.
This was done to ensure that the next time the Hidden Domain opened, all the next participants would still perform their duties, in order to ensure the success of the missions that were entrusted to them.
