"What are we going to do now?" Torkez asked as he glanced at Souta.
They found the planet that Souta was looking for yet they still didn't know what he wanted from this planet.
"We're not going to land there. I'm just planning to bring a few elites with me and the rest will stay here in the fortress." Souta explained to them.
The fortress will hide in the group of asteroids while waiting for him to finish his matter.
Souta will bring Franklin, Alice, Amanda, Eztein, and Elder Guan with him. Elder Guan wanted to tag along to protect Amanda from harm and Souta didn't reject his idea. After all, it was reassuring to have a shackled realm expert with them.
Torkez and Isabella were left to handle the matters in the fortress. The two of them were capable so Souta could leave the fortress in their hands without worry.
"Let's go now."
The group went out of the fortress and they entered the atmosphere of the planet. The moment they entered the atmosphere, the gravity of the planet quickly pulled them as the wave of mana swept out in every direction like a tidal wave.
The outer space didn't have mana so the moment they entered the Planet Orina which had high-density mana felt like it was trying to crush them.
"Oho, this is really dangerous."
Franklin laughed as several layers of flesh coated his body like an armored suit. The rest of them also used their parasite to protect them from the harsh environment.
"This is my first time going to another planet so I don't know what to expect but I have a bad feeling about this."
Eztein said as he looked down and saw a layer of thick clouds. According to what they've found, this layer of clouds contained various chemicals that were harmful to their body. This layer of clouds covered the whole planet and was one of the reasons for its intense climate.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The group continued to descend. In just a second they've entered the layer of clouds.
"Use your parasite to protect your body from chemicals. Don't inhale it. Although all of you are strong, it would still leave side effects if you inhale too much. If you don't want to use parasites then use your energy as some of the gas could pass through the natural energy defense of our body."
Souta warned them as he glanced around. Thunderclaps were roaring in different directions as a flash of bright light would occur from time to time. Sometimes sharp winds that could tear metals would sweep in their direction.
"This is my first time seeing a planet like this."
Elder Guan commented. He was the only one among them that didn't need protection. His natural body could take everything that this layer of cloud can offer.
Actually, the rest could take the intensity but they don't want to risk it. Although they knew that they weren't going to die even if they bath in this cloud naked for three days they still avoid some side effects.
Suddenly, the temperature in the area reached roughly 300 degrees celsius. It was rising at high speed until it reaches 400 degrees celsius.
The group passed through the layer of clouds and finally saw the surface of the Planet Orina. It was dark and active volcanoes could be seen spewing lava. It was one of the sources of light on the surface. Dust was everywhere and it somehow blurred their vision along with thousands of tornadoes in the vicinity.
Thud!
The group landed on the ground and they quickly observe their surrounding area.
"Shit, this is like the end of the world," Eztein muttered while looking at the towering tornadoes with a width of one kilometer.
It was unbelievable. He didn't think that he would witness a scene like this in his entire life.
"It's a normal climate here. Wait till you see a storm as huge as an ordinary planet." Souta said to him.
Due to the intense environment and the different flow of mana, the gravity here was different. There was even floating land as huge as a moon on this planet. And the area of the floating lands was his target this time.
His equipment could be found in the area.
But first, he needed to know his current location. The Orina was a large planet and there were hundreds of floating land areas even the locals haven't fully explored their land.
Hmm...
Souta rubbed his chin. He jumped into the air and looked into the land. The irises of his eyes rotated as it adjusted trying to see dozens of kilometers around him.
The thick gas, dust, tornadoes, and smokes didn't hinder his vision. He was pretty confident that his eyes were better than most of the shackled realm experts.
He had found it. He knew their location based on what he saw around him.
"What have you seen, Souta?" Alice asked.
"I just saw locals ten kilometers away from us," Souta said and he explained to them that they were going in that direction.
According to his memory, they were in Zone 13. In this zone, there were dozens of underground hideouts that locals used as their homes. The people here didn't live on the surface instead they build an underground base to create a place where they could live peacefully.
Of course, in this zone, the Council had built a mining area and they were occupying a small area of land. That small area already had a diameter of 330 kilometers. That was huge but for this planet, it was still small.
All the forces of the Council were in Zone 10. It was a place for the people of the Council. They've repelled or killed the locals in that zone to make it their own. In other words, they've conquered Zone 10.
Souta's target right now was in Zone 9. It was a place between Zone 10, Zone 7, and 6. The Zone 10 was occupied by Council while the Zone 7 was occupied by locals. The Zone 6 was just a swirling sea of lava with five active giant volcanoes within.
Zone 13 was a land beside Zone 6. So, if Souta wanted to go to Zone 9, he needed to pass through Zone 6. It wasn't a problem for him and he will finish this expedition as fast as possible.
"Let's go, follow me," Souta said as he slightly bent his knees before he shot himself into the distance.
Swoosh!
The others followed him while trying to find if there were locals around them. They were curious about the people that could live in this type of place.
...
Souta and the others landed on a rocky plain. They were observing the locals who were entering an underground passage.
The locals had light brown skin but their red veins were visible and it was giving off a dim red light. Their hair had a different style but their color was the same. Black hair with red tips.
Their ears were slightly pointed and they had some sort of gills on their neck. A red furry tail could be seen sticking out behind them. Their hand up to their elbows was covered in white exoskeleton and the same thing could be seen from their feet up to their knees.
'A Magna demi...' Souta said inwardly. This type of demi could be seen in Vulcan's Ring of the Great World Imperium.
'So, they are the locals of this planet...' Saya muttered.
Souta raised his hand and said, "Let's not get any closer to them. There are S-rank among their group so they could probably sense us."
Swoosh!
The wind blew strong and it felt like someone cast a tier 1 [Wind Blade] spell. This planet wasn't made for people with weak bodies.
"Damn, most of the people from my planet would die here," Eztein commented from the side.
'This one is from the locals then...'
Souta recalled the underground passage. He turned his head and remember the hideouts of both locals and Council in this zone.
He knew how to pass through them without being noticed.
"Follow me."
The group left the area. The route that Souta took wasn't that complicated but it was dangerous. They went between the two giant tornadoes that were rampaging around. It was one of the routes that they need to take if they wanted to avoid the two sides.
It was early for their group to confront one of them.
They continued to travel for three days until they arrived in Zone 9. An amazing scene was presented before their eyes.
Thousands of islands were floating in front of them. Lightning was flashing through the clouds creating a terrifying scene along with the red color islands. Every minute, chemical formation would rain down in some part of the area.
"Amazing, this is something that can't be found in our world." Elder Guan praised as he stared at the scene. He turned around and behind them was a sea of lava, Zone 6.
"Be careful, we'll encounter the locals and the Council in this place. Don't let them notice any of you. There's a time for that." Souta warned them.
