"You…you don't know what a handshake is…?"
Alexandra asked hesitantly.
Seeing Xinyue shake her head, she sighed.
Taking a second look, this Xinyue was quite the beautiful girl.
She didn't look a day older than 19, with pale skin like white snow. Her body wasn't overly proportioned, rather, her bust and waist were perfectly curved to match her slim figure, which actually added a greater charm than large assets ever could.
However, the divinity of her body proportions wasn't her greatest feature. Looking at her, Alexandra's attention was immediately drawn to her hair and eyes.
Hair so beautifully white that no snow could match its purity, and eyes sparkling blue like diamonds. They were piercing yet comforting, making one uncomfortable from the overload of sensation one would feel if they stared for too long.
'What a strange girl.'
Alexandra quickly got acquainted with Xinyue and moved with her and Alice to a different location. As she spoke more, she noticed that, rather than being reserved as she'd initially thought, Xinyue was instead extremely naive and indifferent.
It was as if she'd truly grown up under a rock, but if that was so, how could she gather the strength to participate in this operation?
While pondering the question and familiarizing herself with Xinyue, Alexandra slowly passed the time until finally…
The air began to swirl.
"It's starting."
Xinyue's sparkling eyes went up to the sky. "We go?"
Alexandra shook her head. "Not quite yet."
"Why?"
Instead of responding, Alexandra pointed to the sky.
Already, the forces of Asuran Gate and the other three great influences besides the Ancient God Clan were standing in the air.
At the helm was the man she saw earlier, Lucas Streem. He was now donning a set of ferocious black battle armor, pointing his spear at the Nox in the distance.
VOOOOM!
The mana around the Void Corridor raged, barely resisting the suction force that was beginning to form.
At the same time, a commotion broke out within the Nox camp.
A man floated into the air, standing on equal grounds with Lucas.
"Human, are you sure you wish to provoke us now?" The Nox High Commander said mockingly.
"Hmph! Why should I be courteous to scum like you?"
Lucas slashed his spear through the air, whipping up terrifying wind storms that flew at the Nox High Commander.
However, the latter merely swept away the attack with a single hand.
"Is this it, human?" The Nox asked again.
Lucas grinned. "Right, that's it. I want to see how you act arrogant when we're in the unknown realm…hahahaha!"
Without another word, Lucas charged into the Void Corridor. His forces followed right behind him, vanishing from existence entirely.
"I guess we can go now," Alice said.
"No, we need to leave immediately." Alexandra corrected.
She grabbed Xinyue and Alice's wrists without hesitation and flew into the air with all her power.
It only took her an instant to vanish into the Void Corridor with her companions.
However, that instant was life-saving.
RUMBLE!
The Nox High Commander in the air felt something strange about the previous interaction.
He turned around to look at his own force.
And his killing intent raged.
The spear wind that he'd casually blocked earlier had diverted its course and struck the Nox Army. Several million Lesser Nox and even a few Higher Nox were killed by its impact.
"So you're playing dirty!" The High Commander growled through gritted teeth.
"I see! Good, good, good! Traitorous humans dare to act like they are the greatest, you are no better than dogs! Hahahaha!"
BOOM!
The High Commander's mana blazed into the surroundings, burning a hole in space.
His cold gaze was like a predator eyeing its prey.
He turned towards the camp where countless Heaven's Army troops were still beginning to enter the Void Corridor.
He grinned. It was a malevolent grin that seemed to freeze the atmosphere.
As the Nox Army flew into the air to enter the Void Corridor, the High Commander switched places with them and returned to the ground.
His figure flashed.
He appeared in the Heaven's Army camp in an instant.
His eyes panned over the surroundings.
He grabbed hold of the first person he saw and crushed their throat in a single move.
Without hesitation, he moved on, beginning a killing spree that could no longer be stopped, as all of the experts had already entered the portal.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The High Commander laughed maniacally.
"Hahahaha! All of you that are about to die, blame that foolish human for your fates!"
Just like that, the Void Corridor event was kickstarted by slaughter.
And it wasn't just outside the unknown realm.
Even when the forces of both sides made it inside…
They realized that they heavily underestimated the reality of these unknown realms.
This place…
While it was truly filled with opportunity, it was also a hell on earth surpassing any other.
***
"Haa…haa…haa…"
"Xinyue, are you okay?!"
"Okay."
"Alice?!"
"All good!"
Alexandra winced in pain as she opened her eyes. The surroundings were smoldering. It was so incredibly hot that even a 6th revolution master like her felt like she was melting.
"If you guys can hear me, move towards my voice! Let's gather before moving anywhere else!"
Alexandra grunted as she pushed against the ground.
She'd taken Alice and Xinyue into the Void Corridor before the tragedy she was expecting happened, but when she came back to her senses, she was stuck in a strange crack in the earth.
"Dammit! Let me out already!"
BOOM!
Alexandra slammed her fist against the ground and shattered the earth around her, jumping out of the crack with ease.
At this time, Alice's call could also be heard from far away.
"Big sister, where are you?!"
Alexandra smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but just before she could speak…
Her face paled.
"Shit!"
Boom!
She slammed her foot into the ground and took off with acceleration force that instantly surpassed the speed of sound.
'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'
Alexandra cursed endlessly in her mind as she sprinted away as fast as she could. Before long, she came up on Alice and Xinyue.
"Big sis—"
"We're running!"
Alexandra grabbed Alice and Xinyue under both her arms and continued sprinting without a single break in her flow.
"Big sister, what's happening?!" Alice asked in a panic.
But Alexandra didn't have to answer.
"Ah…"
Xinyue let out a small exclamation and pointed her finger in the direction Alexandra came from.
When Alice's eyes arrived there as well…
"Ahhhh!"
A piercing shriek left her mouth.
"Shut up! I'm the one running here, don't distract me!" Alexandra yelled in a panic.
And for once, Alice shut her mouth as she was told.
After all, she saw it.
A magma geyser dozens of hundreds of thousands of kilometers high was spewing burning mana and lava everywhere. Every blob of mana that impacted the ground from that height was like a nuclear missile.
And this geyser…just so happened to be opened by a certain heavy impact force hitting a crack in the earth.
Thus, the current situation.
With her two companions under her arms, Alexandra ran as fast as she could to escape the magma hell around her…
All while lamenting her luck that landed her in such a situation.
Well, if there was one thing that was certain…
This unknown realm would not be a boring place in the slightest.
But if she wanted to experience it, she had to escape the wrath of the spewing magma hole first!