I rushed over and finally saw it amidst the debris of the explosion: an incredibly huge, gigantic Dragon Lance jammed into the ground. It was the very Demon Dragon Lance once wielded by the Demon Dragon Cult Leader!
Its length was easily twenty meters, and its girth was as thick as a man’s waist—like a modern high-voltage utility pole, instantly causing a primal dread to creep up one's spine!
The entire shaft was jet black and gleaming, emitting waves of dense, peculiar energy. One couldn't guess what rare material it was forged from.
“Hah, so this is the Demon Dragon Cult Leader’s Demon Dragon Lance,” the crowd murmured in awe! While in the Cult Leader's hands, it didn't seem quite so immense or long, but now, they could finally grasp the weapon’s terrifying scale.
It was hard to imagine how much this colossal Dragon Lance must weigh!
Xiang Tian, somewhat curious, walked up to the Lance, cupped his hands around the shaft, and tried to heave it out! However, no matter how much strength he exerted—his face turning a mottled red and purple like liver—he couldn't budge the Lance even a fraction of an inch.
“Good heavens, this spear is heavy; I can’t move it at all,” Xiang Tian admitted, stepping back awkwardly and sheepishly. The others instinctively turned their gazes toward me!
“Forget it, even this King can’t move it,” I chuckled dryly.
In terms of cultivation, I was slightly stronger than Xiang Tian, but when it came to raw brute force, I wasn't significantly ahead of him, so I naturally didn't want to become a spectacle!
“Heh heh, let’s get a few more people to help haul it away,” I suggested with a grin. “Uncle Lu (Divine Craftsman Lu Tong) specifically instructed me before we left: if we defeat the Demon Dragon Cult Leader and manage to seize the Demon Dragon Lance, we absolutely must set it aside for him.”
Uncle Lu had dedicated his entire life, bordering on obsession, to the pursuit of the forging way. He naturally wouldn’t let slip the chance to examine the legendary Demon Dragon Lance, which explained his specific instructions before our departure.
“Haha, it looks like it won't be long before another peerless divine weapon is forged and revealed,” Feng Qingtian remarked.
“We’ll talk about that when we have time later,” I said soberly. “Leave fifty men here to transport the Demon Dragon Lance back to the Throne City.”
Although we had successfully defeated the Demon Dragon Cult Leader, I couldn't shake the feeling that the entire turn of events had been far too simple and smooth! And that cunning little fox had never shown her face! This fact unsettled me deeply.
Mo Luo Yinfeng and Feng Xiao, among others, seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
“There’s no time to waste; we must find the Hero as soon as possible,” Mo Luo Yinfeng urged.
With the Demon Dragon Cult Leader vanquished, the Demon Dragon Legion that had been stubbornly holding Hero Ancient City scattered and fled! We easily entered the Ancient City and arrived at the location where the statue once stood.
However, the scene before us was quite a shock!
The majestic and imposing statue of memory had long since been blasted into dust, leaving only a few shattered fragments barely recognizable as the hero's head and arm!
The open ground where the statue once stood had been cratered into a gaping, horrifying pit, sloping sharply downwards! Standing there, one could easily glimpse the massive underground palace where the Hero once fought Tian Mu! But now, that palace was almost completely ruined!
Only a few pillars remained, barely holding up the ceiling! The surrounding area had been dug out to be vastly wider and larger!
This was clearly the Demon Dragon Cult Leader's doing!
Considering the Cult Leader's enormous size, the narrow passage of the underground palace simply couldn't accommodate its bulk, forcing it to violently claw its way in!
I knew that one end of the palace held a grand doorway—the legendary Gate of the Hero!
But what confronted us now were fragments of massive stone slabs! Evidently, the Demon Dragon Cult Leader had forcibly blasted the door open, revealing an entrance resembling a train tunnel!
“Good heavens!” Feng Qingtian exclaimed involuntarily. “Those stone fragments are made of expertly refined Dragon-Severing Meteoric Iron! The Demon Dragon Cult Leader actually managed to blast it open...”
“What terrifying power!” Feng Xiao was equally astonished.
Dragon-Severing Stone was one of the hardest ores on the continent—neither metal nor iron, yet harder than both gold and rock. And Dragon-Severing Meteoric Iron was the absolute pinnacle of that material!
A door forged from such material could withstand attacks from forbidden spells, making it the perfect material for the entrance to an underground stronghold!
The Gate of the Hero was indeed cast from this material. Furthermore, according to Feng Xiao's description, in addition to the sturdy Dragon-Severing Meteoric Iron door, the Gate of the Hero was guarded by an even more monstrous special protective barrier!
After blasting through the Dragon-Severing Meteoric Iron door, one still had to pass through the barrier's defenses to enter the Hero’s Road, which led to the Hero’s Land.
Ancient records indicated that only the power of a spirit pearl with a matching attribute could allow safe passage through the barrier into the Hero’s Land.
Yet, there was no sign of a barrier here; it was clear that defensive layer had been utterly destroyed!
Moving closer, we discovered that the walls surrounding the train tunnel-like passage were paved with Dragon-Severing Meteoric Iron lockstones! One could only imagine the sheer durability of this tunnel.
Perhaps for this very reason, after destroying the gate and the barrier, the Demon Dragon Cult Leader could not press further inside, nor did it possess the sufficient power to completely excavate this passage.
“It seems we are too late,” Feng Xiao stated gravely. “The little fox and the others must have already entered.”
“What are we waiting for then?” Sui Yun urged. “Let’s chase them in quickly...”
“Each faction will select fifty representatives to enter the Hero’s Road!” I commanded solemnly. “The rest will remain here on standby.”
The underground passage leading to the Hero’s Land was simply unsuitable for large-scale military maneuvers; more people would only hinder progress! Everyone complied with my arrangement.
Naturally, no one had any objections to my command! And this was unavoidable!
Although we had collaborated to defeat the Demon Dragon Cult Leader, everyone remembered that previously, we had stood as adversaries. After all, the Demon Empire, the Mo Luo Cult, the Holy Word Church, and the Frostbite Tribe had long harbored irreconcilable enmities.
This temporary alliance against the Demon Dragon Cult Leader was merely born of necessity! Now that the immediate threat was gone, the remaining uncertainty lay with the missing little fox and her group.
No one knew what lay at the other end of the Hero’s Road!
No one could predict what might happen once we ventured deep inside!
Perhaps former allies would instantly revert to enemies drawing blades against each other!
All these factors had to be taken into consideration!
As a precaution, I left the steady and seasoned Ji Du, along with Long Xin, in command of our forces remaining outside!
Those entering the Hero’s Road included:
The main commanders of the Black Banner Army—Yin Hu, Yin Tao, Long Qi, Long Zhan, Xing Ye, Xing Zhan, and others. Additionally, Feng Qingtian, Long Yuan, Fei Xue from Cangyue and Bichi. Representing the Snow Domain Tribe were Sui Yun, Xiang Tian, Long Xiang, Yan Zhu, and other elite generals, alongside over thirty other skilled elites from the Black Banner Tribe. This formed the core team representing our side entering the Hero’s Road!
Mo Luo Yinfeng and his cohort also selected fifty individuals!
Both groups stood ready, but the atmosphere felt strangely tense.
The more than ten thousand people remaining outside in the periphery of the palace instinctively divided into two distinct camps, eyeing each other warily.
After all, no one knew what might unfold next!
There are no eternal allies, only eternal interests—perhaps this is the inherent sorrow and helplessness of being human.
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