The Demon King's First General
Chapter 86: Huge Sinkhole

Chapter 86: Huge Sinkhole

Several weeks ago, when the world was busy dealing with the demon forces, a huge sinkhole appeared in the vicinity of the Frostbloom Kingdom.

It happened in just a minute; a part of the land fell and disappeared without any warning. Several houses with people inside were caught in the sudden fall.

The king sent a group of five people to investigate the phenomenon, and the party was led by Jez Glacksberg, a Diamond-class mercenary holding a duke title at the same time.

The premises were within his area of control, and he was tasked with scrutinizing what really happened there.

"Are you guys ready? Let’s move," Jez ordered before looking at his comrades.

The man appeared young despite having a grand title. His black hair was tied in a bun at the top of his head, giving him a cozy-looking appearance.

His attire was pretty unique compared to the rest of his group. He was wearing a white leather armor that matched the color of his pants, while his right hand was left sleeveless, showing a tattoo on his arm of a human skull with a crossbone symbol behind. On his neck, there was a black scurf bearing the same hue as his hair.

As soon as his groupmates confirmed and nodded, they all jumped in the hole. It took them more than a minute to reach the bottom, which was void of sunlight.

Like any other group, when it came to dealing with new surroundings, they heightened their senses and distributed their energy to different parts of their bodies.

"Jez, there’s a broad tunnel at our left; should we check that out?" A man holding a spear blurted out.

"On our right side too," Jez replied while thinking about where to go first.

"It’s so creepy in here!" The woman next to the duke complained before summoning a ball of light to give brilliance to their surroundings. Then she embraced her scepter afterwards.

"Keep your voices low; something is coming." Another woman who was dressed in priestess clothing gave out a warning.

Then a shrieking noise echoed in the place, and wing-type monsters came pouring out of the two tunnels.

"What the hell are these things?" The woman screamed before moving her scepter downward and creating several balls of fire around her in the process.

The creatures had bat-like wings, giving them the ability to fly, and shells that served as their defense mechanism.

Their arms and legs were slender and could hide inside the shell once retracted, while their long heads were similar to those of a lizard with a horn protruding at the middle.

They even had tails three times the length of their bodies, swinging behind them.

"Damn that shell, it’s sturdy!" The other man yelled after seeing that his thrust failed to inflict any damage at all.

"Aim for its wing and head!" Jez exclaimed.

He grabbed the unknown creature’s wing and tore it from its body. The monster cried in pain and spat a black liquid that melted the duke’s armor as soon as it touched its surface.

"Be careful! Its spit is corrosive!" Jez shouted, informing his comrades about the creature’s ability.

Then he tried to grab the monster’s head, but it retracted inside the shell. Upon seeing this, he felt irritated and tossed the creature somewhere back in the horde.

"Hey, Royle! Cover me!" The mage yelled while she ran towards the man with the spear.

"Don’t bring them to me! Idiot!" Royle replied before swinging his weapon in a sideward motion, creating a high concentration of bluish energy that flew towards the monsters, splitting them in half.

However, the man clicked his tongue upon seeing that the attack he made failed to cut off the rest of the monsters, and many of them were still hovering in the air.

"You freak! I was almost caught with that!" The mage complained, the nerves on her head bulging from anger, but Royle just ignored her tantrum.

Afterward, she inhaled a deep breath and let her anger subside. Then she spun her scepter around her arm, and a magic circle appeared beneath them. Its radius was big enough to cover the entire land, which was filled with monsters.

The next second, as she slammed her staff in front of her, the magic circle began to glow red, and flaming chains sprouted from the ground. Some pierced the monster’s shell, while others wrapped around their bodies, pinning them down and burning them to death.

"Fire is always the best," the mage giggled upon seeing the chaos her spell brought to the battlefield.

"Nice one, Allesanah," Jez uttered.

"There’s nothing noteworthy about it, knowing that you can eliminate them in a snap," Allesanah declared, pouting.

Jez laughed upon hearing his companion’s comment.

"I’m preserving my energy; we still don’t know what’s waiting for us inside," he said while patting the woman’s head.

"Let’s go," he added, gesturing for his comrades to follow him.

The duke chose to head into the tunnel located in the west direction of the place.

"Woahh, it’s frigging huge!" Royle exclaimed.

"And it’s dazzlingly beautiful," the priestess added while looking at the cerulean-colored ores scattered across the place.

"What is this place? Really?" Allesanah asked after turning around and walking backwards.

She was busy admiring the beauty of the site.

It was dark, yet the light coming from the crystals gave brilliance like stars in the night sky.

Jez touched a pillar supporting the place from crumbling; its width was enough to tie the six of them around.

’It’s complete soil,’ he thought, observing the particles of dust left on his palm.

The place had so many pillars, and there was no specific path to follow.

’Am I still in Exgreia?’ He added in the questions circling inside his mind.

The next second, he went ahead of his group, bent down on his knees, and propelled himself upward with the thought of surveying the area from above. However, upon reaching a certain height, he felt that something pulled him from below, and he fell to the ground, confused by what happened.

"That’s nonsensical," he uttered.

Then he tried to do it one more time, but this time he exerted a vast amount of energy to hurl himself above, but the same thing from before happened once more, and he was slammed on the ground without knowing the reason.

"Jez!" yelled a man whose face was half covered with a mask.

He was watching the environment in silence while being prepared for any surprise attack, but after seeing their party leader fall from above, his focus was disrupted, and he ran towards him.

"What happened?" He asked after extending his hand to the duke.

"I can’t go up; it feels like something is restraining me from moving into the ceiling." Jez explained what he experienced just now before grabbing the hand and standing up.

"Are you serious?" The man replied.

"Yes, try it yourself," Jez said as soon as he noticed the suspicion in his friend’s eyes.

Then, like the duke suggested, the man proceeded to leap above. He felt nothing abnormal, and he even looked at Jez to tease him, but as he created another platform of energy to go higher, a strong force pulled him back.

He tried to resist it, but his efforts were just wasted. The next second, he saw himself lying on the ground, and Jez was at his side, extending his hand.

"Now you know," he said, beaming with a smile.

The man shook his head and stood up by grabbing the duke’s hand, and they looked into each other’s eyes before their laughter rang inside the area.

It caught the attention of their other companions, and they began to walk in their direction.

"Why are you guys laughing?" Allesanah asked, curious.

"Nothing, just for men’s only," the masked man answered, still smiling.

Upon hearing him, the mage turned around and looked at Royle before pointing at the two people.

"They’re hiding something from us!" She said, like a child accusing her brothers in front of her parents.

"Just mind your own business, dimwit," Royle answered, giving her a light smack on the head.

While the priestess just giggled behind them, enjoying her friends’ pleasing interactions.

Later on, they continued to traverse the path ahead of them. They heightened their senses again and were prepared for any possible attack, but seconds passed, and after a while it turned into minutes, yet no monsters came to approach them.

"The extreme silence will kill me with anxiety!" Allesanah shouted as she got irritated by their progress.

"Don’t jinx us, Alles," Royle uttered, but he facepalmed after sensing the slight vibrations on the ground.

The next second, he sighed and glared at the woman beside him.

"Keep your mouth shut next time," he said after entering a stance.

The rest of them did the same while the priestess kneeled and put her hands together before closing her eyes.

"Esteemed Deity of Fortitude, this is your child, calling for your name. Please bless us with your protection and give us enough strength to overcome the challenges awaiting us," she prayed and stayed still at her position.

Then her body began to emit a sanctified energy that soon crept in and enveloped her comrades.

"It’s getting closer," Jez notified his group after the trembling grew stronger.

Based on the tremor, they presumed that it was coming from only one creature, and they were not mistaken, but as soon as the monster came into their view, all of their jaws dropped, and Allesanah fell on her butt after making a step backward.

"J-Jez, I think i-it’s not too late for us to run," she said, cowering in fear.

. . . . .

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