Chapter 656 - 30 Kilometers.

The undead Greater Dune Scorpion raced through the trenches, its massive legs moving rapidly across the uneven ground as it carried Thoren deeper into the darkness.

Behind them, the undead Horn Lizard King and the undead Scorpion Men King kept pace.

Thoren remained seated on his mount, his eyes calmly surveying the surrounding environment.

He had already traveled a considerable distance since defeating the Pressurefang Wolf pack, and the deeper he went, the more oppressive the atmosphere became.

Along the way, he sensed several groups of Awakeners exploring the surrounding passages.

Some traveled in small parties while others traveled in two and three.

Not a single solo explorer.

Some were returning from deeper regions; their bodies covered in wounds and their expressions exhausted.

Thoren ignored them all.

He needed to venture deeper.

Occasionally, some beasts emerged from the darkness and attempted to attack his group. Unfortunately, they had chosen the wrong targets.

Whenever a beast appeared, the undead accompanying him immediately dealt with it. After traveling for some time, the familiar surroundings began to change.

The passages became wider in certain places and narrower in others, with jagged rocks jutting from the walls like the broken teeth of some enormous creature.

Thoren continued forward until he finally reached the thirty-kilometer mark.

The oppressive darkness stretched farther than his eyes could see, and an unfamiliar sensation settled over the surroundings, making even the air feel heavier than before.

Thoren raised his head and stared at the darkness for a moment before he activated it.

[Soul Lantern of Eternal Crypt]

A faint fluctuation spread through the air above him.

An eerie soul lantern materialized over Thoren’s head, its pale, ghostly light flickering softly within the darkness.

The effect was immediate.

The darkness surrounding Thoren began to retreat.

The lantern’s light spread farther into the trenches, illuminating the jagged walls and revealing details that had remained hidden.

Then Thoren saw it.

A massive entrance stood ahead.

Instantly, his eyes widened slightly.

The entrance resembled the gaping maw of an ancient beast, its upper and lower edges formed by enormous, jagged stones that looked disturbingly similar to rows of fangs.

The surrounding rock formations curved inward, creating the impression that the entire mountain had opened its mouth,

The passage beyond it was completely dark.

Even with the Soul Lantern illuminating the area, Thoren could not immediately determine how far the entrance extended or what waited on the other side.

The enormous maw seemed to descend into the depths of the earth.

For a moment, Thoren simply stared. Shock appeared on his face as he recalled the map Draven had given him.

When he had examined the first-route map, he remembered seeing a skull drawn at the beginning of the thirty-kilometer path.

At the time, he had assumed it was merely a warning indicating that the route was exceptionally dangerous.

The symbol had attracted his attention, but he had not taken it seriously. Now, standing before the enormous maw, he realized how mistaken he had been.

The skull was not an ordinary warning.

Whatever lay beyond this point was beyond what an ordinary awakener could contend with.

Thoren took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

His eyes remained fixed on the enormous maw for several seconds. However, rather than feeling intimidated, Thoren’s eyes gradually filled with fierce determination.

His confidence had increased considerably after the recent battle against the Pressurefang Wolves.

His undead army had grown stronger, and the addition of the Alpha wolf and its pack had further expanded his forces.

Still, Thoren was not foolish enough to believe that his growing strength made him invincible.

Confidence was useful, but recklessness means death.

He became more alert to his surroundings and to every minuscule details.

With that in mind, he issued a command.

The undead Horn Lizard King and the undead Scorpion Men King immediately advanced toward the enormous entrance.

Thoren followed behind them on his undead Greater Dune Scorpion while the Soul Lantern continued illuminating their surroundings.

The moment they crossed the entrance, the scene before them opened up and Thoren’s expression became solemn.

The region beyond the maw was enormous, far larger than he had anticipated.

Jagged stones rose from the ground like broken pillars, while countless sharp formations extended from the ceiling.

Some were as thick as tree trunks, and others resembled enormous blades pointing downward.

The ground was littered with skeletons.

Human skeletons.

They lay scattered across the rocky surface in every direction.

A few still wore fragments of armor, and broken weapons remained scattered beside their remains.

The sight alone was enough to make the atmosphere unbearable.

These were not the remains of a single unfortunate party. And there were far too many skeletons for that.

The tension was nerve-racking.

Yet the presence of the Soul Lantern made the terrifying atmosphere considerably more bearable.

He glanced at the skeletons beneath his mount before shifting his attention toward the passage ahead.

"This is the region where Draven and his party stopped their exploration," he whispered under his breath.

Beyond this region, he knew nothing.

Draven’s map offered no reliable information about what lay ahead. Every step beyond this zone would take him farther into an unknown region.

Thoren’s eyes narrowed.

He was not afraid.

If anything, the uncertainty made him more determined to continue.

He immediately summoned two undead Echo Scarabs and sent them forward to scout the passage ahead.

Anything caught within the Soul Lantern’s illumination would be much easier to detect. The real danger lay beyond the light.

The undead Greater Dune Scorpion resumed its advance, following the route taken by the Echo Scarabs while the two undead kings moved ahead to guard the path.

As they ventured deeper, Thoren began to feel as though time itself had slowed.

The passage seemed endless.

The Echo Scarabs continued moving forward, but the distance between their positions and his own gradually increased.

He held his breath.

After traveling for more than a hundred meters, the Soul Lantern illuminated something lying across the ground ahead.

Human bodies.

Fresh human bodies.

Thoren’s eyes narrowed as his mount approached the remains.

Unlike the skeletons scattered near the entrance, these corpses had not been dead for very long.

Blood still covered their clothing and armor, and their bodies were marked by grievous wounds.

Some had deep gashes across their chests, while others appeared to have suffered bone crushing injuries.

Thoren studied the scene briefly and then, he continued forward.

The Soul Lantern continued illuminating the passage as he advanced.

Sharp stalactites hung from the ceiling, some stretching several meters downward, while the walls became increasingly irregular.

Unknown liquid dripped from the stone formations above, and the sound echoed throughout the cavern.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Each drop struck the ground with a clarity that seemed unnatural.

Thoren’s eyes moved constantly as he scanned the surrounding area.

Several passages branched away from the main route, disappearing behind jagged stone formations and into pitch-black tunnels.

Many might be curious where they might lead but he was not as he totally ignored them.

His objective was to explore the route ahead, not waste time investigating every passage he encountered.

As they advanced deeper into the unknown. Thoren remained alert on his mount, his attention divided between the scouts and the surrounding darkness.

Then he heard something.

A voice.

Thoren’s expression changed slightly.

He remained still for a moment, listening carefully, but the sound had disappeared as quickly as it came.

’Perhaps I misheard.’ He thought and he continued forward.

A few moments later, the voice returned.

This time, it was clearer.

"Ha... Another one has come..."

Thoren’s eyes narrowed.

The voice sounded distant and strangely distorted, as though it were coming from somewhere deep within the cavern.

Before he could determine the source, another voice echoed through the darkness.

"Fresh meat..."

A faint rustling sound followed.

Thoren’s gaze swept across the illuminated rocks, but nothing appeared within the lantern’s reach.

Then a third voice emerged.

"This should be delicious..."

The words echoed through the cavern, followed by a sound that resembled quiet laughter.