Chapter 190: One of the 7 Desolations

When Arthas arrived in front of the big house, Rhadak, the chief of the Stoneman Tribe, was already there waiting for him.

With his polished marble body, Rhadak looked at the man standing in front of him, his single red eye glowing slightly on his shapeless rock head.

"How long has it been since I last saw this face?" His voice sounded like gravel pouring out of his wide, sharp-toothed mouth.

"280 years." Arthas answered without showing any humor or emotion.

"Yes, I remember. I have seen 28 eclipses since then." Rhadak lowered his head as if feeling nostalgic.

That was when the Stonemen learned that the world went beyond their Underworld. They learned that there were other realms out there.

It was also the time they found out that many beings existed who were as strong as, or even stronger than, the 7 Desolations ruling these territories.

Arthas was one of the members of the first expedition teams when the Witch World found the entrance to the Underworld.

The Stonemen’s village was one of the first places they discovered.

Since then, the two races had shared much information with each other about how big the universe was.

The Witch World used that information to grow bigger and stronger and to explore more territories. The Stonemen just kept living in their small settlement in peace, always staying loyal to their culture and far from the outside world.

Still, it wasn’t always that peaceful, which was why Arthas asked. "How is your mother? Is she healthy?"

Hearing the question, the light in the Stoneman’s eye dimmed a little. "The seal will not last long this time. I’m afraid 70 years is too long for it to hold."

For the first time, Arthas’s face changed when he heard that.

That was the other side of the deal, the part the Witch World had taken on in return for the Grak Steel.

Every 100 years, the Stonemen would give them 90% of all the Grak Steel they had produced. In return, the Witches would put a seal on their Mother.

There was a reason Arthas’s face had changed, showing even a slight worry. It was not because putting the seal back would be very costly.

Even if it cost a huge fortune, that did not matter, since the Tower would take on all the loss and renew the seal. That was not the problem.

The problem was that their Mother was actually one of the 7 Desolations living in the Underworld, also known as the Devouring Desolation.

When Arthas first discovered this place and met the Stonemen, they did not have this large a population. There were only a handful of them, and there was no village or any settlement around.

That was because of their insatiable mother.

Most of the time, she didn’t even care what she ate. She was a giant monster that devoured everything in front of her, including her own children.

Only with the Witches’ spells sealing her hunger had the Stonemen finally been able to bring it under control. In the last 280 years, they had finally found a chance to live a calm life of their own.

Arthas remembered the lives lost back then just trying to put the seal on the monster. He definitely had no intention of going through that battle again.

"I will inform my Lady when I return. We can shorten the trade interval to 50 or 30 years, depending on her decision."

Shortening the 100-year interval so suddenly would surely be expensive for the Tower, considering the spell costs and the logistics and manpower needed. ℯ

Still, it was worth it compared to letting a mindless creature roam around, destroying everything she saw by eating it.

"That, I will appreciate." Rhadak put his hand to his chest and tapped it lightly, showing his gratitude.

He had lived so long, always watching his kind be born and then die before his eyes by being eaten. He did not want to live through those times again.

It was surely the worst fate any living being could suffer, to have the creator who gave them life take it away again without even letting them live. It was unfair and painful.

Now that the main problem was resolved, Arthas finally brought up the real reason he had come. "I’m looking for a lost human child. I assume he is here and fine."

Rhadak, who had already guessed why he had come, answered. "Indeed, he is our guest."

Hearing the answer, one of Arthas’s eyebrows rose slightly, since he had not actually expected to find him alive.

How Magna had passed through the entrance and come to this realm was already something he could not make sense of.

On top of that, the fact that he was still alive was another shock.

It wasn’t only hot here. An ordinary person without water could not last even 1 day in this place, or even 1 hour. The weather around this place also had another effect.

Because the Devouring Desolation lived in this place, her passive power was what made the weather drain the fluid from anyone’s body quickly, even though she was sealed.

Even Arthas, who stood there as if nothing was wrong, could last only 1 week at most without a water source. After that, others would find his completely dried-out corpse in the middle of this endless-looking ash desert.

Worse yet, even the artifacts used to carry water did not work, since the passive aura quickly drained the water inside them.

The only water source the visiting expedition teams usually relied on was the Witches’ spells.

Knowing that Magna was not a Witch, Arthas found it quite confusing how he had endured this long.

"I’m here to take him back." He spoke in a voice that was neither commanding nor kind.

Among the Stonemen, he had a reputation for being strong. They were also not holding Magna hostage, so he was sure this would be an easy job.

Rhadak, however, surprised him by refusing. "I’m afraid that is not possible."

His voice matched Arthas’s own, neither rude nor kind.