Chapter 427: Orcs, Outbreak of Conflict

"Let's go. We need to hurry."

After a brief reorganization, Lin Mo said to the others who were watching him.

This secret realm was riddled with suspicious elements, and there was even a possibility that forces from the Orc Empire had infiltrated it. This turned what should have been a simple exploration of the secret realm into a tense situation.

If they didn't want the Orc Empire's people to get there first and snatch the rewards within the secret realm, they had to hurry and make progress. But this secret realm was also quite special, and since no one had explored it before, they had almost no useful information. Choosing to push forward recklessly could very well lead to danger. It was a bit of a dilemma, caught between a rock and a hard place.

But there was no helping it. They could only weigh the two options, advancing as quickly as possible while maintaining caution.

Although this secret realm wasn't as complex as the ones Lin Mo had visited in the past, or rather, it lacked a certain sense of design...

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To put it simply, the secret realms Lin Mo had been to before were all meticulously designed by their creators. Every intersection, every fork in the road was intentional. As for the current secret realm, even though the Association had rated it highly, at SS-rank, the realm itself appeared quite "rough," lacking that feeling of careful deliberation and polished craftsmanship.

Maybe the creator of this secret realm had a more unrestrained personality and disliked all those complicated twists and turns...

But even so, despite looking very natural, this secret realm was ultimately not a simple straight path.

"Let's split up."

Standing before a fork in the road, the leader of the Adventurers' Association team looked at Lin Mo and said, "Although splitting up now is a risky choice, since someone has already entered the secret realm ahead of us, if we don't take risks, it will be hard to catch up to them."

"Alright."

Lin Mo had no objections to this whatsoever.

In fact, from the very beginning when they chose to cooperate, even though it wasn't stated outright, both sides had been thinking the same thing.

Otherwise, when Lin Mo asked that question earlier, the other party's answer wouldn't have been, "Whatever you find is naturally yours."

That statement already made things very clear. Although they were cooperating, after entering the secret realm, they would explore separately. Otherwise, if they stayed together the whole time, how would they determine who actually found what?

Of course, having said that, if they completely lost contact, then the so-called cooperation would be meaningless. So, necessary communication was obviously indispensable.

After a quick test to confirm that communication wasn't obstructed within the secret realm, the two parties set off separately, beginning their exploration from different directions.

Although they had entered the secret realm and were no longer on the Endless Snowfield, the surrounding temperature hadn't warmed up at all. In fact, it had become even colder.

Even Lily could clearly feel the chill now, and her body was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"You should go back and rest too."

Lin Mo turned to look at her and suggested.

"I'm fine. This level of cold won't affect combat..."

Lily was momentarily stunned, then shook her head.

Lin Mo stepped forward and gently patted her on the shoulder. "Be good. The tier of this secret realm isn't something you can handle right now."

Even though the weakening effect of the 【Life Contract】 had raised everyone's strength to the mid-to-early Transcendent Level, and due to their comprehensive attributes, their actual combat power was slightly lower than that, you were still only minimally capable of participating in battles at the Transcendent Level.

If they encountered opponents above the Transcendent Level, the situation would be very dangerous for you, and you wouldn't be of much help.

And the current secret realm was clearly such a case.

Lily was silent for a moment, feeling a bit disappointed as she lowered her head, but in the end, she didn't insist. She simply bowed respectfully and said, "Then, I wish you great success in your martial endeavors!"

Lin Mo nodded, then withdrew her back into the Portable Space.

Now, it was time to officially begin exploring this secret realm.

Unlike the Adventurers' Association people, Lin Mo didn't need to have so many concerns. After all, he had 【Shadow Split】, a skill that could be called godlike in its usefulness.

He only needed to leave a clone every so often as he advanced, and he could race forward without any restraint. Even if he encountered danger—if he truly faced a situation he couldn't handle—he could simply swap positions with his clone and return to a safe place.

In more extreme cases, he could even swap with a clone left outside the secret realm and leave the place entirely.

Coupled with 【Flash】, a godly skill that could be used both offensively and defensively, he basically had nothing to fear.

And so, Lin Mo maxed out his speed, dashing forward along the path he had chosen.

Contrary to his expectations, the secret realm seemed quite empty. After several minutes of travel, he hadn't encountered a single magical creature, nor were there any chambers like those found in other secret realms.

Again, this secret realm always gave off the feeling of being poorly made.

As if it wasn't really a proper secret realm at all.

After sneaking forward for over ten minutes, Lin Mo finally encountered his first magical creature since entering the secret realm.

The creature he came across was a Frost Crystal Leopard carrying prey.

Seeing such a scene again, Lin Mo still found it a bit strange. After all, Frost Crystal Leopards were mostly solitary creatures. Only females would briefly care for their young after giving birth, and even then, not for long. Once the cubs grew a bit older, they would drive them away.

It could be said that this type of magical creature had no concept of a group.

Normally, this kind of magical creature wouldn't bother transporting prey like this. Given their strength, there was no need to stockpile food.

So why was this Frost Crystal Leopard deliberately bringing its prey here?

And it wasn't just one—multiple Frost Crystal Leopards were doing the same thing.

Moreover, the fact that a large number of Frost Crystal Leopards had gathered in this secret realm was itself very strange.

Normally, magical creatures with such strong territorial instincts would be sparsely distributed, and their range of activity would be relatively fixed.

Lin Mo thought for a moment but ultimately decided not to strike rashly. Instead, he followed behind the Frost Crystal Leopard. He wanted to see where exactly this creature was bringing its prey.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Adventurers' Association team had also split off from Lin Mo and were exploring the secret realm.

Unlike Lin Mo, their movements were much more cautious. They weren't pursuing speed, or rather, they didn't dare to pursue it too aggressively.

After carefully moving through the secret realm for about twenty minutes, they finally noticed something odd about it.

Earlier, during the preliminary exploration, the Association had indeed detected the presence of an Epic-Level magical creature inside, and the Frost Crystal Leopards they had seen outside confirmed that.

But now that they were actually exploring, they found that this secret realm was vastly different from any SS-rank secret realm they had encountered before.

It seemed to have no ecology at all.

Generally speaking, when designing a secret realm, the creator would deliberately establish a simple ecosystem within it to ensure the realm's longevity.

The higher the level and the larger the scale of the secret realm, the more complete and complex its ecosystem would be.

But the current secret realm lacked these elements. They hadn't found any weaker creatures that could serve as food for the powerful magical beasts within it.

This was very strange... Although based on earlier findings, it could be explained that the magical creatures living here went out to hunt for food. But if that were the case, why would they need to return to this secret realm at all?

Wouldn't it be better to just live directly on the Endless Snowfield outside?

"Strange... very strange..."

"Is this place really the secret realm we know?"

One of the Adventurers' Association members couldn't help but voice this question.

"I don't know..."

At this point, even the team leader was uncertain. He, too, was filled with doubt and skepticism.

But regardless, they hadn't encountered any danger yet, so there was no reason to stop exploring.

Maybe if they went a bit further, they would come across elements they were familiar with.

Or maybe there were no gates designed at all, and they could directly find the treasure hidden within the secret realm.

Thus, they continued moving forward.

However, after maintaining this pace for a while, the team leader suddenly stopped and shouted, "Watch out!"

The next moment, an arrow shot from ahead gleamed in their sight.

The Knight in the team was always at the front. At the leader's warning, he quickly reacted, raising his shield to block in front of everyone.

"Clang—!"

The arrow struck the shield with a crisp sound and was easily deflected.

After all, the team members were all Heroic-Level experts, so their strength was solid.

But being ambushed like this still pissed them off.

"Hahaha! Just as the Golden Lion Clan Elder said, these humans would catch up soon enough..."

A rough voice came from ahead, followed by a series of dense footsteps.

Many tall figures, most of their bodies covered in fur, appeared before them.

"Orcs!"

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The faces of the Adventurers' Association team members immediately darkened.

Just as they had suspected, it was the Orcs who had destroyed the temporary camp the Association had set up outside.

And indeed, they had entered the secret realm ahead of them.

This was not good news. Entering first meant they might have already done a considerable amount of exploration. In the worst-case scenario, they might have already pocketed the treasure hidden in the secret realm.

For them, that was an unacceptable outcome.

The Orc Empire had been at war with the Serya Empire for years. The conflict between them was no longer just about interests; it also included national hatred and blood feuds. The contradictions were essentially irreconcilable.

Even in the current dire situation, with the Dark Tide surging everywhere, the Orcs showed no signs of wanting to stop the war. Clearly, although they were also humanoid, the Orc race, with its primitive thinking and greedy nature, was virtually impossible to communicate with. One couldn't expect them to change in the face of disaster.

This wasn't surprising. Often, even humans would squabble over interests and stab each other in the back in the face of crisis, let alone Orcs.

In short, after this period of failed attempts to communicate with the Orc Empire, it had been confirmed that this race could not be won over and might even become a force controlled and exploited by the Dark Tide.

Under such circumstances, if the Orcs got their hands on the treasure of this secret realm, it would certainly be bad for the potentially higher-intensity war that might follow.

The Adventurers' Association team leader observed the Orcs before him.

The one at the front was a Tiger Clan Orc, nearly three meters tall, with blood-red fur all over his body. He was clearly from the Blood Tiger Clan.

Although the Orc Empire was called an empire, its structure was very different from that of human empires. The Orcs mainly operated in tribal forms. Stronger tribes had more say, while weaker ones had to follow orders.

Among the Orcs, the five most powerful tribes were the Golden Lion Clan, the Ice Wolf Clan, the Blood Tiger Clan, the Silver Elephant Clan, and the Behemoth Clan.

The Orc before them was from the Blood Tiger Clan. Behind him were several members of the Golden Lion and Silver Elephant Clans. Their strength was formidable; they were clearly elites from their respective tribes.

All at Heroic Level...

The team leader frowned. If a fight broke out, the outcome would be uncertain.

Even at the same level, Orcs had a bloodline advantage, making them stronger individually than humans.

On their side, they had two more people in number, but if it really came to a fight, it would be hard to reach a conclusion.

"You humans pride yourselves on your high intelligence. I think you should be able to see the situation clearly. If we really fight, neither side will come out ahead. What do you think?"

A Silver Elephant Clan Orc stepped forward and spoke, "How about you retreat now, and we'll all be at peace."

"..."

The Adventurers' Association team leader sneered. "Retreat? And just let you take the treasure of this secret realm for nothing?"

"So, we can't come to an agreement?"

The Blood Tiger Clan Orc's eyes instantly flashed with murderous intent. Clearly, he didn't want to negotiate either. The Blood Tiger Clan revered violence and had a ferocious nature—they naturally wanted to fight.

"Of course not!"

The Adventurers' Association team leader sneered again. If only they had entered the secret realm, he might have hesitated or even chosen to compromise.

After all, both sides' combat power was evident. Even if a conflict broke out, they couldn't guarantee victory, and it might cause casualties.

And besides these Orcs who had come to intercept them, there were clearly others exploring the secret realm.

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They couldn't beat the Orcs in front of them and then compete with the remaining ones for the treasure.

But now, they weren't the only ones in the secret realm. Lin Mo was also there!

Since that was the case, the only thing they could do was trust Lin Mo and let him compete with the Orcs who were exploring the secret realm.

Their task was to hold off the Orcs in front of them and prevent them from joining the exploration.

The Adventurers' Association team leader didn't know how many Orcs were still exploring the secret realm besides these, but the number must have been significant—maybe even more than those in front. Putting himself in their shoes, he wouldn't have the ability or the courage to compete with so many Orcs.

But if it was Lin Mo...