The deeper into the Abyssal land they traveled, the more cautious they became. Although they met no monsters, they did not forget that the forest itself was trying to kill them.

For example, they were about to enter a new region with grass-like plants as tall as them, but before they even took more than a few steps towards it, the ground beneath them turned slick and shiny like glass. And then it tilted, sending them tumbling down towards the grass that suddenly bent towards them and turned as sharp and hard as steel.

Luckily, they were all cautious and above all, they were all masters. They had to punch the ground through to stop their fall. Some used their weapons, but Galthor sent his hand straight through into the hard ground.

Then they had to wait, dangling before a sudden wall, for the ground to return to normal.

Unfortunately for them, the grasses refused to return to normal and they covered a large area.

And so, in the end, they had to force their way through by cutting the grasses, which was not an easy task at all, but they had no choice.

Things like that became frequent the deeper they walked. Entire trees from clearings suddenly waking up to fight them, or vines coming alive to try and strangle them.

Luckily they brought their own water and did not have to go near any water bodies... except that a small pool actually came to them and tried to drown them.

To say the least, they were not having the most fun exploration. Nor a glorious one where they battled monsters for their survival. What they had been fighting so far was nothing more than natural disasters of the Abyssal land.

"Damned monsters! Did they have to go this far just to hide from us? We did not even kill them that much!" Karathra said, scowling as she kicked away a twig that suddenly turned into a withering monster that flew at her eyes.

Galthor was also troubled by that fact. "Come to think of it, the monsters must have had a hard time going through this place and yet we saw none of their bodies."

Suddenly something came over the group and they tensed as if they sensed something amiss but could not name it, but their expressions soon turned normal again.

"It is probably nothing." Lady Pelica added. "And if trouble did come, do we not have about seventy of us here? Nothing can stop us."

Galthor frowned in mild confusion. "Seventy people... yes! Of course, you are right!"

Indeed, it was not only the masters that were walking in the Abyssal land now. Others were with them, strange as they were. Made of bones and mud into the resemblance of a person and silent and still unless they were marching.

And yet, when the barbarians looked at them, it was as if they were comrades that had gone through life and death together. They would speak to them and without physically hearing a reply, they would nod and smile as if the strangeness of bones and mud were speaking back.

Even Galthor was having difficulty. All the sixty-something heads of the bones and mud creatures were turned towards him. His head felt heavy and full, his thoughts spinning and getting away from him as if he was trying to hold the air.

Everything was alright. Everything was normal.

Even if they had suddenly deviated from the path they were following and were going through an unfamiliar place of the Abyssal land.

Nothing at all was amiss.

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Lord Doveling was enjoying the exploration. His forces had mowed through any obstacles on their way and in just a day, they finished the section of the masters and were even stalling to take on the Fiendish monster the following day.

They had set up camp to that effect.

As they were directly in the Abyssal land, it would be careless to dig into the ground. Who knew what would dig back?

Although the Abyssal land was on their plane of existence, it was not of their actual world and spatial powers and rifts could clash in a senseless way there.

Lord Doveling could remember the story of one of his Xyrrh people that dug a hole, as Xyrrhs were known to do with soft soil. But unfortunately, the hole he dug went into the lair of an entity and he was pulled in, never to be seen again.

No, the camp they set was one of tents. After they had warded the ground they wanted with enchanted chains.

"Lord Doveling, we have set up guards to look in all directions at all times, nothing will get past them. Also, we have those that would watch over the ground so nothing would dig up as well."

Doveling nodded. "Good, good. You all can do what you want then. There is nothing more for you to do this day. I will be here if anything should happen."

After his subordinate was gone,

Lord Doveling sighed as he seemed lost in thoughts. "I cannot wait to get out of here. The tension back home is mounting. But we must find legacy to feed Queen Mother, because the stronger she is, the stronger all of us will be.

"Will the barbarians really meet up? If they do not, then will all of this be for nothing? Best to check up on them."

Suddenly the dark left eye of Lord Doveling lit up and a shining diagram appeared in it. And then... it closed.

It was well known that the Xyrrh people did not blink or close their eyes. But Lord Doveling was closing his left eye.

At the same time, something strange happened in the barbarian camp.

Drakira, the master barbarian that formally joined the Xyrrh, suddenly closed her right eye while her left flashed with a glow and a strange symbol.

Lord Doveling nodded. "Good, I have made connections. Time to see what they are up...!"

He felt a pain as if a hot arrow had been inserted into his head. Because at that time, the strange bones and mud creatures suddenly focused on Drakira. And through her, they wanted to take control of him.

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