Village Head's Debauchery

Azarok opened his mouth to speak, but he saw the Captain, his superior, with a firm gaze before he could. He nodded in understanding, a tired sigh escaping his lips.

"Okay, Captain, I'll deliver your orders," Azarok nodded. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, another voice sounded behind him.

"Let them know we will go in together, so they better stay alert. If something ominous happens, we'll all suffer the repercussions," said the Captain.

Azarok briefly closed his eyes and then opened them. "Thank you," he responded before walking away.

…....….

One hour later

"Is this real?" the Captain stammered, her voice trembling with awe and fear. She stared at the utterly ruined landscape, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Clearly, a devastating battle had occurred here, but no matter how far she looked, she couldn't see any signs of life in the surroundings.

All around them was total destruction beyond anything they had ever witnessed. The land was upturned, with several large crevices stretching as far as her eyes could see.

"Captain, the unit..." Azarok's voice rang out, pulling her from her thoughts.

The Captain turned and frowned at the scene before her. Several gods' chosens were returning toward the ever-moving Wanderlust Travelling Tortoise Runaway City.

Initially, the unit had 260 members, but 110 had defaulted on their mission and returned to the city, ready to face whatever punishment awaited them. As they stepped into the region once covered by the Vylkr vine, 60 more ran back toward the city, reducing their numbers to just 90.

Out of the 260 individuals who had eagerly accepted this mission in hopes of finally seeing a Divine artefact and earning more rewards than they could ever obtain on a solo mission, only 90 members remained.

"I honestly don't blame them. If I were in their position and had everything to lose with a threat that could be avoided, I would run as well. After all, it's not every day you come across something like that. Also, I'm sure you can sense it too. The closer we get, the more my senses are intensified," Azarok said, his voice wavering as he shifted his attention toward the massive crater a few kilometres away.

The massive crater stretched several thousand kilometres wide. It was impossible to believe that any ordinary warrior had created such a crater, leaving him doubting between three possibilities: a Divine Apostle, a Demigod, or a god. Although he had never encountered any of those before, from what he had learned, they were the only beings capable of leaving behind such a mind-numbing imprint on the earth.

A gods' chosen would need to be at least at the Legendary rank or above to be capable of such a feat. At the 'legendary rank ', a level of power only a few warriors in the world could reach, they could perform feats that were considered impossible for normal warriors. He had never seen a gods' chosen at a legendary rank before, so even this was based on information he had once learned.

The Captain also looked at the massive hole in the distance and couldn't help but feel her heart threatening to jump out of her chest. She gritted her teeth and suppressed the turmoil within.

"Of course, I can sense it too, but that is not enough reason to turn back and abandon the mission. Everyone who ran away has shown their disloyalty to the unit. As such, when this mission is over, they will be expelled from the unit indefinitely," the Captain said, her voice rising with anger as she focused her attention forward.

Upon hearing his Captain's response, Azarok inwardly sighed. He couldn't tell if she said this solely because she was determined to fulfil her mission as the leader of a god's chosen unit, but he couldn't disobey her orders.

"There's no need to survey the surroundings any longer. We'll pick up speed from here. The faster we arrive at the immense crevice, the sooner we might uncover everything that has transpired," the Captain added, her gaze fixed on the ruined land before her.

Azarok's expression instantly eased as he nodded in understanding. He turned around and stepped forward to face the crowd, "EVERYONE, WE WILL BE PICKING UP SPEED TO GET TO OUR DESTINATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. READY YOURSELVES!" he announced.

Various sounds of relief suddenly rang across the surroundings. The remaining ninety members of the 1st Unit Vanguard team of the Wanderlust Traveling Tortoise Runaway City strapped their Gearweavers to their backs. They prepared themselves so they wouldn't fall behind the others.

Azarok soon arrived at the forefront again, "We are ready, captain," he declared.

The Captain nodded and instantly picked up the pace, rushing forward with astonishing speed. Within fifteen minutes, they traversed great distances and arrived at the edge of the immense crater.

Up close, the crater appeared like a god had carved it from within the earth. Its size was so immense that their entire group seemed like a speck of dust in comparison.

The Captain stretched her gaze below, scanning it for clues to discern what had transpired.

Suddenly, her eyes caught several gleaming objects tens of meters below the massive crater. Even the Vylkr vines gradually filled it up and rose to the surface. She unstrapped her Gearweaver spear and swung it beside her, cutting through the one-star and two-star Vylkr vines, sweeping them away, and scattering them into the distance.

"Azaroth, you're coming with me," the Captain ordered, turning her head to look at Azaroth. He surveyed the massive crater, his gaze drawn to the gleaming shimmer.

Azarok nodded, unstrapping his Gearweaver sword and tightening his grip on it.

"EVERYONE, BE ON HIGH ALERT AND PROTECT THE SURROUNDINGS! WE'LL BE BACK SOON!" The Captain's voice resounded across the remaining fifty unit members in the area.

They all nodded, unstrapping their Gearweavers, and formed a formation to observe their surroundings.

The Captain nodded at Azarok and then leapt into the massive hole. Seconds later, Azarok followed suit, diving into the unknown depths, a dark and treacherous abyss that seemed to swallow all light.

They weren't sure how deep it was or what awaited them, but they had to verify what it was before deciding if the search for the Divine artefact was worth the risk.