Chapter 802: Ch 802 - The Bird and the Scorpion
Arthur was petrified. He hadn't even considered the idea that Alex would dare to chase him into the Tomb. Now, there was nothing he could do to save himself.
"This is the Tomb!" he shrieked. "What are you doing? You'll die!"
"Maybe. Maybe not," Alex said, totally unconcerned. "But if I do, that's my problem. At least I'll know that I've taken you with me."
He smirked, and then he used all his strength to crush Arthur's soul.
Seconds later, Arthur was dead, and Alex was left holding the piece of the saint's bone.
"It really is the bone of a saint," he muttered to himself as he examined it. "It was such a waste for Arthur to have this. If I fuse this into the celestial staff, it should increase its power by another level!"
He put the bone away, and then he turned around and looked at his surroundings. A strange voice called out, but Alex couldn't make out what it said, and he couldn't see anyone nearby.
He was standing in a ruined city, and when he looked up, a layer of something covered the sky. Nothing grew here, and the abandoned buildings were filling up with sand from the desert.
This place has been distorted by a spell, he thought. That's how it remains hidden from modern technology. It must have been set up by someone extremely powerful. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so vast or so dangerous. Even I'm in danger here.
He frowned. "That strange voice seems to be coming from the ruins," he murmured.
As he walked toward the ruins, he constantly paid attention to his surroundings. This spell was extremely powerful, so he had to be careful to avoid falling into a trap and dying here.
When he passed a crumbling wall, he saw countless fragments of artifacts scattered on the ground. Among them were broken swords that flashed with a brilliant light, pieces of armor, and various shattered utensils. There was also an assortment of bones strewn across the ground.
Most of the items were sparkling with power, even after having been abandoned to the elements for so many years.
"This used to be a battlefield!" he exclaimed. "These bones must belong to fallen warriors."
The fragments were scattered over a vast area, and at first, he couldn't even see where it ended. He didn't know how many people had died here, but their power remained. In comparison, the saint's bone he had taken from Arthur didn't seem so important.
He froze in place when he heard someone yelling. Then, looking up, he spotted many immortals launching themselves into the sky as they waged war on each other.
Both sides fought with everything they had, and in the blink of an eye, the ground was covered with broken magic weapons. Countless immortals had fallen, and many objects of power had been lost.
The spectacle snared Alex's attention, and he stood there, watching with his mouth hanging open. Then he shook his head and looked away. He had no idea where the remaining immortals had gone.
"Distracted from my search for truth by a mere battle between immortals," he said, rolling his eyes. "It seems like there's still a lot of power here, and it's affecting my mind. There are so many immortal bones here, and the spiritual energy is abundant. It's a good place to cultivate power."
He walked over to the fallen immortals and picked up a broken crystal sword.
"It's almost as if fate left this here for me," he said, smiling.
He continued to search the battlefield, gathering all the broken weapons and fragments of artifacts that still emitted power. His intention was to fuse them together and use them to strengthen the celestial staff.
He didn't touch the bodies of the fallen warriors. After all, they had died in battle, and he didn't want to disrespect them. But he did examine some of the objects that lay scattered among them and looked at the secret manuals containing techniques for improving inner power.
After he had finished collecting what he needed, he continued to walk further into the Tomb.
He strolled leisurely, as if he were merely out for a walk in the park. He considered the spell that permeated the Tomb to be extremely crude, and after thousands of years, it was no longer at full strength. But even at a tenth of its original power, few warriors would be able to withstand it.
Once he had passed the ruins, he saw a city wall half-buried in the sand. An enormous, strange-looking bird swooped down from the sky, talons extended, and then it seized an enormous scorpion before rising to land on the wall.
It dropped the scorpion, which landed hard on the ground, lashing out with its tail. When it missed, it turned to escape, but the bird rushed forward and killed it. Then the bird's long sharp beak made quick work of the scorpion's hard shell, removing it to eat the meat inside.
"This bird has the same level of strength as Arthur!" Alex exclaimed.
He could tell that the peculiar bird was extremely strong, and it had clearly already surpassed many gifted warriors. But it was lacking in intelligence, which was why it hadn't advanced to a higher level.
Even so, it had managed to survive in the Tomb, and that was impressive.
It seems to be very familiar with the spell surrounding this place, Alex thought. It's the only way it could have survived here for so long.
Birds were naturally sensitive to danger, so Alex assumed this one had learned how to fly freely without touching the spell.
The bird chirped loudly, now aware of Alex's presence. Then, with a piercing cry, it flew directly at him, clearly intending to rake him with its talons.
"That's a little loud," he said to the bird. He chuckled and raised his hands, reaching out to grab the bird's legs, and then tossing the bird into the wall. The resulting crash demolished a large portion of the wall, sending bricks flying.
How strong is that bird's body? he wondered. Even the wall couldn't withstand it!
The bird chirped as it struggled to get back up.
"Just stay down," Alex told it.
He waved his hand, using his inner power to grab the bird and immobilize it. When it panicked, he squeezed a little tighter, and the bird got the message and stopped trying to escape.
It looked at Alex in fear, not daring to make any rash movements.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone