"Who has moved the Boundary Skystone?"

The skeleton slowly stood up, the armor on it flickering in and out of sight.

"Let me see which fool has come to this forbidden area, only to become my meal." Marcellus Lopez spread his arms, sensing everything around him.

Instantly, a sandstorm rose again within the Bloody Sweat Ridge.

Countless grains of sand gathered around him from all directions.

Inside them lay every event that had occurred on the Bloody Sweat Ridge.

Anything that has ever happened would leave a mark on the sand.

All Marcellus Lopez needed to do was survey the sand, and he would know everything that had transpired here.

"What!"

Suddenly, Marcellus Lopez’s expression changed! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He saw Julius Reed!

"He dares come back! Is he provoking me, or doubting me?" Marcellus Lopez clenched his skeletal hand, and the sandstorm instantly dissipated.

"To have moved the Boundary Skystone, it seems this man’s arrogance is uncontainable, even the heavens can’t tolerate it."

His figure slowly faded.

When he reappeared, he was already at the entrance where Trent Marsh had entered.

"I’ve been at the Bloody Sweat Ridge for hundreds of years, always curious about this cave entrance. Now it seems, there must be something hidden inside."

Marcellus Lopez, wrapped in yellow sand, slowly walked into the cave.

Inside the cave.

Julius Reed carried Knife Abernathy, dragging the Boundary Skystone, as he walked through the pitch-black cave.

Following the clues left in the Nine Provinces Map, he bypassed a few deceptive traps and successfully reached a large hall within.

The hall was extremely spacious and magnificently decorated.

Countless ever-burning lamps illuminated it, leaving no dark corners.

The Eye of God spread wide, and Julius Reed saw Trent Marsh standing within the hall.

Trent Marsh naturally didn’t completely trust Julius Reed and hence did not bring the Wolf Cavalry here.

He arranged for the Wolf Cavalry’s safety and came alone, without even Mr. Springs by his side.

An exchange between him and Silvio Reed at the Gaochang Labyrinth had sowed doubts in Trent Marsh’s trust in Silvio Reed.

He no longer trusted anyone, only relying on himself.

"Fourth Brother, I don’t know if you have deceived me." Trent Marsh walked to the inner hall, slowly circling a gold-etched dragon throne.

"But all signs suggest you really have something to use."

He sat on the throne, observing everything below.

Trent Marsh closed his eyes, feeling what it was like when Silvio Reed sat there.

The king’s position, everyone wishes to sit.

But this chair is not so easily seated.

Beneath the chair lay countless bones and endless conspiracies.

The one who finally sits above, cannot be a kind-hearted person, let alone a naïve fool.

Understanding this principle, Trent Marsh’s suspicion of Silvio Reed deepened once more.

The Bloody Sweat Ridge was once Silvio Reed’s imperial horse farm.

After the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance’s unification, Silvio Reed often came here to hunt, to play.

The hall where Trent Marsh was now, was a palace built on the Bloody Sweat Ridge back then.

"A man who doesn’t care about anything, a person without desires, would he build such a luxurious hall?" Trent Marsh asked himself, and the answer was naturally negative.

Everyone has their own desires.

Trent Marsh’s desire was to replace Silvio Reed as the king of the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance.

Evidently, the status of the First War God and the second highest in the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance no longer satisfied him.

What about Silvio Reed?

He must also have his own desires.

"Silvio Reed, Julius Reed, neither of you are good people." Trent Marsh unfastened the wine flask from his waist, took a sip, and with a self-mocking smile said: "Now, you want to use me as a tool? Then both your calculations will thoroughly fail."

He stood up, striding toward a door at the back of the inner hall, and pushed the gold-gilded door open!

Inside stood the dense ranks of guards from when Silvio Reed toured here.

They were dressed in black cloth, with a sun and moon embroidery on their clothing.

This was the exclusive symbol of the Great Holy Master’s Guards.

Any outfit sporting this emblem was under Silvio Reed’s sole command.

Even in the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance, including Trent Marsh, who held military power, had no right to mobilize Silvio Reed’s guards.

This was the one and only authority of the Great Holy Master.

The people in front were much like the previous Undead Tribe, all having been transformed by Silvio Reed.

When the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance was first established, they had unearthed many temple ruins.

A portion of these was kept strictly confidential by Silvio Reed and other high-ranking members of the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance, to be used as wartime tools later on.

Including the Nether Hall and the Divine Hall.

The undead were their late-war machines.

Only a few individuals were aware.

As a participant back then, Trent Marsh on seeing these lifelike guards knew their origins.

He took out the Commander’s Seal.

"Go!"

These guards stepped forward simultaneously.

The past gradually surfaced in his mind.

The victory of the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance had been inseparable from these war machines.

On the battlefield, warriors devoid of individual consciousness, knowing only to obey, were the most terrifying.

These war machines lacked thought or fear, possessing only formidable bodies and unlimited loyalty to the one who created them.

Without the Commander’s Seal, no one but Silvio Reed could mobilize them.

Trent Marsh glanced at another door, walked over, pushed it open, finding the same number of guards inside.

"You, guard here."

No sooner had Trent Marsh spoken, than an anomaly rang out from behind him.

He turned, staring at the passageway, squinting instinctively.

The road leading here was extremely concealed.

Along the way, lay numerous traps and bewilderment arrays.

To find this place was not easy.

Not to mention the constant risk of death along the way.

Could a martial artist with exceptionally good luck have found this place?

Yet it didn’t quite sound right.

It was the sound of the wind!

Trent Marsh perked up his ears, listening closely.

A howling wind!

No doubt about it!

Similar to the wind outside!

How could there be wind inside the cave?

And upon listening carefully, there was also the sound of sand mixed in.

Instinctively, Trent Marsh thought of that creature in the Bloody Sweat Ridge.

"You few, go guard the entrance." At Trent Marsh’s command, the foremost guards swiftly moved to stand at the doorway in a combat-ready posture.

Yet the wind persisted, never blowing into the cave.

Gradually, the wind ceased.

Fearing prolonged danger, Trent Marsh grabbed his knife, leading half the guards out of the inner hall.

The other half remained behind the door, ready to be summoned.

Trent Marsh temporarily did not intend to dismiss them, after all, his trust in Silvio Reed had waned.

The road from the inner hall to the great hall had only one route.

Along the way, Trent Marsh smelled the scent of prairie but saw no wind or sand.

Everything seemed to have vanished.

"Could it be just a false alarm?" His years of battle-hardened experience prevented him from dropping his guard, leading dozens of guards out to investigate.

Just after leaving the great hall, he saw a stone in the cave passage.

"That’s not the sound from outside the cave, how could it be here?"

As Trent Marsh pondered, the sound of the wind suddenly returned!