Chapter 598: The Surbodinate
"So, what is next? Dive? Or walk?"
Northern stayed silent for a few minutes, then he scrunched his eyes.
"Well, whichever one you think is faster."
"Faster? Why do we have to be worried about speed?"
"If I'm not wrong, a subordinate of mine is already down there. We don't want to miss the fun now, do we?"
"Why do you keep saying 'if you are not wrong,' 'if you are not mistaken,' when you very much know you are not?"
"What's wrong with trying to sound humble? You humans will never be pleased, I see."
"I suppose you are not one of the very humans you speak about."
Northern looked at the Lieutenant with a smile.
"Don't take too long."
He fell down the mountain unrestrained, unbothered, his form disappearing into the red cloud.
Lieutenant Dante stared deeply for a couple of beats.
'He really just fell into it?' He sighed and walked forward.
Unlike Northern who fell directly as if he was going to sleep, the Lieutenant with steeze
walked forward until there was no more land, then thrust deep into the ominous depth of the mountain.
Northern, as he was about to land, twisted his body mid-air and landed with grace that complimented his frame.
The red clouds parted around him like curtains, revealing the jagged terrain below.
His metal boots barely made a sound as they touched the ground, a stark contrast to his imposing presence.
He tilted his head, listening.
The faint echoes of combat drifted through the mist-metal clashing against metal, punctuated by occasional bursts of energy that made the air crackle.
Someone was already engaged in battle just as he had thought, and he need not think excessively to figure out who.
'When he said he would fulfill my immediate desire, was this what he was talking about?'
Was it possible that Bairan, instead of dealing with the monsters just like everyone else, had detected the presence of a much stronger opponent and gone after it to please Northern?
'How many steps ahead is he thinking? Two? Three?'
A few moments later, Lieutenant Dante emerged from above, his descent more controlled but no less impressive.
His uniform remained impeccable despite the fall, not a single wrinkle out of place.
"Show-off," Northern muttered, though his eyes held a glimmer of amusement. "Your graceful entrance cost us precious seconds."
"Some of us prefer to maintain a certain standard," Dante replied, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from his shoulder. "Even when dropping into what could very well be hell itself."
Northern's expression hardened as he gazed into the distance where the sounds of battle grew louder.
"Hell? No, Lieutenant. You have not seen Hell-I have seen Hell. Hell is more organized than this place."
He started walking, his stride purposeful. "Hell is beautiful, the smell of death marinates the air in such a way that it sweetens the nostrils when you breathe it in. And the atmosphere, it's a beauty that will make you look four times and still not be able to get enough of what you are looking at. Your face will crumble at the boorish magnificence of what you are beholding.
"Compared to that, this is just a luxurious wannabe of what I would call hell. I'm really beginning to doubt the tier system of rifts at this point."
Dante observed him with a worried expression, making Northern retort.
"What? Why are you looking at me like I am insane?"
"I can only imagine what vile things being in a monster-infested continent would have done to your sanity as a child."
Northern lingered in silence for a bit. Then he shrugged.
"Actually, it's not as bad as you're making it sound. Indeed, a lot has happened, but I am more sane than any of you in this continent-you all are weak cowards and hypocritical bastards."
"Are you judging everyone with just the fault of one man?"
Northern chuckled but did not respond. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, his movement becoming a bit slow.
The red mist swirled around them, but it did not obscure their vision enough to hide the
corpses of monsters that lay motionless on the ground.
Several kinds of the grotesque monsters of the red mist that Northern and the Lieutenant had dealt with lay scattered around.
The Lieutenant studied the corpses for a bit.
"Your subordinate is a swordsman? A very good one at that."
"Yes." Northern allowed a little proud smile. "He's a new guy but he might be the best thing
that has ever happened to me."
"Don't go placing your trust in people like that. I'll tell you, it ruins."
"Thanks for the advice. I don't even do that to begin with."
Northern went silent as he observed all the corpses, then he brought his face to meet the Lieutenant's, with a decisive look in his eyes.
"I guess you have decided what the last wish is going to be?"
"Yes."
"Let's hope it's something I can do..."
Northern smiled, attempting to ease the tension that suddenly hung in the atmosphere. "Don't worry, it's very much doable." He looked forward. "Whatever happens from now till we finish the rift dies with you."
The Lieutenant frowned a little bit. Before he got to say a word, Northern added:
"Like you said, I do not trust you or any human, but if you mean what you said, then this you should do. If I find out you betray me in any way, death will be the least you are worried about, and you can just forget about that one wish."
The Lieutenant's expression was somewhat cold and unreadable. There was a faintly dangerous look in the depth of his eyes that seemed to rise like the flames of a furnace, but he suppressed them with a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he opened them and responded.
"It's fine... your secret is safe with me."
Northern smiled and nodded. "Well, then, we've got a rift guardian to kill."
Both of them continued forward. As they did, the corpses on the ground became more
pronounced and plenty.
Not to say that all of them were obviously Behemoths, Disastrous Behemoths, Calamitous Behemoths, and even Devilish Behemoths.
They finally reached a point where the red mist seemed to disappear. In front of them stood a tall cave with a metallic crimson door.
In front of them, a white-haired man sat on a heap of monster corpses, blood splattered across his face, his eyes viciously reflecting the faint light of the ominous black blade in his
hands.
The blood on the Dark Mortal Blade was seeping into the blade itself, and the man watched this with pleasure in his eyes.
Then he averted his attention from the sword and looked at the two humans who were
marching towards him.
One of them, sensing the threat he posed, placed his hand on his sword. "Your subordinate is quite strong. Is he a Paragon too? And how did he get here?"
Bairan stood up, stabbed his sword into the ground, and went down on one knee.
"Master, you have arrived. I left the strongest one for you and killed the minions so they don't get in your way."