Chapter 2549: A bit too late

"Everything has been cleared and we’re ready to go in at any moment."

I gave a nod in response to the report that I received.

Even though we had taken care of the mass that was supposed to be the next Famine, it wasn’t as if we were able to continue like the plan. It was something that had taken far too much time and energy that we had no choice but to take a night to recover.

So when we arrived in this place, the soldiers had already prepared everything.

They had surrounded the cave and cleared out everything so that we could charge in at any moment.

Since they had prepared everything, there was no need to hesitate.

"Start luring them out."

As soon as I gave this order, they didn’t waste any time at all as they started surrounding the cave.

As expected, there were corruption energy monsters that poured out of the cave and started engaging the soldiers that were there.

Since they had already prepared everything, it wasn’t as if the corruption energy monsters were able to do anything to them.

"There’s less than there was previously."

I wasn’t the only one that noticed this, the other relic users that had been with me also felt the same thing. They had already seen what it looked like when endless waves of corruption energy monsters poured out of a cave.

So the fact that there were so few of them coming out now was something that they couldn’t help worrying about.

"Do it."

Joan didn’t waste any time as she released her flames since she could hear the urgency that was in my voice.

With Joan’s flames clearing the way, we started heading deep into the cave to see if we could find the special room that was there.

As we made our way through the cave, we could see through the flames that there was something strange about the corruption energy monsters that were there. It was as if they were completely listless, as if they had lost all energy.

It was almost as if something had completely drained them of everything before leaving them here.

However, there was one thing that seemed different about these corruption energy monsters.

"They seem to be following some kind of order that’s different."

That was the one thing that all of us could see as soon as we looked at the corruption energy monsters that were here. It didn’t seem like they were just here to protect whatever was stored deep in this place, it was as if they were just here to fill up this space.

As we approached the cave that was in the back, that was when the corruption energy monsters seemed to react.

They never reacted when we approached previously, they had always just left us alone and let us do what we wanted. Mainly because they weren’t able to reach the cave that was in the back.

But this time, it seemed like they were there to prevent anyone from entering it.

Of course, it wasn’t as if these corruption energy monsters were any match for us. Especially since most of them seemed to be drained of all their normal powers.

They were still corruption energy monsters, but they really were far weaker compared to before. The relic users were able to clear them just with a single graze from their attacks instead of actually having to hit them.

It really seemed like these corruption energy monsters had been drained of all their powers by something.

When we entered the cave in the back, it wasn’t hard to figure out what it was.

Especially when all we saw were the fragments that were left behind by the black spheres that should have been in this place. They were the only things that were left behind by the black spheres.

Whatever had been contained within the black spheres had clearly hatched and finished growing before being taken away.

"It seems like we’re a bit too late."

That was an understatement, we were beyond just being a bit late since there was now a new member of the Four Omens.

When I looked at the pieces of the black spheres that had been left behind, I could tell that they had already been left here for a long time. There was no way for us to use them to find traces of the Apostles of Destruction that came from them.

Not only that, it seemed like the things that had been here had completely erased all traces of their presence. They didn’t want anyone finding them or tracking them down.

It only made sense since the forces of Destruction had been doing this in secret, or they wouldn’t have created these places to begin with.

"Clear this place and make sure that there isn’t a single trace of corruption energy left behind."

That was the only order that I could give in the end.

There were some relic users that went to help take care of the corruption energy monsters left behind. There were some relic users that went to clear out the fragments of the black spheres.

Then there were those that looked around this area in hopes of finding any kind of clue as to where the new member of the Four Omens went.

I didn’t stop any of them since I knew that they were just doing this to keep themselves from thinking too much about this.

Instead, I looked at the corruption energy monsters that were left behind since that was the only thing that didn’t make any sense.

"Since it was a success, is there a reason for them to leave behind these corruption energy monsters? It isn’t as if it would make a difference if someone reached this place and found the fragments left behind by the black spheres."

But even if I found this strange, I wasn’t able to find a single clue as to why they had done this.