Chapter 2: Death (Part 1)

The members of that squad were of unknown race, wearing leather armor that resembled robes, with long animal furs draped over their shoulders. Several of them were tall and muscular, carrying large shields as tall as a person. Their weapons were varied, mostly heavy ones such as axes and massive clubs. They moved at great speed, rushing into the dangerous area in less than a minute.

Guo Shieru shook his head. He didn’t shout again to warn them; he just couldn’t bear to see his own kind die. But since they refused to listen, he saw no reason to stop them by force. If they were determined to seek death, let them go—no one could save those who deserved to die.

Ah!
A brief, agonized scream—someone running suddenly shattered. After passing through a spatial rift, his body continued moving forward by inertia for another five or six steps before he felt the pain. By the time he cried out, his body had already broken apart. A spray of blood mist erupted, and his corpse fell to the ground.

The members of that squad were stunned. They moved at great speed and stopped just as quickly. Even so, two of them collided with spatial rifts, shattering instantly without even a chance to scream before their souls were scattered.

That squad dared not move anymore. Their reaction was almost identical to the previous squad—they all stood frozen in place, not daring to take a step.

Guo Shieru stared intently into the distance, his expression growing increasingly serious. After a long while, he said, “That’s not right… There seem to be more and more spatial rifts…” With his vision, he could see not only the nearby rifts but also those in the distance clearly. The distant rifts were even more terrifying—like cracks in glass, dense as a spider web, and not flat but three-dimensional.

It was as if a glass cube had been cracked countless times; it seemed that just a little more pressure would cause the entire cube to shatter completely. Guo Shieru almost seemed to hear the sound of the space cracking bit by bit. Of course, the appearance of spatial rifts was almost silent, producing not even the slightest sound. But for some reason, Guo Shieru seemed to hear the crackling sound.

Li Ran said, “Indeed, there are more and more spatial rifts…”

Qi Wuzhen added, “And… they’re moving, toward us… getting faster!” She shook her head slightly. She too feared spatial rifts greatly—their destructive power was immense. Forcing one to break required tremendous effort, and there were simply too many of them here.

Boom! Whoosh! Space cracks appeared inside the cliff face on the side, along with those moving in the outside area, causing the hard rocks to shatter immediately. When the supporting forces lost balance, the cliff face finally collapsed, sending dust and smoke into the air. At that moment, the fire ignited by Qi Wu Zhen gradually approached as well, turning the scene into chaos.

Several exploration teams appeared in the vicinity. They were smart enough to stare at the team standing frozen not far away, not daring to move forward.

Guo Shier said, “Let’s retreat!”

The flames from the burning vegetation posed no threat to Li Ran’s team, so the five of them quickly retreated. Some of the exploration teams were clever enough to also retreat while launching their own attacks in an attempt to put out the burning plants.

Qi Wu Zhen drifted backward and soon entered the flames. The raging fire seemed to encounter a strong wind and went out instantly.

The team trapped in the space cracks also gradually retreated. They were extremely regretful, realizing only now that Guo Shier’s warning was correct—they had been too arrogant and rushed into a desperate situation. A man who appeared to be the team leader shouted, “Retreat! Retreat…” He couldn’t see the space cracks but strongly sensed extreme danger. He no longer dared to move forward and could only order his team to retreat.

He directed two strong men holding huge shields, with the rest following behind them, moving backward carefully. This time, they moved extremely slowly, inch by inch. Fortunately, their caution saved their lives. As they moved slowly, one of the strong men suddenly found his huge shield break—the break was smooth and clean. Because they were moving so slowly, the top of the shield broke suddenly, but he reacted in time and stopped immediately. It was only by a narrow margin that his head didn’t hit the space crack.

Holding half of the shield, the man was terrified, sweating profusely as his body trembled violently. Cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall. He had no idea what could silently cut through such a hard shield—he hadn’t felt any force at all when it broke. He stepped back slightly and said in a trembling voice, “It’s… it’s… what the hell is that?”

The break in the shield also gave these people a way to escape. They waved their weapons and moved outward slowly. Whenever their weapons broke, they would move sideways a few steps, then test with their weapons again before moving forward safely, gradually retreating.

The other teams were filled with dread; their eyes weren’t blind. The weapons of the troops in the retreating squad suddenly broke, and from their expressions, even without seeing the spatial rifts, it was clear just how dangerous that area was. All teams were retreating, with grim expressions on everyone’s face. The squad trapped in a desperate situation managed to back out bit by bit using extremely clumsy methods, eventually reaching a distance of about a hundred meters. Everyone in the squad wanted to lie down. Such a short distance had left them exhausted, as if they had undergone a long journey, with every last ounce of strength drained from them. They were gasping for breath, trembling all over, with dizzy heads and weak limbs. In just a moment, Guo Shier and the others had reached the still-burning spaceship. More exploration teams also retreated here, and together with those who had crossed the spaceship, the number of people grew rapidly, soon gathering several hundred. Fortunately, the canyon was vast, allowing them to maintain some distance from each other. Besides guarding against various threats, these team members also had to be wary of other teams. At this time, more and more spatial rifts appeared, becoming increasingly dense. Guo Shier, Li Ran, and Qi Wu Zhen watched intently. They could clearly see the spatial rifts starting to collide. Guo Shier said, “Interesting, it disappears like this…” He observed that when two spatial rifts collided, they quickly vanished, and the denser the rifts, the faster they disappeared. If this continued, the spatial rifts would gradually diminish. Li Ran also sighed, “Heh, so that’s how it is. I was wondering how these spatial rifts could be eliminated—it seemed impossible without over a decade. But they can just disappear like this. Well, maybe in a few days, most of the spatial rifts in the canyon will be gone. As long as we’re careful, crossing should be no problem.” Qi Wu Zhen said, “It’s easy for us to cross, but difficult for them.” Guo Shier replied, “Not necessarily. When the spatial rifts become sparse enough, they can use weapons or other tools to find a path.” The method used by that exploration squad earlier was sufficient for them to cross this canyon. However, if the spatial rifts were too dense, they still wouldn’t be able to pass. All teams stopped moving; no one was foolish. Soon, the teams behind them also learned what had happened ahead, each showing a worried expression. They knew it was impossible to cross from above the canyon; they could only go along it. With danger ahead blocking the only entrance, what could they do?

Li Ran’s team was the most calm. They knew the path ahead couldn’t remain blocked forever, so they waited leisurely.
……
Three days later, when thousands of people had gathered in the canyon, spatial rifts had become increasingly rare. According to Guo Shier, with the advantage of being able to see the rifts, the five of them should be able to make it through. But to be safe, they waited another day. That day, they decided to rush forward.
Since the spatial rifts were unstable and kept moving, Li Ran and the others had to be extremely cautious.
As Li Ran’s team left their spot and headed deeper into the canyon, it immediately caught everyone’s attention. All stared at the five of them as they flew deeper into the canyon, and soon other teams followed. Over these days, Guo Shier and the others had also been searching for their own clan members. Unfortunately, despite the thousands who had arrived, not a single professional from the Spellcraft Clan could be seen. Guo Shier’s wish to find枯木 was once again unfulfilled, and they realized just how rare professional Spellcraft Clan members were.
Although spatial rifts were now scarce, there were still many. If one couldn’t see them and rushed in recklessly, they might end up trapped.
Guo Shier turned around and said with a smile, “Everyone, following us might not be the best idea. Let’s wait for a while—it will be hard for you to get through.” Though he meant well, others might not appreciate it, and his words were ignored. Those people all shared the same thought: If you can make it through, why can’t I?
Selin said, “My lord, ignore them!”
Borong also said, “They want to die… We can’t stop them. Let a few die, and they’ll understand.” This world really didn’t value human lives.
Guo Shier sighed bitterly and said, “Alright, alright, let’s go!”
Li Ran and Qi Wuzhen were at the front, Guo Shier at the back, with Selin and Borong in between. This arrangement was to guard against the spatial rifts moving closer. With Guo Shier at the back, he could be vigilant and remind the two in front at any time. Selin and Borong couldn’t see the spatial rifts, so if they bumped into them silently, they would surely suffer.
Those following watched helplessly as the five of them entered the dangerous area at a fast pace. Soon, everyone noticed something strange—instead of moving in a straight line, the five kept turning, zigzagging, sometimes even stepping back before turning, as if avoiding something. Yet no obstacle could be seen. The five were flying about a few meters above the ground, and their movements were clearly visible to everyone.

A few squads, defying caution, ventured forward. Before long, one of them collided with a spatial rift. Fortunately, the speed was extremely low. By the time pain set in, there was already a large wound on his left shoulder, with his bone cut open. He screamed, stepped back, covered his shoulder with his hand, and said in a pale face, “Back off, quickly!” He regretted endlessly for having rushed in impulsively.