The Pine Zone was very dangerous. Some claimed it was even deadlier than the Sand Mirage Desert, and those who had survived both rarely bothered to argue. Unlike the desert, which killed travellers with cruelty and exhaustion, the Pine Zone was far more mysterious, and despite existing for countless years, very little was known about this mysterious place.
But one thing was clear. Those who went inside the Pine Zone almost never made it out of that place.
The Pine Zone stretched from west to east in an almost perfectly straight line, dividing the Tunnel World in two. North and South existed as separate realms because of it, divided by an endless forest of towering, blackened pines and everlasting mist.
This unnatural straightness alone was enough to unsettle even the most powerful cultivators. Even a 7th Order Cultivator won’t feel safe going inside the Pine Zone.
So everyone, regardless of their motive, background, race, or power, had no choice but to use one of the three safe routes, which was the only way to cross this Zone. These three zones have existed for aeons. These routes were so old that no one even knew who made them.
But even these so-called safe routes weren’t entirely safe. Travellers who relied on them understood one thing clearly: safety was conditional. At any moment, the Mist Beasts that prowled deep within the forest could slip past the invisible boundaries and emerge without warning to hunt anything foolish enough to pass through.
"So, which route should we take?" Laura asked Aditya. They had to take one of the routes, knowing that their enemies were literally camping in all three of the routes for them.
"We will take the Route that is closest to our location." As for what waited for them, Aditya did not care. He wasn’t afraid.
He was no longer a Peak 4th-order Cultivator.
After going through the entire trial, Aditya had grown as a cultivator.
’I am oddly getting excited at the thought of facing these monsters.’ Aditya looked at right palm, which was shaking. This shake wasn’t from fear. It was excitement.
This Monarch was never afraid of War. Before, he had some reservations, mainly because he wasn’t confident he could continue to protect his woman while fighting them. But now things were different.
Each of the three routes was very far apart.
There was one located at the western side of the Tunnel.
There was one located at the very centre, which was the biggest route and had the largest number of travellers. This was also considered the safest among the three.
And lastly, the third route was very close to their location. It was located easter side of the Tunnel. Both the eastern and western sides had almost the same number of travellers.
It was important to understand that all three routes had no regulations. No forces or factions controlled any of these three routes. The reason behind this was very complex. But most importantly, due to how unpredictable these routes were, no force could ever build anything on the routes.
Also, there was the fact that many powerful forces from the Main Continent had their eyes on the routes. There was this unspoken rule that forbade any force from trying to control any of the three routes. In short, the history and the importance of these routes are just too delicate and deep for any single powerhouse to control them.
The power vacuum had created many local gangs and bandit groups within the area.
It took them half a day to reach the entrance of the Eastern Route.
At the entrance of the route, there was a big City which was ruled by many gangs and organisations. Every power had divided the city into districts and controlled its area. But unlike most or almost all travellers who stopped in this City, Aditya and Laura had no such plans.
This was because, since coming near the entrance of the Route, Laura had this strange feeling that her other half was very close. She couldn’t sense Athena’s exact location like Athena could sense Laura’s location, but she had this strong feeling that her other half was very close by, and this was enough for them.
"We need to hurry up." Laura almost sounded anxious.
"Yeah!" Both of them understood that with each of the three closely being monitored by the Members of the Organisation, the chances of Athena getting captured or killed were very high.
Beyond the large City that was big enough to house millions, the real entrance of the Eastern Route was surprisingly narrow.
A big part of the entrance was directly connected to the northern gate of the City. Clearly, this was done so that people are more encouraged to enter the City before entering the route. But there was still enough space for people to enter the Route without needing to enter from the City.
Unsurprisingly, there were almost a few thousand people around the entrance.
"Stay close!" He held her palm and pulled her closer. He used his other hand to move the crowd before them while also making sure that in this crowded space, no one could touch his woman inappropriately.
He shielded her using his body, and in some cases, he pulled her towards his chest so that his arms would protect her. Laura enjoyed this unspoken, gentle, and caring treatment from Aditya.
She was very happy.
"Stopppp!!" Of course, how could they simply enter without being bothered by some thugs?
A short and fat half-elf, followed by three human males.
The Elf appeared to be a Beginner 6th-order while the three human males were Peak 5th-order cultivators.
Aditya coldly stared at them.
"Sir, you don’t seem to know the rules of this place." Hearing this, Aditya smiled in amusement and did not say anything.
The shortie frowned, seeing Aditya’s reaction.
’How dare a mere Beginner 5th-order cultivator act this arrogantly?’ In his eyes, Aditya was being very arrogant.
"We risk our lives to maintain the stability of this place. We deserve some coins for our hard work."
"Sure!" Aditya grabbed a handful of platinum coins. Seeing so many coins, the three humans were overjoyed. At the same time, thugs from other gangs who were watching from afar shook their heads in regret.
This was a fat sheep. If only they had been faster.
Bang....!!!!
Even Laura covered her mouth while looking very surprised.
GAh....!!!!
The Short elf looked down with a look of shock. Aditya’s palm was right inside his heart. His claws easily tore through his chest and put the coins inside.
"You seem to have a good heart."
He looked at the shocked three humans and said. "I will take your Boss’s heart in exchange for these coins. Have a nice day." As he took out his still beating heart, the crowd silently moved and created a path for them.
His palm was soaked in the elf’s blood.
While holding the heart of the elf, he continued walking forward.
"That was a little unnecessary," Laura whispered into his ear. Of course, she wouldn’t want anyone to hear her words. Regardless of whether he went too far or not, in public, she would always stay behind her man and support him.
Aditya smirked. "If we had given the money, we would have been approached by more thugs from different gangs."
"Not to mention, he probably deserves it."
The duo easily entered the Route without anyone daring to bother them. Some were so afraid that they either looked down or just simply looked in some other direction.
They continued walking on the route for almost 10 minutes.
The Route itself was around 100 meters. As they kept walking further, the route seemed to widen. Just as the name suggested, there were tall, lush pine trees growing on both sides of the Route.
But it was impossible to see anything beyond the first rows of Pine Trees because of the dense Mist.
After a certain point, no one spoke to anyone. Aditya could tell that everyone was just focused on crossing the Route as soon as possible.
No one wanted to be in the middle of such a dangerous place where Mist Beasts could attack them. Although this did not happen every day, there was always the possibility.
Once they crossed 1200 meters, the scene took an unexpected turn.
The mud road had widened to almost 800 meters.
However, away from their position, Aditya and Laura started hearing the sounds of multiple whips cracking. At the same time, Aditya felt a sense of familiarity ahead. It was like there was a member of his own blood up ahead.
This made him anxious.
Why would Dragonians even come to the Tunnel World?
"What’s happening?"
They quickened their pace.
There was a big crowd surrounding them.
As soon as he had a clear view, he froze in place. At the centre of the street, there was 6 Dragonians along with a few other Dragons in their human form tied with special chains. And some people wearing black cloaks were constantly hitting them with sharp, thorny whips.
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