Next Day

After a long cold night, the sun victoriously rose into the horizon and the light consumed the sky with ferocity as it brought with it glimmers of warmth.

At this time, Shad along with the other six novas were leaving for the Great Tower with their troops. When the others saw this, how could they be willing to fall behind? So they transformed into numerous black silhouettes that swarmed behind them. After ten minutes, the vicinity of the resting place was completely devoid of people.

Shad and the other six novas were in front while their subordinates or troops were behind them. From left to right was Andre, the 2nd imperial prince of the Bartolo Empire, Anderson, from the Bartolo Empire, Baal, the 2nd imperial prince of the Draco Empire, Klaus, the 3rd Imperial prince of the Nicholas Empire, Drake, the Crown prince of the Draco Empire, Florence, from the Bartolo Empire then Shad, the 4th Imperial Prince of the Djage Empire.

For some reason, Florence insisted on being close to Shad rather than Anderson and Andre who came from the same Empire as her.

The seven of them looked like seven Invincible generals as they were leading more than three thousand imperial soldiers or knights into the Great Tower. Each one of them was emitting a terrifying imperial and noble momentum like a flood dragon flying in the sky as they were leading the way. This expedition was not only about them as the rise and fall of their empire was at stake in this mission. They all had a solemn look on their faces.

The seven Novas' momentum surged through the great army behind them as the motion of the imperial soldiers was uniform and the whole Dark Forest shook violently from the force as they were marching into the deepest part of the forest.

Each of the Seven Novas had at least five hundred soldiers under their commands, even Shad if we counted Gomez and his troops.

During their travel, magical beasts would scurry out from the dense forest from time to time and attack them. Although they were unable to harm the Seven Novas and their group, they still affected the pace of their journey.

For the sake of making the best use of their time, some of seven novas including the imperial soldiers had all drawn their weapons.

Andre had a long sword that was suffused with a dim dark red luster in his hand. Anderson was a mage so he had a small magic staff in his hand. Even though magic staffs are rarely used by mages, however, it increased the power of one's magic spells by at least 5%. Furthermore, some of them even have the ability to shorten the time needed for one to cast a magic spell. Baal had a long sword in his hand as well despite being a mage. As for Florence, she held an umbrella-shaped weapon which was inscribed with countless magic runes or circles. As for Klaus, Drake, and Shad, they were unarmed.

Also, for the sake of better protecting themselves, besides the weapons in their hands, most of them wore various equipment that flickered with bright lights, such as armor, shoulder guards, and belts. Even their shoes on their feet were extraordinary quality with profound functions. Viviana and the other girls were well prepared as well as they closely followed Shad from behind. As for Shad, he was no different from any random person in the streets. He didn't wear any special armor and other equipment. His clothes were as simple as they could get.

While looking at the dazzling magic treasures wore by the other Novas, Shad had to admit just the various magic treasures in the possession of the Novas that came from powerful backgrounds weren't something that any ordinary person could possess.

After walking for more than two hours, they were finally getting closer to the endless mist that surrounded the Great Tower. As they got closer, the air was filled with the slight rotten woody flavor of branches and leaves. Because of the shade of the countless huge trees, visibility became very slow. There were chunky vines that twined around on the ground like slithering mass of pythons. The shrubs and vines of this part of the forest were very lush and thick. Every so often, some of the Imperial soldiers would come in front and cut them apart with their swords in order clear the way. Furthermore, some of the chunky vines on the ground even appeared to be real pythons. However, they were easily killed by the combined effort of the imperial soldiers.

After a good six hours of walk, the group finally pass through the endless forest and made it to the external region of the Great Tower.

Seeing it with their own eyes, everyone felt a creepy chill while staring at the Great Tower in the distance, even those that had already visited the Great Tower before such as Drake, the uncrowned emperor.

The entire external region of the Great Tower seemed to be enveloped by an endless layer of fog. It was a dark and silent expanse. there was no light that could infiltrate this place.

Everyone felt as though this was the end of the world of the living. By crossing this place, one would reach the underworld.

" What the hell is this place." A vagrant warrior yelled as he trembled with fear and felt as though this world of darkness was the agape mouth of an ancient beast. Any intruder would never be able to come out.

" Hell no!, I'm going back. I have a wife and two children, there's no way I'm gonna throw my life away in this place. This place is simply the gate of the underworld." shouted the same warrior as he turned back and fled with his tail tucked behind his back like a coward.

" This place is cursed." yelled another warrior as he followed the other that just left.

Like a domino effect, many cowardly warriors and mages didn't dare to take half step forward as they turned back where they came from.

In less than ten minutes, More than five hundred people had left. They have heard of this dreadful place but this was the first time they've seen it in person. In their eyes, someone of their level entering this place was simply suicidal. They've thought that with the seven Novas in the lead, they would be able to enter the Great Tower easily. However, once they saw that endless mist, it was as if they could already feel the scent of death around them.

All the people that had left were mostly vagrant warriors. Even though all of the Imperial soldiers stood their ground and didn't dare to back down, they all have a serious expression on their faces. It would be a big fat lie to say that they weren't afraid and didn't want to follow the examples of the other warriors that had left. However, they were duty bounds as they have a mission to complete. This expedition was bigger than them. Furthermore, as the old saying goes, one can only find fortune within danger. How can there be rewards without effort?

Not to mention them, even the Novas had a solemn expression on their faces as they were looking at the endless mist in front of them. Within this place lied many powerful magical beasts waiting to ambush them and even some of the people from the Eye.

One can say this was the most dangerous place that they've ever been in their entire life and one can imagine the dangers that await them. Nonetheless, they weren't the least bit afraid.

As for Shad, there was a slight smile on his face as he was looking at the huge Tower ahead. The moment, he got in front of the endless mist, he felt the purple lightning seed within his infinite space buzzing like crazy as though it was about to meet the love of his life for the first time after countless years of separation. The buzzing sound it was making was many times louder than when Shad had found the Eye of the Red Lightning Dragon Emperor.

Not to mention the purple lightning seed, Shad was beyond excited as well when he looked at the Great Tower from the distance. Unlike the eye of the Red Lighting Dragon Emperor, The Great Tower was very different because it was literally a Tower or an estate not some sort of weapons. Furthermore, Shad was sure that he will get more information or even all of his answers about the Mysterious person that had killed and refined the nine lightning dragons in that Tower because this place was literally his house.

At this moment, Shad's eyes were filled with excitement as he was impatient to enter the Tower. A lot of ideas crossed his mind. After a few second, Shad shifted his gaze into the endless mist ahead of him. At the same time, his right crimson eye shone brightly and a vivid miniature red lightning dragon coiled around his pupil as he peered through the endless mist. However, this sudden change didn't escape the other Novas as they were looking at Shad with a strange expression on their faces.

Soon, the smile on Shad's face became wider because he had suddenly solved a mystery that had been troubling even the peak experts of the Egul Continent for centuries which was about the endless mist.

The endless mist that surrounded the Great Tower was a barrier. To be more accurate, the external region was covered by a powerful illusion barrier. The area that the barrier covered was so vast that it was comparable to Ozuna City.

The most important thing was, this illusion barrier did not possess the power to attack or kill someone. It merely possessed the ability to trap someone which make it even more terrifying.

One can imagine how many powerful magical beasts and people were trapped in this illusion barrier unable to find an exit. Ordinary warriors and mages wouldn't dare to enter this endless mist as they would be trapped inside until they died of hunger or become foods for those powerful beasts that were trapped within the mist as well. Unless one had a powerful spiritual force, it would be suicide to enter that endless mist.

"let's see, with my spiritual force, how far in will I be able to go." Shad murmured to himself as he used his strong spiritual to scan the endless mist. Shad was able to clearly sense that the moment his spiritual force entered the endless mist, it was being suppressed by a powerful force that reduced his coverage from his initial seven hundred meters to 350 meters. It was very hard for him to continue to spread it forward.

After a short moment, Klaus took out a small exquisite silver colored compass from his magic pouch and said." With this compass, we will be able to swiftly move forward within the endless mist to the Great Tower without getting lost. The only thing we will have to worry about now is the magical beasts within the mist and the Eye's ambush."

"Alright, let's keep going," Klaus said while the rest of the group were still looking at Shad's crimson eye as it returned to normal.

" You guys stay very close to me and as long as I can sense you with my spiritual force, i will able to protect you," Shad said as he looked at the girls and the others behind him who were in a state of shock with a solemn expression on his face. He could clearly feel many powerful and vicious aura coming from the endless mist when he first scanned it with his spiritual force .

The group of people along with the imperial soldiers regained their wits and quickly followed as the Novas took the lead and instantly entered the land covered by the illusion barrier or the endless mist.