THE MARTIAL KING VOLUME 2 - Season 10 Episode 48

The air in the Tower of Sin hung heavily like a thick curtain.

A nervous anticipation settled on the humans’ faces as they waited with bated breath.

The moment that the Dark Nether Death Light once again illuminated the entire Dark Nether Cave, not a single one of the warriors inside would remain alive. Since the tower’s appearance up to this day, there had never been a single exception. Not even the top-level war lords could withstand the Dark Nether Death Light.

However, in the hearts of the humans, small embers of hope were quietly burning—their torch was carried by one particular man.

Zen was different. Before him, no one else had been able to rise up to the Celestial Position on the Talent Tablet. Furthermore, no one had been able to control the Tower of Sin, even more so use its power to fulfil his desires. From the very first day that he entered the Tower of Sin, Zen had been constantly creating miracles.

Perhaps this time, he would show them another miracle.

The top-level war lords of Demon Night also shared this small hope. Only yesterday, news arrived from the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place.

Lavender’s statue still shone with the faintest light. It was dim, but it had not yet disappeared. Lavender was still alive.

Based on this indication, it was very likely that Zen had returned. How he had managed to pass through the Dark Nether Cave and avoid the Dark Nether Death Light remained a mystery to Elder Mei.

Maurice’s face was set in firm lines, almost ice-like in its coldness. He snorted and said aloud, “No one is allowed to open the door. Perhaps it is just some monster that has approached it by chance.”

What he had just said was not nonsense. Many years ago, an extremely powerful monster had run into the Tower of Sin, and the tower shook violently at the force of the impact. Although the walls separated the creatures inside the tower and the monster, the top-level war lords on the top floor had stood terrified to death, not to mention the warriors on the other floors.

That collision had brought forth panic. Many warriors of the lower levels had fled from the tower, and only after many months had passed did they return.

Fortunately, the monster was not able to destroy the tower. After some moments of continuous crashing, it silently left, as if in defeat.

“Right. It would be impossible for a mortal warrior to return. It must be a monster!” a top-level war lord of the Night Group said in agreement.

At these words, Elder Mei was the next person to speak up. “Not necessarily,” she muttered.

Pointing at her, Maurice ordered coldly, “Don’t even think about opening the door!”

Elder Mei remained calm at the face of his anger and merely shrugged her shoulders. “I will not open the door. If it is Zen who returns, he will naturally come in! The door can’t stop him,” she said lightly.

Zen had control over the Tower of Sin. Back when he was on the first floor, he had opened cracks in every floor and fell straight down to get to the fifteenth floor. A mere door would do nothing to stop him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The quick and rhythmic pounding rang across the entire space. No monster could have been the cause of such a sound.

One of the human war lords said in a low voice, “It’s definitely Zen. How could a monster knock on the door like that?”

“Let’s wait and see!” another war lord said. “When Zen makes it through, I want to see the looks on those arrogant ogres’ faces.”

Amidst the silence, a ten-foot long crack appeared in the tower’s wall. The fracture appeared like a big mouth in the darkness, and revealed a male figure entering from the other side.

The human war lords all felt thrilled as they watched.

“Zen! It really is him! Zen is back!”

“There’s also Fabian and Jarrod!”

“Esther has returned as well!”

The members of the Demon Night all had joyous expressions on their faces. However, nothing would come close to the excitement that the human war lords felt. Their hearts thrummed in victory.

Death was a foregone conclusion, forgotten amidst the cheers coming from all around. Zen had come at such a critical moment. Had he returned to the tower five minutes later, it was very likely that all the human war lords would have perished at the hands of the ogres.

Even only this was reason enough for all the brimming excitement. Many of the human war lords had tears in the corners of their eyes as relief and exhilaration washed over them. Just earlier, they were standing between the thin border of life and death, but it seemed that fate had worked to their favor.

Zen, Esther, Fabian, Jarrod, Yolande, and the other two top-level war lords of the Demon Night entered the crack one by one.

As Zen entered, the two corpses on the floor first came into view. One was lying in the middle of the hall, while the other was against the wall. These were the bodies of human war lords. The floor under them was unsoiled. All blood that had flowed out from the corpses had gradually faded, absorbed by the Tower of Sin. One of them caught Zen’s eyes.

Familiar images came into his recollection as he looked at the corpse’s lifeless face. In the Dark Nether Cave, this man had released intense flames to stop the attacks of the Swallowing Birds.

Apart from the two, another human war lord lay on the floor, his chest heaving with every breath. Deep injuries littered across his skin and his face had the pallor of a man at death’s door.

Zen’s face darkened at the sight. Furious, he turned to look at Maurice. “Didn’t I tell you before? If I see the ogres appear in the Tower of Sin, I will kill them without mercy. Are you an idiot, Maurice? Or do you simply have poor memory?” he said, his every word punctuated with anger.

All the ogre war lords wore a dark expression on their faces. They had never conceived it possible that such a dramatic reversal would occur. As the reality of the situation dawned upon him, Maurice’s face finally revealed panic. He didn’t look like how he used to be at all. Nothing had ever shaken his composure.

He knew from the start that Zen would definitely enter the Dark Nether Cave. And once he had entered, his plan would commence. Zen would not be able to escape from the two war sages, Malcom and Rehaan. Then, without him in their way, the ogres could finally turn the tables. All he needed was for Zen to disappear.

Maurice did not think of his last encounter with Zen as a loss. At first glance, it would seem as if he was driven out from the Tower of Sin. However, it was all a matter of planning. He was simply avoiding trouble. A strategic retreat, so to speak.

As the time of the Dark Nether Cave’s opening approached, Maurice was counting the days. At long last, he was finally going to reap the rewards of his patience. His only worry was that Zen would choose not to enter the Dark Nether Cave this year. After all, his cultivation was not as high enough. From the information he had obtained from the Night Group, Zen was a level nine war general and could fight toe-to-toe against the top-level war lords on the fourteenth floor. But his cultivation was still too low to enter the Dark Nether Cave. There was the possibility that he would choose to go to the Dark Nether Cave after having become a war lord.

But then again, Maurice was in no rush. At most, it would just take another year. There were plenty of things that could be done to refine his plan within this period. Malcom and Rehaan would be able to train for longer at the bottom of the Tower of Sin, increasing their chances of killing Zen.

On the day of the cave’s opening, news of Zen entering the Dark Nether Cave reached Maurice. It was said that Zen entered without hesitation. Maurice almost couldn’t contain his excitement in the days that followed. He spent hours deliberating if Malcom and Rehaan had killed him. Nothing brought him more satisfaction than envisioning Zen’s pale, lifeless face.

In the end, the Dark Nether Cave closed, Zen did not return, and he also lost contact with Malcom.

Maurice knew that he had most likely sent Malcom and Rehaan to their deaths, but to him, it was a necessary sacrifice. In Maurice’s eyes, it was well worth it. At the very least, Zen would have died in the Dark Nether Cave.

But at this point, with Zen standing before him in the flesh, Maurice realized that he had been completely wrong. Did Zen just have incredible luck? Even with such methods, Maurice had still failed to kill him!

“How did you come back?”

Maurice asked in a hoarse voice.

Zen stood on top of the stairs and looked at him. Then, in a cold voice, he said, “Why should I tell you?”

“Where’s Malcom? Where’s Rehaan?” Maurice asked again, his voice rising in volume.

Esther then sneered. “Were those two your last hope? I would admit, sending two war sages after us was definitely a strong move. Unfortunately…” Her voice trailed off.

“What? Where are they?”

Maurice said.

“Unfortunately, we killed them,” Yolande replied nonchalantly, her face devoid of even the slightest bit of emotion.

No other races besides the ogres were aware of the matter. How did Malcom and Rehaan, two top-level war lords, enter the Dark Nether Cave? And they even went after Zen? When had they become war sages?

A flurry of silent questions rang inside the heads of all creatures present. The top-level war lords of the human race and Demon Night stood in complete shock, their eyes wide open.

“The ogres are hiding secrets that we do not know. Colin and Neil were war sages, and yet they managed to stay in the Tower of Sin!” one of the war lords said.
“This is no longer a crucial issue. What’s more important is that Zen was able to survive despite the attacks of two war sages. What’s more, his opponents were killed!” another one declared.

A third voice rose and asked, “I wonder what else can stop Zen.”