Chapter 342 - Presence
*Crush*
The Scorpion King stepped through the 4th hole in a random broken wall and stepped out into a much wider area while crushing a few rocks beneath his heavy feet.
The rest of the group soon followed after and arrived in the main Orc settlement area.
Hao Xuan and Jin Wang both frowned at the same time and exchanged puzzling looks with one another. They had instantly noticed the stark difference in the atmosphere of this place.
This once bustling little community was now dead silent with not a soul in sight. Ensis walked up to Hao Xuan with a concerned expression and spoke in a light voice while looking around.
"Master, there is nobody here, at least not alive. And....I feel like someone is watching us," his voice dropped to a whisper as he spoke the last sentence.
Hao Xuan nodded casually and without making it too obvious, he also surveyed his surroundings as carefully as he could. But there was nothing that he could see.
"Let's go," he gestured towards Jin Wang and the rest while leading the way. His Qi was circulating at full force while the armor was thrumming in his meridian, ready to be called out at a moment's notice.
They made their way through the empty alleyways towards the center building and reached it within a few minutes. Jin Wang pushed the door open and entered first.
"Oi, anyone around?" he yelled but didn't get an answer.
Hao Xuan stayed behind summoned the full body armor under his clothes. They checked each and every room, even where they met Agueda and it was empty as well.
There were no signs of a fight and it seemed like everyone just walked out of their own accord.
"Check the other places," he told the severs who quickly ran outside and spread in all directions. About 5 minutes later they all came back. Bo stepped forward.
"Master there is a room to the east, it has a horrible stench, I believe you should check it out," he said with a bow.
Hao Xuan looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, "Did you go in?"
"No, I...got a bad feeling from it so I kept some distance."
"Alright, let's go," the party followed Bo this time and arrived at the new area within minutes. It was the same place where all the liquid was stored.
The Scorpion King, Bo, and Ernis had a change of expressions as soon as they got close. Ensis stood in front of Hao Xuan instinctively and turned his head halfway.
"I can feel something is inside this place, waiting for us. For you, master," he said somberly.
"For me?" Hao Xuan repeated in confusion. Why would someone be waiting for him? Nobody knew he was coming back. He wanted to turn around but the situation was not good. Maybe all the Orcs were being held hostage. Maybe he could help them somehow but if not, it wouldn't be easy to make him stay.
"If worse comes to worst, I'll call out the dragon and see what's what," he murmured before patting Ensis on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, it's fine. You guys just stay on guard."
Just as Hao Xuan was about to enter, Jin Wang stopped him.
"Wait, Let me go first."
Hao Xuan knew Jin Wang had a lot of tricks up his sleeve so he let him have lead and entered right after.
It had been about 3 days since they were last here. The fight with the dragon had lasted about 2 days and the last day was spent on the journey back and forth.
The smell of rotting flesh was the first thing Hao Xuan noticed followed by the empty room.
He had smelt the same stench far too many times already. First in that dungeon and then in the sacrificial chamber under Fortuna.
His heart sank as soon as he took in a breath of stale air. His heartbeat quickened as he pushed Jin Wang aside and ran to the edge while mumbling, "Not again, not here too."
But it was just as he had feared.
"God damnit..." he muttered through gritted teeth while standing at the shore of the empty underground ocean which was only filled with corpses now. Of all those men and women, those children that he saw running around just a few days ago. He even recognized a few faces.
The Qi that was running around his veins like rampaging bulls suddenly erupted like a volcano.
A heavy pressure descended in a radius of 50 meters around him as the Emperor's Qi was released at full force.
"WHO?! WHO WAS IT? SHOW YOUR GOD DAMNED FACE!"
Black and White that were asleep in his pocket suddenly woke up. They were closest to Hao Xuan and hence shared the deepest bond. So when he was angry, so were they, perhaps even more so.
Black was the first one to change into his original form. His body grew from 3-4 inches to over 150 meters within seconds. White was next as his body intertwined with Black's and expanded to about 120 meters in size. It was completely White, emitting a faint white light.
With Black to the right and White to the left, Hao Xuan floated up off the ground as the force Qi pushed away the debris and the rocks, propelling him straight up into the air.
Jin Wang's expression also turned ugly as he reached out into his pocket and took out a small medallion with a beggar carved on top of it.
The rest of Hao Xuan's severs were also affected by his mood and Emperors Qi as they couldn't help but get a little angry as well.
Black's eyes focused onto a spot a few hundred meters away from them, in mid-air.
"Ssssss!"
A low hiss escaped from his gigantic maw and the spot he was looking at rippled like water.
"An Abyss Eater? No wonder you could feel my presence..."
An amused and slightly surprised voice came from nothingness, echoing in the empty chamber.