"Help! My mana is running out--! My arm! AAAAGH!"
"Rankers! Do something!"
The battle with the demonic beasts is bloody. Dismembered bodies, unrecognizable corpses, within minutes of starting the battle, everyone has been injured to varying degrees.
At some point, the three rankers look at each other and nod.
"Ranker... What are you doing--?"
"I'm sorry, but we're facing the worst-case scenario, this is the only way out."
Darkness Devourer moves his finger, and the next second the man's neck splits in two. His head falls to the ground with an expression of terror.
"The rankers have gone mad! They're attacking our own people!"
Upon this, all hunters turn their gaze towards them. The rankers, who should be on their side, murdered the portal transporters and each tied a portal to their back.
After achieving their goal, they gather in the center of the hunters and begin to use magic indiscriminately against allies and enemies alike.
"The rankers plan to use us as cannon fodder while they protect themselves!"
When all lost hope of surviving this place, a shout of encouragement is heard in the distance, only a few could recognize the voice.
"Let's escape and leave them here! Let them be the distraction!"
"Lawrence?"
The group of righteous hunters recognizes the person behind the shout. Knowing that he is a user of sacred magic, it's impossible he has ulterior motives!
"Fellow hunters, you know what to do!"
"Every action has its consequence, Amitabha."
While, as hunters walking the path of righteousness, they should unite to overcome adversities as one, they know that both good and evil coexist in the world. The rankers have already made their choice, and that was to betray them all.
It's clear the path they must follow.
"Idiots!"
Seeing the hunters begin to scatter in all directions, the rankers curse their incompetence.
"To survive this place, sacrifices must be made, but if we split up there's no way to overcome this tribulation! Escaping will only give them a few more minutes of life!"
None of the hunters heed their orders, to them, the rankers are no different from the demonic beasts attacking them.
"Damn it! Damned incompetent hunters!"
With the forces divided, deaths occur more frequently, but no one stops to think about helping the rest, because the death of one means the survival of another!
"No… Abyssal Gleam, what do you think you're doing?!"
Time passes and the demonic beasts keep arriving incessantly. Until the only woman among the rankers decides this situation cannot continue this way.
"What do you think?! I'm leaving this place!"
"Stupid woman! The insect-type beasts recognize fear, if we continue attacking them in this way, eventually they will fear us!"
"Stay here and find out for yourself. My mana is not eternal, I prefer to use it to get out of here than to continue in this place!"
The division among rankers occurs, Abyssal Gleam circulates her mana and begins to fly at high speed, distancing herself from her companions.
"Darkness Devourer, this can't go on like this."
"No! Not you, Distant Dusk!"
"Don't hold it against me."
This time it's Distant Dusk who escapes, eluding the demonic beasts.
"AAAGH!"
Darkness Devourer realizes what will happen if he stays here, so like the rest, he also escapes without looking back.
"Be good humans and die!"
"Let me sharpen my horns with your flesh!"
The demonic beasts, similar to rhinoceros beetles, do not possess superior intelligence, on the contrary, their mentality is no different from that of a 7-year-old child.
Darkness Devourer was right in saying that if they stayed together, they could instill fear in them, but it's too late. The demonic beasts feel their morale burn as they see the humans running terrified from them.
"Ignorant insects, recognize your place-- Eh? My mana? AAAH! No!"
Abyssal Gleam is the first to fall. Hundreds of insects gather over her corpse, tearing her flesh and crushing her bones.
The ecstasy reaches such a level that their red eyes prevent them from seeing clearly around them.
"Dimensional Rift!"
Realizing the sudden magic near them, it was already too late, the caster begins to fly and moves away at great speed. Those insects that chase him manage to see a strange magic, before the human disappears from the place.
"Don't hide from me, human!"
The insects split in search of the human.
Minutes later, a man appears in the same place of his disappearance.
"I don't have much time, those rankers are faster than me. I must locate the next portal as soon as possible."
This man is none other than Lawrence.
A new Dimensional Rift appears before him, but instead of crossing through it, he extends his hand and retrieves an object six meters tall and four meters wide.
The magic artifact that the rankers were supposed to protect, a portal!
"This is the female portal, ten times more valuable than the male portals. Through this portal, all the male portals to which it is attached can be perceived, with it I will be able to locate the nearest portal!"
Lawrence introduces his mana into the portal, immediately two points appear in his mind, each belonging to the attached portals.
"Over there!"
After taking flight, he heads towards the location. Skillfully dodging the insects, he uses the hunters in the area as bait to distance himself.
Some time later, something happens.
"Eh? It stopped moving?"
At some point in his flight, he realizes that the point stops, which implies two possibilities. The first, the ranker got rid of it to gain speed. The second, he's dead.
"Make room! It's my turn!"
In the end, it turns out to be the second possibility. Hundreds of human-sized insects fight over the corpse, wanting to be the first and fearing to be the last.
"Damn, that guy died with the portal on his back. I'll have to take the risk!"
Lawrence looks side to side and then nods.
"Something's happening! We're under attack!"
Beautiful sacred chains appear from the ground and the undergrowth. The ecstatic beetles lose control and don't know how to react.
"I see you, human! Get out there--! Eeek!"
Suddenly a sphere of light appears in the center of the demonic beasts, exploding in a blinding light. The insects lose their senses and fall to the ground in panic.
"A human attacked ours! He must be strong! Let's go!"
The insects realize the attack and decide to help their companions, reinforcements will arrive in just seconds at the location. If he wants to avoid them, he must hurry!
"Why did you tie it so tightly to your back?! Damn it!"
Lawrence loses valuable seconds cutting the ropes and freeing the portal from the corpse. At the same moment he sends the portal through a Dimensional Rift, enemy reinforcements arrive.
"Taste my horn!"
"Sacred Swords!"
Dozens of golden swords interrupt the attack of the insects, many of them piercing their bodies, but many others are deflected by their strength.
"Follow him! After him!"
From the beginning, Lawrence did not plan to engage in battle. As soon as he gains time, he flies away without looking back.
He uses the same strategy of traveling to the Inferior Plane to mislead the demonic beasts, and minutes later returns and escapes in another direction.
"Just one more and I'm out of this hell!"
The female portal informs him of the direction of the last male portal and upon reaching it, he is surprised by the incredible landscape.
Two red beetles are sharpening their horns on the portal.
"I've never seen such an amazing rock!"
"You're right, my horn has acquired an immense sharpness!"
He looks at them with hatred, 'Filthy bugs! Scratching my precious portal!'
Lawrence dares not engage in a confrontation with these two demonic beasts, because their red color says it all. They have reached level 500, Lawrence is no match for them.
"Damn it, damn it!"
Irritated by his bad luck, he decides to leave the place before these insects notice his presence.
"The whereabouts of Darkness Devourer are unknown, that guy threw the portal unlike his companions. I must be careful if I want to get out of here unscathed."
On more than one occasion he finds himself being chased by hundreds of demonic beasts, but the insects are known for their lack of patience. After hiding for a few minutes in the Inferior Plane, upon his return there were no beasts in the area.
After repeating this cycle, he manages to leave the territory of the Rhinoceros Beetles, but he's still far from escaping Dragonfall Mountain.
He cannot lower his guard.
+++
Sacred Rock Sect.
"Sect Master, we have found a survivor, but his current state is deplorable. If he does not receive a medicinal pill soon, I fear he may not finish narrating the events."
"Go, treat his injuries."
The disciple bows in respect and after a lapse of time, returns with a man walking supported by his shoulder.
"Darkness Devourer greets the sect master."
The sect master nods and asks what happened at Dragonfall Mountain.
This opportunity Darkness Devourer would not let pass, undoubtedly revealing his good leadership and decision-making, ensuring that the hired hunters were not reliable. That all this disaster was orchestrated by their enemies!
"You know what your words imply, don't you?"
Raising enmity between sects is no minor matter.
"Sect Master, I--"
"Silence, do not make me repeat myself."
Darkness Devourer trembles uncontrollably under the pressure of the sect master.
"Unraveling the truths and lies of this matter is easy. Do you know why we gathered in this place?"
The sect master walks around the room and stops in the center.
"All portals are connected, their material is unbreakable by rankers of level 800 and below. If you really speak the truth, then this portal should not generate any reaction."
Darkness Devourer turns pale. In the quest to save his life, he might lose it for trying to evade the charges. He should not have named their enemies!
The sect master introduces his mana into the portal and it activates successfully, but the seconds pass and it fails to establish a connection with the target portal.
"Impossible!"
He reintroduces his mana, but the result remains the same.
This means one thing.
"Lunar Cascade Sect… I can't believe they made their move. The portal should have secured our trade route with Ice Petal City, and not only has this goal not been achieved, twelve million gold have been lost in this assignment!"
The male portals are one thing, but the female portal is something else! It is the only one that can be tracked, the most complex of the two. It goes without saying that, of the twelve million, the female portal alone is valued at ten million gold!
And that's not the worst part. From the start, it's not easy to obtain a portal, it's impossible for any dog or cat to get one no matter how many resources they are willing to sacrifice. The portals are restricted, each sect can only obtain a limited number each period!
Stealing it is tantamount to handing over their privilege to the thief, something he is not willing to accept!
All present tremble at the display of power from the sect master. He, noticing this, withdraws his mana and smiles.
"Darkness Devourer, you will be rewarded for your contributions to the sect. One of the elders will handle this matter personally."
"Thank you, sect master."
Once Darkness Devourer leaves the room, the sect master gives an order.
"Conduct a constant search for the portal, twenty-four hours a day. The portal is too valuable for the Lunar Cascade Sect to have tried to destroy it, they must be waiting for the opportunity to eliminate my blood trace. Until then, every signal transmitted by the portal must be handled with great care. Depending on the situation, they may send rankers for its recovery."
"Yes, sect master!"
"I will return to the capital of the kingdom, I do not wish to be disturbed by this matter. The elders will be in charge from today."
The sect master crosses the portal and disappears from the room. His destination, Heaven's Fortress City, capital of the Heavenly Path Kingdom.
+++
"The male portal has been placed one hundred meters underground, now I can come to this Forbidden Area at any time!"
Lawrence smiles at the gains from this journey, just the female portal alone is worth ten million gold, a sum impossible to reach with his modest salary.
"Just remains to return to my mansion and set up the female portal, with that I can travel freely between both."
Without wasting more time, Lawrence returns to the surface using magic. Regardless of the level of the hunter, finding the underground location of this portal is practically impossible.
"I have not yet lost hope of recovering that portal on the legs of those bugs. When my level is higher, I will recover it at all costs!"