Chapter 626 — Barrier Breaks Down

Liora remained silent, making Adrian mistake her silence for something else.

He shook his head inwardly. Sure enough, although Liora had managed to reach Rank 10, she was still an ordinary student who had yet to grow up.

Faced with the fate of the weaker Awakeners, she still couldn’t remain completely indifferent.

Of course, even though Adrian knew that such a mindset was deadly for powerhouses, he didn’t find it strange.

Who hadn’t been young?

It is only natural for people to have grand dreams and morals during their youth.

If anything, Liora’s "concern over the weak" made his opinion of her even higher.

These Emperors had been fighting in the extraterrestrial battlefields for so long, hoping that their descendants would be as young and naive, untouched by the war and bloodshed!

"You don’t have to blame yourself."

"If it makes you feel better, you should think of what the final fate of these people would be if they were to enter the ancient city.", Adrian gently comforted her.

"You should have been in a city fragment before. Compared to the dangers lurking inside, dying here may be for the best."

"Sometimes, living is even worse than death..."

Listening to Adrian’s words and seeing his warm expression, Liora immediately understood that he had misunderstood her intention.

However, she didn’t go out of her way to point this out.

She merely nodded her head, adopting an expression of understanding.

To this, Adrian smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

Then, after giving a few more instructions, he requested that Liora remain nearby while he returned to coordinate with the other Emperors.

Before long, Liora was left alone. At least on the surface.

In reality, she could sense that various auras lurked throughout her surroundings, belonging to humans, demons, and the other races.

Everyone was waiting for new people to arrive, ready to strike at them the moment they appeared.

They looked eager to do so. And Liora quickly guessed the reason.

As she also hid herself, rendering people beneath Rank 10 unable to find her, she turned toward the white barrier and saw it flicker once more.

Although the entire process was extremely short and nothing happened as a result, Liora felt a familiar aura emerge.

It was not of Cosmic Energy.

Ordinary Awakeners would fail to recognize it. But Liora, as a Devil, was extremely accustomed to this aura.

It was the aura of blood and death. It continuously entangled with the white barrier, slowly but surely wearing it down.

A realization suddenly dawned on Liora.

"Does this barrier... require a blood sacrifice to open?"

"Is this why these people are targeting the non-Emperor beings?"

Liora looked thoughtful for several seconds before shaking her head.

"No. This power does not simply stem from the people who arrive here and are dead."

"Its volume is simply too large. If anything, it appears to come from the entire extraterrestrial battlefield..."

At that thought, her eyes narrowed.

Could the entire extraterrestrial battlefield be a giant vessel created for the ancient city to devour?

Would the death aura of every being who perished within its boundaries be transferred here, used as a material to wear down the barrier?

Perhaps more importantly, did everyone know this?

Liora tended to believe that they did.

At the very least, the targeting of non-Emperor beings appeared far from reasonable on the surface. It would be better to simply chase them away.

If they were doing this to "feed" the barrier, however, their actions would make sense.

"Sure enough, the four Apex Civilizations cannot be underestimated."

"Although beings above Rank 10 are forbidden from entry, the foundation of these forces is astonishing."

"I’m afraid that the information available to them is far from as simple as it seems. Perhaps they may even know of the previous Eras’ existence and the true purpose of this city."

Liora had learned about these things through the remnant soul in the Heavenly Armor Pavilion and Alice.

She didn’t believe that she had been absurdly lucky. There were bound to be such beings in the other city fragments too.

Moreover, this was far from the first ancient inheritance that had appeared throughout the years. Perhaps the existence of Eras and ancient beings had become known long ago.

Countless thoughts raced through Liora’s mind. Piece by piece, everything Liora had learned came together.

Even so, she showed no change in reality.

Hidden deep within the space, she watched silently as the various races hunted down the unfortunate newcomers.

The non-Emperors were killed, while the Emperors were integrated into the team of their respective civilization.

Although there were some fights between the four teams during this time, the outcome was the same as when Liora arrived.

At most, the Emperors would insult each other for a little while before returning to their own camps.

Liora observed this process with cold eyes, not interfering at all.

Under such circumstances, time slowly passed.

Although each "sacrifice" brought little change to the barrier enveloping the city, the number of beings within the extraterrestrial battlefield was beyond imagination.

Combined with the hatred shared among all races, deaths were commonplace once people met each other.

As a result, the barrier got increasingly weaker.

In less than twenty-four hours, the accumulated damage had become significant.

Liora watched as the barrier flickered again and again. This time, the process did not stop immediately, but lasted for several seconds.

Combined with its dim light, it clearly wouldn’t last much longer.

Indeed. Only a few minutes later, cracks began to form, spreading throughout its entire surface.

Then...

A thunderous crashing noise echoed. The barrier crumbled into pieces.

Immediately, hundreds of Emperor figures appeared, emerging from their hiding places.

They stared at the city and exchanged a brief glance with their companions. As though they had reached an agreement, they shot forward.

In the blink of an eye, their figures had vanished into the ancient city.

Liora did not recklessly walk in. She observed what happened first, and only after confirming that there was no apparent danger did she chase after them.