Ruins
A violent shower of stone dust and debris rained down from the ceiling, striking the floor with a series of bangs.
He Ao looked up at the collapsed wall along the edge of the hall, then quickly withdrew his gaze and turned to the massive stone gate before him.
"Were the aftereffects of our fight just too great?" Li Cheng stood beside him, glanced at the rubble around them, then turned back to the stone gate and asked quietly, "Open it?"
"Mm." He Ao nodded lightly, pressing both hands against the stone gate. "I'll open it. Keep watch for me."
"Alright."
Li Cheng raised the Spear of Andarville in his hand and nodded slightly.
Brilliant lightning wove itself into a dense electric net, spreading over the space behind them.
The falling stones melted violently the instant they struck the electric net, bouncing away and scattering elsewhere.
He Ao also noticed the electric net surrounding them, but he did not focus on it. With his hands pressed against the stone gate, he exerted a little force and tried to push it open.
The entire stone gate did not move in the slightest, as though some powerful force on the other side was bracing it shut.
He Ao slowly increased his strength.
Boom—
After crossing a certain threshold, a faint sound came from the stone gate. Fine cracks began to spread across its surface, yet there was still no sign of it opening.
Seeing this, He Ao paused slightly.
He looked up at the bare stone gate before him.
It seemed as though the gate had once borne exquisite relief carvings, but they had long since blurred beyond recognition. Even their general shapes could no longer be made out clearly.
There were no handles on the gate where force could be