At the same time.
Somewhere in the western borderlands of the Soma Alliance, within a vast underground space.
The Long-haired Woman and her group stood before an enormous stone wall, their brows furrowed and their expressions grim.
After several seconds, the Long-haired Woman narrowed her dark brown eyes and said through gritted teeth, "I refuse to believe it. Let me try again. This time, the left side."
"Yes... Captain."
The Strong Man, who stood six feet tall, nodded and walked toward the stone wall.
The wall's surface was covered in dense magical patterns, all of which converged at two points near the bottom center. At each point was a small hole, like a keyhole.
The Strong Man stepped up to the hole on the left, took out a Blue Seal, and carefully inserted it.
Click!
Something inside the hole seemed to be triggered, and more than half the magical patterns on the stone wall immediately lit up.
Buzzz!
The stone wall trembled slightly, sending flakes of stone raining down. A faint crack appeared in the middle, as though a door were about to open.
But something seemed to be blocking the inside of that "door." No matter how much stone debris fell, no matter how brightly the magical patterns glowed, it remained unchanged, refusing to let the gap widen even a fraction.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
As time passed, the wall's tremors gradually weakened, and the magical patterns slowly dimmed. It was clearly about to fail to open.
The Long-haired Woman's brows drew together tightly. Her eyes widened as she said, "I still refuse to believe it!"
As soon as she spoke, she raised her right hand to her mouth and bit down hard. Crimson blood immediately flowed from the tip of her index finger.
The Long-haired Woman