No Survivors!

Maria shook her head, her tone tinged with a sigh.

But Heratia was not happy about this.

Instead, she gave the other person a wary look.

"Maria?"

She called out softly.

Maria understood what the other person was worried about.

After a few moments of silence, she turned around so that everyone present could see her back.

"I am not being controlled..."

"I see..."

After seeing the results, Heratia finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But she didn't have a chance to say anything.

In the distance, the azure trees began to tremble slightly.

On the surrounding walls, in places unnoticed by everyone, blue light gradually illuminated, and one by one, creatures they had never seen or heard of before began to awaken, crawling with low growls!

"This is?!"

Heratia's expression changed drastically upon seeing this.

She suddenly realized what Maria had just said.

"You shouldn't be here."

Maria spoke, her brows slightly lowered.

After hunting those monsters, Maria had originally planned to go straight back to the main force.

But after thinking about it for a while, she gave up on the idea.

It wasn't that she thought it wouldn't work, but simply that she felt it wasn't the right time yet.

This was a rare opportunity, and she wanted to get to know this so-called Precursor Civilization Tree.

After all, from the very first meeting, Maria could sense that the other person was trying to help her.

So Maria was quite concerned about this giant tree.

Upon arriving here and making official contact with the other party, Maria discovered that this thing actually had no capacity for self-thinking.

Or rather, so far, it has no capacity for thought.

Maria found it difficult to describe the composition of this thing.

It operates according to a pre-determined logic, yet it is a biological entity, not a machine.

It is somewhat similar to Seaborn's focused thinking brain, but this brain is pre-programmed.

Its creator only gave it one command.

"Live on..."

Then it kept executing that command.

Even though the world has changed drastically, even though the civilization that created it has been destroyed and few of its successors remain, it still lives on.

This command has been executed continuously...

After repeatedly sending out results without receiving any further instructions, it chose to go into sleep.

Contrary to Maria's expectations, it was not so much that the Aegir activated the machine, but rather that Maria's arrival awakened this being that had been dormant for countless years.

It sensed the presence of a human and reactivated itself, beginning to carry out commands.

The previous release of the Seaborn was merely a search for Maria.

It is not inherently malicious in attacking people.

It might even transform into a creature and attack other Aegir, simply because, in its perception, these people are not considered human...

They are like fish, seaweed, and other wild beasts and food.

It is a species that can be hunted at will.

If they were just outside, it probably wouldn't react much.

However, once these people entered the area, they were promptly identified as intruders.

And the invaders...

They should be eliminated!

"Gurgle--!"

The invisible message was instantly transmitted throughout the entire underground cavity, and all the Seaborn poured out!

Maria also sighed softly.

She actually had some things she wanted to know from them, but it was clear that if she didn't help now, these Aegir would die here.

"You don't have much time left... Run!"

As Maria spoke, she began to lead the way.

"This?!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, but then, looking at the densely packed monsters, they panicked.

"Retreat!"

At Heratia's command, everyone hurriedly began to run back.

Fortunately, Maria had already surveyed the surrounding area before arriving, and in just a few moments, she led everyone to a safe zone.

Everyone slipped inside, and this time, Maria didn't choose to stand alone at the door; instead, she followed the crowd into the room.

Outside the door, Seaborn was hurrying around.

After catching their breath, the way everyone looked at Maria became increasingly strange.

If Maria's previous high level of martial arts skills were merely accidental talents, then at this moment, the knowledge Maria displayed has far exceeded their comprehension.

They realized that Maria was hiding many secrets, but no one dared to ask.

They simply remained silent in their room.

Maria, after setting Heratia aside with her complicated expression, turned slightly to observe the movement of the Seaborn outside for a while, then exhaled.

Are we going to be trapped here?

Heratia asked a question.

But Maria shook her head.

Her gaze swept over all the members present, finally lingering on Malitus for a moment before she shook her head slightly.

"No... it's just that if we want to evacuate, we'll have to wait a while."

"I see..."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Maria's assurance.

Perhaps they themselves didn't even realize it.

Now, they have come to believe in Maria's words.

After confirming that it was safe, everyone found a place to rest for a while.

Only Heratia remained silent, holding Maria's hand and whispering.

"Malitus... what do you plan to do?"

403

Chapter 403 No one survived!

The ocean is calm at night...

Since Maria said she would wait until the night before leaving, and no one knew why, they could only go along with Maria's idea.

When it was time to rest, most of the scholars had fallen into a drowsy sleep.

Only one person seemed particularly uneasy.

It is Malitus.

He curled up in the corner, like a baby longing for a hug, trying his best to shrink himself into a ball.

Even so, he still couldn't feel any warmth.

A chill crept up his body and eroded his reason.

In a daze, he saw a series of terrifying scenes.

The city collapsed, the crowds wailed, raging flames fell from the sky, silver buildings were destroyed, and the people who could once be trusted were twisted into hateful monsters!

They let out shrieks, unleashing their intense, indiscriminate malice upon everyone!

Blood, flesh, and entrails were smeared all over the ground.

Malitus found himself seemingly becoming one of them.

That must be in the sky, where something called clouds is churning and collapsing towards the ground.

An invisible giant hand has grasped it!

Then...

Snap...

He was crushed.

"Woo!"

With his eyes wide open, Malitus woke up.

He was panting, his pupils trembling.

The fear emanating from his flesh and blood made him feel terrible.

He even had trouble breathing!

He was like a cat whose nerves had been touched; he suddenly turned around and then stopped moving.

He looked at the people around him.

But it turned out that, apart from him, no one else seemed to be having nightmares.

At most, people are frowning and feeling uncomfortable because the resting environment is too bad.

He was the only one tormented by this nightmare.

"What... is going on...?"

He reached out and supported his forehead.

But just when he was feeling lost, a faint call echoed in his ears.

"Who?"

Malitus lowered his voice, his trembling eyes fixed on his surroundings.

But the sound didn't disappear when he came to his senses; instead, it became clearer with the passage of time.

In the end, Malitus understood the meaning of the other person's words.

"Over here..."

"Over here..."

Still dazed, Malitus rose.

He hesitated, glancing towards the doorway.

He could sense that the sound was coming from the doorway.

His intense thirst for knowledge as a scholar and his fear of the unknown began to torment his mind.