Accession at Ghost Gate

"Boss, would the Black Tortoise really hide in a godforsaken place like this?"

On a Fifth-Level Continent near the Extreme-Cold Grotto, a Strange Tide had gathered. One Strange Entity stood beside another whose face had a greenish cast and said hesitantly, "There isn't even any food here. Doesn't everyone say the Black Tortoise has an enormous appetite?"

"No idea."

The green-faced Strange Entity shook his head. After a pause, a scarlet glint flashed through his pupils, and he spoke slowly.

"Another message came from above."

"All Level-Five Strange Entity Clans are to assemble. We must destroy the Mortal Domain. This mission has been raised to the highest priority, so we have to leave."

"Huh?"

The Strange Entity who had spoken earlier froze. "What about the mission to track down the Black Tortoise Clan?"

Over the years,

their superiors had assigned them plenty of missions.

For instance,

find the Dragon Graveyard.

Find Chaos Essence.

Search for the treasure the Angler had left behind.

Find a way to gather enough Black Tortoise corpses; finding traces of the Black Tortoise Clan would be even better.

They had spent ages learning that Black Tortoises liked cold environments, then struggled all the way to the edge of the Extreme-Cold Grotto. Now a single order meant they had to abandon the mission?

"Leaving aside whether the Mortal Domain is worth sending so many Level-Five Strange Entity Clans to kill,"

"even if it is,"

"would it matter if one clan was missing?"

"We worked so hard to get here. Wouldn't turning back now make all that effort go down the drain?"

The green-faced Strange Entity glanced back at his subordinate, then stood on the shore, gazing toward the endless glaciers. "The mission to destroy the Mortal Domain is Seven-Colored Grade."

"The order from above is to succeed