After advancing a hundred meters, Dagmar found another identical barrier blocking the way. This time, without even hesitating, Dagmar struck directly and destroyed the seemingly magnificent barrier with its weak defenses, charging headlong toward the mountain's center.
Like Dagmar, Daka and Aselst encountered the same barriers inside their mountains. Both chose the same method as Dagmar to push deeper inside.
Within the three peaks, barriers kept appearing to block their paths, only to be torn apart by Daka, Dagmar, and Aselst as they charged headlong toward the centers.
"Huh!" Outside the valley, one of Daka's subordinates exclaimed, staring in surprise at the strange runes carved on the three peaks.
Those oddly shaped runes, whose meanings were unknown, lit up one after another. Wisps of multicolored smoke slowly seeped from them and gathered in the black mist lingering in the valley, making its foul stench increasingly intense.
After entering the mountains, Daka and the other two had each left people in the valley to watch the surroundings as a precaution, preventing anyone from suddenly coming in from outside and employing underhanded means.
As the three peaks gradually changed, the subordinates of Daka, Aselst, and Dagmar grew solemn. Their eyes darted about, constantly watching for the slightest change around them.
"I feel something isn't right!" One of Aselst's subordinates frowned, took a deep breath, and said, "There seem to be some unusual powers in the valley. Even those strange symbols on the mountains seem to have special powers affecting this place. Could something be wrong?"
"I'll go inside and report to our lord at once!" Another of Aselst's subordinates immediately moved, rushing without hesitation toward the cave Aselst had entered.
Crack, crack, crack! Crack, crack, crack!
Just then, strange noises came from the three peaks. The earth shook violently, and bottomless fissures