As soon as the representatives of the different kingdoms got inside the Domain of the Fallen, their confidence disappeared, leaving only solemn expressions on their faces..

All of them were Pseudo-Initiates, which meant that they only needed around a hundred stat points before they reached the Initiate Rank. Because of this, their senses were more acute compared to others, and their senses were telling them that this Domain was teeming with creatures of greater might than themselves.

"I don't know what kind of orders you received from your superiors," Lux said as he faced the thirty people that they would guide towards the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon. "But if any of you don't want to die, you will have no choice but to cooperate with each other if you want to reach our destination."

"Starting from here, the Monsters you need to deal with ranges from Rank 5 Monsters up to the Deimos Rank, excluding their lackeys. However, there is a possibility that a Pseudo-Argonaut or an Argonaut-Ranked Monster exists. If we happen to bump into one of those, everyone better start running. We are just insects in the eyes of such beasts."

The Leader of the Xynnar War Pact's representatives, Ellis Roth, stepped forward to voice her opinion.

"I've heard about your exploits, Foreigner, and I am looking forward to working with you," Ellis said. "However, I would greatly appreciate it if you take us down the shortest route to the Sacred Dungeon. This place is crawling with monsters whose rank surpasses ours. I don't think that staying in this place is a good idea."

Lux nodded. "That's the plan. But know this, even the journey towards the Sacred Dungeon is very perilous. On our last expedition, we lost over a hundred lives just to get to its entrance. So prepare yourselves."

Ellis smiled. Although she wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, she was still attractive enough to make the boys look at her with interest. She was in her early twenties and, just like Malcolm, she was also wearing a Sealing Bracelet.

Lux didn't know what was stopping her from breaking through the Initiate Rank, but since it was none of his business, he decided not to pry.

"Just stick close to us," Lux said before he started walking. "As long as we work together, we can minimize the number of casualties we have along the way."

Lux summoned a dozen Skeleton Fighters to act as Scouts, and another dozen to act as Vanguards.

There were only thirty-six of them, so splitting up was not an option. Back then, they had traveled towards the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon numbering in the hundreds, and all of them had to work together in order to not be overwhelmed by the Diabolical Doom Mosquito, which was a Rank 5 Field Boss, and its cronies.

The long and tension-filled journey ended after two hours.

Lux's Skeletons had encountered several powerful monsters that left the Half-Elf no choice but to halt their advance in order to find other routes to take to evade these beasts completely.

Thanks to his cautiousness, they were able to reach their destination safely without losing any lives along the way.

Malcolm, who had been silent the entire trip, breathed a sigh of relief in his heart because he had truly underestimated the Domain of the Fallen which Emperor Andreas coveted.

He had been given strict orders to challenge the Gate of Conquest, and gather any treasures that could be found inside it.

The young man didn't know why the Emperor specifically chose that particular gate to enter. But since it was the order of his Liege, he had no choice but to obey it no matter what.

"This is where we part," Ellis said as she pressed her palm and fist together as a sign of gratitude. "Thank you for bringing us here safely. Let us talk more after we've finished our mission."

"Of course," Lux replied with a smile. "Be careful and may fortune smile upon you."

Ellis smiled back before leading her team to the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon to choose a gate.

All of them had come to know what the Gate of Death was like, and none of them wanted to deal with thirteen Death Tyrants at the same time. Although the Sacred White Lotus was a tempting prize, the Kings of the other Kingdoms were more interested to know what could be found beyond the other gates as well.

Ellis and her team chose the Gate of Famine in Normal Difficulty.

Their superiors planned to take things at a steady pace, so they weren't in a hurry to jump into Hell Mode right away. Ellis' mission was to analyze what kind of teams would be needed in order to clear the Gate of Famine, so the next time they returned to the Domain of the Fallen, they would be more prepared to conquer it.

Malcolm gave Lux a side-long glance before he led his team to the Gate of Conquest.

Unlike Ellis who had been ordered to challenge the Normal Difficulty, the son of the general was ordered to pick Hell Mode.

Emperor Andreas believed that the Key that would lead to the Legendary Empire of the Dragons could be found behind the Gate of Conquest. Although the records kept by the first founder of the Vahan Empire were vague, the word Conquest had been mentioned several times in his biography.

After the thirty people had disappeared, Einar, Vall, and Xander approached Lux, who was standing beside Cai and Keane.

"Should we get going as well?" Einar asked.

"Okay." Lux nodded. "So, who wants the honors of choosing a gate for us?"

"Me! Me!" Cai shouted. "Let me choose!"

Lux glanced at Keane, asking for his opinion, but the latter just shrugged. Einar, Vall, and Xander did the same. For them, it didn't really matter which gate to enter because none of them knew what lay behind the four remaining doors of the Sacred Dungeon.

Cai pointed its hoof towards the three doors while singing.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,

Catch a tiger by the toe.

If he hollers, let him go,

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe."

Einar, whose transformation turned him into a Tiger, was very tempted to kick the annoying Boar who had used a nursery song to choose the Gate that would decide their fate.

Knowing what the Barbarian was thinking, Lux chuckled, but he didn't stop Cai from playing its little game.

"Okay. I choose this one!" Cai pointed at the Red Gate that bore the Runes "War" on it. "Let's go!"

The Boar excitedly walked towards the Gate of War, while Lux and the others followed behind it.

All of them decided that whatever door they chose to go to, they would only choose Hell Mode and clear it to the best of their abilities.

--

Outside the Gate of the Domain of the Fallen.

All the Rankers, as well as the other influential people of each Kingdom, had gathered to watch the expedition of their representatives.

The artifacts that were given to Malcolm and Ellis allowed everyone outside the dungeon see what was happening inside the Sacred Dungeon in real time.

Jeers sounded from the side of the Skystead Alliance when they saw that Ellis chose the Normal Mode of the Gate of Famine. For them, this was a cowardly act, which made the side of the Xynnar War Pact glare at them with hostility.

But deep inside, they had to agree that the Skystead Alliance's bold move to challenge the Hell Mode of the Gate of Conquest was more intriguing than the one that their faction had chosen.

None of them even bothered to think about what happened to the six individuals that were left outside the Dungeon. Since their attention was all focused on their own representatives, they were not aware that Lux and his comrades had also entered one of the Gates of the Sacred Dungeon.

A Gate that would teach them that the concept of War was bloodier than they originally thought it would be.