Chapter 310 - Group Of Eight
Nadia’s expression immediately grew darker.
’’Excuse me?’’ she said, locking eyes with Owen.
But Owen didn’t care one bit.
’’You heard me,’’ he said casually. ’’Absolutely fucking not.’’
Nadia stared at him in disbelief for a moment.
’’I’m your guide!’’
’’Was,’’ Owen corrected instantly. ’’We’re here now. And as far as I’m aware, you know nothing about the inside of this danger zone!’’
Without even a moment of hesitation, he raised a thumbs-up and pointed it over his shoulder.
’’You can join them though. I’m sure either would take you.’’
Nadia’s gaze flickered past him for a moment.
Both the Imperial Church and the Dragonfang groups were still healing their injuries.
After a moment, she snapped out of it and quickly shook her head.
’’No, I can’t,’’ she said immediately. ’’They already have ten members in their groups.’’
Owen shrugged right away.
’’Tough luck,’’ he said with a slight smile.
But before he could say something else, Theo’s voice rang out behind him.
’’How much do you know about Petra?’’ he asked. ’’I’m sure you’ve heard bits and pieces from those you’ve guided in the past?’’
Nadia glanced towards him right away.
’’Yes,’’ she nodded frantically. ’’I’ve heard a lot about the inside!’’
After a second of contemplation, Theo nodded once.
’’Okay,’’ he said calmly. ’’You can come with us.’’
Owen immediately turned towards him.
’’Seriously?!’’
’’Thank you,’’ Nadia replied gratefully at the same time.
Theo nodded once more, this time absentmindedly.
His gaze had already been drawn back to the people ahead.
’They are discussing something,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes. ’...They wouldn’t be banding together to attack us, right?’
After a moment, he quickly shook his head.
No one would be stupid enough to attack the Imperial Church and Dragonfang groups.
Not in the open and surrounded by a thousand people, at least.
’I doubt they’d attack our group either then,’ he thought before glancing back for a moment. ’Unless Gabriel does something stupid, that is.’
Theo let out a slow breath.
They’d just have to keep their guards up, especially after the spectacle they’d shown off just now.
Behind him, Owen was still muttering complaints.
’’You’re way too nice sometimes,’’ he complained. ’’We should’ve let that arrogant tomboy stay here.’’
Theo still chose to ignore him.
He hadn’t invited Nadia for no reason after all.
Instead, his attention remained on the door ahead.
’’Come on,’’ he said. ’’Let’s find out what we’ll be doing from here.’’
Owen sighed before following after him.
’’Fine,’’ he muttered, shaking his head.
Jim, Iris, and Lyra also nodded and quickly joined them, while Nadia hurried after them a moment later.
However, before they could get much further, footsteps sounded from behind.
’’Theo!’’
Hearing the familiar voice, Theo came to a halt and glanced back.
Lucienne was walking towards them together with another Imperial Church member.
Theo raised an eyebrow, confused.
’’What is it?’’ he asked.
Lucienne stopped right in front of him.
Despite the veil on her face, Theo could tell she was smiling at the moment.
’’We’re joining your group,’’ she said sweetly. ’’You don’t mind, do you?’’
Theo’s brows furrowed slightly.
’’And why is that?’’ he asked strangely.
For a moment, Lucienne seemed disappointed by his answer.
But she quickly pushed that expression aside and continued just as sweetly.
’’The main group has already been filled up to ten members,’’ she said. ’’And I believe you know going over ten isn’t smart.’’
Theo nodded slowly.
That was indeed the advice he’d also gotten.
That’s when his gaze shifted towards the woman standing beside her.
’’And she is?’’ he asked.
Lucienne glanced towards the woman beside her.
’’This is Isabelle,’’ she introduced. ’’She’s another member of the Church with a gold core.’’
She leaned closer, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
’’And don’t worry, she’s got nothing to do with Gabriel.’’
Theo stared at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Growing their group by another two people would bring them to eight in total.
After a few long seconds of contemplation, he finally nodded slowly.
’’Alright,’’ he said. ’’I don’t mind.’’
Lucienne’s eyes immediately brightened.
’’Perfect!’’ she said, her voice even sweeter than before.
Isabelle, the Church woman in her late twenties, also gave him a small nod.
’’Thank you,’’ she said respectfully.
With that settled, Theo turned around once more.
As he began walking, his mind filled with thoughts and plans again.
’Lucienne’s identity will allow us to avoid unnecessary fights,’ he thought. ’And getting another gold core and someone on that level of strength will never be useless.’
Even so, they’d hit the absolute maximum now.
Theo wouldn’t allow a single more person into the group.
As the eight of them continued heading for the massive sandstone doorframe, people began observing them closely.
Some whispered amongst themselves, while others simply pointed in their direction without even trying to hide it.
’’Damn,’’ Owen let out a low whistle. ’’They’re really looking at us like we’re exotic animals.’’
Jim gulped loudly beside him.
’’Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into trouble,’’ he said, his voice low. ’’I’d rather take a break before fighting anything again.’’
Theo nodded quietly.
’’Just ignore them for now,’’ he replied to both of them. ’’Unless someone makes the first move, at least.’’
Before long, they passed beneath the massive sandstone doorframe, finally revealing the full area behind it.
Theo’s eyes widened alongside everyone else’s.
A huge hall lay in front of them, with dozens of massive pillars supporting the ceiling.
Along both sides, countless openings had been carved into the sandstone walls, each leading into dark passages that seemed to descend further underground.
But that wasn’t what was truly impressive.
Instead, it was the countless ancient carvings covering everything around them.
Some depicted enormous beasts, while others showed strange humanoid figures kneeling before things Theo had never seen before.
’’Wow...’’ Iris muttered behind him, her eyes wide. ’’This is... amazing.’’
Theo nodded slowly.
But after a moment, he quickly snapped out of it and glanced at the hundreds of groups spread throughout the place.
Some had set up small camps along the walls, while others sat around recovering or sorting through their equipment.
’Almost all of them are gold cores,’ he thought, his gaze moving across the hall.
However, something else quickly stood out to him.
Despite there being over a thousand people here, no one seemed to be heading deeper into Petra.
It was like they were all waiting for something.
’But what?’