Chapter 602: A New Group
As Max passed through the heavy, ancient door into the third stage of the citadel, a sudden shift in atmosphere greeted him. He found himself walking down a dimly lit, narrow hall made of dark stone, the walls etched with faintly glowing runes pulsing with a rhythmic thrum.
The air was thick, almost oppressive, but Max remained calm, his senses alert. Klaus followed silently behind him. At the end of the hallway, they stepped out into a vast, dome-like structure.
The dome stretched high above them, the ceiling lost in a haze of flickering lights, and inside it sprawled a complex maze of buildings and structures of all shapes and sizes—temples, shrines, towers, and stone platforms scattered across the floor like remnants of a forgotten civilization.
However, Max’s attention wasn’t drawn to the architectural oddities of the citadel’s third stage. Instead, his gaze immediately darted toward the multiple entrances around the edges of the dome—entrances similar to the one he and Klaus had emerged from.
His eyes narrowed when he spotted a group that didn’t belong. Aside from the remnants of Silus’ original group—the two commanders and the four peak Expert Rank geniuses—there was another faction standing off to the side. They were clearly not King Magnar’s subordinates, nor were they from Elarion.
Max hadn’t seen them in the second stage at all. That left only one possibility—they had either entered the citadel’s second stage far earlier than the rest or had entered last. And they were from the Xuan Family—just like Silus.
Max’s expression darkened as he sensed the unmistakable aura of the Black Tortoise Bloodline radiating from each of them. The energy signature was too familiar, and it made his instincts flare.
This group consisted of five individuals—three of them were clearly Master Rank experts at level 2, but the other two stood out immediately.
A young man with sharp features and long dark green hair tied behind his back, and a cold-eyed young woman with cascading dark blue hair, her presence like still water hiding monstrous depth. Both of them were clearly young, similar in age to Silus but their strength level spoke of frightening talent.
The young woman had reached the 4th level of the Master Rank, while the green-haired young man had already stepped into the 5th level, his aura thick and suffocating like a coiled beast.