Chapter 27: The Ruin Opens

The twentieth day of the eighth month, Year 224 of the Qiyuan Era. Three o'clock in the afternoon.

Seven hours remained until the ruin opened.

After collecting two freshly forged pieces of equipment from the nearly exhausted goblin blacksmith, a portal materialized out of nowhere before him, shrouded in thick, rolling mist.

Xia Er recognized the portal immediately — it bore The Priest's signature. Clearly, the other party was summoning him to assemble.

He stepped through.

A powerful pressure bore down on the air, nearly suffocating in its weight.

Xia Er looked up. Aside from himself, three other monsters were already waiting.

[Corrupted Forest Vassal Domain Lord — Rotting Freak]

[Level: 39]

[Blood Clan Vassal Domain Lord — Blood Thrall]

[Level: 39]

[Twisted Burrow Vassal Domain Lord — Plague Remnant]

[Level: 39]

Within the central region under the Witch's jurisdiction, only a handful of major domains existed — nothing like the scattered, fragmented border territories.

To survive there, many Domain Lords who had risen from the border territories chose to pledge themselves to one of the great domains, becoming vassal Domain Lords in exchange for strength and resources.

These monsters were exactly that. Each possessed formidable power and placed great importance on this opportunity, for it was a chance to prove themselves to those above.

"Hmm?"

As Xia Er emerged from the portal, Blood Thrall furrowed his brow. "Why is there a level thirty-six guy here? Where did this Domain Lord come from?"

It was plain to see — he had no respect for the Undead Archmage's strength.

The Priest spoke slowly. "He is the only Domain Lord who has held out in the border territories until now. I personally extended this opportunity to him."

Upon hearing this, Blood Thrall turned and gave a slight bow. "Since it is Lord The Priest's decision, please forgive my earlier words."

The Witch's foremost Priest carried considerable prestige. No one said anything more, though the glances cast toward Xia Er still carried a flicker of disdain.

"This is way too much of a survival-of-the-fittest crowd."

As a monster himself, Xia Er had never harbored illusions about the character of these creatures before coming here — but he hadn't expected them to be quite so blunt about it.

Not that it mattered.

Once they were fully inside the ruin, Xia Er would show them all what true numbers looked like.

* * *

Four hours remained on the ruin countdown when the fifth chosen Domain Lord finally arrived.

She wore a deep crimson dress. Beneath her pallid skin, faint blue veins shimmered like rivers of ice, and her pointed ears were as translucent as crystal — she was an elf who had undergone Demonization.

[Deputy of the Eternal Forest · Pale Specter]

That was the title floating above her head.

Not a single flashy flourish to it — yet it commanded the immediate attention of every Domain Lord present.

After all, even among the great domains of the central region, the Pale Domain was the oldest, having dwelt within the Eternal Forest long before the Witch ever arrived. Its foundations ran deep.

No one had expected the Eternal Forest to forgo sending a vassal Domain Lord and instead dispatch a deputy directly into the ruin. The weight of that gesture was not lost on anyone.

She swept her gaze across the group, gave The Priest a slight nod of acknowledgment, then let her eyes settle on Xia Er.

"You are the Domain Lord of the Undead Territory?"

Xia Er met her gaze and nodded. "I am."

The corners of Pale Specter's mouth curved faintly upward. "I have heard of you back in my domain. To hold on this long while every other domain has fallen — that is no small feat."

Faced with this unexpected praise, Xia Er felt a flicker of surprise.

This was monster territory, where the law of the jungle reigned supreme. Unprompted goodwill felt oddly out of place.

Still, whatever her reasons, she was the only one here who had shown him any warmth at all.

He dipped his head in return. "Thank you for the kind words, Miss Elf."

With all five monsters assembled, it was time to go over the details of the ruin.

The Priest spoke in measured tones. "The ruin will remain open for seven days only."

"Inside, there may be other resource nodes — but those are secondary. Your task is to guard the five key adventurer Inheritances."

As he spoke, the assignments for the five ancient adventurers appeared before everyone.

[Ghost Mage]

That was the guardian post assigned to Xia Er — the ancient adventurer in question had also been a necromancer.

As for the Inheritance of [Holy Alice], The Priest entrusted it to Pale Specter of the Eternal Forest. The reasoning was obvious: among those present, she was the strongest by any direct measure of power.

With the briefing concluded, The Priest extended his hand. Tendrils of black magical energy curled outward and took the shape of five ravens.

"These ravens can lay down teleportation arrays that connect your domains to the ruin site. Once you enter, set them up as quickly as possible. They can also be used to relay messages between one another."

He then spread his palm wide. Countless formation circles, ranging from small to large, spun and shifted before condensing into a blade brimming with arcane mystery.

He walked slowly to the entrance of the ruin site, pressed the blade against the invisible boundary, and drew a single, deliberate cut. A rift appeared.

"Now — enter the ruin."

* * *

He stepped through.

After a blinding flash of light, a field of ruins spread out before Xia Er's eyes.

It was a dungeon.

No sunlight reached this place. Only the faint glow of candlelight illuminated the crumbling eaves and broken walls around him. A thick, putrid stench hung in the air. Behind him stood a massive stone door, marked with a single inscription.

[Inheritance of the Ghost Mage]

"So it teleported me straight to the destination..."

Xia Er let out a quiet sigh. He had been hoping to find the players' spawn point and set up a spread of traps there for an ambush right at the door.

That plan was clearly off the table now.

After scouting out a suitable location, Xia Er patted the raven perched on his shoulder and pointed it toward the ground.

A vivid crimson teleportation array was swiftly laid down, and before long, his deputies poured through along with nearly half of the Undead Territory's Undead Soldiers.

Avril looked around and asked, "Lord Xia Er, is this the place?"

Xia Er nodded. "Yes. This dungeon should be the jurisdiction of one of this domain's former deputies."

It was an excellent strategic location — a shame the deputy who had once held it had no idea how to make use of it.

After a full sweep of the area, he hadn't spotted a single decent trap. Everything was decorative nonsense.

No wonder the adventurers had cleared it out.

Four hours remained until the ruin opened.

It seemed tight — but for Xia Er, it was more than enough time to set up his traps properly.

There was only one thing left to do.

Pull up a chair, sit down, and wait quietly for the players to come and throw their lives away.