Spirit's Ascension-Chapter 117—Lion’s den

The fire in the trio burned extremely bright, so they didn’t allow for any waste of time. They immediately got ready and began their march to the settlement.

While cultivating earlier, Cole had already formulated the bones of a plan, only waiting for the information Linda obtained.

While leaving the building, Cole peeped into the room where the guard leader was being kept, and Cole was immediately shocked by the state the man was in.

He was bleeding from multiple parts of his body and was knocked completely unconscious.

Cole immediately turned to look at Linda, who responded with a smile. That smile immediately sent a shiver down Cole’s spine.

Trying his best to take his mind off it, Cole began asking Linda questions on what she found.

Linda responded to his questions enthusiastically, which allowed Cole to slowly formulate a full-blown plan.

"We are ready now," Cole said before proceeding to share his plans.

Since they have been performing missions together, they always seemed to separate and do things differently, and this usually resulted in unexpected circumstances.

"We are sticking together this time; we can’t afford for anything to happen now," Cole said.

The rest of the journey was shrouded in a weird silence as if everyone was caught up in their own mind.

In no time, the trio arrived close to the settlement, and what they could notice immediately caused a weird reaction from them.

The settlement looked extremely alive at that moment. With lights all around, music bustling, and people moving all around with excited faces.

"This doesn’t look like a place with one of their leaders missing," Bryan said in a low voice.

"Yeah, something is wrong with these people," Cole muttered.

They quickly closed the distance between them and their destination in no time and arrived at the edge of the settlement.

The original team’s plan was to enter the settlement and try to blend in with the members of the settlement until they arrived at the Leader’s lodge.

And now things were even easier. No one would notice three people in this crowded environment.

"Let’s do this, guys," Linda urged.

With that, the three of them dove into the crowd and got lost there.

They stayed together while also staying connected using Bryan’s abilities.

"Follow my path, guys," Cole instructed.

Since he had been to the leader’s home before, Cole knew the path to take while they proceeded.

Using the information they got from the guard leaders, they also paid special attention and avoided getting caught by any guards.

Following the restraining rules they gave to themselves, Cole and the others inched closer and closer until they finally reached there.

Just as they expected, the Leader’s abode was the most crowded place. People fluxed in and out of the building with a cheerful face.

"Should we head in?" Linda asked her teammates.

"It will be like heading into the Lion’s den if we do that, but yes, let’s do it," Bryan responded.

Since the teammates had already come to a consensus, Cole didn’t hesitate and immediately headed in fearlessly.

The crowd naturally made way for the new arrivals, expecting them to join the party.

And as they expected, the trio were in a completely different state than they were previously.

Cole and his teammates began feeling a welling sense of joy, Making them feel like they were supposed to begin partying.

It was more like a feeling directly to their souls.

"Something is wrong, guys, really wrong," Cole said in his mind.

The other two also looked at him assertively, confirming his observations. Cole noticed his teammates’ faces and the fact that they can’t seem to hold on much longer.

"We need to get out asap," Cole ordered.

Using all of the willpower that was left in their body, the team quickly approached the entrance they came in through.

But the closer they got to the door, the harder it was for them to move further. As if an invisible force was holding them in and making sure they didn’t leave.

"Don’t give up, guys, fight it."

"The moment we lose ourselves in this, then it is game over," Cole shouted.

Though his thoughts were slightly foggy and Cole couldn’t think straight. He knew they had somehow fallen into a trap.

"But how? when?" Cole wondered.

He might have let his guard down because he felt they were fully prepared and nothing could go wrong.

Now it was already proven that almost everything could go wrong, and it actually seems to have now.

Using everything he had, Cole was actually the last person to arrive at the entrance, with Linda and Bryan leading him by a few steps.

The door out was weirdly empty. Allowing the team to quickly get out of the building.

Outside the building, the trio immediately bent down and held onto the knee as they tried to catch their breaths.

"What the hell was that?" Linda asked.

"Don’t tell me the settlement leader did that."

That question immediately made fear overwhelm the teammates since that sort of strength was unsurpassable for them right now.

Cole even had a feeling that they were only able to escape because it wasn’t targeting them specifically.

Just its latent effect was so strong on them.

"Let’s get out of here as soon as possible," Cole said to his teammates.

They had completely given up the idea of making the settlement leader pay or anything of that sort.

The only thing they knew now was fear.

No one refuted as the three of them turned around and proceeded to leave the area as soon as possible.

They made sure to follow the same path they did earlier since it had been confirmed to be a slightly safe one.

They hadn’t gone too far away from the leader’s house when the same dangerous feeling gripped them again.

Cole looked around him as fast as he could, trying to spot the source of the danger, but he was met with nothing but celebrating people.

The next moment, a cold and aloof voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Leaving without saying goodbye,"

"Now that’s extremely rude."

Cole’s body immediately froze as he looked at his teammates.

"Who said that?" he thought in shock.

From the look on his teammate’s face. It was extremely obvious they also heard it, and they had no idea who it actually was.

"Three minds connected like this, there really are some unique spirits in the world." The voice continued.

After saying those final words, everything immediately grew silent, deathly silent, but it was calm before the sun as the trio immediately felt something.

Their bodies slowly grew disobedient and decided to completely reject their control.

After losing control over his body, Cole immediately felt himself also melting away.

His spirit and consciousness were slowly fading away.

"Just like when I just advanced, that elder warned me," Cole thought sluggishly.

Sadly, this feeling was completely different from what he felt not long ago; this time he just couldn’t get out of this with willpower.

The longer he waited, the more severe Cole felt his situation grew.

"Am I just going to die this way?"

Before he could even attempt any rebuttal or put up any last burst of strength.

The codex suddenly quivered violently, releasing a burst of energy that immediately zapped Cole’s consciousness awake.

The feeling completely disappeared, and Cole immediately, slowly regained his sharp thoughts again.

"Ughh, I just sensed something from one of you guys," the familiar voice said again.

"I must investigate then."

After hearing that, Cole immediately felt his body move on its own back towards the Settlement Leader’s house.

The same thing was also happening to the other members of Cole’s team.

Without any control over their movements, Cole and his teammates soon arrived back at the entrance to the building before entering.

Despite trying all they could and doing their utmost best to get out of their predicament, it was all for naught.

Inside the building, everyone kept making way for the team as they headed deeper.

The only thing they still had power over were their eyes, nose, and ears, and from his eyes, Cole could feel the door in front of him.

Standing in front of the door was the settlement leader, who proceeded to bow to the three of them.

"Greetings, lord,"

Cole was shocked by the greeting, but he knew it wasn’t directed at him at all. Instead, the settlement leader was looking at them with an eye of excitement.

"Finally caught you bastards," he muttered before proceeding to open the door.

On the other side of the open door was a small staircase that led downward. At the bottom of the stair was a dark area that looked like an abyss.

"What exactly is that?" Cole thought.

Before he could think further, his body began moving on its own and headed down the stairs directly towards the unknown.

The lower they got down the stairs, the stronger the feeling of danger in him was, and the instant they arrived at the bottom.

"Welcome," Cole heard from the background.