Unlike the others who were excited, Minos couldn't help but feel his eyes sting slightly, his instincts telling him this journey wouldn't be as easy as Hyth made it out to be.
But he had already made it this far, and he couldn't turn back now, not to mention he was confident in his own strength.
While he was still only on the Earth Cloud Layer, his Heaven Forsaken Furnace Technique made him as powerful as early stage Aperture Opening Realm Cultivators, and combined with his Omniscient Eyes, he felt he was even stronger then the guards.
Since these guards weren't worried, he similarly had no reason to be, so without any fear, he kept marching, following the group down into the abyss.
…
The journey down was much the same as the one down, the only difference being that the darkness got even more intense as they traveled further down.
The Hell Point Abyss Range was surrounded by vast mountains on all sides, which cut off most of the light to the area.
The increased darkness made it harder to travel, fortunately Hyth had clearly already prepared for such a thing, a few Glow Stones helping alleviate the problem.
After another month or so of walking, things finally started to change in an unexpected way, the cold slowly being replaced by an intense heat.
The Hell Point Abyss Range had 'hell' in its name for a reason, the area being filled with intense thermal activity, which when paired with the mountainous walls that kept the heat contained, created a zone of extreme heat.
Of course Minos and the others were already aware of this, but to experience it first hand was completely different from just reading about it.
Naturally the heat also meant that the snow in this area had completely melted away, which at least made walking more convenient.
But it was also a reminder that they had finally truly entered the Abyss Point Hell Range, meaning the true danger was just around the corner.
…
"As you can all tell from the heat, we've finally entered the Hell Point Abyss Range, so keep your guard at its maximum. You never know which dark corner a Hell Beast could pop out of." Hyth warned.
"Speaking about Hell Beasts, it looks like we've got a small group heading our way!" The guard at the front suddenly exclaimed, grabbing everyone's attention.
Not long after his words, half a dozen or so red-eyed creatures slowly appeared from the darkness, their slitted-pupils filled with a coldness that didn't match their environment.
The creatures were somewhat ape-like, walking mostly on their hind feet as they dragged their knuckles across the floor.
However, rather than fur, their bodies were covered in dark scales that made them nearly indistinguishable from the darkness that surrounded them, which was fortunately a trait nullified by Hyth's Glow Stones.
Their backs had a small pair of wings that didn't seem capable of flight, but the edges were sharp, as if they were just another weapon at their disposal.
Beyond their blade-like wing-edges, their nails were also long and piercing, a soft glint reflecting from them as if they were made from the finest steel.
They had long faces, similar to horses, though unlike the blunt flat edged teeth that horses had, theirs were all razor sharp.
All things considered, it was clear that these creatures were born and bred to kill, every part of their body evolving in such a direction.
"Watch out, the Hell Beasts are natural killers. Given that they're the only creatures that survive down here, they've been forced into a cannibalistic lifestyle, meaning birth to death is one endless fight for them."
"It's either eat, or be eaten, each generation more vicious and deadly than the last, slowly creating a species filled with only malice and an endless desire to kill!" The guard said, his hands clutching his sword tightly.
Hearing his words, the less experienced members in the team couldn't help but quiver slightly, their bodies unconsciously moving backwards and away from the Hell Beasts.
But unlike these scholars who spent most of their time studying, Minos was a warrior at heart, his mind unaffected by the Hell Beasts horrifying appearance.
Stepping forward, Minos activated his Omniscient Eyes, scanning the Hell Beasts ahead of him and gauging their strengths.
After determining that none of them were in the Aperture Opening Realm, Minos was even more confident, standing directly behind the guards as he waited for the battle to begin.
However, unlike what one may expect from creatures called 'Hell Beasts,' none of them seemed rushed in attacking, instead just keeping a distance from Minos's group as they waited patiently.
Instead, they just howled and screeched constantly, their ear-piercing noises causing irritation and anxiety among the weaker members of the group.
"Can you just attack them already!?" Kendra couldn't help but shout in annoyance, the pressure finally getting to her.
However, it seemed her loud shouting angered the Hell Beasts, their screeching getting even louder as the one up front took the lead in attacking.
With the first Hell Beast attacking, the second soon followed, then the third, and finally, all seven of them.
Raising his sword, the first guard took a swing, easily severing the Hell Beast upfront without much struggle.
Minos had already expected as much, after all, the guards were in the Aperture Opening Realm, meanwhile the Hell Beasts were still all only Inner Heaven creatures, the two being incomparable.
But the Hell Beasts were clearly more clever then they seemed, and after the first one was taken down so easily, the others paused, instead opening their mouths and spitting out fireballs from the distance.
The fireballs soon reached the group, but the guard's were clearly already aware of the Hell Beast's tricks, so the second one quickly raised a screen of water, causing the fireballs to immediately be reduced to steam.
With the fireballs dealt with, the second guard shattered the screen of water, turning it into a dozen floating blades.
With a flick of his wrists, the water-blades were propelled forward, ripping through the flock of Hell Beasts.
After only a few seconds, this medium sized pack was completely exterminated, causing some in the group to let out a sigh of relief.
"That's it? You guys made it out to seem that those things were invincible." Kendra said, the results underwhelming her.
"Yeah! Your words from before scared the life out of me, all for them to be killed almost instantly?" Sophia added.
"Don't speak so soon, after all those are only Inner Heaven Hell Beasts, the Aperture Opening one's are a completely different matter." Hyth warned, not wanting the group to get careless.
"I'm sure we'll be fine even then." Nolin said, the guards' performance making him feel comfortable.
Despite wanting to keep warning, Hyth decided not to say anything else, not wanting his words to cause the team to lose confidence in the guards.
Ultimately, neither Nolin nor the other's were here to fight, so even if they were a bit careless, it didn't matter, what did matter was if fear took over and they decided they wanted to go back.
Not daring to risk such a result, Hyth just went silent, continuing to walk as he kept his eyes peeled for further confrontation.
With the group getting back to moving, it was inevitable that they would once again come in contact with more Hell Beasts, but without fail they were all Inner Heaven packs, which the guards dealt with easily.
However, it soon became more clear that the deeper they went, the more powerful the Hell Beasts became.
From the Air Cloud Layer, their cultivations began slowly rising, each step traveled a step closer to facing off against an Aperture Opening Hell Beast.
By the time they had traveled another few days, some of the Hell Beasts that popped up had peak Inner Heaven Realm cultivation.
Though it wasn't all bad news, the increased cultivation of the Hell Beasts also being a signal that they were close to the Eternal Enigma.
…
"Guys, we're about a day or two away from the Eternal Enigma, meaning that without fail, we will soon have to face an Aperture Opening Hell Beast."
"While we can rely on the guards, things can always happen, so be ready to escape at any moment."
"Finally, if we really do have such bad luck and have to escape, make sure to use your compasses and escape south, otherwise you'll just head deeper into the danger." Hyth spoke.
"We've already been over this, no need to constantly remind us." Ryft replied, Hyth having already given similar such warnings dozens of times throughout the journey.
"As the person who's leading this expedition, it's my job to keep you all safe, and if anything does happen, it's my ass that'll be on the fire, so despite it being annoying, I still have to make my point clear."
"Don't worry Hyth, do you take us for stupid people?" Sophia responded.
"Of course not! You're all some of the smartest people across the continent, but fear consumes all things, including intelligence, and trust me, it can get scary out there…" Hyth said, looking out into the darkness behind him.
"That place has already consumed countless brilliant minds, so forget your brains, only bravery will help you now..."