Chapter 65 - Trials (II)

Colonel Arden trudged up the mountain, each step heavy with fatigue. His soldiers followed closely behind, their faces etched with exhaustion, groaning under the relentless weight of their gear. The sun or something like that hung high in the sky, casting harsh rays down upon them, and despite the days spent navigating this treacherous path, the peak remained frustratingly elusive, shrouded in clouds and mystery. They have been trudging it for days now, but the peak was still not visible in sight. What's more despairing was that when they look back, it felt like they were still where they had started, making all their efforts vain. Even the advanced realm experts among them, seasoned warriors accustomed to harsh conditions, felt the burn of fatigue in their muscles and wondered if their colonel truly knew the way forward.