The three groups of cultivators passed through the archway and crossed the tunnel made of pure-blue energy.
Soon after, they found themselves on a huge plain. The grass around them was dying, and the only trees that they could see were separated from each other by many kilometers. With a cloudy sky, little light reached the floor, making everything much darker than it should be.
A solitary mountain stood high and mighty in the middle of the plains, from which rose towards the sky what once were majestic fortifications. Now, those buildings were not much more than debris and rubble, but even so, some lights could be seen in them.
Far from the mountain, there was a walled small city. Surrounded by hundreds or thousands of humanoid figures that wandered around it, a dark presence could be felt even from where the groups of cultivators were.
The cultivators couldn't help themselves but search around them with curiosity.
The voice of Heaven had told them that they would have allies on that mission, and they didn't take long to appear. Next to their portal's entrance, another three more opened.
From the first one came a group of four modern teenagers, each of them carrying a deck of cards in their hands.
From the second one, a group of forty mounted people appeared. They were riding strange beasts made of pure golden metal, from which steam came out from time to time. At first, those people seemed normal, but on close inspection, the cultivators realized that each had some body part made of the same metal as their mounts.
From the last tunnel, a dozen knights. They were dressed in medieval armor that covered most of their bodies, but by looking at the small gaps between the armor and their smell, everyone present could realize that they were undead.
"Howdy, dear strangers," said one of the mounted figures."It seems like we should cooperate to get our work done. I don't want to end up in a bad situation, so if anyone has a bee in their bonnet about how to proceed, then I will listen to what he says. Any of the lieutenants want to begin?"
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After hearing the words of the mounted figure, the three other groups stayed still without saying a word until one of the teenagers finally spoke.
"You are asking if the group leader wants to speak about the plan that we are going to follow, right?" he asked.
"That's right."
Seeing that they needed a representative, the leader of each cultivator's group began to whisper among themselves.
"Who is going to speak for the rest?" Zack asked.
"I suggest that it is you. You are older, so you look wised than us. " Owald said.
"Works for me," Ethan said disinterestedly.
"It seems like there are two main targets in this place. One on that mountain and another on that city, so I would suggest that we split into two groups." The leader of the teenagers said.
"How are we going to decide who goes with who?" Zack asked.
"We, slow. Mounts, good for us," said one of the undead knights while pointing at the metallic mounts of the cowboys.
"Do you want us to give you a ride?" asked the leader of the cowboys, surprised.
The knight slowly nodded in response.
"Let's do it then. You will find out that our partners are capable of carrying the both of us without any problem."
"Well, that leaves us with those weird guys." said one of the teenagers.
"Hey, who are you calling weird?" Ethan replied, frowning.
"Are you not?" the teenager replied while laughing.
Before Ethan could say anything more, each of them took out the top cards of their decks and threw them to the ground while shouting.
"Golden Eagle of Isis, Go!"
"Flaming Dragon of the Abyss, I summon you!"
"World-Eater Snake Silifid, Answer my call!"
"Reality-Shattering Boar, lend me your strength!"
Suddenly, four strange beasts appeared in the same place where the cards touched the floor, and the kids mounted them and began to charge toward the city.
"We are going toward there, so you get the mountain!" shouted one of them while laughing.
While they were leaving, silence reigned between the three remaining groups for the next few seconds.
"And we are the weird ones." Ethan asked while rubbing his eyes." Let's move on, please. I want to return to our world as soon as possible."
"If you end up in the mountains before we do, come to the city to help us. We will do the same if we end first," Zack said to the cowboy.
"We will do it!" he replied before leaving the place.