Wait, could it be that the president and the others... are already dead? They’ve all turned into gold.
Tsuchigumo dared not think so and chose to believe that they were under a curse, and that they could be restored if Golden Soul was defeated.
If she waited for help, given Zanges’s chaotic situation, it would take at least another week to form a qualified rescue team to land at The Scar of the World.
If she moved forward, she might still find a way to save the president and the others.
With infinite conflict and pain, Tsuchigumo decided to step forward and seek out Golden Soul.
So far, only the subordinates of Golden Soul had appeared, the entity itself remained unknown.
Cyber Specter followed at a distance.
"It’s good that I can switch between different bodies, if this one fails, it fails." it said.
What, that must be a boast. Tsuchigumo thought. In such a deep place without network signal, Cyber Specter definitely couldn’t flexibly leave this Cleaning Robot and move along a light signal.
This robot must be a backup, an isolated entity, just like a cut-off sticky monster moving on its own.
But the nature of Cyber Specter’s existence was also something Tsuchigumo couldn’t understand; maybe it was that powerful, able to connect to the outside even from this deep place and transfer places? Losing this robotic body was really nothing to it.
It had thousands of mechanical bodies to exchange, while Tsuchigumo only had one life.
If only Cyber Specter was a Witch, it could use a ritual to ask the Witch Goddess for help.
Tsuchigumo’s gaze casually swept over the Ground, and suddenly she saw a stone slab, presumably a part of some abandoned building buried in the soil.
The stone slab had some strange patterns and symbols engraved on it, which Tsuchigumo found vaguely familiar.
This was the pattern that Cyber Specter had shown her on the "Vigilante Emperor" Armor that day.
She waited in place for a while until Cyber Specter caught up, and it looked down and confirmed it was indeed the Vigilante Emperor, the ancient Living Armor buried at the bottom of The Scar of the World.
It made a gesture to move forward.
Tsuchigumo felt a sense of threat for no reason and therefore did not advance, but kept switching the direction she faced until she felt the threat was somewhat weaker, before proceeding forward.
She came to a larger isthmus, standing at the top of a gentle slope, pondering the source of the sense of threat.
To her surprise, she saw two other women moving on the path ahead!
The leading woman was dressed in a black hood and a long robe, just like the ancient Witches in stories.
The other woman was tall and fair-skinned, with a cold demeanor, wearing light white Armor, dressed in plain footwear, her elegant, healthy, and clean legs catching Tsuchigumo’s unabashed gaze.
The black-robed Witch raised her hand, and a loud explosion sounded in the air, the Ground rumbling and quaking!
Crazy! Tsuchigumo quickly retreated, leaning against the rock wall.
This will attract attacks! These two madwomen!
In an instant, at least five Hollow Gold Men appeared from all directions, speeding toward the two Witches.
The canyon base twinkled with golden light, Tsuchigumo made a split-second decision, closing her eyes tight.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw the white-armored Witch sheathing her sword, while the five Hollow Gold Men had vanished, leaving no trace.
As if in a single slash, all Hollow Gold Men disappeared.
"Let’s go, Xylophia." said the black-robed Witch in a gentle tone.
The Witch beside her continued forward silently, her silence and mechanical demeanor making Tsuchigumo exceedingly uneasy.
But... they are so powerful! She had to follow them; if there was any danger, they could handle it.
They appeared here, presumably to find treasures left by Empress Shira or Golden Soul. Moreover, given their attitude in destroying the Hollow Gold Men, they were at least not affiliated with Golden Soul.
If she followed them, perhaps they could defeat Golden Soul and rescue the president and the others from their golden statue state.
With this thought, Tsuchigumo stealthily followed them, progressing along the narrow terrain of The Scar of the World. Cyber Specter observed carefully, as if taking photographs or video.