Vicente's group continued their journey after several days, cautiously traveling through the northernmost part of the continent.

Three days after the awakening of Vicente and the other humans, the magical creatures in the group had left their states, more or less in the same situation as their human companionsstronger, but still far from their level of progress.

With the group ready to continue their journey, they left the cave where they had stayed for 21 days and continued on their way to The Ivory Desert.

They expected the journey to take around two months, assuming no problems arise. However, they needed to investigate the area where the pentagram would appear. Also, they had to position observers and start monitoring a large area.

They didn't have the exact point where the pentagram would form, only the approximate location. But within an area of 10,000 square kilometers, such a pentagram could appear anywhere.

Vicente even had a picture in his mind of where it would be, but he would have to investigate the place himself to find out the exact spot.

So even if they got close to the area the elves had indicated, they would still work for weeks before they could park near where they were supposed to wait.

If all went well, they would reach this point 2-3 months before the pentagram appeared, which was not long. Not knowing what could happen in the meantime, they couldn't help but hurry to get to the area so as not to be late.

As per Vicente's recollection, when the pentagram took shape, formidable vampires and monstrous creatures would converge upon the vicinity to gather the essence and thwart any attempts of absorption!

He had to be very well positioned when the pentagram was finished forming!

...

It had been five weeks since the group had left their previous seclusion, and they had traveled a long distance, leaving the vicinity of Majestic Treefrog Grove and arriving in the Vinia Empire.

The former home of the Congregation of Revelation, one of the strongest states on the continent until seven years ago, was now a magnificent ruined state. It was home to monsters and magical creatures of the Light Path who had advanced their territory against the previously human-dominated areas.

The Vinia Empire bordered the region where Nixlas' Shadows were based, near The Ivory Desert, so it was the natural route for the group to take on their journey west.

Since they had avoided flying for most of their journey, they didn't know exactly what the situation was like in many areas of this great state ruined by The Purification, but they had a rough idea of the reality.

On their recent journey, they had passed near several places currently ruled by monsters, and the group members with good eyesight had seen many things that would make humans shudder at the thought of the safety of their homes.

There were hardly any humans in the Vinia Empire today, but it had once been one of the most populous states on the continent. Seeing it devastated and occupied by monsters was something different for humans, who couldn't help but think, "What if that happened to their own country?

That was the feeling Ayden, Paul, and Jacob had when they feared for Trevora Kingdom, their current home, but which, even with Vicente's help, was much weaker than the Vinia Empire before the disaster.

If the Vinia Empire had fallen, Trevora Kingdom might fall too!

As for Vicente, he was also worried, although he wasn't as pessimistic as his companions.

As the group passed through the Vinia Empire, they ran into more problems along the way.

The solution? The same one they had used twice before and were using nowdetour!

'Keep your auras under control. As long as we pass through this 50-kilometer danger zone, we can resume our previous speed.' Vicente reassured his companions silently. He continued walking slowly through the forest, leaving the dirt road they had been following just moments before.

These group members followed behind him, their bodies smaller than their authentic versions, their auras contained, and their breathing controlled.

They carefully took their every step to cause as minor disturbance as possible, while those with the best senses, like Vicente, Qiang, Elmo, and Acidbelly, monitored their surroundings.

'It looks like we'll be delayed somewhere between 10 and 20 days on this journey. There are many paths blocked by groups of monsters... Is this on purpose?' Bonfi asked, estimating how often situations like today's had happened in the past few weeks.

'This is the third group we've encountered in 20 days of traveling. I don't think it's a coincidence.' Elmo suggested.

'The vampires know we're on the move. They do not know our destination, but they probably think we're preparing to do something similar to what the Magicians Alliance tried to do before The Purification.' Acidbelly guessed, considering what he knew of the vampires' actions.

Until The Purification, the tribes of the Majestic Treefrog Grove were well aware of everything that was happening on the continent, especially in the northern region.

The Magicians Alliance, a group formed in the past to develop the first human domains against the continent's beasts, had gone into action before The Purification to prevent the disaster.

Human specialists from all over the continent, at the 6th stage, had already mobilized prior to the onset of the current catastrophe. Their mission was to thwart the vampires' plan and ensure its failure.

Unfortunately for humanity and these experts, the vampires had prepared well for their plans. Even before the sacrifice that led to Demien's advancement to the 6th stage, the vampires had killed many human specialists.

Several of the vampires who were ending their current reclusion now had absorbed the blood of the humans from the Magicians Alliance group.

Acidbelly, as well as others in the group, knew exactly what had happened to the human alliance, as the matter had spread throughout the northern region before the actions of the group led by Demien began.

'That must be the case.' Vicente sighed in agreement with his associates. 'But it doesn't matter. We don't need to confront them. They probably think we want to fight them directly. But this isn't the time. Let's avoid the enemies on the way, at least until we reach my fifth pentagram!'