CHAPTER 292: BLOODLANDS

Mark nodded. "Yeah. I double-checked it before accepting. The quest is called ’Welcome to the Bloodlands.’ The objective is vague. It only says: ’Perform the Rite of Descent and awaken the slumbering gate to the Bloodlands. Only those with true blood may enter.’ That’s it."

Mark knew that the quest was important because of its S rank, but now, after seeing Damon’s expression, he couldn’t help but become curious about this whole thing.

Damon leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath, his expression unreadable, though a hundred flickers of memory, power, and warning bells echoed in his head.

The Bloodlands! The holy grail for all the dark faction players!

"Dude, you just got the quest opener for going to the dark faction territory! It’s a major class quest, and the reward is most definitely a freaking legendary item!" Damon finally spelled it out loud.

Mark blinked. "Wait, wait, what?!"

Damon grinned now, all unreadable caution gone and replaced by the kind of excitement that made blood sing. He leaned forward, elbows on the table, his eyes glowing bright crimson.

"You have no idea what you stumbled onto, do you? This isn’t just some S-rank quest. This is the gateway to the Bloodlands. That place isn’t just a zone, it’s a whole new territory meant exclusively for the dark faction."

In his last life, this portal only opened after 6 months, and by that time, many people had even switched from the dark faction to the light faction just because dark faction players were always hunted and their opportunities were limited when compared to the light faction players.

But the opening up of this portal was a game-changer. Now, the dark faction also had a base and a home, and a lot more juicy power-up opportunities. With the blood hall wars about to happen, this was the perfect time for this portal to open up.

This would make everything a lot easier. If they could enter the bloodlands and grab a few low-hanging fruits, their progress would be cemented. Not to mention, Damon needed a soul cultivation technique suited for him. The Bloodlands would be the perfect place to search for something like this.

There would be a whole new set of NPCs, questlines, and dungeons. The best part was that if they played their cards right, only they would know the location of the portal, at least for the first few weeks. This would be more than enough to get more resources and equate their standing with the super ten guilds.

Mark stared at Damon, stunned into silence. "Wait... this big? You’re saying this could change the entire game for us?"

"Yup," Damon nodded, "It could change everything for the entire dark faction. The Bloodlands aren’t some random high-level hunting zone. They’re the foundation of the dark faction’s real power, their history, their hidden mechanics, and their legacies."

Mark nodded, his gaze serious. "I will go do the preparations for the quest immediately and open the portal." He knew how much Damon was struggling right now, and if this single quest could be a game changer, then he wanted to do everything right and use this opportunity to help Damon amass as much power as possible and stand by his side.

Damon smiled and patted his friend. "You don’t have to rush so much. I still need some time to make some preparations. There are two things I want to do before we step into the Bloodlands. The Bloodlands are not so simple. The entire place is a very high-level territory. Do you know why they are called Bloodlands?"

Mark shook his head. "Vampire origin?"

"No." Damon. "It’s not just for vampires. All sorts of races reside there. Rather, it’s called Bloodlands because there is always a constant struggle in the area. There is war and bloodshed everywhere, and the very land is steeped with blood."

"Literally. The soil is red. The rivers are red. Even the sky has a tint of crimson when the sun sets. That place is like a living battlefield, shaped by centuries of conflict between dark-faction races—vampires, wraiths, necrokin, demons, and more. And those are just the locals."

"If we step in too early... we might just get torn apart. I suggest we all try to step into C rank before entering the place. Take the next couple of days to power level and find some more evolution stones, preferably some for me as well. I think I would need like ten high-grade stones."

"What? You need 10?" Kate gasped.

Damon bitterly smiled. "Such is life." He shrugged. "Can you guys help me out? If you ask Varnyx, he should give you both some sort of lead. Try it and let me know. If nothing works out, I will think of something."

Both Mark and Kate nodded. The three of them continued chatting for a bit, and Damon even filled them in on everything that happened in the Venom King trial ground.

Kate’s eyes widened as Damon recounted the events. "I cannot believe that a place like that exists."

"I guess the stronger we become, the more insane things are going to get. If I am not wrong, there should be some places like this in the bloodlands too. Maybe you guys can have some adventures of your own then."

Both Mark and Kate stared at Damon, not knowing what to tell him. If it were them, they weren’t confident at all that they could survive something like this. "We will try our best." Mark finally answered, strengthening his resolve.

The three of them continued chatting for a bit before everyone went back to their own rooms to rest for a while. Damon looked around his room many times to make sure no one was hiding in it to give him a jumpscare. He then locked the main doors before collapsing on his bed for some time.

He ended up sleeping for four good hours before he woke up again and immediately returned to the game. There was a lot that needed to be done, and he did not want to miss his time advantage.

The others would only be able to log in after some time, but he could log in any time he wanted, and it looked like it still held true.