Chapter 343
Chapter 343
<w:bottom w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"><w:right w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"><w:between w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"><w:spacing w:after="0" w:before="0" w:line="276" w:linerule="auto"><w:ind w:left="0" w:right="0" w:firstline="0"><w:jc w:val="left"><w:rpr><w:rfonts w:ascii="Liberation Serif" w:cs="Liberation Serif" w:eastasia="Liberation Serif" w:hansi="Liberation Serif"><w:b w:val="0"><w:i w:val="0"><w:smallcaps w:val="0"><w:strike w:val="0"><w:color w:val="333333"><w:sz w:val="24"><w:szcs w:val="24"><w:u w:val="none"><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"><w:vertalign w:val="baseline"><w:r w:rsiddel="00000000" w:rsidr="00000000" w:rsidrpr="00000000"><w:rpr><w:rfonts w:ascii="Calibri" w:cs="Calibri" w:eastasia="Calibri" w:hansi="Calibri"><w:b w:val="1"><w:i w:val="0"><w:smallcaps w:val="0"><w:strike w:val="0"><w:color w:val="333333"><w:sz w:val="22"><w:szcs w:val="22"><w:u w:val="none"><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"><w:vertalign w:val="baseline"><w:rtl w:val="0"><w:t xml:space="preserve">Chapter 343 The advance party entered the old castle ruins to search for the Holy King's remains.Soldiers brainwashed by the cultists' magic roughly searched through the ruins for traces of relics.However, soldiers who had lost their reason had no chance of properly finding the relics.The Hounds gritted their teeth anxiously watching soldiers carelessly ransack the site, but lacked the courage to tell the impatient Emperor to pull them back.Surprisingly, the cultists found the exact location using sacred objects received from the 'Serpent of the Black Maw'.The cult's mages discovered a passage leading downward beneath a well hidden in the ruins of an old temple.The Emperor ordered the Hounds to secure the passage first.He planned to safely enter with his royal guards to claim the Holy King's remains after all danger was eliminated.Soon the Hounds checked the passage and came up.The Hounds' commander returned to the Emperor's carriage to report."Your Majesty, there were no other hazards in the underground passage."Unlike regular dungeons or other ruins, this meant there were no monsters or guardians.The Emperor heard the commander's words and gave orders."Station the army here and prepare to explore the ruins immediately. We must obtain the Holy King's remains as quickly as possible.""Yes, Your Majesty."As the Hounds unit was about to set up camp and prepare for full exploration, something strange flew in from above.At first they thought it was a large bird.But as it got closer, it was too big to be a bird.The Hounds, the only ones maintaining their sanity in the imperial army, were terrified when they identified the being flying in from the sky."D-Dragon!"What was floating in the sky was none other than Tyrant, the dragon-type summon called by Zeke.Tyrant, who had previously devastated the imperial garrison base, showed itself again.Tyrant spewed black flames toward the imperial army.BOOM! BOOM!The imperial camp became an inferno from the black flames pouring from the sky.The soldiers under the cultists' brainwashing magic and drugs finally came to their senses from the heat and pain as the flames burned their bodies."F-Fire! Fire!"With soldiers regaining consciousness from the sudden attack, the entire legion fell into chaos instead.This too was what Zeke had aimed for.It wasn't easy maintaining magical brainwashing over many soldiers.They must have used soma in addition to magic to draw out awakening effects, and if so, external shock could make them regain consciousness.The soldiers panicked in the flames pouring from the sky.That's when the Scorpion Knights stepped forward and shouted at the soldiers."Get in formation! Anyone who flees will be immediately beheaded!"But soldiers in a state of panic were unlikely to properly hear the knights' words.Finally, a Scorpion knight swung his sword and beheaded a fleeing knight.Only then did the soldiers stop fleeing in terror.They reformed their ranks and moved to where the flames couldn't reach.The cult's mages waved their staffs and sprayed black liquid on the flames.The flames then writhed like snakes and gathered in one place.Simultaneously, other mages waved their staffs toward the sky chanting spells, and soon dark clouds gathered and rain began to fall.With the urgent flames contained by magic and rain starting to fall, the flames were extinguished faster than expected.Just as the soldiers were about to calm down and reorganize their ranks:"AAAARGH!"Suddenly screams erupted from here and there.Horrific monsters had appeared before the soldiers' eyes.Monsters that looked like they had just risen from hell attacked the soldiers.These were none other than hallucinations caused by Zeke's ability 'Fantasy Mirror'.The soldiers who had just awakened from stimulants were especially susceptible to Fantasy Mirror's effects, making the hallucinations seem even more vivid.Some soldiers even felt real pain and died when attacked by the illusory monsters.The barely stabilized camp fell into panic again.Moreover, the ground had turned to mud from the rain summoned to extinguish the flames, making it difficult to even move."AAAARGH!"The soldiers scattered in disarray, unable to move as their feet sank into the mud, quickly breaking formation.After blankly watching this, one of the cultists who grasped the situation shouted with a pale face."Q-Quickly dispel the hallucinations from the soldiers!"The cultists hurriedly tried to dispel the hallucinations with magic.However, Zeke's Fantasy Mirror was an ability of Pan, a high-ranking demon.Even for mages using constellation power, it was impossible to instantly dispel magic affecting so many people.Then something appeared before the soldiers.CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!These weren't simple skeletons but ones directly processed by Richmond.A fully armed skeleton unit revealed itself.The skeletons targeted the busy mages behind the soldiers.SWOOSH!"ARGH!"Several mages fell, unable to properly respond to the skeletons' sudden attack.Seeing this, other cultists cast magic at the skeletons."Return to the realm of the dead!"But Richmond's skeletons ignored their magic, charged forward with shields to push back the mages, then stabbed them with swords.The cult's mages died with eyes wide open, wearing expressions of incomprehension.As soldiers fell into chaos from hallucinations and the skeleton unit while cultist mages fell, even the knights who needed to control them began to panic.That's when.THUD! THUD! THUD!New enemies appeared from the flank.Dragon warriors mounted on Shark Dragons.Cayman, riding Gurab at the forefront, raised his Eastern-style sword high.WHOOSH!A knight's head fell to Cayman’s instantly striking sword.Gurab roared at the knights.ROOOOOAR!The knights' warhorses began to panic and bolt at Gurab's howl.Only then did Calito, commanding the Scorpion Knights, shout:"Abandon the horses and fall back!"Following Calito's orders, the knights threw their horses as bait and immediately retreated.The dragon warriors swept the imperial army's flank like cavalry on their Shark Dragons.The imperial army split in half, their formation broken at the waist.As the legion's formation completely collapsed in an instant, Calito retreated with the knights.But then he saw the cultist mages entering the ruins with the Emperor's royal guards carrying a palanquin.In that moment, Calito felt his mind snap to clarity.'What am I doing here?'Calito too had regained his senses from external shock after being brainwashed by the cultists' magic.Having been fed drugs and magic more directly than regular soldiers, only now could he break free from the brainwashing.He remembered the Emperor forcefully casting magic on him and Gillian.'Damn! We shouldn't have come to this place to begin with.'But it was too late for regrets.Calito shouted to the Scorpion Knights:"Everyone come to your senses! We can't die like dogs here! Everyone enter the ruins!"The Scorpion Knights responded to his voice and moved toward the ruins.Calito ran to the ruins' entrance with the bound Gillian.But just as they arrived, they spotted the Hounds trying to destroy the entrance."You bastards!"Calito activated the magic engraved in his magic sword.BOOM! BOOM!The explosion magic killed the Hounds at the entrance.Seeing Calito and the Scorpion Knights running toward the entrance, the Hounds drew their swords and shouted."His Majesty ordered us to block the enemies! Would you defy the imperial order?!"At those words, Calito activated the hidden throwing device in his wrist toward the shouting Hounds.SWOOSH!A small arrow precisely struck between the Hounds's eyes.THUD!Other Hounds were startled by Calito's unhesitating action.Calito spoke to the Hounds.""Cut the nonsense. It is the Scorpion Knights' duty to protect His Majesty."Then they saw skeletons approaching, seemingly having spotted them.The Hounds unit members, realizing they couldn't turn Calito back after seeing his fierce determination, reluctantly stepped aside.Calito quickly descended the entrance with Gillian."Hurry down!"Just as all the Scorpion Knights descended and the Hounds tried to follow, the skeleton soldiers had already approached and attacked them."AAAARGH!"The Hounds went straight down, abandoning their comrade who was attacked by the skeleton.Then they activated the explosion scroll they had attached beforehand.KABOOM!With the explosion, the entrance collapsed.Some of the Hounds who entered late were caught in the explosion and buried in the debris, but no one cared about this either.Calito, who had entered inside, was breathing heavily.'Damn it, I need to get out of here quickly somehow...'For now, the priority was to survive here while pretending to follow the Emperor's orders.He shouted to the Hounds unit member."I'm concerned about His Majesty's safety. Take me to where His Majesty is!"The Hounds nodded with stern expressions at Calito's threat."Understood. Follow us."* * *'Huh? This is a mess.'Watching the battlefield situation through the eyes of his summons in the underground catacomb, Zeke was rather taken aback seeing how easily the Emperor's army collapsed beyond expectations.Even though they were ambushed, he didn't expect them to fall apart without even being able to counterattack.'They weren't a proper army to begin with.'It was an army hastily conscripted to claim the Holy King's remains.Originally, the plan was to intimidate the Holy Nation with the Orc Legion to achieve a bloodless occupation, then take possession of the Holy King's ruins, so they hadn't considered the army's supply situation at all.The brainwashed soldiers were exhausted from marching without sleeping or eating, making it impossible for them to exert any real strength.The mad Emperor's greed had driven the soldiers to their deaths.At that moment, Richmond contacted him.'My lord, most of the soldiers have scattered and fled. Should we chase and capture them?''Just block those heading toward the main force. If they escape and inform them of this situation, it'll be troublesome if the main force joins up, so block the routes to prevent them from coming this way.''Understood, master.'After finishing communication with Richmond, Zeke summoned another summon.TSUTSUTSUTSU!Along with the cold air, a lich with blue jewels embedded in its eyes appeared."Did you call for me, master?"Elemental Lich Bane, who had been a mage of Nirvana with an 8th circle ice attribute magic before becoming Zeke's summon, bowed politely."Bane, go to the location I designate and hold them off until I send a signal.""Bane, your faithful servant, will follow your orders."Zeke summoned a Ghost warrior and assigned it to Bane."Follow the Ghost warrior and observe their movements. There appear to be not only Blue Knight-class but also Red Knight-class warriors beside the Emperor. Keep your distance and focus on holding them off.""Understood, master."Bane followed the Ghost warrior toward the position Zeke had designated.After giving his orders, Zeke took a deep breath and turned around.Before his eyes was a massive door."Well then, I should enter the ruins and prepare before they arrive."Zeke reached his hand toward the door.[Superior Administrator System attempting to connect.][Code confirmed][Title 'One Blessed by the Great Dragon' confirmed][Title 'Knight of Radiant Light' confirmed][Title 'Heir of Terakan Drake' confirmed]['Sanctuary of Radiant Light' access authority acquired][Hidden code acquired due to conditions met]KUKUGUGUGUGU!The tightly closed door opened.At that moment, a new message appeared before Zeke's eyes.[Welcome to the 'Sanctuary of Radiant Light', Successor.]‘Successor?’Although he had visited other ruins through the system, this was the first time such a message had appeared.Simultaneously, something appeared from within the door.A knight with an enormous build wearing pure white full plate armor approached Zeke.The knight, larger than even the barbarians, knelt before Zeke.『Welcome, Successor. We have been waiting for your arrival for a long time.』Zeke couldn't help but be surprised at the sight of the knight.'A golem?'
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