Chapter 69. clash (1)
One.
Time passed quickly.
The Ulan party and the imperial army that left the Grand Canyon proceeded with their march as scheduled, and were finally able to reach their destination, the sanctuary of the Desert Church.
“I arrived earlier than expected.”
“It’s only for one day.”
Sven shrugged his shoulders and responded to Perticia’s muttering as she looked around the sanctuary.
As they said, the imperial army’s march was a little faster than expected, and they arrived at their destination on the fourth night, not the fifth.
“Rather… … .”
Sven narrowed his eyes.
He looked back at Muak and Sirpi, who served as guides, and asked curiously.
“This is the desert cult’s sanctuary?”
“exactly.”
“Isn’t it too quiet for something like that?”
Sven tilts his head. As he said, there was no sign of popularity in the church’s sanctuary.
Of course, there were traces that someone was stationed there, but that was it. There were no heretics or monsters of the abyss to be found.
“Is it really here? “It’s not an illusion?”
Istan also looked at Muak with suspicious eyes. Muak then looked aggrieved and repeatedly shook his head.
“That’s correct. however… … .”
“however?”
“It sure is a little strange. “It was originally a quiet place, but not like this.”
A feeling of eerily quiet silence.
In an arena where you can’t even hear the sound of insects chirping, the only sound is the faint sound of dry wind passing through the sand.
Muak also groaned as if he was not used to the current state of the sanctuary. As time passed by, Seoric opened his mouth.
“How about we search the surrounding area first?”
“Yes, that would be better.”
Istan nodded in agreement.
Shortly after, he mobilized Imperial reconnaissance units, including the Raven Brigade, and ordered a search of the area around Sanctuary.
It was accompanied by an order to bring anything that looked suspicious or special. A not-so-short period of time was passing by.
“Yes, Commander!”
“We found the corpses of the cultists!”
The long-awaited report has arrived.
Istan and Ulan, who were building a temporary camp, followed the reconnaissance unit and headed to the place where the corpses of the infidels were found.
After some time, what unfolded before the group’s eyes was a truly gigantic pit in the middle of the desert.
“That place… … .”
“This is where there was an oasis in the past.”
As I was looking at the scene that looked like a trace left by a large meteorite hitting the ground, Muak’s answer suddenly struck my ear.
Noah then added an explanation.
“By the way, I would like to add that it is also a similar place to Arsene, the spring of magic.”
“hmm? “What does that mean?”
“Because that is where the abyss opened a thousand years ago.”
Seorik’s eyes sank even deeper when he heard the words “chasm of the abyss.” Meanwhile, Istan was interested in the information reported earlier.
“Where is the body?”
“The pits are scattered here and there. “If you look closely, you will see it.”
As the reconnaissance unit said, we looked into the pit and saw corpses strewn here and there.
Istan, who was watching the scene closely, eventually came to one conclusion.
“It looks like I had a fight with someone.”
“But isn’t the Imperial Army the only entity that can be considered an enemy to the Desert Church?”
“Yes, I know that too, but… … .”
Istan trailed off and looked away.
The place where his eyes were directed was Muak. However, Muak also did not know one thing.
“Even if you ask me, I wouldn’t know. “It’s been quite a while since I left the sanctuary.”
In the meantime, various incidents occurred, including contact with the abyss. It was no wonder that Muak did not know the circumstances.
That was the moment when the clues were lost again.
Suddenly, I felt a familiar presence.
“Your Excellency Count Deorg.”
“I think you should come here.”
These are agents of the Crow Brigade.
Istan smiled and asked back.
“Did you find any special clues?”
“Yes, we found the stairs leading to the basement of the sanctuary, but the corpses of heretics were piled up all over the stairs.”
This report seems to be more helpful than the corpses scattered throughout the traces of the oasis.
The group followed the agents without hesitation and soon arrived at their destination. It was a fairly large passageway leading to the basement of the sanctuary.
“Ugh, this is…” … .”
“It’s a terrible sight.”
Seorik swallowed a low groan.
As he said, the corpses of heretics were literally piled up like a wall all over the stairs.
And there was one thing in common.
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“All your heads are looking underground.”
“Well, it looks like something like this happened while trying to stop something from coming up to the ground.”
Ian added his guess to Sven’s observation skills.
What the two said made quite a bit of sense, and they were examining the corpses to get more detailed information.
Suddenly, Seoric opened his eyes.
“Oh, wait! Come to think of it, didn’t you say that the new leader of the church brought monsters of the abyss from the basement of Sanctuary?”
“exactly.”
“Okay, that means… … .”
“Is this what happened after facing the abyss?”
Istan muttered with a puzzled look on his face.
I said this just in case, but at the moment, this was the most likely.
“But I don’t understand. Why are the heretics who are supposed to be collaborators of the Abyss…? … .”
Of course, many questions also arose.
However, there were limits to getting closer to the truth with only the clues given so far, and Noah muttered as he looked at the stairs leading to the basement.
“I guess I’ll have no choice but to go down in the end.”
“To agree.”
Ulan nods.
Furthermore, not only other warriors but even Istan agreed. Once that was decided, the imperial army immediately began preparations for the advance.
However, since the passage was too narrow for everyone to go down, it was decided to organize an advance team first.
“I’m reporting this to the commander!”
“We just finished getting ready to leave.”
The advance team consisted of slightly less than 10% of the unit. It was a smaller number than expected, but it was definitely not a force that could be ignored.
This is because the majority of those who belonged to the advance team could be considered elite, such as the Crow Brigade or the Knights.
“Then let’s move.”
The advance team soon began moving underground.
After only taking a few steps down, the moonlight disappeared in an instant, and pitch-black darkness soon engulfed the group.
But there was nothing to worry about.
Good luck! Grumble!
Torches soaring here and there. Subsequently, Laurea, Perticia, Delia, and Noah also created flames with the power given to them.
Then the darkness cleared in an instant, and the group resumed their march underground in a brightness almost like daylight.
Some time after that.
Countless stairs came to an end.
Afterwards, what unfolded in front of the advance team was an enormous void. It was a huge space that could easily accommodate tens to hundreds of thousands of people.
“Wow, it’s wider than I thought.”
“That’s right. “I never thought an underground space of this size would exist in the desert.”
Istan expressed honest admiration.
If I had known it would be this large, I would have been able to bring the entire main force that was left on the ground.
Afterwards, it was time to start exploring the surroundings.
“hmm? “What is that?”
Suddenly, something caught my eye.
A shabby building that is believed to have withstood a considerable amount of time. As I was examining this closely, Noah muttered as if making a guess.
“It looks like a temple.”
“Accurate. That is a temple that has existed since the ancient desert kingdom. “It is not known which god they served.”
In response to Muak’s answer, the party looked at the temple again as if they were curious.
However, they could not find any special clues in the temple, and the group was about to move to another place.
Suddenly, Sven’s eyes lit up.
“Everyone step back.”
“huh? why?”
“Something is coming.”
No sooner had he finished answering than Ulan pulled out the ax he was wearing at his waist. There was no way there were allies in a place like this.
Ulan’s judgment was correct.
[Gaaaaaa!]
A roar coming from all directions.
An unpleasant sound, like a blade scraping metal, echoed everywhere. Soon, beings presumed to be the owners of the strange castle appeared.
[Okay! Grrr!]
[Gaaaa!]
It had a rather ugly appearance.
The entire body had already rotted away and there were body parts here and there that seemed to belong to other creatures.
Istan frowned at the figure that looked like a monster at first glance and pulled out his sword.
“Are those also monsters of the abyss?”
“No, it’s similar, but a little different.”
“What’s different?”
“I can’t feel the unique magical power that the monster of the abyss gives off. So that… … .”
Just when Noah was about to finish speaking.
Ulan intercepted her answer.
“You are a human contaminated by the abyss.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Noah silently nods his head.
As she said, those were the words of a human who had excessively accepted the magic power of the abyss. Also, judging by their clothing, they were presumed to be desert pagans.
Since it was something I had seen many times in my past life, I naturally knew how to deal with it.
“Delia.”
“huh?”
“I need your help.”
A sudden request from Ulan.
Delia asked back with a happy face.
“What should I do?”
“Each of them has a magic core.”
“Like a demonic beast?”
“okay. However, since the location of the nucleus is different, can you identify it and indicate it?”
“of course. “I’ll give it a try.”
Delia nodded willingly.
Afterwards, she opened her eyes and instantly observed the flow of magical energy swimming among the monsters.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they found the places that were presumed to be the core that Ulan had mentioned.
Paaaaaa!
A technique engraved with dazzling light. Soon, Delia’s magic was activated, and each body part of the monsters began to glow brightly.
“Can I do this?”
“It is perfect.”
Ulan grinned.
He grabbed the ax as if he was going to run away at any moment, and Istan and the group, who had overheard their conversation, were quickly able to decide what to do.
“They say we can aim for that direction.”
“order! Aim for the shiny part! “That’s the weak point of those monsters!”
There is nothing to be afraid of as long as you know the vital points.
The knights’ fierce eyes shined and their fighting spirit burned. Just as I was about to quickly get into a fighting stance, Sven suddenly opened his palm.
“… … Wait a minute.”
“hmm? what?”
“There’s something unusual out there. “It’s a much more powerful aura than the guys surrounding us right now.”
The appearance of a powerful enemy more threatening than a monster.
As I was guessing who the opponent was, a loud roar was heard from beyond the monsters.
thud! Coooooo! Coo!
After a while, something appeared along with the ground shaking. Istan frowned at the size of the monster, which was five to six times bigger than the other monsters.
“Could it be that they are giants?”
“No. “It’s a little different from that.”
Then Seoric shook his head.
Giants are literally giant humans.
On the other hand, the monster in front of me was not completely humanoid. If you look closely, it looks like several people were mixed together and stuck together.
Then.
Suddenly Muak opened his eyes.
“Ah, Arena Ludrick?!”
A cry of astonishment escaped from my mouth.
It wasn’t just that. Sir Pi also opened her eyes wide as if she was startled. In response to this reaction, Istan and Seorik immediately asked back.
“What do you mean?”
“Does this mean that monster is the next cult leader?”
However, no answer came back.
Of course, there was no need to ask any more. Because the bewildered reaction coming from Muak itself meant the correct answer.
“Why do you look like that… … .”
At the moment Muak was muttering one after another.
The monster called Arena Ludric twisted its huge head in front of him. At the same time, a strange voice was heard from what was assumed to be the mouth.
【To the King, bow to you】
A voice scraping metal. Stuttering speech.
With a terrible voice that made you frown just hearing it, the monster suddenly spread its six pairs of arms wide.
【Worship to the true King of the Desert!】
And that moment.
Arena Ludric, who had turned into a monster, rushed forward with a roar. At the same time, cultists contaminated by the abyss also rushed towards the group.
“come! Everyone get ready!”
Sven’s warning shout signaled the start of the battle in the sanctuary.
fantasy,
