The array which shone brightly was in fact not by itself. There were others, some were green, some were blue, and some were brown. But this one was red.
Fox as an experienced scout could tell that the armor had been filled to the brim with all sorts of trap elemental arrays. The reason was likely that it was impossible to know which part of the armor would remain intact.
The area inside of Lofty instantly heated up, it heated into a ball of fire before bursting and shooting off hot flames in any wild direction. But the array wasn't so limited in function, it exploded outwards making for a dazzling display.
Fox had turned to run but his usually quick steps were not quick enough, he was engulfed by the red explosion of death.
"Aaaah!" There was a scream.
Balin however didn't even bat an eye. As soon as he heard Fox's initial shout, he had already jumped into action. He pressed his foot down on the ground and a wall was instantly formed. The vibrations from the explosion shook it but the wall never gave way.
Once the commotion died down, the wall crumbled at the command of Balin. It revealed a scorched flooring and walling as well as a mangled body.
"Commander…" The body which appeared to be dead at first sight whispered softly as it struggled to lift its head and speak.
Balin leaped forward in a swift motion while bringing out all sorts of healing herbs and fruits.
"Don't look so glum later…" Fox continued before his body slumped without life. He had created a barrier of wind but for someone in such close proximity, there was no hasty barrier that could possibly help.
It was a nefarious trap. An explosion alone is quite deadly but when coupled with the shrapnel from Lofty's earthen armor it was that much more frightening. The shards of rock sunk into Fox's body mutilating his body, leaving it as nothing more than a bloody rag.
Luckily, Fox was a curious man. Perhaps that was what allowed him to become such an exemplary scout in the first place, his curiosity. His shout had definitely lessened the injuries suffered by Balin's company.
Silence reigned... but for only a second.
Balin stashed away the herbs and medicines he brought out. Don't look so glum. That was tough, but he would handle it.
"57 injured… One casualty…" Dair spoke and said in a hushed manner as if in disbelief.
"You, get a body bag" A squad captain said to one of their team members.
Balin only watched as the company instantly became business as usual, they had to carry on. They had to carry on with a weight on their mind.
"One casualty…" Balin looked at the corpse and muttered. He would carry the weight of one more casualty, of one more number. Because in the end, no one would know of Fox's meritorious service.
***
Ed who had come up with this nefarious plan was not too far away at the moment. In fact, he was only two rooms next to them.
'Hm, I got them all back' It was a suicidal plan that would cost him seven consciousnesses. Or at least it would have had he not been present.
The seven consciousnesses were safely recalled by the soul calling sub-skill. Not only that, but Ed was also able to get a soul from a dead adventurer.
As for why he knew... the reason was obviously his sixth sense skill. He had been expecting the seven consciousnesses and therefore wanted to see the sub-skill in action. That a soul came along with it was nothing more than a pleasant surprise. He hadn't expected for his traps to kill anybody though he certainly had hoped so.
He could tell it was a soul due to the vibrancy with which it shone a helpless blue. The strength and size it displayed were unlike any he had seen before. The only thing that ever showed traces of this was the energy that wafted off the zombie he had created with that one adventurer.
Another thing to take note of however was how the soul seemed to rapidly start to fall apart. By the time it reached and disappeared into Ed's head, it had lost half of what its original size likely had been.
Previously, Ed had suspected the system was shortchanging him with the level up requirements but now he could be certain it wasn't entirely so.
'I better move from here now' As the host of the party, it was Ed's task to welcome the guests. Not only that, but Ed had already put all of his preparations into place It would be a pity for him to miss them.
Ed's current agility wasn't low so he made it back rather quickly and in a single sprint. The undead didn't need to worry too much about things like stamina. At the very least they could endure for longer periods without rest.
Ed hopped over the fortress wall and took in the sights behind it. Nothing.
Ed stored all of his crystals and items as well as hid away all of his skeletons. There was nothing but the temple he had built and random debris from constant battles. The skeletons didn't waste a single day of training and Ed could see that determination, or rather that monotony.
'Sigh, what a pity' The temple would surely be destroyed after Ed left or died. As a final homage to it, Ed walked down the wall and entered the throne room. His name was still etched clearly on the back of the throne.
'I really wanted to see these letters written out in full' But unless the humans intended to investigate the area in secret there was no way for the temple to be spared. Ed knew at this point that there were no other possible outcomes.
Zephyr and the two new wind crystal skeletons were never spotted. That didn't mean they hadn't gotten a clear view due to their distance or something, they did do their job correctly.
The adventurers were not able to spot them due to the difficulty of hiding the tracks of large armies. It wasn't impossible within the maze-like crypt floors but a hard task nevertheless.
With Zephyr's information, Ed was able to roughly guess the size of the army. It was anywhere from 150 to 200 men. All of them incredibly skilled or at least lead by someone incredibly powerful.
'Most of the traps were cleared without difficulty' That was what lead Ed to conclude the army's combatants were high in power or that it was led by a powerhouse. Either of those situations would spell a grim ending but Ed still hoped it was the latter.
'I can at least get their souls' If they were a large group of weaklings being led by a powerhouse then Ed breathing in their direction might be enough to cause their death.
'Although a skeleton can't breathe' Ed put aside the bad logic and sat down on his throne to wait. He thought about what skills to use and how to make the best of them.
Finally, Ed could hear the heavy steps taken by the armored knights and the solemn resolve in the rhythm of their march.
'I wonder if I'm ready' Ed had played back the possible scenarios in his mind for a good while now but it was impossible to predict the future, his scenarios could only serve as an outline.
A loud explosion sounded out. The earth used to make the fortress wall was sent flying after being broken into bits and out of the lingering dust came out the first human.
It was a fairly muscular man. He had a longsword and wore armor that shone a soft silver. It had green symbols inscribed into it that seemed to hold unique meaning The image was a branch stretching out its leaves beyond the horizon. Ed suspected the symbol depicted ambition and growth
The wide gap formed by the explosion allowed for the entire army to easily walk atop the rumble and make it across without issue. Soon, B-rank and A-class adventurers also walked out of the settling dust.
They all peered into the same exact spot. A doorway.
The temple was pitch black. The already dim lighting of the surroundings didn't help but the temple was different. The darkness was like a void of death. Whatever was in there had reaped the souls of many humans before. That was the sort of feeling the knights got as they approached its steps.
"I will go first" Balin who was the man at the lead said. He had long since unsheathed the long sword and used a special fruit to coat its sleek blade.
With all of the final preparations in place, Balin walked into the temple. The leaders of each squad followed close behind.
As they climbed the set of steps and glanced into the temple room they couldn't help but draw a cold breath. It was because they still couldn't see anything.
One of the squad leaders instantly cast a spell and tossed a ball of flame into the room. The ball of flame floated and illuminated the entire temple room.
"A throne..." Someone muttered. The throne was the most conspicuous of all the things in the temple. It stood out like a light in the dark. What they heard next however was an even greater shock.
'You all actually walked into there?' Ed transmitted with fake awe. There was actually another reason why Ed knew the temple wouldn't survive. He had long rigged it.
"F*ck!" Balin cursed, clearly not having learned that entering random places was not a good habit.