Glen’s sudden entrance was unexpected, since he should have been investigating the cliff on the opposite side. Weig also appeared to be surprised by Glen’s appearance, but unlike Zich, who thought of Glen’s actions as pathetic, he welcomed Glen’s entrance. After all, Weig didn’t find anything wrong with Glen’s behavior, although what Zich told him made him a bit more suspicious. Thus, Weig thought Glen had purely come to support them. The water also made communication basically impossible between them, so they couldn’t ask Glen what happened either. Yet, Zich thought there was no need for them even to ask.
‘He’s just going to make up excuses anyway,’ Zich thought. They would be wasting their breath if they asked.
Even with Glen joining the battle, the Bellids didn’t back down easily. The water-filled space gave the Bellids a great environmental advantage, but of course, this didn’t mean that Zich and his companions were losing. Each person in Zich’s group possessed great skills and they were able to calmly block the Bellids’ attacks and counterattack.
At a glance, the battle appeared to be at a stand still, and it seemed like the fight would end in a draw. Little by little, the fight was slowly but surely leaning toward Zich’s party. Although their progress was slow, they advanced forward with each step. The Bellids also noticed this, and their movements became rougher. Yet, they failed to block Zich’s party from advancing.
The Bellids looked more and more worried. They still had some distance before Zich’s party reached the statue, but they were concerned about the magic circle around the statue. If they walked a couple of more steps, Zich and his companions would step into the circle. The magic circle was crucial to their plans, although less so than the statue, but if Zich’s party harmed it, their scheme would turn into a failure.
It was hopeless to expect Zich and his companions to leave the magic circle alone. The Bellids had already spotted Zich eyeing the circle, and from time to time, his party aimed for the circle instead of the Bellids or the statue. Thus, the moment Zich’s party treaded onto the circle, they would destroy it, and the Bellids had to prevent that from happening at all costs.
However, it was impossible to do so with their current powers. The power of the statue was outstanding, but they couldn’t use it properly. They lacked the ability to do so, and they were saving the statue’s power for a special purpose. Yet, they knew that if things continued to progress this way, Zich and his companions would ruin the magic circle. In the end, there was only one option left. The Bellids looked at each other. They read each other's determination through their eyes and realized that they all had the same thought and strengthened their resolve. Zich also sensed what they were thinking.
‘Tch!’ Zich clicked his tongue inside his mind and tried hard to increase his speed even more. However, just like how the Bellids couldn’t stop Zich’s party from advancing, it was impossible for Zich’s party to move faster than their current speed. That showed how strong the Bellids’ resistance was.
Three Bellid followers suddenly placed both of their hands on Bellu’s statue. Their attitude seemed to indicate that they did not care whether or not Zich and his companions approached them. Besides these three, the rest of the Bellids took one step forward in front of the statue. Then, they continued to shoot out attacks at Zich’s party.
Wiiiing! The water vibrated. Light came out of Bellu’s statue, and a surge of energy flowed out. It was unclear what was happening, but it was clearly something terrible. Besides the three Bellids with their hands on the statue, the other Bellids continued to resist. However, after the power they got from the statue was cut off, they struggled to properly defend against Zich’s group. In the end, they made up for the difference in skills with their own lives. They didn’t fear death and rushed toward Zich’s party. They didn’t try to win and their primary goal was to slow Zich’s party down to buy more time for their companions. In the end, this plan was successful. Zich’s party advance slowed down a little bit while the light coming out of the statue grew stronger and stronger.
Slice! Zich’s sword sliced a Bellid follower, and crimson blood splashed into the water. That was the last resisting follower, and after all the obstacles disappeared, Zich’s party thrust themselves forward to destroy the statue. However, it was too late.
Pop! Pop! Pop! The Bellids with their hands on the statue of Bellu exploded into pieces. Their blood splashed onto the already red waters. It was a grotesque sight. Yet, unfitting of the sight and their gruesome end, the Bellids’ expressions looked extremely satisfied before they exploded. They had achieved their purpose.
Bam! Zich infused his feet with mana and stepped on the magic circle. He made a clear footprint on the circle, intending to ruin its shape. Yet, the statue’s light didn’t disappear. Weig placed great force into his sword and swung it at Bellu’s statue. The statue looked like it was going to break in front of his enormous power.
Bam! Yet, the statue remained undisturbed, and Weig’s sword powerlessly bounced off it. Weig scowled and swung his sword again.
Bam! Bam! Bam! However, there were no signs of the statue breaking, and all that sounded was Weig’s sword repeatedly bouncing off the statue. The others also joined in to destroy the statue, but none of their attacks were effective. Zich and Weig’s mana-filled swords bounced off effortlessly, and Hans also could not use Estellade’s light to crack the statue. Snoc tried to use his power over the earth to break the statue apart, but that also failed. It was the same for Glen’s attacks. While this went on, the light from the statue continued to grow stronger.
Crack! A small crack appeared on the statue’s surface. Did their attacks finally get through? However, Zich’s group’s faces didn’t brighten up—they weren’t the ones who had caused the crack on the statue.
Crackle! An enormous amount of power began seeping through the crack, and it spread everywhere like a spider web. The amount of power it let out also increased. Then, Zich’s group realized what would happen next. There would certainly be an explosion.
Tap! Someone tapped Zich’s shoulder—it was Glen. He looked at Zich with a stiff expression. Then, he pointed his fingers toward the tunnel. It was obvious what he was indicating; he was telling Zich to escape through the tunnel before the explosion occurred. Zich nodded without much thought; even to him, the situation was beyond their abilities. If they lingered any longer, they might also get swept up by the explosion.
Zich ordered Hans and Snoc to escape. They also nodded in agreement because as his disciples, their thought process was also similar to Zich’s. Moreover, they also had a significant amount of trust in Zich. Weig also agreed to escape with a somber expression. Even with all his experience, he also realized that staying here any longer wouldn’t change anything. On the other hand, as someone who had negative feelings about the Bellids, he felt the strongest sense of humiliation and loss among everyone here.
They all turned their backs toward the statue and ran towards the tunnel. Since the tunnel was not very long, it did not take them long to get to the surface. Rain was still pouring outside, and the rain droplets were bigger than before. Zich’s group was already all soaking wet from fighting inside with the water, so the heavy rainfall made little impact on them. Instead, they even felt refreshed because the clean water washed away the blood on them.
Most importantly, even though they had come outside, the dilemma was not over. An explosion would soon eat up the whole cliff. They didn’t know how big the size of the explosion would be, but it was clear that the explosion would at least reach where they were standing. They all began running. The rain droplets that hit their bodies stung, and they tried to increase their distance away from the statue as much as possible. They ran for a while when—
Baaaaammmmm! An enormous explosion with bright light swallowed their backs.
Craaacckk! The earth shook as if there was a large earthquake. It was such a large vibration that an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to keep their balance. They all looked back and saw rocks flying in the air within the heavy downpour that hindered their sight. The rocks spanned from the size of a person’s fist to rocks the size of a house, and they freely flew around the air regardless of their respective sizes. It was a surreal sight, and it even looked mystical from a glance. However, this mystical sight had enough power to bring catastrophic disaster and crush the hopes of the surrounding people. However, the rocks flew around in the air for only a moment and soon fell under the inescapable laws of gravity.
Bam! Bam! Bam! The heavy rocks ultimately fell and hit the surface indiscriminately. Their heavy masses made them a terrifying weapon, and the areas that the rocks fell on instantly became devastated. The Steif Fortress, which was nearby, the villages at a slight distance, and all the living creatures near the gorge had to crouch and shiver in fear at the unexpected disaster. However, this was only the beginning.
Cracckkkk! They heard a large sound from the direction of the cliff. The Horus Gorge’s cliff seemed as if it would eternally stand upright and haughtily look down on everyone below, but it was crumbling down. It looked as if a enormous giant was continuously hammering down the cliff with a hammer and chisel. The top part of the cliff had a huge hole, and its original shape was gone.
The debris and wreckage from the cliff fell, collected below the gorge, and blocked the river. As a result, the flowing river stopped. With the combination of the rain that poured down from the sky without rest, the water level of the river rose exponentially. The river grew beyond its original size and spread out to the sides.
Considering that the gorge was blocked, there was no way it would end with just mild flooding. Zich’s group began heading towards the cliff again. They carefully moved down the terrain that was greatly caved in from the explosion and stood at the edge of the cliff that was much shorter than before.
Crumble! Rock debris dropped below their feet. Even though the rocks should have dropped to the river normally, there were no splashing sounds. Instead, there was only the sound of rocks hitting against other rocks.
“Damn it!” Weig swore, and Hans and Snoc’s expressions also darkened. It was obvious what outcome the enormous rock piles in front of them would bring. Zich glanced at Glen. He was looking down at the gorge with a stiff expression as if he was blaming himself for not stopping this situation. However, Zich was sure that this was not the case. Moreover, he was sure that this huge event would certainly be the major turning point for the conspiracy that Glen was plotting.