As piles of raft bridges gradually increased on the lake, Karuwiman and Bellid knights clashed from the front.
“Haaaap!”
“Haat!”
The leading knights swung their swords; their physical abilities had already been strengthened by the priests’ blessings. They swung their swords filled with holy power, and as the swords clashed against each other, a menacing sound spread throughout the whole area. The battle was fierce, but since the pathway was still small, only a few people were able to engage in direct combat with the Bellids. The rest of the Karuwiman had their swords out and were staring at their opponents with murderous eyes. Unfortunately, even the Karuwiman hadn’t found a miraculous way to rip apart the Bellid with just their eyes.
The initial battle was in favor of the Karuwimans who had more battle experience and skill. However, as the Bellid knights slowly drew back and went inside the temple’s barriers, the situation changed. They were able to use the temple’s barrier as a support system to fight against the Karuwimans. Even though the Karuwiman army had stronger and more experienced soldiers, the damage they received slowly began to increase.
Moreover, a full-fledged battle was occurring on top of the lake. The raft bridges and stepping stones already reached the center of the lake. As the Karuwimans came closer, most of their holy attacks were able to reach the Bellids; but at the same time, the Bellids’ retaliation became even stronger.
Crash! Crash!
Water pillars soared above and crashed against those who were making the raft bridges.
Splassh!
The surface of the lake trembled violently and shook the raft bridges, breaking the balance of the Karuwiman troops and disconnecting the bridge at the same time.
Swooosh!
Small water droplets soared above and swarmed towards the Karuwiman army like an army of bees. However, the Karuwiman army did not easily give in. High-ranking priests, who were standing on an unshakable pile of stepping stones, held their hands tightly together and gathered their holy powers. Light filled up the whole cave again.
Crash! Crash!
The light barrier blocked the Bellids’ attack. At the same time, a subtle light began to spread across the lake’s surface.
Swishh!
As the light passed through the violently shaking lake, the lake became still as if nothing had happened.
Bam! Bam!
As if it was now their turn to attack, the Karuwimans started throwing balls of light and light beams against their enemies. However, the Bellids’ barrier held steadfastly. The Karuwiman knights glared at the Bellids from across the lake but their attacks weren’t able to reach them. The Bellid temple’s barrier nullified the light attacks every time.
In contrast, the Karuwiman priests were now the ones who had to quickly make light barriers to protect themselves from the Bellids’ ferocious attacks. While these types of attacks went on, the Karuwimans finished making their raft bridges and stepping stones and were able to finally reach the other side of the lake. In a few moments, they would be able to make various attacks other than holy attacks from afar, and it would be much easier for the Karuwimans to attack.
However, there was no way the Bellids would just let this happen. The Bellid priests closed their eyes and reached their hands towards the lake. The water began trembling like crazy again. The Karuwiman priests tried to desperately block this attack, but they were way too close to the temple. The energy from the temple significantly increased the Bellid priests’ attacks.
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
A few Karuwiman knights were directly hit by the water pillars from the lake or fell in the violently shaking water. A knight who was building the rafts accidentally nailed the wrong side and a part of the raft bridge also became unusable. Weig watched all this from the other side of the lake. Even though casualties were slowly beginning to appear on the Karuwiman’s side, his complexion did not change in the slightest. All battles were like this. No matter how perfect and overwhelming their victory would be, there would always be casualties. It was impossible to not receive some damage one way or another.
“Ah…!” Lubella, who was standing next to Weig, let out a sigh. Every time a knight who was approaching the other side of the lake received damage, Lubella made a small cry. But Weig didn’t turn around.
‘She needs to get used to it.’
As long as the Bellid existed, Lubella would go through a lot of experiences like this. They needed to endure this. Weig wanted to immediately turn around and ask her if she was all right, but he repressed this emotion and continued to stare at the battle in front of him in silence. Again, a couple more Karuwiman knights were sacrificed.
‘As expected, that barrier is a huge problem.’
The barrier blocked all holy attacks that the Karuwimans shot from afar, and it significantly increased the powers of all Bellids. But they would be able to overcome it since the Karuwiman army was significantly stronger. However, he couldn’t deny that it would be better if the barrier was gone. After he left the deputy in command, Weig began moving again. He walked across the stepping stones. When he was about to reach the other side of the lake—
Thud!
His movements became dull. As he felt his body grow heavier, he looked up. The disgusting energy of Bellu was pressing down upon him.
Bam! Bam!
As if they were waiting for this moment all along, the followers of Bellid began to immediately attack Weig. However, all the attacks against him were nullified by a swing from his sword.
‘Hmm. This isn’t too bad.’
An ordinary person would have been crushed under the pressure, but Weig was still full of energy. However, it was also difficult for even him to bring out his full skills. On the other hand, as he looked around, the situation was becoming more favorable for the Karuwimans.
‘Since they are concentrating most of Bellu’s energy on me, they don’t have enough energy to back up the others.’
Just his existence here was extremely helpful to the overall battle. Weig stood straight on a raft and glared at the Bellid temple.
‘It would be great if Zich could break this barrier.’ Weig had this wishful thought while thinking of Zich who infiltrated the temple. Then he quickly resumed command while standing on a raft.
* * *
While Karuwiman and Bellid were fighting a fierce battle on the lake, there was a huge commotion going on inside the temple.
“Damn it!” Trislowa swore and punched the wall with his fist. He wanted to rip apart that bastard, who dared to mock him, limb by limb while he was alive, but he had already lost sight of Zich. Even though Trislowa was currently stronger than Zich, he was ultimately a priest. In terms of physical strength, there was no way he could beat Zich who trained his body to the limits. Zich was also able to control a lot more of his mana than before, so his skill had significantly increased.
Moreover, Zich knew every nick and corner of the temple’s secret entrance and architecture—something even Trislowa had no full knowledge of. Trislowa thought this whole situation was ridiculous, but this was the reality of his circumstances.
‘Why the hell is there a secret passageway here…’
Trislowa felt shocked as he emerged out of the secret passageway that Zich disappeared into. Trislowa was also familiar with the secret passageways of this temple. No, it was not an exaggeration to say that he knew all the secret passages that the Bellids currently knew. However, Trislowa wasn’t aware of the secret passage that Zich used to escape.
‘How does an outsider know of a secret passage that even I didn’t know of?’
When they first built this temple, it was the Bellids’ standard practice to dig up as many holes as possible to run out from. The secret passage that Zich escaped out of was one of them. But as time passed, people began to forget one or two of the passages that they had built in the past. Humans were forgetful animals, and even the Bellids were technically members of humanity. The strong belief that their place was the perfect hideout was also another factor in why they forgot some of the secret passageways. Trislowa was aware of all this, but he couldn’t wrap his head around how an outsider like Zich knew a secret passageway that the current Bellids didn’t know.
‘He couldn’t have secured a blueprint or anything like that.’
There was no blueprint or map with all the secret passages written on it. After the temple was completed, it was said that the blueprint was buried along with the constructors.
‘Regardless, it’s evident that he knows his way around this place, and most importantly, he has the Pyramid of Vengeful Souls in his possession.”
“Comrades!”
“Yes?!”
Trislowa called his fellow Bellids next to him.
“Please go to the battlefront and bring some knights with fast legs. Gather about fifty of them in the prayer room.”
“Yes, sir!”
As soon as the other priest disappeared, Trislowa gritted his teeth.
‘Since we are battling the Karuwimans right now, taking out more men than fifty would be too much. But we have to get the Pyramid of Vengeful Souls back at all costs.’
Trisolwa had to find Zich as fast as possible and beat him to death. The men he would take out from the battlefront were soldiers that could be used to fight the battle with the Karuwimans, and Trislowa, who was one of the Bellid’s greatest fighting forces, had to also get back on the battlefield as soon as possible.
Trislowa dispersed the remaining troops in the temple as wide as possible. He commanded one group to block the entrance, and after he warned them that they must signal their location even if they were dying, he also went to look for Zich himself.
But no matter where he went, he couldn’t find Zich.
‘That sneaky rat! He didn’t really escape out of here, right?!’
He had ordered his men to block all the doors, but Zich somehow knew passageways that even he wasn’t aware of. It wouldn’t have been strange if Zich knew of a passageway that secretly led him outside, but Trislowa didn’t think that Zich escaped.
‘That guy had a clear motive for intruding.’
Even in their conversation, Zich had thoroughly let out his murderous intent. Zich’s ultimate goal was revenge, and his purpose for trespassing into the temple was probably…
‘…To cause chaos.’
In addition to Karuwiman’s attack, there was an internal commotion because of Zich. Moreover, Zich was incredibly adept at causing this commotion.
‘At the same time, it’s not like there’s zero chance that he just escaped.’
That was a serious problem. If Trislowa thought back to Zich’s response when he first saw the artifact, the Pyramid of Vengeful Souls, Zich’s main target didn’t seem to be the item. But upon seeing it, Zich was able to instantly recognize the item’s value.
‘He might prioritize securing the sacred object now rather than causing chaos. He could have made his escape then.’
To Trislowa, losing the ‘Pyramid of Vengeful Souls’ was a bigger nightmare than losing the northern base, but he didn’t have many options after losing sight of Zich.
‘I can’t do anything more than hope that he hasn’t gone outside yet.’
In the end, Trislowa returned to the prayer room. There, he saw the group of knights that he had requested, waiting for him.
“A rat snuck into the temple.” Trislow immediately spoke. “He stole the Pyramid of Vengeful Souls, and now, we have to retrieve our sacred object back at all costs no matter how dire our state of emergency is. That object is more important than our northern base!”
The knights turned serious. Trislowa’s mad eyes told them how important this job was.
“But that rat’s skills are noteworthy. He evaded my attacks multiple times, and his movements are nimble. They are not skills that we can just ignore. Furthermore, he somehow knows the structure of this temple and its hidden places well. So, all of you move in pairs and don’t think about charging at him recklessly. Send a signal first. If he attacks, avoid it and if he tries to escape, try to follow him as tightly as you can. Stick close to him!” Trislowa said his last words with great force and ended with a voice full of murderous intent. “Let’s corner him to a dead-end.”
‘Since he described himself as a rat…’ Trislowa planned to treat him like one. Trislowa’s eyes became murderous and shone brightly.
* * *
While Trislowa was stirring up his bloodthirst for Zich, Zich went down to the basement. The prison he passed by before appeared in view again. Zich turned his head around and checked the area.
‘There’s no guard.’
Even the prison guards seemed to have been mobilized for the battle, as the seat set in place for the guard was empty. Zich walked to the guard seat.
‘It’s here.’
A key ring hung visibly on the wall. Zich grabbed the ring, and many keys clinked as they hit each other on the large ring. After Zich took the keys, he walked slowly towards the front of the prison and checked its insides. Unlike before when he had quickly glanced at them, he could now clearly see the prisoners. All of them were in seriously bad condition, and it was obvious that they endured great torture and violence for a long time.
There were bloody scabs all over their bodies, and it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that their skin was like rags. As if all their tendons had been cut off, their limbs stretched loosely from their bodies. There were some who were muttering something like they had lost their minds, and there were also some with missing limbs. There were even people who were already dead.
As if the prison had never been cleaned, people’s wastes piled over the floor, and in the cramped space, everyone was smeared with filth. The place wasn’t suitable for a human or even a domestic animal.
But Zich looked at the prisoners with emotionless eyes as if he was looking at products in a market, and thought, ‘Will these things be useful?’ The people inside the prison feared Zich when they first saw him, thinking that he was a follower of Bellid. But then, they saw how his demeanor and clothing looked different from the Bellids and thought something was different from normal.
Still, no one said anything to Zich. His appearance might be different from normal Bellids, but there was no evidence that he wasn’t a Bellid follower. Zich walked the full length of the prison once and looked at the prisoners. Then, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
‘Well, this much will be…’
Zich stood in the center of the prison. People stared at him with eyes mixed with rage and fear.
“Everyone,” he stated, “Don’t you want revenge?”