Chapter 54: Battle II
With a wave of his hand, the Imperial Nemesis Knight came out from his shadow.
The Nemesis Spectral Knights rushed ahead, charging toward the two Guardian Golems.
Their heavy swords slashed at the towering constructs from every direction.
Kaiser slowly closed his hand.
A Spectral Blade appeared in his grasp.
Dark Soul Mana surged around the weapon.
He raised it high into the air.
"Grand Spectral Art: Cleave of Death."
At the same moment, the Imperial Nemesis Knight mirrored his movement, lifting its massive greatsword above its head.
The two swings descended together.
Slash!
An enormous black blade of Soul Mana tore through the corridor, rushing toward the Guardian Golems with overwhelming force.
The two Guardian Golems immediately crossed their massive stone shields.
Boom!
The black blade crashed into them.
The entire corridor shook violently.
Cracks spread across both shields.
The Guardian Golems were pushed several meters backward.
Before they could recover, the Nemesis Spectral Knights reached them.
Boom!
Boom!
Heavy swords struck the stone bodies from every direction.
Sparks flew with every impact.
The Guardian Golems swung their enormous hammers.
One swing sent three Nemesis Spectral Knights flying.
Another hammer smashed directly into a knight’s chest.
Its armor cracked, and it crashed into a nearby pillar.
The remaining knights continued attacking without stopping.
The Imperial Nemesis Knight charged forward.
It raised its greatsword with both hands and slashed at the nearest Guardian Golem.
Clang!
The golem blocked with its shield.
The impact created another powerful shockwave.
Kaiser calmly watched the battle.
"They’re tougher than the crocodile."
He raised his free hand.
"Withered Heart."
A dark green aura landed on both Guardian Golems.
Nothing happened.
Kaiser nodded.
"As expected."
"Curses that weaken the body don’t work well on constructs."
He immediately changed his strategy.
"Corruption Grease."
Dark red Mana covered every sword held by the Spectral Knights.
The plague-covered blades struck the stone bodies again and again.
Although the plague couldn’t infect the golems, the corrosive Mana slowly began eating away at the ancient runes engraved across their bodies.
Kaiser noticed it immediately.
"So that’s their weakness."
"The runes."
He pointed toward the glowing symbols.
"Target the runes."
The Spectral Knights immediately obeyed.
Instead of attacking randomly, they focused every strike on the glowing runes.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
One rune after another shattered.
The Guardian Golems’ movements gradually became slower.
Cracks spread across their stone bodies.
The Imperial Nemesis Knight seized the opportunity.
It stepped forward and swung its greatsword with all its strength.
Boom!
The first Guardian Golem’s shield shattered into countless pieces.
A second swing followed immediately.
Slash!
The greatsword split the golem from its shoulder to its waist.
The giant construct froze for a moment.
Then its body collapsed into a pile of broken stone.
At almost the same time, the remaining Nemesis Spectral Knights overwhelmed the second Guardian Golem.
Its runes were destroyed one after another.
Without the enchantments supporting it, its body could no longer withstand the continuous attacks.
Boom!
The second Guardian Golem also collapsed.
Silence returned to the corridor.
The broken stone slowly stopped rolling across the floor.
Kaiser looked at the shattered constructs.
"No soul."
"No corpse worth raising."
He shook his head.
"What a waste."
He dismissed the thought and walked past the destroyed Guardian Golems.
At the end of the corridor, a pair of enormous golden doors slowly came into view.
Ancient Light runes glowed across their surface.
In the center of the doors was the crest of a sword surrounded by a radiant halo.
Kaiser stopped a few meters away and quietly observed them.
"This should be the first trial chamber."
Kaiser slowly pushed the massive golden doors open.
Rumble...
The ancient doors moved inward with a deep rumbling sound.
Beyond them was a huge stone chamber.
The moment Kaiser stepped inside, the doors behind him slowly closed.
Boom!
He turned around briefly before looking ahead again.
The chamber stretched far into the distance.
Tall stone walls divided the area into countless passages.
It was a giant maze.
Kaiser quietly looked around.
"The first trial is a maze."
He wasn’t surprised.
Large inheritance sites often tested more than strength.
Some tested intelligence.
Others tested patience or perception.
He slowly walked toward the entrance of the maze.
The walls were nearly twenty meters high.
Ancient Light runes were carved into every surface.
He reached out and touched one of the walls.
"It can’t be destroyed."
The runes immediately pushed his Soul Mana away.
Kaiser nodded.
"So brute force isn’t an option."
He looked upward.
The ceiling was completely sealed.
There was no way to fly over the maze.
Even Rite wouldn’t be able to scout from above.
Kaiser thought for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"Fortunately, I don’t need to solve it myself."
He raised his hand.
The shadows around him expanded.
One after another, Nemesis Spectral Knights emerged.
Soon, all thirty stood before him.
Kaiser looked at them.
"Split into ten groups."
"Three knights per group."
"Search every path."
"If you find the exit or anything unusual, contact me immediately through our Soul Link."
The Spectral Knights nodded.
Without another word, they separated into ten groups.
Each group entered a different passage of the maze.
Within moments, they had disappeared from sight.
Only the Imperial Nemesis Knight remained beside Kaiser.
Kaiser smiled faintly.
"Let’s see what this maze is hiding."
He chose the center passage and calmly walked forward with the Imperial Nemesis Knight following a few steps behind him.
The silent maze swallowed their figures.
minutes passed.
The maze remained completely silent.
No monsters appeared.
No traps were activated.
Kaiser continued walking at a steady pace.
Every few minutes, he marked the walls with a small trace of Soul Mana.
Although the maze constantly twisted and turned, none of his marks disappeared.
"So the walls aren’t changing."
"That’s good."
Another ten minutes passed.
Through the Soul Link, one of the Spectral Knights sent him a message.
"A dead end."
Kaiser wasn’t surprised.
"Return and continue searching."
The knight immediately obeyed.
A few minutes later, another group reported.
"Nothing here."
Kaiser simply nodded and kept walking.
Soon, more reports arrived.
"Dead end."
"Collapsed passage."
"No exit."
Kaiser calmly memorized every report.
The maze was slowly taking shape inside his mind.