Our Family Has Fallen

"Danger resolved." Amanda spun around and was the first to speak, reclaiming her lost breath.

"Continue." Lance didn’t pay it any mind, raising his hand to signal moving out.

The old mansion was large, and for Lance, who had never been here and didn’t know the detailed map, it was a problem. He wasn’t sure where the important places were, nor the positions and numbers of the cultists.

Moreover, in such a complex indoor environment, you couldn’t just charge ahead blindly; you needed to pay attention to your surroundings, even above and below.

But he was here to loot the place, and he wouldn’t leave a single room untouched.

He wanted to drive out every last cultist!

Lance activated [Bloodhound Tracking] to capture the scents dissipating in the air, presenting the surrounding environment in his mind in another form.

This was why he could tell through the door that there were two cultists in the room earlier.

They used similar reconnaissance tactics, then allocated according to numbers, cooperating to eliminate the enemy at the first moment.

In this process, Boudica bore a lot of pressure as she had to perform various tactical maneuvers as Lance instructed.

Boudica was lazy but not stupid; on the contrary, she adapted very well to this combat rhythm. For her, it was like a hunting game.

Don’t think the Barbarian Tribes hunt by just charging forward wildly; on the contrary, their hunting methods were exquisite and complex, with different approaches for different prey.

At the same time, everyone had different responsibilities, who was bait, who was feigning attack, who was the main attack..., and trap flow, poison flow; their teamwork was extremely synchronized.

Now Boudica was in great shape too, able to complete tasks immediately several times, bringing back the enjoyment of hunting she once had.

Entering from the side rooms, they carefully cleared out those cultists along the way...

They burst into a room, much larger than the others, containing about a dozen followers wearing black robes and skull masks.

These people seemed busy with something and were baffled by the sudden intrusion of Lance and others.

They stopped what they were doing and all looked over. What happened?

"Kill them!"

A voice came from among the cultists. You could see that person wasn’t tall, somewhat slender.

Wearing a black robe with gold trim, helmet differentiated from the evil cult warriors and witches, unlike the common followers’ black iron masks.

Stranger yet was that the guy wasn’t holding claws or a magic wand, but an incense burner.

"Yes, Mr. Priest!"

Once that guy spoke, the other followers reacted, grabbing whatever was at hand and charging at Lance’s team.

Fighting in the room was much easier because once the door was closed, it was relatively isolated, but they were also locked inside.

This wasn’t the same level of combat; those followers weren’t specialized warriors, some didn’t even have weapons. Boudica swung her ax, cutting them down like mowing grass.

But the guy in the back, called Priest, wasn’t so simple; he immediately raised the incense burner to cast a spell, and a wave of noxious smoke seemed to be controlled, rushing toward the team.

Poisonous smoke!

Anyone could see something was wrong; even Boudica hesitated for a moment, instinctively trying to dodge.

But they had countermeasures; don’t forget, Amanda was the professional.

She took out a bottle of unknown potion, chanting as she opened it, and a strange force rose from the bottle, driven by some mysterious power, colliding with the smoke and dispersing together.

"Attack!"

Lance quickly pulled out a heavy crossbow, something he specifically bought from Totnes because no such exaggerated crossbow existed in Hamlet.

Tested to penetrate an average knight’s armor within ten yards, but it required a winch to draw and load.

However, with Lance’s hands, it took only a few fingers to pull the bowstring, reloading the next bolt in seconds to fire at the Priest.

The hefty arrow shaft represented immense power, slamming into the body like a heavy punch, forcing the guy back a few steps before stabilizing.

Audrey and Amanda were both masters of throwing weapons, and upon hearing this, they threw daggers and flying daggers that hit the target.

Usually, people would collapse, but these cultists had special constitutions. No matter how much was stabbed into them, they wouldn’t die as long as their life force hadn’t fully drained away.

Realizing he was being targeted, the Priest immediately swung the incense burner in front, and thick white smoke billowed out, obscuring the sight.

"You handle those; leave him to me."

If it were any other situation, Lance would have just thrown a grenade their way; forget sneaking around, the shockwaves and shrapnel would teach them what firepower suppression meant.

But unfortunately, he couldn’t do that now, so Lance could only rush forward to close the distance.

The Priest, taking advantage of the smoke cover, quickly pulled out random items, feeling something intruding, hurriedly swinging the incense burner again, exerting a strange force mingled with the smoke.

But as soon as Lance entered the smoke, he could feel it wasn’t purely physical, but driven by Supernatural Power, with an evil force attempting to influence him.

Yet Lance’s constitution was too strong, fully resistant to such things, and with [Sanctuary] and [Natural Purification], it was impossible for him to be poisoned or affected in any way.

In contrast, their spell and the evil presence almost glowed in Lance’s eyes.

Lance swung his sword, and the explosive power disturbed the air, slicing through the smoke like a blade.

Surprisingly, what Lance felt from Wolf Fang wasn’t flesh but metal; the resounding clash revealing the Priest blocked Wolf Fang with a dagger.

Even more, as soon as he was exposed, he swung a dagger with evil enchantment toward Lance.

Trained, huh?

Without a word, Lance swung his sword backhanded and killed him.

Ridiculous~

As the Priest died, the cohesive smoke swiftly dispersed, leaving only wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner on the ground, but even that faded, mirroring the Priest’s fate.

Boudica and the others dealt with those followers effortlessly, nearly ending the battle together around the same time.

Lance pushed open a window, fresh air rushing in to hasten the smoke’s dispersal, finally eradicating the foul smell.

Now Lance could focus on the room, with long tables arrayed with familiar alchemy apparatus.

Those bottles and jars contained oddly colored and unsettling potions and materials.

Now Lance understood why not all cultists occupying the headquarters of the Sect of Ascension were warriors.

Some tasks needed to be done, like this place, specially for cultists to concoct various potions.

This discovery led Lance to search quickly, indeed finding a wealth of books and scrolls around.

To train apprentices for potion mixing, they needed the appropriate textbooks and precise proportions.

Even from a quick glance, there were numerous formulas and corresponding research notes inside, all detailing bizarre blending processes yet marking different effects.

These finds brought a profound joy to Lance, his mouth quirking into an uncontrollable grin.

Stuff it all into the display room first, whether it was useful was one thing, having it was another.

Why didn’t he dare to bombard the mansion outright? It was precisely for these treasures, various Supernatural Powers painstakingly gathered by the ancestors worldwide.

This was the true inheritance, damn it.

Ecstatic!