Our Family Has Fallen

The previous lesson has shown that ordinary people alone cannot defeat those out-of-control Transcendents. Apart from the champion, some heroes have been called back; this cannot happen again here.

Both Alhazred and Alviss, the two great Spellcasters, are also ready. Everyone boards the ship together, once again setting foot towards the place where all evil originated.

All the way, silence prevailed. The Honor Guards knew what they were about to face, busy checking their equipment, planning actions, or honing their weapons.

But this is not out of depression and despair. On the contrary, they were full of enthusiasm, always ready to fight for humanity. They are seasoned warriors, having endured countless bloody battles, and do not need excitement to express themselves. Calm and rationality are the Lord’s expectations of them.

Alhazred, however, was not lost in meditation but was quietly discussing something with Alviss.

Spellcasters, especially powerful ones, are like mobile libraries, living databanks, but it is rare to have an opportunity for interaction, let alone effective communication.

Ultimately, it is hard for Transcendents to trust one another. Conflict seems to curse them.

But with Hamlet having the Lord over him, they have a buffer to facilitate some communication.

Having traversed this route multiple times, it has been thoroughly explored, and without Deep Divers harassing them, even when shrouded in Extreme Darkness, they still reach the small dock without incident.

Sparse torches can be seen burning on the rack, serving as beacons, also outlining the approximate size of the dock.

After such a long period of expansion and reinforcement, the space here has widened considerably, but behind is a sea cliff, and ahead is the ocean, making it all rather insufficient.

During these days of preparation, Lance brought over a hundred navy troops, along with several ships.

Lance made these preparations with his plans in mind, and the team quickly boarded the sea cliff.

As the Honor Guard was coming up, Lance led a few heroes down underground into the ancient corridor and reached the gigantic stone door.

"This..."

Gazing at the massive door splitting with a red light, Alviss momentarily became frenzied.

It was as if he saw...

Lance never judged by appearance. He sensed the aberrant aura on the Mage and quickly stepped forward, pressing his hand on the Mage’s shoulder.

"Calm down!"

Bless activates, the powerful force directly suppressing the Mage’s anomaly, pulling his consciousness back to reality.

Damn it! His reaction was even worse than Alhazred’s initial visit here.

Well, it makes sense. The scholar has always been fighting against all sorts of chaotic entities. Though most of his power is restricted, his mental resistance is very high, turning misfortune into a blessing.

Reynard and the others, who came this time, were somewhat disturbed by the door emitting an evil aura, but not overly affected, as they have been combating corruption for a long time. The Lord had reminded them beforehand.

An additional reason is their insight hadn’t reached the mage level, rendering them incapable of understanding the aura’s implications, thus weakening the impact on them.

Sometimes ignorance is indeed bliss...

Ultimately, Alviss is a Legendary Caster, and even without Lance stepping in, he could stabilize himself, albeit at a cost.

But now he quickly regained composure, refraining from probing that eerie force. Given his strength, self-preservation wasn’t an issue.

However, as a Spellcaster, he naturally sensed the Lord’s power just displayed, dispelling the corruption with ease.

Seeing this, Lance slowly withdrew his hand, observing that these Transcendents were notoriously unstable, each like a ticking bomb, yet he wouldn’t voice this, needing manpower.

"Thank you, I’m fine now." Alviss adjusted his emotions, once again looking at the stone door emitting a red glow. "Is this the transportation gate you mentioned? It looks more like a seal."

"We’ll study this slowly later; let’s prioritize our tasks."

"Ah! Isn’t this the transportation gate you mentioned?"

Alviss was surprised to hear this, suspecting there might be more experts?

Lance did not have the time to debate with these researchers; under his urging, he gave Alviss little time, directly crossing the strange doorway.

Normally, he would never venture into such an unknown realm recklessly, but seeing the scholar follow suit, after a brief hesitation, Lance entered this place.

No choice, curiosity kills!

This anomalous traversal was common for Alviss, akin to eating a meal, his spatial affinity acute, explaining his specialization in teleportation spells.

Yet as he reacted, suddenly landing in that dungeon, he could not help but stumble out of the crowd, murmuring strange words with a hometown accent.

"Where have I ended up? Is this still within the empire?"

The pressure faced by Reynard and the others was greater than outside. It appeared they needed time to adjust.

Even Alhazred found it hard to withstand the pressure upon re-entering here, the anomaly causing heartache.

Fortunately, Lance was beside him and calmly spoke.

"We came this time to end it all."

His serene demeanor somehow instilled strong confidence among them, dispelling indescribable fears.

Of course, we came to destroy; why fear this thing?

"You acclimate a bit first; once the Honor Guard arrives, they know the path. Scholar, let’s start."

Alhazred naturally understood his task and joined Lance.

Lance had previously scouted the entire floor, gazing at those peculiar giant stone pillars and various statues.

The blood of the deceased flowed down the massive spikes, this entity feeding on the nutrients of past Lords’ failures, continuously growing...

Lance preferred careful planning, having researched ritual arrangements with the scholar, rapidly identifying a suitable spot.

Underneath the massive twisted human-like statue sprang forth a wellspring of blood.

Compared to the rivers gushing forth, this place was smaller but stable, constantly emerging on its own.

"Let’s get started."

They began setting up a ritual under the Blood Spring.

Lance also took out a stone sculpture akin to the altar outside, predicated mainly for this preparation.

A robust main trunk with strange pattern lines carved, at its top a tray-like round disk, appearing incomplete.

Placing the altar over the spring, Alhazred delineated odd symbols and signs, producing various materials from his possession.

Constructing such a complex ritual intensified the scholar’s formidable Spiritual Essence, forming and settling under Lance’s restraint.

Finally, at the scholar’s indication, Lance placed the Blood Chalice atop the altar.

In an instant, the overflowing blood unexpectedly flowed backward, the chalice starting to condense teardrop-like blood crystals, then filling the cup, overflowed, and dropped onto the tray.

Lance picked up one and inspected it. The refined quality during proper preparation far exceeded former crude processing.

Offhand sacrifice, Lance felt the essence contained within. A single was faintly perceptible, but multiply this number by a hundred, thousand, ten thousand... by a billion!

Lance eyed the continually emerging crystals, determined today to drain Elder Gan’s blood!

Soon the Honor Guard arrived with Reynard and the others, finding the scene peculiar.

Lance briefly explained it was to weaken the enemy’s power; hence, they saw nothing unusual, knowing little about this field.

However, witnessing the spectacle, Alviss couldn’t help but exclaim.

"You’re squandering such treasures! It’s a waste!"