Our Family Has Fallen

Eat when you must eat, drink when you must drink, a warm meal greatly restored their exhausted spirits.

But they still lacked the simplest, yet most luxurious activity at this time—sleep.

"You all rest, I’ll keep watch."

Lance stated as Boudica and Amanda had already unfolded folding beds and lay down.

Audrey was no longer surprised by the things the Lord’s Council came up with, nor did she have the energy to think about those matters. Now, all she wanted was to rest after a full meal. Seeing them like that, she followed along and lay down.

Watching them lie down, Lance’s smiled expression gradually faded, his gaze fixed on the flame as he fell into contemplation.

There was one thing he didn’t say, nor could he say.

One must realize that since the beginning, his strength soared all the way without encountering bottlenecks, if there were any, they were covered by spiritual essence. Yet, after ascending to Legendary rank, there was seldom any improvement.

Originally, he thought it was just that the increase relative to his original power was too small, and his battles were not worthy of being blessed, so he didn’t pay much attention.

It wasn’t until he went through extensive consumption that he felt something, realizing the blessings now only allowed him to recover physically but could no longer enhance him.

He faintly sensed that this [Legendary Realm] might be the human limit.

The recent battle let Lance feel a pressure that hadn’t appeared for a long time.

It wasn’t the burden from Boudica and the others, rather Lance felt a bit relieved having brought them along, or facing this situation alone would be even more troublesome.

Elsewhere, facing opponents much weaker than him, he could easily mow them down.

But within the Dark Dungeon, dealing with the cultists corrupted by the "great blessing" yet granted powerful strength was rather tricky.

The heretic priests attack swiftly, high damage, and can penetrate defenses. If surrounded by three priests, even Lance wouldn’t dare say he could emerge unscathed. If stabbed in the head, he might lose consciousness in an instant, leaving nothing thereafter.

Conversely, Amanda and the others’ presence helped him share the burden, could this count as another form of a "flesh wall"?

The Ancestor has followers, and I have an army.

Watch as I send over the army to send you flying one by one!

After the setback here, Lance was tempted to send a messenger back directly, having Grendel rally the army to flatten the dungeon.

But the reality was this was nearly impossible. Firstly, not many from the army could face the dungeon directly.

Even people like Amanda were affected by the dungeon, bringing in ordinary soldiers in bulk was a fear of their being polluted and corrupted.

Even if nothing happens on-site, no one knows what psychological changes occur after entering.

By then, a large number of mentally unstable soldiers within the army would be like ticking time bombs, no one can tell when they’ll explode.

And there’s the issue of power. Regular muskets had no effect on them, Lance had tried, even hand cannons struggled to take them down instantly.

Ordinary soldiers facing these cultists likely needed cannons, bombs, incendiary bottles, and other heavy firepower to stand a chance.

However, the problem lies in their uncertain space; if something goes wrong, it could bury everyone there.

And if the cultists got close, it would be a slaughter, turning them into nourishment for the Ancestor.

Also, Hamlet needed the army for defense, not to be delivered to the Ancestor.

The most critical issue was that family scandals should not be disclosed. The more people who knew about this, the harder it would be to conceal it in history, and even if he succeeded in suppressing it, it would incite criticism.

Reason suppressed the impulse, having gone through so much hardship already, a bit more can’t be that bad... right?

Damn it, I’ve never been insulted like this.

The army can’t come, but the Honor Guard and various heroes can. I won’t play fair tactics and fight you here, or what was the point of nurturing this long?

He took out the [Messenger] intending to have Grendel gather the Honor Guard to replace the navy outside, bring in a few cannons, and just go for it!

However, at that moment, Lance noticed something peculiar, the Messenger had become ineffective, with no response.

Stunned for a moment, Lance realized.

No wonder those cultists didn’t swarm here; it turned out the power here was too dense, directly overshadowing other supernatural forces.

With the red fog obscuring vision, they had no idea anything had intruded.

"Phew~"

Lance let out a long breath, his expression speechless, was this a benefit or a detriment?

Ultimately, he had to suppress the impulse to call for reinforcements, taking out the Sect of Ascension’s materials to begin perusing instead...

This kind of rest could never last an entire day, more so as brief naps of one to two hours restoring exhausted spirit and body through short bursts of rest.

When the time was about right, Lance would wake them, tidy up a bit, and continue to clear this level of the dungeon.

Though the terrain here wasn’t large, despite branching paths, it wasn’t complex, just a simple symmetrical structure.

Those sights, though ghastly and terrifying, became habitual after seeing them often.

Or perhaps they became numb to it, as the intense battles left them with no spare thought.

Again they broke into a platform, eliminating the lurking cultists. In the absence of several heretic priests appearing together, it was quite manageable, especially with Lance as a backup, and Wang Cai gradually stepping up to take the lead.