Smoke and dust obscured their vision. The sound of metal and rock cracking came from some nearby buildings or the depths of the artificial earth. Along with these cracking sounds, there was a constant tremor from the depths of the earth. Although the colossal fortress had crashed to the ground, like the death of a behemoth, its oversized body still needed a long time to collapse before it reached a stable state. And before that, the 'death tremors' of this colossal body could last for days or even months.
Bersetia and Irene left the completely collapsed central palace. They trekked across the slanted and fractured earth, passing through the smoking ruins and wreckage of magical weapons. They had fought with wandering mutants several times, but they did not encounter the disciplined and cooperative enemy. Perhaps the situation was as Bersetia had expected: the massive energy shock released when the Stellaris Temple crashed had destroyed the 'spiritual connection' between the mutant army in this area, turning the enemies who knew how to fight in groups into mindless monsters. This was undoubtedly good news.
Of course, it was not that Bersetia did not think of a better possibility. Perhaps the highest commander of the enemy in this area was very unlucky and happened to be in the area where the Holy Temple crashed, and now he had become a speck of dirt in the depths of the ruins.
But she also knew that this was most likely just a beautiful thought. The commanders behind these monsters were obviously very cunning and cherished their lives. They had the ability to command the frontline army across a very wide battlefield, so there was no need for them to charge at the front with these cannon fodders. In the previous battle, the frontline soldiers had never seen anyone who looked like an 'officer' in the tide of monsters. So, the controllers of these monsters were probably still hiding in the depths of the wasteland, planning the next attack plan.
She really wanted to know what their expressions were when they saw the Stellaris Temple falling from the sky.
Bersetia shook her head and put these insignificant thoughts aside for the time being. She heard a strange roar from the depths of the wasteland, and then a facility not far ahead suddenly collapsed. The ground nearby creaked and cracked, and a series of flashes and smoke rose from the crack.
She knew that the 'behemoth' under her feet was still 'twitching' after its death, just like the muscles of a dead body. Even though the main system of the Holy Sanctum had been completely shut down, there were still many structures in the ancient and complex cabins in the deepest part of the Holy Sanctum that were still undergoing their final operations. She just did not know how long this process would last.
A low and chaotic roar and murmur came from the depths of a cloud of smoke in the distance, interrupting Bersetia's sadness and slowing her and Irene's footsteps at the same time.
They quickly hid behind a nearby boulder and stared warily at the billowing smoke coming from one of the ventilation ducts. Several heavy footsteps sounded from the smoke, and the continuous low growls and chaotic murmurs were getting closer and closer.
Bersetia carefully counted her heartbeats, and at the same time when the twelfth heartbeat sounded, she saw the tall and twisted figures, the monsters with mud and flesh all over staggered out of the smoke. As they staggered forward, they swayed their ugly heads left and right as if they were sniffing out the scent of the living people who had just appeared here.
Bersetia quickly exchanged a look with her personal maidservant and decided on a battle plan without any words. The next second, a figure with two swords rushed out from behind her hiding place. Lightning flashed in the air, and two sharp arcs flashed across the trajectory of Irene's charge. The mutant at the front had almost no time to react and was instantly cut into three parts. The first sword cut off its head, and the second sword cut off its waist.
The twin swords in the blonde elf's hands blossomed like a flower as she slashed at the second enemy at almost the speed of sound. Elaine's figure spun in the center of the Flower of Steel. The mutants who reacted to the situation let out a chaotic roar as they lunged at the presence of life that suddenly brightened in their senses. But in the next second, a storm of icicles appeared out of thin air and crashed down on the mutants who could not dodge in time.
The muddy flesh and blood were firmly nailed to the ground by the icicles, and the extreme cold that followed made the huge bodies of the mutants brittle and slow down. Irene danced in the gap between the icicles and the cold wind, and the two charged swords reaped the life of the dying monsters one by one.
A mutated creature at the edge of the battlefield broke free from the ice at the last moment. It raised its arm high and a dark red energy beam quickly formed in its hand. It aimed at Helene's back. However, a long sword pierced through the air. The long sword was held by an invisible hand of magic. It instantly chopped off the arm of the mutated creature. Before the mutated creature could recover, it cut off the rest of its limbs. In the end, the long sword flew high and swiftly pierced down from the sky. Accompanied by a loud explosion, the mutated creature was nailed to death on the ground with filthy blood flowing from its head to its chest.
At this time, Irene's last sword had just finished the final harvest. In just a few seconds, the chaotic roar of several mutants had completely quieted down in the ruins.
Bersetia walked up to Irene and gently waved her hand. The long sword that nailed the monster was pulled out by the invisible hand and shook off the blood in the air. Then, it flew back to the Silver Queen. The latter looked at Irene using the tip of the sword to pick up the body of a mutant. She frowned slightly. "How many waves of monsters have we encountered?"
"The seventh wave, not counting the ones that we have carefully avoided," Irene looked up and replied. "Fortunately, they are just stragglers. If these monsters came in groups, I am afraid we would not be able to fight them. What do you think? "
"How did they survive the previous impact?" Bersetia's face was solemn. "It is understandable that there are some surviving monsters occasionally. After all, they are large in number and have strong vitality. There will always be some lucky ones hiding in just the right place to escape the impact. But now we have encountered so many surviving monsters, and … this is the upper zone of the temple."
Irene's expression finally changed slightly. "You mean …"
"The Upper Zone. Moreover, this is an Upper Zone after the temple's main temple has been destroyed and the various connecting passages have been sealed. It won't be easy for these monsters that originally roamed the plains to reach this place. It's no different from scaling a steep mountain. Even if they don't feel fatigue or pain, they should still need some time to climb up from the ground below, right?"
Bersetia said in a deep voice as she looked at the filthy remains on the ground. Meanwhile, the bodies of the mutants had begun to decompose. In a burst of black smoke, their flesh and blood quickly dissipated, leaving only severely corroded skeletons. This made Bersetia slowly think of some "characteristics" of the mutants.
"Perhaps … they were 'generated' in the temple's upper zone not long ago," Bersetia said slowly. "Irene, do you remember a very mysterious characteristic of the mutants? They can 'appear out of thin air' in the magic environment of the wasteland. "
Irene's eyes slowly widened. After a moment, she nodded with a terrible expression and said, "Yes, I remember. This characteristic was first discovered by Uncle Gwen's team 700 years ago. Once those monsters gather to a certain extent, they will create a magic environment similar to the Gondor wasteland. Once the magic environment is dense enough, more mutants will appear out of thin air in the magic field, multiplying and expanding like a snowball, spreading pollution rapidly. This is the most terrifying thing about them. This is the main reason why we had to build a 'great wall' to seal off the entire Gondor. "
As she spoke, the elven handmaiden slowly looked around the smoke-filled upper zone of the temple. Her voice became hesitant and nervous. "Could it be that this place is already …"
"After the great wall is broken, the wasteland's aura will inevitably leak out. It means that the wasteland itself has expanded. We are now near the original sentinel tower, blocking the breach," Bersetia said solemnly. "In a sense, we are now standing inside the wasteland. But the massive structure of the temple itself has formed a barrier, blocking most of the wasteland's aura to the north. So the number of monsters generated here is limited. But … they are indeed being generated."
Irene's eyes widened. She tightened her grip on the sword in her hand, and a chill continued to spread from the bottom of her heart until the Silver Queen spoke again. "Fortunately, we have blocked it."
She looked at the Silver Queen, who smiled at her and repeated what she had just said. "Fortunately, we have blocked it. Even if a few of the monsters could climb over the top of the temple, they would be quickly wiped out by the defenders on the south side, and the breath of the wasteland would be blocked by the falling mountain of the Stellaris Temple. Irene, we did not let the Kingdom of Kaolin become the second Gondor wasteland. This is a good thing. "
Irene looked at the Silver Queen, who grew up with her. She was stunned for a few seconds before a smile appeared on her face. "You are right. This is indeed a good thing …"
As soon as her voice trailed off, a low noise, like a mixture of roaring and murmuring, suddenly emerged from the nearby smoke!
The voice murmured. At first, it sounded like a hallucination in the smoke, but then, hazy limbs appeared in the air. The first thing that appeared was a twisted skeleton. Then, blood and flesh flowed like mud on the surface of the skeleton and took shape. A horrifying aberrant monster was born from nothing right under Helene and Bersetia's eyes. It was like a nightmare that appeared out of thin air in reality!
* Swoosh — Clang! *
The sound of metal cutting through the air instantly pierced through the air. Just as the monster was halfway formed, it was cut in half by two crossed swords. Irene's figure instantly attacked and returned to Bersetia's side. She was not like the black sorcerers and the evil Giant Dragon in the bards' stories. She would not wait for the disgusting monster to be fully born like a hero giving a speech.
"You are right about the other thing." Irene glanced at the blood stains on her sword and turned to look at Bersetia with a wry smile. "These monsters are really just born …"
Bersetia did not answer. She just slowly raised the battle staff and enchanted sword in her hand. In the surrounding air, an unsettling atmosphere was rapidly gathering. Countless low murmurs and roars rose and fell in the seemingly empty air one after another, like a nightmare in the dark night that filled her senses.
Perhaps it had sensed the strong breath of life here, or perhaps the battle just now had caused too much of a commotion, the malice entrenched in this wasteland finally sensed the two active 'uninvited guests' here. The power of corruption and filth condensed its claws here. One after another, shadowy, deformed, and tall figures quickly condensed in the surrounding air, filling the sight of the master and servant.
This time, it seemed that there was no corner to hide, and there was no way to avoid it.
Bersetia glanced at her personal maid beside her. "Irene, are you afraid?"
"There is nothing to be afraid of. I just feel that these things are a little disgusting," Irene said with a blank expression. "Killing so many disgusting things in one day, I will have nightmares when I go back."
Bersetia smiled. The end of the battle staff in her hand began to float with the phantom of magic. She could not help but think of something that seemed to have nothing to do with the current situation.
"Seven hundred years ago, Uncle Gwen … Did he face such a situation and finally die of exhaustion?"
"Maybe … The records of that battle are not detailed, but I think our situation should be almost as bad as that."
Bersetia smiled. She gently waved her staff, and a curtain of lightning ignited the surrounding air, like a rainstorm slaughtering the monsters that had not yet fully gathered. More distorted figures gathered in the smoke after the monsters fell. The murmurs and roars around them became clearer and clearer, full of malice.
"You said, if we fall today, hundreds of years later, we will be like Uncle Gwen … How did he say it … 'open the coffin and rise'?"
"You will not fall today." Irene raised the two swords in her hands and said without reason but with confidence. "I said, this filthy land is not worthy of your life."
Bersetia could not help but laugh and shook her head gently. "You are really funny …"
* Boom!! *
A terrifyingly loud sound suddenly exploded at this moment, interrupting the Silver Queen's next words. It also shook the entire world.
It sounded like a heavy behemoth crashing into the ground at the speed of sound, like another small mountain crashing into the Astral Temple. This terrible impact even shook the entire earth, making Bersetia and Irene feel dizzy at the same time. Then, they heard a series of roars coming from afar, crushing all the way to their side.
It was like an enraged giant beast that was rampaging through the mountains.
Even Irene, who had been calm all this time, could not help but be shocked. "Your Majesty … What is this?!"
Bersetia was also stunned. She saw a huge cloud of dust rising in the distance, and it seemed that there was something huge in the cloud of dust that was rushing towards them.
"I don't know …"
She muttered subconsciously, but before she could finish, another thunderous voice overpowered her murmur.
"I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming —"
(End of Chapter)
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