CHAPTER 848: CHAPTER 660: THE EVIL RITE AMID FLAMES

"————"

At this moment, Ais was stunned.

Asafi was shocked.

The members of the Hermes Clan first had their pupils shrink, then their hearts surged with a feeling akin to panic.

"What are they doing?"

"Self-destructing?"

"You’ve got to be kidding...!?"

"Death Soldier...!"

The crowd couldn’t suppress their emotions and began shouting one after another, with some even stepping back because of this.

Watching a group of people blow themselves up right before their eyes, the impact could be said to be no less than hearing Reiger say that Reveis was not a human.

Thus, when Reiger broke out from the waves of fire and retreated back to Ais and the others, the crowd still hadn’t wiped the panic off their faces.

"Be careful."

Upon seeing this, Reiger, who had been calm and composed from the start, spoke up.

"It’s not over yet."

Indeed, it wasn’t over.

"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"......

In the midst of the sound of piercing the air, hooded figures appeared before the crowd one after another.

These figures emitted a strange aura just like the previous group of cloaked figures.

Due to their movements, their robes were slightly lifted.

Under these circumstances, a hint of red glow from beneath the robes caught everyone’s attention, allowing them to see clearly.

"Could it be..."

Asafi, with her keen eyes and knowledge, recognized it almost as soon as she saw the red glow.

"It’s Firestone!"

Firestone.

This was a drop item that could be obtained from monsters.

The monster possessing this drop item was called Blazing Ignis, which resided in the deeper regions.

Firestone was a part of this monster’s body, possessing intense flammability and explosiveness even without any processing, and was often utilized in industry and Smithing Mastery, frequently used by Forging Masters to ignite fires and forge metal and iron blocks. This drop item was fairly well-known in the market; if not for its inherent danger, and the guild not allowing its circulation among ordinary citizens, it might be even more famous.

Asafi informed Reiger and Ais that these cloaked figures might be carrying Firestone, a forbidden item for sale.

The truth of this master of magic tools’ words was confirmed in the next second.

"Great Lord God! Please accept my allegiance!"

"Offering this humble life to you!"

"May I reunite with my beloved in the next life!"

"Pray to the great gods to fulfill our sorrowful wish!"

"Ah... my love..."

Amidst this chilling shouting and murmuring, the cloaked figures continued to charge forward, trampling over their charred companions’ bodies destroyed in the explosion, ignoring the predatory flower monsters roaring at them from all around as they, seemingly obsessed and deranged lunatics, pulled open their robes one after another.

Beneath their robes, emaciated bodies were entwined with gemstone-like red stones as if sealed in flames.

Indeed, it was Firestone.

The fiery red stones strung like beads wrapped around these cloaked figures’ bodies, connected by a fuse to their waist, attached to a small box.

Without a doubt, it was the ignition device.

The Death Soldiers resolutely and decisively pulled the string on the ignition device, igniting the fuse.

"Quickly retreat!"

Asafi felt a chill down her neck and shouted orders, causing the Hermes Clan members to flee in panic, not daring to let those lunatics get close.

"Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrr...!"

But at this moment, the surrounding predatory flower monsters roared like broken drums and encircled them, trapping the Hermes Clan members with nowhere to retreat.

"Ais!"

Reiger swung his sword to chop off the head of a predatory flower lunging and biting, shattering the colorful magic stone in its mouth. Then, amidst the raging wind, he called out to the blonde-haired, golden-eyed female swordsman beside him.

"Understood!"

Ais similarly annihilated three slithering predatory flower monsters, either by severing their heads or shattering the magic stones in their mouths, allowing them to turn to dust by her side. She nodded to Reiger, who was also enveloped by raging wind.

The two dashed forward, leaping back and forth in the fierce attack of the predatory flower monsters, moving swiftly and gracefully through the storm, deftly cutting down each predatory flower monster as they ascended from their bodies.

"Breath of Wind · Ninth Form———"

Both simultaneously spun their bodies, striking down with fierce wind blades.

"Vayu Hurricane!"

The ultimate sword form of Wind Breath, equivalent to the secret art, was unleashed simultaneously by the young man and woman.

In an instant, the piercing Wind Blades transformed into countless slashes of wind, descending from the sky like a torrential rain, enveloping the robed figures.

"Puchi!" "Puchi!" "Puchi!" "Puchi!"......

Amidst the sound of bodies being severed, the robed figures hit by the piercing Wind Blades screamed miserably, spilling blood all over, halting their charge, and falling into pools of blood.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"......

The slashes that missed the enemy hit the ground, exploding the green fleshy walls while stirring up a windstorm, mixed with rubble and dust, blowing away the approaching robed figures.

Immediately after, both the robed figures lying in blood and those blown away had their Flame Stones ignited, causing a blinding red light to appear on their bodies.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"......

The next moment, the bodies of the robed figures exploded one after another, causing repeated large explosions, dying the corridor a fiery red once more.

Hot winds arose, fiery blasts swirled, a vast number of sparks descended like rain, scattered across the green corridor, hissing when they touched the fleshy walls, making them emit a roasted smell.

Reiger and Ais, just like this, while dealing with the man-eating flower monsters, also wielded sword techniques using the Breath of Wind, knocking away all the robed figures who turned into self-destructive devices, preventing them from getting close.

If these figures got close, with the power of their self-destruction, not to mention Reiger, even Ais, who isn’t outstanding in "endurance," could indeed get injured, and the adventurers of the Hermes Clan might even be blown to death on the spot.

"Are we being protected?"

While commanding her team members to retreat, Asafi saw this scene, her actions paused for a moment, and a slightly bitter expression appeared on her face.

"Seems like I can’t hold back anymore; otherwise, I’d be really underestimated."

Taking a deep breath, Asafi’s eyes behind her glasses became sharp as she took out all the explosives from her waist in one go.

"Leave this to us!"

Seeing that Reiger and Ais had already repelled the Death Soldiers but were entangled again by the man-eating flower monsters, Asafi shouted at the two of them.

"You go chase them!"

Saying that, Asafi threw the explosives into the densest spot of the man-eating flower monsters.

"Boom——!"

Accompanied by an explosion and a loud noise far more grand than when the Flame Stones were ignited, the explosives smashed onto the man-eating flower monsters and exploded simultaneously, setting ablaze one flower after another.

The man-eating flowers screamed, howled, instinctively trying to retreat.

At this time, the adventurers of the Hermes Clan gritted their teeth and charged forward, turning to strike them heavily, entangling them, preventing them from retreating.

"Hurry up!"

Asafi threw the explosives as if they cost nothing, urging Reiger and Ais.

Reiger and Ais descended from mid-air simultaneously, exchanged glances, and then nodded at each other.

The two silently rushed towards the depths of the corridor, no longer caring about the man-eating flower monsters, only knocking away those robed figures attempting to self-destruct, preventing them from approaching the Hermes Clan.

Just like this, the young man and the young woman left the battlefield filled with the monstrous howls and the adventurers’ shouts behind and advanced towards the end of the corridor — the granary.

...

"Cough, cough..."

In the large cavity emitting a red light, with a few coughs, Reveis’s silhouette appeared silently.

"...The injury is worse than I thought, it’ll take quite a bit of time to recover."

Reveis used her only remaining hand to wipe her mouth, removing the blood at the corner of her lips, while smoke still rose from her body, with particles of leftover Magic Power floating, urgently healing her wounds.

"Reveis?"

Seeing Reveis like this, the man in the white robe standing in front of the quartz pillar turned around, and exclaimed in great surprise.

"You’ve actually been injured this severely?"

Evidently, the man in the white robe hadn’t monitored what was happening on Reiger’s side from the beginning.

"Hmph." Reveis looked coldly at this man in the white robe, and said, "The intelligence you provided was flawed. It’s not just that little girl, the Sword Princess, that’s tricky; that adventurer who first discovered our surveillance is even more troublesome."

"Both of them are first-class adventurers at Lv.6, even I can’t defeat these two."

"If it weren’t for the man-eating flowers and those fearless madmen, I wouldn’t have even been able to escape."

With this said, the face of the man beneath the white bone helmet also changed.

"The Sword Princess has actually reached Lv.6? And the person who discovered our surveillance is also Lv.6?"

This was completely beyond his expectations.

"Stop wasting time." Reveis still coldly said, "The man-eating flowers and those madmen probably can only hold them off for a short while; they will arrive soon."

"Take the ’Fetus’ and let’s retreat."

Upon hearing this, the man in the white robe seemed somewhat unwilling.

"Retreat now? But ’her’ nutrients haven’t been fully absorbed, it’s not yet time for metamorphosis."

The man’s words were only met with Reveis’s cold, silent gaze.

"Tch." The man in the white robe clicked his tongue and said, "No choice, we’ll have to continue nurturing it later."

The man in the white robe turned around, stretched out his hand, and prepared to take down the Treasure Bead attached to the quartz pillar.

"Swish!"

At this moment, two figures continued to rush into the large cavity.

It was Reiger and Ais.