Bam!

"Ka-ahk!"

While the High Priest and his entourage haven't suspected anything is going on, things are getting troublesome. Decima's troops are rushing at me nonstop. They have deemed me a dangerous individual, so they are doing their best to put me down. I don't kill my men, of course. I just knock them out, but I can't keep doing it and expect nothing will happen.

Most of the time, the Priest and his entourage ignore the Warriors that I knock out cold. There are times when they will make sure that the Warriors I have knocked out are indeed dead. I always manage to intervene, but I can't keep doing it. I am mysterious enough for them to be suspicious of me. If I keep doing it, they might just strike me without saying anything.

I won't be harmed, undoubtedly, but the plan will go down the drain. I will be forced to reveal myself and that will cause them to retreat. I can try to capture the High Priest who knows how to unseal the cave, but I doubt I will get him. Like any other Temple member, I am sure he will kill himself when he knows he is about to get captured.

I can't let that happen, of course. I let them live for this long and silently watch as my fellow Warriors die in their hands because I want them to take the Curse in our stead.

"I think we need to teach these bugs a lesson. They should know why they shouldn't obstruct our path."

I stop in my tracks, slam the Warrior that is coming at me into the ground, and turn around, prompting the High Priest and his entourage to also stop. I raise my hand, eliciting a quirked eyebrow from the High Priest and the Legion Commander.

"Wait! Don't do anything stupid!" I exclaim spitefully. "The moment they figure out they will be wiped out before Layland's arrival, they will bury the Relic along with themselves. All of our efforts will be for naught. Do you know hard it was for me to remain undetected for all these years?"

"There is a mechanism that will be triggered the moment we do something amazing. Is that what you want to say?" the Legion Commander concludes arrogantly.

I can't exactly call him delusional because he is indeed amazing enough in many people's eyes. He is not in my eyes, though. Of course, I don't bother to tell him that. I want him to follow me until the end, so I have to agree with everything he says.

"Well, I suppose we shall trust you. Someone competent enough to infiltrate the Demon King's Army knows what to do best, doesn't he?"

Fortunately, he easily cooperates with me.

I turn to the High Priest to look at his reaction and find him nodding his head. He seems to believe the Legion Commander knows what to do best, so he never questions his judgment. He still has a keen instinct, though. I am sure he will warn the Legion Commander once he feels something off.

Turning around as I sneakily sigh in relief, my eyes catch the Warrior whom I slammed into the ground earlier twitching. Without wasting any more time, I stomp on his chest, caving it in. No one will think he will manage to survive should they see how bad his injury is. He will be fine, however; because I made sure to only crush his bones and not his viscera.

Stepping over him afterward, I dash to the gold mine's entrance which is already 60 feet away. The High Priest and his entourage quickly follow me. Warriors still come at me from time to time, but the closer we get to the entrance, the more halfhearted their attempt to stop us is. They do as I asked and we manage to get into the mine because of that.

"Tsk. It was too bad that I didn't have the chance to finish off a lot of those bastards," the Legion Commander remarks.

As much as I hurried them, it was impossible to prevent them from killing any of the Warriors and soldiers nearby. They are more than capable to kill hundreds of capable Swordsmen and the unfortunate Warriors and soldiers are by no means a threat in a small number.

"You can do that later," I say. "They are destined to die anyway. It's better to focus on the more important thing."

"You Assassins do work efficiently, eh?"

"We seize every opportunity we see and utilize every bit of time effectively. We deal with death every day—a slight error means death to us."

"You make us seem like we also don't deal with death every day," the Legion Commander comments sarcastically.

"I don't think idiots whose goal is to die on the battlefield have to be concerned about death," I retort, making one of the Legion Commander's veins pops.

The Legion Commander comes down from his horse and stands before me. He is a tall man—6'3" tall—but he is not tall enough to look down on me. He has to look up to stare me down and it is quite hilarious. He is not satisfied with the situation, unsurprisingly.

When he is about to resort to violence, the High Priest intervenes. "Enough with fooling around, both of you. That Layland Kleinhaus is on his way here. Should we dilly-dally, he will get our heads by the time we know it."

The Legion Commander looks at me for another three seconds before scoffing disdainfully and stepping back. The seven people that are still on the horses come down and then stand behind the High Priest. All of them are Paladins. Judging from how they position themselves, I believe they are going to help the High Priest in the ceremony.

"Lead the way," the High Priest says.historical

I nod silently before taking the lead. They follow me silently but keep some feet away from me. I don't know whether they generally don't believe in Shanifa or I am just too shady to trust. Either way, their wariness means nothing since they have fallen into the donkey's pit.

The journey to the sealed cave is tensely quiet. The Legion Commander and the seven Paladins the High Priest brings with him are constantly looking around vigilantly. I am not sure whether they are extremely cautious or just find it hard to trust my navigating skill. A few minutes passed and we finally reached the cave.

At this moment, the Legion Commander frowns as he takes out his Sound Crystal. Channeling his Mana into it, he answers the call. Everyone watches in curiosity as his face becomes more solemn with each passing second. Soon, dread colors their face as they fear the Right Hand Layland has arrived.

When the call has ended, the Legion Commanders put his Sound Crystal back into his pocket. He looks at everyone neutrally and then mutters coldly, "One of our Legions has been decimated. The Right Hand is not here yet, but an unknown entity is actively helping the Demon King's Army."

Even though I already knew what happened out there before the Legion Commander's subordinate called, I still can't help smiling faintly at the information. As expected of Teanosvera, he never disappoints me.

"What is this mysterious entity?" the High Priest asks solemnly.

"I..wish Gallard told me more about it. He died before he could explain anything."

The High Priest clicks his tongue and then waves his hand angrily. He gestures at the cave, prompting the seven Paladins to stand in seven different directions. The High Priest steps into the formation and stands in the middle. He clasps his hands together and then chants something using a language that I don't understand.

At that, the seven Paladins cut their palms. Blood seeps out of the cut and they drop it to the ground. Immediately, golden lines appear on the ground, connecting them. A heptagon with a star shape is formed on the ground.

The High Priest who has been closing his eyes while standing in the center of the heptagon finally opens his eyes. His irises shine in gold, making him look holy for once. Unclasping his hands, he extends one of them and touches the stone blocking the entrance of the cave. The Runes on the stone show up as they glow weakly in gold.

Boom!

An overwhelming wave of Mana crashes into us as the stone rumbles. A wave of repulsive aura hits us soon after, causing the High Priest and his entourage to step back. The cave isn't unsealed yet, but the Curse has taken effect. The High Priest keels over, incessantly throwing up a mouthful of blood.

Surprisingly, no one bats an eyelash at that. I turn to the seven Paladins who helped the High Priest to see their reaction. As they enter my vision, they immediately drop dead. I immediately figured out what happened. The High Priest shared the Curse with them.

Pat.

A hand lands on my shoulder.

"I am sorry for doubting you."

It belongs to the Legion Commander.

"I think you have better things to worry about." I gesture at the High Priest. "That old man, for example."

"Don't worry about him. He is sent here for this sole purpose. I mean, look at those things." The Legion Commander points at the pendant that the High Priest is clutching. "It contains the diluted tear of a Phoenix from the Ancient God's Era."

From this, I can conclude that the Temple also doesn't have a way to beat the Curse. Turning to the Legion Commander, I take off my helmet. His eyes widen in absolute terror as he sees my face.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Before he can say anything, Luxia creates an earth spike and drives it into his stomach. As I turn around, a couple more spikes pierce through his body. Ignoring him, I focus my gaze on the entrance of the cave which is now unblocked. The small part of the sealed past is unveiled.