"There is so kind of special power here that hinders the emanation of ntal energy. I can't penetrate the wall to investigate directly, and I can only locate the passage for now. I can't determine the exit."
"Are there many branches in the pathway?"
"There are currently five, with more side paths ahead, at least fifteen or more."
"Then follow your instincts, Elise—" Astrid paused before continuing.
"Speaking of which, where have they gone?"
After drinking the Eyesight Potion, Astrid's vision was greatly enhanced, allowing her to see her surroundings clearly with only the faint light from Lyra's hand.
She recalled that Velrik and Lucas's servants had been present when the darkness obscured the moonlight, but now they were nowhere to be found. Only the three of them remained.
The head maid gripped her longsword and channeled ntal energy into her surroundings.
Before the sheep-headed ghosts could gather again, she swung her blade, releasing a wave of sword energy that scattered the wandering resentful spirits.
"Miss Astrid, I haven't found any trace of them," Elise reported.
Since entering this strange underground space, Velrik seed to have been separated from them.
The only thing Elise felt relieved about was that she wasn't too far from Astrid.
Otherwise, the safety of the two would be uncertain if left alone with only Lyra for protection.
Elise had just tested the strength of these Dark Spirits.
If there were only one or two, Lyra and Astrid might barely handle them. But if more appeared, they would be overwheld and vulnerable.
Astrid fell silent for a mont, her eyes scanning the nearby soil and rocks that ford the walls.
In "The Innocent Knight of the Stained Light" It was written that Lyra and Charlotte ventured deep underground and discovered that the underground space extended in all directions.
The raised rocks beside them seed alive, though their surfaces were covered in mud and sand, their undersides resembled animal veins, exuding a bewitching red glow accompanied by a rhythmic pulse.
Astrid reached out her soft hand and gently touched the wall.
A faint vibration traveled from her fingertips to her nerves, prompting her to turn her head toward Lyra.
"Lyra, try cutting through these clumps of dirt."
Without hesitation, Lyra raised her knight's sword.
As soon as the blade touched the surface of the clump, a wisp of crimson liquid flowed outward along the edge, nearly staining the hilt.
Seeing Lyra quickly withdraw her hand, Astrid's eyes narrowed, and her expression grew more serious.
The current situation almost perfectly matched the description in the novel, but neither the timing nor the scale of the sacrifice aligned.
Could it be that she had guessed wrong from the start?
Perhaps this monster had existed for a long ti, and the life and flesh weren't nourishing it but providing the necessary dium for its manifestation.
Standing up and expanding her elental vision, Astrid observed that the walls were covered with deep brownish-yellow particles, an outward manifestation of the earth elent.
Beyond these particles, there was an abundance of rich green energy, sothing not seen in ordinary soil.
The most fertile soil Astrid had ever encountered was in her private garden at the palace.
Even though it was lush with flowers and plants, it still paled in comparison to the vitality exuded by these earthen walls.
A liquid as red as blood, brimming with vitality at all tis, this wall wasn't a lifeless structure but part of so enormous living being.
"Her Royal Highness Astrid..."
Seeing Astrid staring at the wall for so long without speaking, Lyra nervously licked her dry lips with her pink tongue.
She took a few steps closer to Astrid, her smooth legs, clad in white stockings, brushing against each other as she moved to shield her.
If only she could be as capable as Elise...
Astrid quickly snapped out of her thoughts and gestured for Elise to continue along the path.
Several Elders Speech spells flashed through her mind, along with their corresponding general incantations.
Magic chanted in English was far more potent than when spoken in the common tongue.
If it truly ca down to a life-or-death situation, Astrid would have no choice but to resort to ancient spells to ensure their survival.
Though the strength of primary spells was limited, with effects ranging from one to five rather than the ten to fifteen of interdiate spells, every little bit counted.
Even the slightest change could tip the balance of an entire battle.
As they walked through the dimly lit underground corridors, the hot, humid air clung to their skin.
Elise used her embodied ntal energy to shield the other two girls. Astrid and Lyra were like chicks huddling under protective wings, one clutching a few bottles of combat potions, ready to chant spells at a mont's notice, and the other gripping her knight's sword, her eyes scanning their surroundings with unwavering focus.
As she walked deeper, Elise detected a powerful scent emanating from ahead, mingled with the earthy aroma of grass and soil.
To reach the exit, they had to pass through this area.
"Miss Astrid, and Lyra, the path ahead may be particularly dangerous. Stay alert," Elise warned.
With a flick of her wrist, the slender jade fingers gripping the hilt of her sword briefly stretched and clenched.
She channeled her abundant ntal energy to enchant the knight's sword.
In the next mont, visible streaks of electric light danced along the blade, reflecting off the woman's delicate features and casting a faint glow on her waist-length, dark-colored hair.
As they continued along the branching path, Lyra, who was particularly sensitive to dark elents, instinctively furrowed her brow.
The palm holding the tal hilt grew damp with sweat. She, too, sensed an ominous presence ahead.
Yet, no matter what lay before them, she was determined to protect Her Highness Astrid with everything she had.
"Tick tock..."
The faint dripping sound was like a drizzle falling on the surface of a still lake.
Beyond the dripping, Lyra detected another faint rhythm, reminiscent of the steady beat of a heart.
As they drew closer to the ground, a grotesque mass of scarlet sarcoma ca into view.
Its surface was connected by several thick tentacles, their ends resembling blood vessels that dug deep into the ground, pumping and transporting nutrients.
Lyra felt a wave of nausea but tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.
She stepped halfway in front of Astrid, as she had been taught, and softly chanted a spell, infusing the blade with a flowing wind elent.
Though her strength paled in comparison to Elise's, as Astrid's personal maid, Lyra's resolve to protect her master was no less fierce.
Sensing the intrusion of uninvited guests, the thick dark mist began to gather once more.
This ti, it wasn't the spectral sheep-headed ghosts but a physical monstrosity, a creature supported by a human skeleton and piled high with flesh and blood.
The monster stood upright, its lower body arched like a sheep's hooves, while its upper half retained a human form.
Its head, however, remained that of a sheep, complete with sharp horns and dark blue flas burning in its eye sockets.
Feeling the aura of death radiating from the monster, Elise's expression grew serious, and her body tensed in readiness.
This creature was far different from the previous minions.
She would need to approach this battle with utmost focus.
Without giving the audience much ti to react, the monster roared and lunged at Astrid, its sharp claws and horns slicing through the black mist, glinting with a cold light.
Seeing this, Elise's wrist twisted, and her body accelerated to its peak.
To Lyra, the black-haired, white-dressed maid moved so swiftly that only an afterimage remained.
The only thing visible in her field of vision was the dark blue light flickering at the tip of Elise's sword.
Raising her arm, swinging her sword, and unleashing her ntal power, all these actions were executed in one fluid motion.
As the knight's sword slashed at the neck of the sheep-headed monster, Elise felt the blade strike sothing as hard as cold iron.
The powerful shock reverberated from the blade to her wrist, followed by a dull ache in her palm.
Had it not been for the ntal power infused into the sword, the impact alone would have caused irreparable damage to the blade.
Her muscles tensed, and the montum from her high-speed movent allowed Elise to cleave through the monster's neck.
The blade cut through skin, flesh, and bone, sending a spray of black-red blood into the air.
The monster let out a hoarse roar, its mouth spewing a foul-slling mixture of black blood and saliva that splattered to the ground with a gurgling sound.
Even as the monster's head was severed, Elise remained on guard.
Gripping the hilt of her sword, she swung it in a series of sharp arcs.
In less than half a second, the knight's sword, empowered by ntal energy, had severed every visible tendon, from the chest and abdon to the limbs.
With precise strikes, she dismbered the over-two-ter-tall sheep-headed monster into several pieces.
Planting her feet firmly, Elise let the breeze cool the hot blood on her blade.
Her waist-length hair settled quietly as she pointed the tip of her sword at the monster's head.
Her ntal power sharpened into countless blades, which exploded upon contact.
Bones, tendons, flesh, everything shattered under the knight's sword.
"Is it over?" Lyra stared blankly at the fragnted monster corpse, unable to believe that the once-threatening sheep-headed monster had been reduced to a helpless plaything in Elise's hands.
Compared to Lyra's shock, Astrid remained calm.
Her brows furrowed as she gazed at the minced at on the ground.
"It's not that simple... The monster is still alive..."
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