Chapter 141: Jumping to Conclusions Is Dangerous

Kugung…… Kugugugu……

The cave began to shake violently without mercy.

From the ceiling, not only stone fragments but also sharp stalactites rained down, piercing the ground.

The priests inside the cave were thrown into chaos.

Some of them managed to force their way through the collapsing passage and reach the chamber where the Egg of ??? was kept.

“Who goes there!”

Upon spotting Raion, the priests raised their hands, unleashing a torrent of pitch-black energy.

It was such a vicious aura that it was impossible not to sense it.

At once, Raion turned the direction of his sword—away from the Egg of ???—and toward the priests.

Chwaaaak!

The raging black energy was swallowed whole by the pure white aura bursting from Raion’s sword.

But the priests’ attacks did not stop there.

Standing before them, Valicia gathered an even stronger power in her hands.

“Those who seek to harm God shall be annihilated!”

Fwoooom!

The power she released was amplified by the number of priests channeling it together.

The black energy gushed forth, devouring space itself as it rushed toward Raion.

Then, suddenly—

The energy Valicia had unleashed veered off course and was absorbed by the Egg of ???.

And it didn’t stop there.

The priests standing near the entrance began to have their life force sucked out of them.

“AAAAAH!”

“Ughhh!”

“KAAAAAAAH!”

With screams, their bodies shriveled into mummies.

Seeing this, Raion immediately sensed the gravity of the situation.

[Target Information]

Name: Egg of ???

Status: Sacrificial Offering of the Dark Holy War

Rank: S

Mana: 132,400 / 213,210

The mana of the Egg of ???, which had fallen to 120,000, was rising again.

If left alone, the Egg of ???, called the “Sacrificial Offering of the Dark Holy War,” might completely restore itself through the priests.

That alone wouldn’t have been such a big problem—

“Wait… could it be… is the egg about to hatch?”

The once-flaming, glowing sphere suddenly went cold and stopped moving.

Like a cracking barrier, fissures began to spread across its surface.

“What… is coming out of it?”

Ignoring Raion’s alarmed reaction, Valicia shouted with fervor.

“The God awakens!”

Even though her fellow priests had just died because of the Egg of ???, Valicia didn’t so much as blink.

Rather, seeing the cracks spread, she screamed all the louder.

“He descends! Rejoice and worship! Our God shall appear upon this land for our sake!”

She clearly didn’t understand what that sphere truly was.

In response, Raion once again pushed his aura to the limit and swung.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!

The pure white aura carved a massive wound into the pitch-black sphere.

“So… it finally took damage?”

Ordinarily, that strike would have slaughtered dozens of Ogres at once.

And yet the Egg of ??? had endured several such blows before only now showing injury.

Jjeojeojeok! Jjeojeojeok!

The crack that Raion thought was a wound began spreading wider.

“…Did I just make it hatch faster?”

From the widening fissures, black energy burst forth.

Shuaaaaaaaaaaak—!

Jjeojeojeojeok! Jjeojeojeojeok!

The web of cracks grew and grew until it completely enveloped the sphere—and then, in an instant, exploded outward, devouring everything nearby.

Fwaaaah! Kwa-kwang—!

Meanwhile, outside, Patrick, Turklan, and Deborah were at a loss for words as the mountain shook violently.

At first, they thought it was just an earthquake.

But then, the entire side of the mountain where the cave had been collapsed.

“Could something have happened to Master?”

Even at Turklan’s worried question, Patrick remained calm.

“Let’s move closer first.”

“Right. Let’s go quickly!”

The three of them moved toward the cave entrance.

The place where dozens of priests had been roaming earlier was now eerily quiet. It seemed they had all gone somewhere.

Just then, as Patrick scanned the surroundings, he drew a dagger from his coat and threw it.

Shushushuk! Papapak—!

The dagger flew into the bushes and struck something.

“Guhhhk!”

“Ugh!”

Two men in priest robes clutched their chests where the dagger had hit and collapsed.

“How did you know?”

Neither Turklan nor Deborah had been paying attention to the area, too worried about Raion.

Only Patrick had noticed and reacted first.

“It seems we should worry about ourselves before asking questions.”

“Agreed. Maybe, as Sir Patrick says, we should be more worried about ourselves than the Master right now.”

Beside them, Deborah drew her sword—a blade forged entirely from black steel, purchased from Fordman, a metal unique to the southern region of the Kingdom of Dolkin.

“You bought that from Fordman, huh?”

“It turned out to be better quality than I expected. And Sir Turklan bought something too, didn’t you?”

At that, Turklan unsheathed his massive greatsword, its blue-white edge gleaming fiercely.

He had bought a premium grindstone from Mount Moratz from Fordman himself.

“Ahem! Ahem!”

As they exchanged words, more figures in priest robes emerged from the bushes in a rush.

It wasn’t that they had been hiding—they had likely just returned from somewhere.

“Looks like we really do have to worry about ourselves before the Master.”

Patrick once again reached into his coat, drew another dagger, and threw it.

Chaaang—! Shushushuk!

Papapapak!

“Gaaaaah!”

“Ughhh!”

“Kuhk!”

Three daggers flew out, embedding themselves into the men’s legs.

As the attack began, the priests flinched in surprise before rushing in belatedly.

“I’ll take the front. Please provide cover!”

Turklan’s greatsword cleaved through the air.

Swaaaash! Kwaaang—!

The rocky ground split deeply, forcing the priests to stumble backward.

At that moment, Deborah also drew her sword and moved to block the left flank.

Cha-chaang! Chwaaaak!

Black energy poured from the priests’ hands.

They might have been wearing priestly robes, but the aura emanating from them was closer to demonic energy.

“Be careful!”

Turklan’s aura surged fiercely, channeling into his greatsword as he cut down the energy that was rushing toward Deborah.

Chwaaaak!

“Fortunately, it seems my Swordmaster’s aura can repel their foul energy.”

“I will take them on. Sir Patrick, Your Highness Deborah—please stay cautious.”

Turklan regarded the two as people he had to protect.

So he tightened his grip on the hilt of his greatsword and took a proper stance.

Even excluding the priests Patrick and Turklan had already taken down, about twenty still remained.

“This is… quite a situation. It seems I’m the one being a burden now.”

“Not at all, Sir Patrick. You are the butler, after all. Even though Her Highness is near the level of a Swordmaster herself, it’ll be difficult for her to keep fending off their energy for long.”

Turklan, on the other hand, was a high-ranking Swordmaster—an elite among elites.

His greatsword burned with a white aura like blazing flames.

The priests surrounding them hesitated, daunted by the sight.

“If this isn’t a burden, I don’t know what is. A butler must attend to those he serves! And the Master’s guest is someone I must aid as well!”

Chaaang—!

In an instant, three throwing daggers appeared in Patrick’s hands.

He moved so fast that even Turklan couldn’t follow his motion properly.

“……Huh?”

A faint blue light shimmered along the blades.

Turklan thought for a moment that his eyes were deceiving him.

“How could a butler possibly be a burden? I should at least pull my own weight.”

Another priest launched a surprise attack from the side.

Chwaaaak!

As waves of black energy surged forward, Patrick moved swiftly.

In an instant, he appeared in front of the attack, his dagger infused with aura as he slashed through it.

Chwachwachwachwaak! Chwachwak!

The dagger held between his fingers tore the energy apart and then flew in three directions.

Pupuk! Puk!

Each dagger struck true—right in the priests’ chests.

Before, he had only aimed for their legs to identify friend or foe.

But now that their hostility was certain, he struck to kill.

“I’ll protect Princess Deborah. Sir Turklan, you can fight without restraint.”

“……Ah! Y-yes, understood.”

Turklan was astonished—Patrick’s movements were so fast it left him stunned.

Snapping back to his senses, he gripped his greatsword again.

The white aura flared anew as he swung at the priests.

Kwakang! Kwakwakwakwang!

The heavy blade’s trajectory ripped through the enemy ranks.

“Kill them! Offer them as sacrifices, and God shall guide us!”

“Kill them! Kill them!”

“Offer the blood sacrifice! Our God rejoices in their deaths!”

Madness consumed the priests’ eyes.

The black energy pouring from their hands only grew fiercer.

Chwaaaak! Kwaang!

“Khuh!”

After a long exchange, Turklan blocked a blow but was forced backward.

“To harm the priests who serve Him—do you not fear God!?”

The man who stepped forward was larger than the rest.

His mere presence seemed to rekindle the morale of the ten or so priests still standing.

“Are you their leader, then?”

“How dare you call one who serves God a leader!”

“Since when do your so-called gods wield such filthy energy?”

The priests of Zigasis, the Goddess of the Sun and Blessings, were known for their warm and radiant aura.

But these priests—no one could tell whom they served.

“His name cannot be spoken lightly! To those who believe, He brings hope! To those who abandon Him, only despair awaits!”

The burly priest shouted his prayer like a chant.

At that same moment, black energy erupted from his entire body.

“KRAAAAAH!”

His frame swelled as if the energy itself was inflating his body.

“Great High Priest Fargodas! I offer my life to you! Grant me strength to strike down your enemies…!”

Calling himself Fargodas, the man’s body continued to expand, engulfed in pitch-black aura.

Soon, he towered over five meters tall, each step shaking the ground.

Kuuung……!

“God has answered my faith! I shall offer you all to Him—stretch out your necks!”

Fargodas lunged forward, his massive body moving with shocking speed.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud—! Kwaaang!

Turklan braced himself, thickening his aura to clash head-on with Fargodas.

At that moment, Patrick leapt into the air, releasing a volley of aura-infused daggers.

Shushushushushuk! Papapapapak!

The daggers shot toward Fargodas’s head—

—but he blocked them with his left arm.

“Sir Turklan! Hold out a little longer!”

Deborah joined the fight, striking in unison.

Thud! Thwack!

Kugugugugugugu……!

Turklan drew deeper from within, pulling forth even more of his white aura to endure.

Even so, his body was slowly being pushed back.

“Kuhuhuh! Did you truly think you could withstand the might of His power? Consider it an honor to die as His sacrifice!”

Dark energy seeped out from every inch of Fargodas’s body.

Then, as it brushed against Turklan’s clothes, the fabric began to rot away.

“What in the world—?”

Startled, Turklan quickly disengaged, pulling his greatsword back and retreating.

The power he had faced from the earlier priests was nothing compared to this.

“We’ll have to be careful. Your Highness, please stay back.”

Before he knew it, Patrick and Deborah had joined him, both wearing equally tense expressions.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep