When the figure in black saw Milo injured, he momentarily lost focus. Kosor seized the opportunity, swinging his sword and leaving a deep gash across the figure’s body. The figure in black roared in fury, increasing the power of his magic, sending both Enzo and Kosor flying backward with a violent shockwave.

Matilda quickly took advantage of the opening, unleashing her most powerful freezing divine arts. The ground around the figure in black immediately froze, restricting his movement. Meanwhile, Patricia cast a sealing spell, aiming to bind the figure in black and prevent him from escaping.

After a fierce battle, Enzo and his team began to gain the upper hand, but Milo and the figure in black continued to resist desperately. Just then, a loud noise of approaching footsteps echoed from outside the cave, signaling that more enemies were on their way.

Enzo’s face darkened. “This is bad. It’s their reinforcements!”

Matilda said anxiously, “What do we do now? We haven’t defeated them completely yet.”

Patricia glanced toward the deeper part of the cave. “We need to fall back into the cave. Maybe there’s another exit.”

Kosor nodded firmly. “Agreed, let’s move!”

The four of them fought and retreated at the same time, heading deeper into the cave. Milo and the figure in black attempted to pursue, but their injuries had slowed them down, making their movements sluggish.

Enzo and the others were running wildly through the cave, with strange lights flickering on the walls, like ancient runes glowing. A pungent smell filled the air, making it hard to breathe.

“Be careful, there might be traps here.” Enzo warned.

No sooner had he spoken than sharp stone spikes suddenly shot up from the ground ahead of them. Enzo quickly dodged, pulling Matilda out of harm’s way. Kosor and Patricia also managed to avoid the attack in time.

“These guys really set up a lot of traps.” Kosor cursed.

As they continued moving forward, Milo’s voice echoed from behind them. “You can’t escape. This will be your tomb!”

Enzo and the others ignored him and kept searching for an exit. Suddenly, they came to a fork in the path, with three tunnels in front of them.

“Which one should we take?” Matilda asked.

Enzo looked at the three tunnels, thinking for a moment before saying, “Let’s go through the middle one. The air flow seems smoother here. It might lead to an exit.”

The four of them ran toward the middle tunnel. The passage grew narrower, and black liquid began seeping from the walls. It dripped onto the ground, rising in swirling wisps of smoke, clearly corrosive.

“What the hell is this thing?” Patricia frowned, looking at the black liquid seeping from the walls.

Kosor raised his great sword in front of him, blocking any potential splashes of the liquid. “Doesn’t matter what it is, just get through it!”

Just as they were about to pass through the narrow tunnel, a massive stone door suddenly appeared in front of them, tightly shut and covered in intricate runes.

“How do we open this door?” Matilda asked anxiously, staring at the stone barrier.

Enzo stepped forward and examined the runes closely. “These symbols look similar to the ones we saw on Gamma. There might be a way to unlock it.”

Drawing on his experience of deciphering runes back on Gamma, Enzo reached out and touched one of the symbols. As his fingers made contact, the runes began to glow, their light growing brighter with each passing second. Finally, the stone door slowly began to open.

“Move!” Enzo shouted.

The four of them rushed through the doorway and found themselves in a massive stone chamber. In the center of the room stood a stone pedestal, emitting a mysterious glow, with an ancient scroll placed upon it.

“What is this?” Kosor asked, stepping toward the pedestal with curiosity.

At that moment, Milo and the figure in black, along with their reinforcements, appeared behind them.

“Aha! You have nowhere to run now!” Milo laughed, smugly.

Enzo and the others turned around, warily eyeing their pursuers. They had reached a dead end. There was no way out, no escape. The situation was dire, with danger closing in from all sides.

“Even if we die, we won’t let you win!” Enzo shouted, his voice full of determination.

As both sides prepared for another clash, suddenly, several powerful beams of energy shot out from the walls of the stone chamber, targeting Milo, the figure in black, and their reinforcements.

“Ah! What’s happening?” Milo screamed in surprise.

It turned out that Patricia had triggered a hidden mechanism in the stone chamber. The energy beams were incredibly powerful, instantly obliterating many of Milo’s and the figure in black’s soldiers. Both Milo and the figure in black were injured, but they continued to hold on, struggling to stay upright.

“Take the chance and attack!” Enzo shouted, charging toward Milo and the figure in black.

Matilda unleashed her Ice Divine Arts, Kosor swung his great sword, and Patricia cast powerful sealing spells. The four of them engaged in fierce battle once again with Milo and the figure in black.

Amidst the chaos of battle, Enzo noticed that the ancient scroll on the pedestal seemed to emanate a mysterious energy. A sudden impulse surged through him, and he dashed toward the stone platform, grabbing the scroll.

The moment his hands touched the scroll, a tremendous surge of power coursed through his body. He felt his strength increase dramatically.

“What… What kind of treasure is this?” Enzo exclaimed in astonishment, feeling the newfound power swirling within him.

When Milo saw Enzo grab the scroll, a flash of greed flickered in his eyes. “Give me the scroll!” he shouted.

Without hesitation, Milo charged straight at Enzo. But now armed with the scroll’s newfound power, Enzo met him head-on, exchanging blows with brutal force. This time, Milo was pushed back step by step, unable to match the surge of strength Enzo had gained from the scroll.

The figure in black tried to intervene, but Kosor, Matilda, and Patricia quickly surrounded him, keeping him firmly occupied.

Seizing the opportunity, Enzo unleashed his most powerful strike, knocking Milo to the ground in a bloody heap.

“You… you won’t win…” Milo muttered weakly before losing consciousness.

Seeing Milo fall, the figure in black hesitated, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. He tried to flee, but Patricia’s sealing spell ensnared him, locking him in place.

“Trying to run? Not so fast!” Patricia shouted.

Enzo, holding the scroll, approached the figure in black, his expression cold. “Tell me. What’s your plan? And where have you locked up the old man in hiding?”

The figure in black sneered, his voice dripping with defiance. “I won’t say a word.”

Enzo’s gaze hardened, his voice icy. “You won’t? Then you’ll stay here forever.”

Suddenly, a thick cloud of black smoke erupted from the figure in black’s body, and his form began to disintegrate.

“Oh no, he’s going to self-destruct!” Kosor shouted in alarm.

Enzo and the others quickly backed away, but before they could react, the figure in black exploded in a violent burst of energy, disappearing without a trace.

“Dammit, he got away!” Matilda said angrily.

Enzo looked at the scroll in his hand. “But we got this. Maybe it will lead us to more clues. And Milo is still alive. Once he wakes up, we can get the old hermit’s whereabouts from him.”

Just as they were about to leave the stone chamber with Milo, the room suddenly started to shake violently. Cracks appeared all over the walls, as if the chamber were about to collapse.

“Oh no, this place is going to cave in! We need to get out of here, fast!” Enzo shouted.

Kosor quickly picked up the unconscious Milo, and the group ran toward the stone door. But just as they reached it, the door began to slowly close under the tremors.

“Hurry!” Enzo shouted, rushing forward to try and hold the door open with his body. Matilda and Patricia quickly joined him to help.

Just as the door was about to close completely, Kosor, carrying Milo, dashed through the gap, and Enzo and the others followed closely behind.

As soon as they made it out, there was a loud “boom” behind them, and the stone chamber collapsed entirely.

“That was too close!” Matilda said, patting her chest, still shaken.

Enzo looked at the scroll in his hand and said, “Let’s find a safe place first to see what secrets are in this scroll, and also wait for Milo to wake up so we can ask him some questions.”

The group nodded and cautiously searched for an exit in the cave. After walking for a while, they noticed a faint light ahead.

“Over there!” Enzo pointed toward the light and quickened his pace.

When they finally emerged from the cave, they found themselves facing a group of people, with a tall man in silver armor leading them.

“Who are you?” Enzo asked warily.

The man in silver armor smiled slightly. “I am the Captain of the Enforcer Squad from Rage Temple. We received word about a situation here and came to handle it.”

Enzo studied him, a trace of suspicion in his eyes. “How did you know something was going on here?”

The Captain explained, “We detected unusual energy fluctuations in the temple. After tracking them, we ended up here.”

At that moment, Milo, still slung over Kosor’s back, let out a groan and seemed to be waking up.

Enzo turned to the Captain and said, “We have a lot of things to figure out. We hope you’ll handle this fairly.”

The Captain nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Milo slowly opened his eyes, and upon seeing his surroundings, his face turned pale with a look of deep concern..

“You…” He was about to speak, but was interrupted by the chief law enforcer, “Milo, you have much to explain to the temple.”

Enzo held the Scroll and said to the chief law enforcer, “This Scroll may be related to their conspiracy, we should study it together.”

The chief law enforcer glanced at the Scroll, “Very well, come with us to the temple.”

Upon returning to Rage Temple, they entered a dedicated interrogation chamber. Enzo recounted to the chief law enforcer the conversation he had overheard between Milo and the mysterious figure in black, as well as their conspiracy.

Frowning, the chief law enforcer looked at Milo, “Milo, have you truly conspired with the Sloth Temple?”

Milo snorted, “Hmph, you know nothing. All this is for the pursuit of greater power.”

Enraged, Enzo exclaimed, “Can one resort to any means for power? You even kidnapped the hermit old man!”

Milo sneered, “That old man knows the secret of Ancestor Meat, only I can possess this secret and become the strongest.”

The chief law enforcer spoke sternly, “Your actions have gravely violated the regulations of Rage Temple, and you will face the appropriate consequences. Now, tell us, where have you imprisoned the hermit old man?”

Milo fell silent for a moment before saying, “I will not tell you unless you release me.”

Enzo exclaimed indignantly, “You must be dreaming!”

Just then, Patricia had a sudden realization, “Ah, we can use this Scroll as leverage to threaten him. Perhaps then he will reveal the whereabouts of the old man.”

Enzo’s eyes lit up as he waved the Scroll in front of Milo, “If you do not speak, we will destroy this Scroll.”

Milo’s face changed color, “You wouldn’t dare! This Scroll is of great use to you as well, you wouldn’t easily destroy it.”

Enzo sneered, “That is not necessarily true. We are more interested in rescuing the old man and discovering the origin of the Ancestor Meat than in the Scroll.”

Milo gazed at Enzo, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. He knew that Enzo and the others might indeed destroy the Scroll.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep