Chapter 19

Knocking down two skeleton soldiers and smashing a magic rune with divine magic, Greta hadn’t fully grasped the current situation when she was swept into the northeast tower and into the basement—

The basement was a different world. Greta followed the spiral staircase down and already saw three piles of skeletons and two heaps of unidentified objects that looked like zombies. After turning halfway down, she entered the hall, and a sharp wind suddenly pressed down from above.

"Watch out!"

Someone behind her shouted in alarm. Greta instinctively dodged to the right, and the person behind her rushed forward, tackling her to the ground and rolling two circles. Just as they stopped, there was a dull thud above their heads, and another dark shadow descended.

"Ow—"

"Ouch!"

"Vale, be careful!"

The world spun. Greta shook his head, trying to piece together what had just happened:

When they first entered the hall, an enemy appeared from above, diving down at him. Because it came from above, he didn’t react at first. It was the archer Thorne who tackled him out of the way, and the shield warrior Vale who raised his shield to block it. The shield didn’t hold, and Vale fell on top of him, shield and all...

Shouts and cries of pain filled the air. Amidst the chaos, the clear and angry voice of the cleric Donald stood out:

"Roman!"

"Got it!"

Knight Roman responded loudly, raising his sword and charging back from the depths of the hall. He was so fast that he almost left a trail of afterimages. If Greta didn’t know it was a person, he would have thought a tyrannosaurus had appeared.

Greta rolled and crawled to the side. Hiding behind the shield, he saw the knight swinging his longsword, fighting a winged, ugly creature. The sword clashed with the claws, making a clanging sound and sparks flew.

"What the hell is this thing?"

The shield warrior Vale muttered in front of him. Greta rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again, finally recognizing the monster from his game, and he drew a sharp breath:

"Wow, this is a big one!"

The lizard-faced creature with hooked claws and bat wings was identical to the gargoyle in his memory!

Observing the battlefield more closely, Cleric Donald was on the opposite side of the hall, protected by a small squad of warriors. The outer circle of warriors was busy cutting down smaller enemies. It was clear that the previous battle had already pushed deep into the hall. As for how the gargoyle got to the entrance and why Knight Roman was charging from that direction—

Greta decided to leave it for later.

The knight’s combat prowess was indeed formidable. His sword danced, evenly matched with the gargoyle. On the other side of the hall, the temple guards were rushing over, their large shields spread out, and two spear wielders advancing step by step, about to pin the gargoyle in the middle.

"This thing is done for!"

Freckles poked his head out from behind Greta and chuckled. Greta pushed his head back down:

"Don’t get complacent, stay hidden!"

Before he finished speaking, the gargoyle opened its sharp teeth and let out a piercing, ear-splitting scream. The sound was so shrill, like nails on a chalkboard amplified a hundred times, or a file scraping directly on the eardrums. Greta instinctively clutched his head, wincing in pain:

"Why so loud? You’re a gargoyle, not a banshee..."

The scream made the warriors with shields and spears advancing forward hesitate, their faces contorted in pain. The gargoyle seized this opportunity, spreading its wings and leaping into the air!

"Watch out!"

"Be on guard!"

"It’s trying to escape!"

Shouts echoed through the hall. Not only the temple warriors, but also Greta’s team, raised their guard.

Shield warrior Vale crouched slightly, raising his shield in front of Greta;

Spearman Raymond adjusted his stance, holding his spear diagonally upward;

Archer Thorne tightened his waist knife, standing to Greta’s left, ready to block the gargoyle’s attack at any moment.

Greta himself grabbed Freckles from behind, trying to stand on tiptoe to watch the monster from behind the shield—

Just as the gargoyle reached its highest point and began flapping its wings, a bright white light suddenly shot from the other end of the hall, striking it heavily!

Although it was just a beam of light, it was as solid as a physical object. The gargoyle was stunned in mid-air, white smoke rising from its body, and the area hit by the light beam turned black. Seizing this opportunity, Knight Roman leaped up and swung his sword.

Greta turned his head sharply.

He followed the path of the white light. At the other end of the hall, Cleric Donald stood high among the warriors, his golden hair flying. In the firelight, he looked radiant, as if haloed.

The cleric of the Spring Goddess was focused, his hands raised in front of him, forming a triangle with his palms and thumbs. The powerful light beam shot from the center of the triangle—

This is an attack divine spell?

So, a third-level cleric in this world can already cast such a powerful attack spell!

Greta was secretly amazed. Not far away, Knight Roman had already knocked the gargoyle to the ground, severing its wings with a few swift strokes. The warriors rushed forward, their spears and swords crisscrossing, quickly reducing the gargoyle to pieces.

Knight Roman sheathed his sword and turned to walk towards the cleric. As he passed, his gaze casually swept over Greta’s face, seemingly with and without intent. Greta shivered for no reason, just as he was about to take his leave, Cleric Donald turned and smiled, beckoning him over.

Greta, extremely unwilling, dragged his feet towards them. At the end of the hall, he overheard a temple guard reporting to the cleric:

"Sir, there’s another door here—"

Before he finished speaking, a black light suddenly flashed before their eyes!

Greta lurched to the left. This time, the speed was much faster than when he was tackled earlier, and he was certain someone had dragged him—possibly to use him as a meat shield.

The force that dragged him didn’t help him regain his balance, and Greta fell to the ground. Before he could get up, he heard a blood-curdling scream:

"Ah—"

It was Knight Roman!

Greta’s hair stood on end. Although he suspected the knight was against him, Greta had to admit that Roman was the strongest among them. If Roman was screaming like this, the opponent must be—

Greta propped himself up with his elbow and managed to lift his head. To his surprise, the powerful enemy attacking Knight Roman was not a human but a beautiful large cat. It was entirely black, with white paws, a white chest, and a white belly, as if wearing a white collar.

The large cat leaped around Knight Roman, moving swiftly. The knight roared in anger, but his sword kept missing. Instead, every time the cat pounced and bared its claws, a spray of blood splattered from the knight’s body.

Greta saw clearly that the cat’s attacks targeted Roman’s joints—wrists, ankles, shoulders, elbows, and knees. After a few rounds, Knight Roman fell to the ground, bleeding from several places, unable to get up.

The cat leaped again. Its movement was so fast it was hard to see, and it seemed to jump over several heads in the hall, charging straight for the cleric.

Cleric Donald’s face turned pale. He clasped his hands together, murmuring a prayer, as if trying to protect himself with a divine spell. But at that moment, a chanting voice rose from the hall entrance, the final syllable suddenly rising, and a ring of black light exploded outward!

The cleric was stunned. The cat seized the opportunity, pouncing on him, biting his throat and growling.

The black light swept over, and Greta, who was just halfway up, felt a chill and fell again. In the hall, two or three dozen warriors, including the young cleric John, fell like wheat stalks.