"Honestly, I don't know how this happened either…" Gawain shook his head. Although he wanted to concoct a logically sound and convincing theory to impress his multiple-great-granddaughter standing before him, he couldn't find any applicable explanation from either his own knowledge or the memories of Gawain Cecil.
So he simply admitted he couldn't explain any of it. "Perhaps it has to do with my experiences during my life. You know, I received elemental blessings while leading the forebears into the wilderness, which probably altered my physical constitution."
"Is that so…" Hetty replied noncommittally, then suddenly raised her head and looked toward the path ahead.
"There's a current of air…" she whispered. "And a different reaction to the magical essence. We should be nearing the end of the tomb area."
Gawain nodded, tightening his grip on the Sword of the Pioneer. An indescribable sense of unease washed over him, suggesting that what lay ahead might not be safe.
"Stay alert…" Knight Byron, walking at the front alongside Amber, seemed to sense something as well. He drew his steel broadsword, brushing his hand along the blade. Instantly, a faint silver light enveloped the sword. "You three, ensure the rear is protected."
The sound of metal clashing echoed as three soldiers readied themselves for battle. Although they were only basic combat classes, they were the elite fighters who had survived the ongoing struggle against monsters and had been meticulously trained by the Cecil family. Their fearless and composed expressions quickly eased the tension for the somewhat anxious Amber and the small maid, Betty, who was shielded in the middle of the group.
The passage of the tomb, while deep and long, eventually came to an end. Every ten meters along the stone walls were embedded soul stones, marking the boundary of the tomb area. As these soul stones faded away, they entered a slightly open space resembling a crossroads.
This was the junction between the tomb area and the castle's underground, serving as a transportation hub to the ancient secret passages.
Amber pointed to one of the forks at the "crossroads." "I came in from that way; it leads to a dried well outside the castle. But it's definitely occupied by monsters now."
Gawain turned to Hetty. "Which way is west?"
Hetty raised her hand, tracing a simple magical rune in the air. The rune transformed into a glowing ribbon that swayed gently, pointing in a specific direction.
"That way," Gawain said. But just as he finished speaking, a sense of crisis surged in his mind.
There was no time for further thought. The battle-hardened body instinctively raised the Sword of the Pioneer to block, and he immediately felt a force like a hammer strike against the blade.
His body swayed slightly but quickly stabilized. Then the assailants finally emerged before them, accompanied by a murmur that sounded almost like a whisper. Three towering, swaying figures stepped out from one of the dark passageways at the crossroads!
They bore no resemblance to any creature found in nature. Instead, they resembled monstrous constructs assembled from the wicked creativity of necromancers and demon sorcerers. Standing nearly three meters tall, they looked like shriveled and misshapen giants.
But their bodies were formed from a formless substance that flowed like sludge, and the murky material rippled across their surfaces. At times, massive hollows appeared, revealing blood-red bones within.
"Ah!" Rebecca let out a short gasp at the sight of the three monsters. Betty quickly bit down on her lip, as if she might burst into tears at any moment, while Hetty slammed her staff down hard, casting a weak dispel spell to counteract the fear effects the monsters induced in everyone. She quickly said to Gawain, "Ancestor, it's these monsters!"
At that moment, Gawain had shaken off the shock of encountering such non-human creatures, and corresponding memories began to surface in his mind. "So it's these things?!"
The three monsters had already launched their attacks again, their voices sounding like dreamy murmurs. Two of them charged toward Gawain and his group, while the third raised its arm, conjuring a dark energy arrow that coalesced in front of it, aimed directly at Amber, who stood at the forefront of the group!
"Whoa!" Amber let out a short exclamation, shrinking back into the shadows behind Knight Byron. In the next instant, she appeared in another shadow ten meters away. Meanwhile, Knight Byron raised his shimmering silver broadsword, shouting in anger as he charged toward one of the approaching monsters.
"Hetty, Rebecca, take down the one that's firing shadow arrows! Try to avoid using arcane magic; it's almost useless against these things! Amber, protect the spellcasters with the warriors!" Gawain shouted, then swung his longsword and braced himself to charge forward.
He had never wielded a blade in combat against anyone. He had never encountered any non-human monsters before. Despite his experiences of crossing over and being reborn, it was only today that he stood on this foreign land with his own legs for the first time.
So he had no idea what he could achieve at this moment, relying solely on the residual combat instincts left in this body and the combat knowledge in his mind that didn't belong to him. Plus, he was wielding an ancient longsword that had lost its magical properties.
But often, fate doesn't give you a choice.
You stand here, and the monsters stand there. Heaven offers no path, and the earth provides no door. You have only a seven-hundred-year-old antique sword in hand, and you might have had a shield too—but that shield had been lost to a reckless descendant a hundred years ago. What else could you do?
Fight, damn it!
So what if they were aberrations?
Seven hundred years ago, Gawain Cecil could have taken on a hundred of them by himself!
And now, with just three, he couldn't handle them?