"The route ahead is going to be rough because I made some changes. I'm not confident about my skill because we are currently the furthest anyone has ever gone beyond the Blackcliffs," Archelaus said as he stared at the map in his hands. "We will be in the open because we are using the road rather than going into the forest like before," he explained.
"I have discussed this matter with Lady Sanya. Since we have gone deeper, the chance we are meeting with the real Corrupted ones are higher. They roam more actively which means there's no more safe route," Archelaus added before everyone questioned his decision.
Everyone looked at the map and understood the reason Archelaus chose the road rather than the forest. They looked at the terrain around the road with the forest around it. There were hills surrounding the forest and it made them an easy target for an ambush by the Corrupted.
"It's better to fight in the open than in a small space," Arthor said as he nodded in agreement, but his face showed the anxiety that he couldn't hide.
"Is everyone ready?" Sanya asked as she rode her horse. "We don't have time to spare. We must advance immediately," she said with a faint sense of uneasiness in her voice.
Hearing Sanya say those words with that tone, everyone immediately prepared themselves and gathered the Templars and the knights. They left the village as soon as everyone had gathered and continued their expedition.
They followed the road and there were fewer corpses the further they went. The first time they walked beyond the Blackcliff, they would rather stay away from those corpses, but at this moment, they wished to be surrounded by those things.
They heard faint screeched screams in the distance that made them on edge. Their fingers and palms were tingling as they held their weapons tightly. They had never experienced something like this in their whole lives, even for the Templars whose job was to hunt demonic beasts.
Sanya stopped her horse and suddenly looked back at the distance, making everyone turn around and ready their stances.
"A fully evolved Corrupted has a crystal inside their chest as big as a child's fist. Destroy it and it will kill them immediately. Get ready," Sanya pointed out and didn't try to coat her words at all with what was about to come since everyone already knew something was coming.
"How many?" Thalior asked as he held his sword with both hands.
"A dozen or two..." Sanya answered. "Spread out. They will alert the other Corrupted when they find us, so make sure we won't get ambushed," she ordered.
Archelaus looked at his men and signaled to them by pointing at the trees around them. He and his men hurriedly spread out and climbed the trees as they acted as the eyes for everyone on the ground.
"May God protect us all," Astrea closed her eyes as she pressed her hands, praying to a higher being where she was dwelling in a place where the root of evil resided.
Slowly but surely they could hear loud thumping sounds like horses running wildly. Everyone's breath became short as their pupils trembled both from extreme anxiety and adrenaline.
"Here they come..." Sanya said as she stared at the road they took that was covered by cold mist. "I'll guard the front. Everyone take care of the rest," she added as she jumped down from her horse walked to the front on her own, and disappeared into the thick mist.
Ulric and Esper were taking the rear with the Angelis Templars. Nior and Aluca took the right side with Garsia and a few Sancticus Templars. Arthor, Thalior, and Callistor guarded the left side with the remaining Sancticus Templars. At the center, Moriganne, Astrea, Lenin, Novia, and Sissylia were going to be everyone's backup if needed.
Ulric and Esper saw silhouettes behind the thick mist and they grew larger as the sound of footsteps became clearer. They didn't know what kind of Corrupted that they were going to face, but they had coated their weapons with Aura.
The moment the Corrupted showed themselves, everyone was shocked when they saw the Corrupted wearing worn-out full-plate armor. The armor looked like it was from an old era, somewhere between two hundred and four hundred years ago.
"Charge!" Ulric shouted as he began to dash forward.
Ulric and everyone on the rear charged forward and clashed their swords and spears at the Corrupted. Ulric and Esper cut the first three Corrupted in half with each swing like it was nothing. But they both almost lost their heads when the two Corrupted swung their rusty swords at them so quickly. They barely dodged and immediately released a counter-attack and decapitated them.
They weren't given any time to breathe because the Corrupted moved swiftly like seasoned knights. They didn't have the chance to find the crystal inside each Corrupted that they had slain. That moment was when they realized how they made a huge mistake because the slain Corrupted used the opportunity to cut a few Templars' legs or feet because of the low visibility.
"This isn't good. The heat from their bodies is making the mist thicker," Lenin pointed out as she created a magic circle and pointed it down.
Lenin released a gust of wind and sent the mist away. That was when everyone got petrified because they had been surrounded by Corrupted that were watching them from the forest around them.
Archelaus' men who were on top of the trees suddenly fell and hit the ground hard with a few arrows stuck in their heads, necks, or chests. Archelaus dodged a few arrows that were coming at him, and he was forced to go down because of the small space he had.
Novia cast a spell and created a Mana barrier to protect everyone from arrows. She was angry at herself that she didn't do that in the very beginning.
"Fall back!" Ulric shouted as he blocked two Corrupted at the same time. He noticed that they became the easiest targets in the group since they weren't protected by the barrier.
They safely retreated and entered the barrier, but unfortunately, a handful of Templars couldn't make it and were being devoured by the Corrupted like meat at a feast.
Everyone was inside the barrier and looked at the hundreds of Corrupted around them. They noticed that something wasn't right because it felt like the Corrupted had been waiting for them.
"The numbers are growing..." Archelaus noticed there were more of Corrupted hidden deep in the forest. "This isn't a coincidence, we are being ambushed by them and someone or something did this," he added.
A few Corrupted pointed their decayed hands at the barrier and something formed on their palms. Dark purple fireballs were formed and then released at the barrier at full speed. The barrier took those fireballs and damaged the barrier severely. Lenin reinforced the barrier and made sure those balls couldn't break the barrier.
"We are stuck here," Lenin said as she spread her arms, reinforcing the barrier.
"Where's Lady Sanya?" Moriganne realized that Sanya wasn't in the barrier or outside the barrier.
Everyone looked around them to find Sanya, but they couldn't see her anywhere. Suddenly someone landed on top of the barrier, and it made everyone look up. That was when they saw Sanya taunting the Corrupted to target her instead.
"When I say run, you run and follow the road. We are close to the city and with my sisters around, this problem will be solved immediately," Sanya said as she counted the Corrupted that ambushed them. "Get ready," she warned.
Sanya raised her hands and the ground was shaking heavily that everyone lost their footing and fell. The ground in the forest cracked open and roots suddenly impaled and strangled all the Corrupted in a matter of a second. She then pushed her hand down, and the roots immediately dragged all the Corrupted into the ground, buried by nature.
"Now!" Sanya shouted.
Lenin removed the barrier and everyone immediately ran and followed the road as Sanya wanted them to do. Novia looked back and noticed that Sanya used the branches to collect the fallen soldiers and buried them deep in the ground. She never expected that Sanya would care about the dead knowing her personality.
"Your Holinesses, please get on Lady Sanya's horse!" Thalior pointed at Sanya's horse.
Moriganne and Astrea looked at Sanya because they didn't want to do it without her permission.
"Go!" Sanya shouted.
Astrea and Moriganne climbed on Sanya's horse and followed the others who were ahead of them.