The moment he felt a strong fluctuation, Vicente turned his attention in the direction where three Mages had just arrived.
The black-haired man narrowed his eyes considerably, feeling the mana of these people, who were several meters above the chamber where he was now standing.
'Kohen Reeves... It looks like you really wanted to kill me.' Vicente noticed two people next to this Sacred Devotee, two Mages, one at the same level as Kohen, Low-level, and the other was a little stronger, being a Mid-level mage.
The time it had taken him to reach The Vile Altar and then recover from using the Throne of Darkness had been enough for Kohen's reinforcements to change their destination and come to this place.
They had met moments ago near The Vile Altar and then had come to this place where Vicente had arranged to meet them.
'This is a problem.' Vicente thought to himself, a grim expression forming on his face. 'The chances of my previous plan working out are much lower. With three Mages on my side, our victory would be straightforward to achieve.'
He wanted to use his various guests to eliminate many of his problems at once. Therefore, it would be best for Vicente if his group were outnumbered and had some difficulties in the battle. That way, his temporary allies would have a better chance of dying before leaving this place!
As someone who didn't want to compromise with the people of the Ironcrest Temple, the best thing for Vicente would be for Kohen and the rest to die. But how could that happen when his group would be so strong?
'Shit! With so much power on my side, maybe the army Commanders will give up on confronting me. In that case, not only would I be forced to join Kohen and his comrades, but I'd also have three enemies in the bloody army!' Vicente cursed his luck.
'What am I going to do?'
While he was thinking, Torne heard his master's thoughts, something he could do if Vicente wasn't careful.
'My master, your power has increased a lot compared to before. Besides, you'll have more guests than you expected, so don't lose hope yet.' Torne said as he sensed five other Mages approaching the area of this ancient altar.
'Oh? What are you talking about?'
Vicente's range of senses was much shorter than Torne's, so, of course, he hadn't yet sensed the soldiers of the royal army nor Mark's four temporary companions.
But Torne was a spirit who had already reached the 4th stage and was currently at the peak of the 3rd magical realm. It was easy for him to sense those seven individuals approaching!
'Two level 5 Acolytes, four Low-level Mages, and one Mid-level Mage are also coming here, master. In addition to the three you noticed, these other seven opponents are approaching us.' Torne replied in Vicente's mind.
'What? Seven? Who are the other four?'
Vicente didn't know about the men Mark had taken to Milfall, but he was also in the dark about their sudden movement behind Kohen.
'If the master is careful, it's possible to eliminate them all.' Torne said to Vicente. 'Above the chamber you're in is an ancient defense mechanism. Take it, master. With it, you'll have an invincible defense for up to 10 seconds.
If you fall into one of the temple's traps, you can use it to save yourself while your opponents perish.'
'Oh?' Vicente looked up at the ceiling of the dark area he was in, quickly took a light device from his spatial ring, and illuminated the area.
As much as he had an affinity for the element of darkness, and this could be used to see in the dark, it would only be useful to Vicente if he actively used his second Magic Gem.
In the situation he was in, he didn't show any signs of his affinity for darkness because his magical form was "partially sealed" by the consciousness of that Magic Gem.
Unable to rely on his dark element, he could only see the area better with a light device.
Looking up at the ceiling of the altar he was standing on, where there was a black sphere that looked like nothing much at first glance, Vicente realized that a strong sensation was emanating from it.
'A defensive formation?'
Formations were special kinds of curses, or rather incantations, created by formation masters.
Formation masters were nothing more than enchanters who specialized in creating magic-based formations that worked like passive spells that anyone with the key to it could activate.
There were all kinds of formations, but the most common were defensive, which could create barriers of mana that could trap enemies in impenetrable areas or protect the formation user from attacks.
Given the value and importance that such formations could play in a primarily defensive force, they were very expensive and rare to obtain.
Unlike normal enchanters, who existed in large numbers, formation masters made up less than 2% of the magicians capable of casting enchantments.
When Vicente saw the first formation of his life, he was naturally amazed.
'This formation was designed to protect the altar where I was. But since I won't be here anymore, we can use it for something else.' Torne explained. 'There must be other items and treasures like this on the altars of the Cataclysm Order. In the future, the master should consider going after them. There must be things that the damned Congregation of Revelation didn't destroy.'
'Okay. How do I get that defense formation out of this place? Do you have the key?' Vicente smiled, imagining if everything worked out in this place, he could think about the possibilities Torne had in mind.
'Master, this is what you have to do...'
...
While Vicente was at the lowest level of The Vile Altar ruins, Kohen, Killian, and Levi had just stopped at the entrance to the ruins.
The three Ironcrest Mages, who had met about two hours ago and then headed this way together, were still unsure of what would happen there.
Kohen had warned them about Cesar's letter just before he left Millfall and led his companions to this place. But neither he nor his two allies were sure that Cesar was truly willing to make a deal with them.
However much that might have been Cesar's intention in his letter to Kohen, the three Mages were not unaware of the possibility that it was something more.
Arriving at this place together, they didn't act like they were there to find an ally. As soon as they set foot in the area's ruins, the three began to act with triple their usual caution.
"Stay alert. There's a possibility that Cesar has set something up against us." Levi, the Assistant Temple Master of the Ironcrest outpost, the leader of this group, a Mid-level Mage, said to his two faction mates.
If they were willing to act against Cesar, they had to consider the worst. Their target also had plans of his own!
"Yes!" The two agreed as they scanned their surroundings.
A second later, Kohen, the young-looking blond man, changed his expression as he sensed something amiss.
"Someone is approaching us!"
