On the surface of The Vile Altar...
The three members of the Congregation of Revelation now faced off against two soldiers and a bandit from Ironcrest who had joined forces earlier while Kaleb and Arthur made their way through the underground ruins in search of Cesar.
After the confrontation began, each side involved in the situation realized the level of fighting ability of the opposing groups, but also who each group would have fewer problems with in the future.
Since Cesar only had one 3rd-stage herb, they could share this resource among several of them as long as they used the herb to make pills.
However, while Cesar's item could be shared, its vitality status was a matter that some people disagreed about.
All in all, the kingdom's soldiers had allied themselves with the criminals of Ironcrest to fight these three members of the continent's largest army after strategically dividing themselves.
The army and the Ironcrest Temple groups initially had similar strengths. However, with the departure of Arthur, the weakest of the three commanders there, and his replacement by Tyson, the group had gained a remarkable advantage!
As soon as Arthur and Kaleb left to deal with Cesar and collect the 3rd-stage herb, the group of Alex, Tyson, and Peter positioned themselves in front of the entrance to these ruins, impeding the enemy's progress in the area but also pressuring them to prevent their escape.
With the allies' methods against Levi's party, Kohen and his Ironcrest companions found themselves in an increasingly desperate situation!
Pow!
Alex leaped into the air with his war hammer aimed high and slashed at Killian, the poison-style warrior of the enemy group.
As a greenish mist covered the outskirts of the entrance to the ruins of The Vile Altar, Killian moved around the area with his Poison Core, a special type of magical form.
"Old hypocrites, if not today, then someday you will die for the choices you made today!" Killian shouted as he tried to counterattack the enemy, firing a poisonous mana blast from the crystal before him.
"Tsk! You guys talk a lot!" Alex said as he moved to throw his hammer at the enemy attack, spinning it as it flew toward Killian.
Meanwhile, Killian's attack couldn't withstand Alex's, while the soldier's energy axe came closer and closer, threatening him.
Although Killian's powers were poisonous, his attacks were mana-based. If he was counterattacked by a tool-like magical form, he could be blocked or even destroyed because regardless of whether it was a tool or not, it was also mana-based.
Killian's poisonous mana was dispersed by Alex's axe, while the man from the Ironcrest Temple paled in fear as he saw the enemy's attack come too close.
"Shit!" He shouted as he saw that he would be hit hard this time.
Unfortunately, he couldn't count on the help of his two companions, who were too busy fighting Tyson and Peter.
"Peter, how dare you threaten the lives of members of the Congregation of Revelation?" Levi glared angrily at the soldier from the kingdom's capital as he moved to escape the rain of dominoes trying to crush him.
"Why wouldn't I dare?" Peter said, smiling at Levi's words as he found himself in an increasingly dire situation, trapped in the world of dominoes.
"Damn you! Do you realize what you're attracting?" Kohen shouted as he fell to the ground, his face pale, with several bloodstains here and there, while his armor had several dents and cuts showing his skin.
Tyson looked at the man from the Congregation of Revelation headquarters who was temporarily living in Ironcrest. As he laughed and moved, he caused a huge red energy palm to appear in the sky and fall at high speed on the man and the flaming bird lying on the ground.
"Kohen, let this old man take your life!" Tyson shouted as he pressed his power against the enemy, seeing the Sacred Devotee Reeves fall before this attack that could kill Lower-level Mages.
"Fuck!" Kohen struggled to stand up, using what little mana he had left in his avatar-like magical form, causing the flaming bird next to him to grow larger and brighter as orange flames exploded from that position.
As Tyson's demonic palm struck him, he felt every bone in his body vibrate as the mana in his Magic Gem reached its lowest possible level.
As Tyson pressed him, Kohen saw his flaming avatar disperse, unable to withstand the power of his enemy's crushing palm.
'Shit... Am I going to fall here?' He asked himself as he watched his surroundings grow darker and darker, and he gradually lost consciousness.
At that moment, the gem on Kohen's forehead suddenly cracked, and the mana bird disappeared a split second before the red energy palm smashed it against the uneven ground of the ruins.
Boom!
Dust scattered in the surrounding area, while the sound of breaking stones could be heard near where Tyson's demonic palm had struck.
"Damn you! You'll pay with your life! Wait till my superiors hear about this!" Levi shouted as he saw not only Kohen's end but Killian's as well, the second man being brutally attacked by Alex's hammer blows.
He was still standing, but with his two allies practically dead, his situation was alarming!
...
Meanwhile, underground in the ancient ruins of The Vile Altar...
Kaleb and Arthur didn't know what was happening above ground. But they were confident their opponents would soon die, for they were the weakest links in their alliance, while the three men left behind were the strongest.
The two weren't worried about the situation of their companions on the surface but rather about how to deal with Cesar, whom they were about to catch up with.
After passing the level where the two level 5 Acolytes had fallen to Vicente, Kaleb and Arthur already knew their opponent had found a way to escape the Nine Demons' formation.
It was impressive, but not enough to make the two Mages give up what they were after!
But they weren't stupid enough to ignore Cesar's current level and the fact that he had managed to overcome such a formation. Seeing the enemy a few dozen meters away, Kaleb and Arthur moved cautiously.
Meanwhile, Vicente was standing in the middle of a long dark corridor, a place where the walls had several symmetrical perforations while the floor had similar structures.
Vicente narrowed his eyes while looking at the two men, especially Arthur, feeling as if he had seen this person before.
'Who is this soldier?'
