Alfonso Cortes, the deputy governor, was fleeing for his life.
He had dismissed his guards, only bringing along a few of the most loyal and high-ranking knights.
He threw off his red velvet cloak, which was trampled and disappeared without a trace.
As for his steel armor... even if he wanted to take it off, it was impossible to do so quickly on the bumpy horseback. Putting on or taking off such armor required at least two attendants and half an hour of effort. Those that could be put on and taken off automatically?
They existed, but the accompanying divine spell would cost no less than ten or twenty thousand gold coins. With that much money, he could do many other things. Even keeping a dozen attendants would be better!
But now he was in trouble. Alfonso looked left, right, front, and back, but saw no opportunity to stop and remove his armor. The sky was filled with flapping wings, and spears and stones rained down.
Moreover, the sounds of explosions, large and small, echoed all around, making his heart pound with fear—
Damn heretics!
Where did they come from!
Fortunately, the knights he brought along included two who were loyal family retainers. As Alfonso crouched on his horse, a cloak was suddenly thrown over his head—
"Put it on!"
The gray-brown wool cloak was inconspicuous in both color and style, but at this moment, it nearly saved his life. Alfonso quickly used the cloak to cover his armor, pulling up the hood:
"Gonzalo! Thank you!"
Before he finished speaking, another explosion sounded ahead. Alfonso looked up, his face turning pale:
"The mountain! It's collapsing!"
It was more than just a collapse. The entire mountain peak broke off, rolling down like a giant snake made of mud and dust. Below the giant snake, cries of alarm and screams were unending.
"Run!"
"Run fast!"
"To the left! To the left! To the left!"
"No, there's no road! To the right!"
"There's a cave here—"
Amid the collapse, Archmage Mansfield appeared leisurely, lightly brushing his robe. Standing high above, he looked down at the chaotic crowd below and sighed:
"Blocking the road is so easy for a magician—"
Without even using magic, the airship circled around, scanning the terrain and selecting the best spots;
Low-level magicians—low-level but still fifteenth-level mages and above—flew around the mountain, finding the weakest points to plant magical explosives;
At the right moment, the explosives were detonated sequentially. Where the explosion wasn't enough, the magicians added a bit of force, causing rocks to roll down and block the paths—
More importantly, the thunderous sounds and the sight of rocks tumbling down had a natural, awe-inspiring power. With rocks rolling everywhere, the pirates and native soldiers below were instantly divided into dozens of isolated groups, unable to help each other!
Meanwhile, the White Eagle warriors capable of flight, along with the pre-positioned Black Eagle warriors and low-level warriors of the Eagle God's Kingdom, brandishing spears and stone hammers, charged down the slopes, shouting and killing as they entered the fray...
Alfonso Cortes fled desperately. Gonzalo and Sandoval, the two knights he brought from his family, protected him closely on either side. They broke through panicked soldiers, fleeing pirates, and crying natives—
Twisting and turning, they made their way towards the coast. As a fifteenth-level Sky Knight and a fourteenth-level Grand Knight, they were like a sharp knife, smoothly cutting through the crowd even in such chaos. Turning one corner, then another, suddenly—
A stone pillar shot up from the ground. Alfonso reacted quickly, jumping off, but his horse neighed and was impaled on the stone column.
In a hurried glance, he saw a beautiful female magician in a long dress hovering in mid-air, pointing at them—
No light, no color, no sound. Alfonso felt his head ring, becoming dizzy. When he wiped his face, blood flowed from his eyes, nostrils, and ears!
"It's a soundwave-type Archmage!" Gonzalo grabbed him, carrying him to the side. Sandoval leaped up with a shout, his sword emitting a long arc of light towards the female magician.
"Sigh..."
A soft sigh echoed. As the light arc slashed down, the female magician's figure disappeared like a dream. Immediately, from another direction, came a barely audible string sound:
"Buzz—"
The sound was so light and low that without concentrated attention, it was almost inaudible. But Sandoval felt as if he was struck by a giant hammer, trembling all over and spitting out a mouthful of blood before collapsing into the dust.
The next moment, his vision was filled with three Golden Eagle warriors wielding golden scimitars, and behind them, rows of White Eagle warriors advancing in formation.
Mage Isabelle stood among the dense canopy, looking down at the battle below, sighing quietly. She lovingly wiped her single-string zither and put it back into her space bag:
"Why would anyone think a magician would stand where they can be seen? Which magician doesn't throw out seventeen or eighteen illusions and hide themselves securely?"
Gonzalo carried the deputy governor, fleeing desperately. Jumping up and down, up and down.
Flexible branches lashed the deputy governor's face and hands, leaving red marks, and various poisonous insects occasionally brushed his skin, causing numbness and pain. Alfonso gritted his teeth, not daring to make a sound—
Who knew how many were chasing them!
How many Golden Eagle warriors, White Eagle warriors, were circling above, waiting to catch him!
Gonzalo took the safest route. Without the cover of the jungle, they wouldn't have run far before being caught!
Running and running, another explosion sounded ahead. Trees broke, branches shot out, and heat waves surged. Gonzalo slashed aside an attack with his sword, turning to the side and dashing forward—
Suddenly, it went black before their eyes, and they plunged into an endless fall.
They had fallen into a vast, deep cave.
"Damn!"
Gonzalo cursed. He struggled to fly out of the cave, thinking it was crazy to venture into such an unknown place. Who knew how big the cave was, how many layers, and what dangers lurked inside?
There might be wild beasts, poisonous snakes, magical beasts, or even high-level magical beasts nesting here. The cave might lead nowhere or plunge them into enemy territory or into an underground river that could sweep them away to an unknown place.
Gonzalo had no clue. His only thought was to return to the surface where he could see the sun—
As a Sky Knight, he had a perfect sense of direction. He turned and flew straight upwards. After flying twenty meters, he should reach the surface. But after flying ten meters, then another ten meters…
It was still pitch black. The sound of wind rushed past, countless stalactites and stone pillars loomed in the darkness. Gonzalo, sweating heavily, changed direction twice before realizing he couldn't go on like this.
"Hold tight!" He swung Alfonso onto his back, making him cling to his neck and waist. Kneeling in the air, he grasped his sword and prayed:
"My Lord, I praise you, I exalt you, I glorify you. Please, with your word, be a light for our path and a lamp for our feet, guiding us forward on the path you have set for us..."
Alfonso, drenched in sweat and panting, followed the knight in prayer. As they prayed, white light gradually emanated from the sword, armor, hands, and faces, illuminating their surroundings—
They saw then that they were surrounded by a misty black fog, gently swirling. Within the fog, countless thin threads slithered like snake tongues, trying to approach silently.
Fortunately, the white light kept the fog at bay. Gonzalo prayed again, then swung his sword in a circle. With a hiss, the black fog retreated, revealing a sliver of daylight outside.
"Ah!"
A clear female voice exclaimed. Gonzalo looked towards the sound, seeing three slender figures in the shadows, their presence indicated by countless phosphorescent dots. As the fog dissipated, the three stepped forward, praying loudly—
Gonzalo didn't recognize the language, likely the tongue of the Eagle God's Kingdom. The prayer was accompanied by a rustling sound, and phosphorescent light surged forward. Gonzalo glanced and shuddered:
Snakes!
Venomous snakes!
Countless venomous snakes!
Long and short, black, brown, green, and red, some forming snake arrays, some slithering forward, some entwining in clusters... They swarmed like waves.
Some had gleaming scales, some were half-ethereal, flicking their tongues, baring fangs, inflating necks, surrounding them tightly.
Even the stone columns and ceiling were covered with coiled snakes.
"Snake women..."
He hissed. No wonder the teachings said snakes were devils, the tempters of mankind, the original devils... These snake women deserved to be killed!
But he couldn't do it alone—nor could he protect the governor from being bitten by a snake.
Gonzalo took a deep breath, stomping hard. The ground collapsed, and he used the recoil to leap up like a cannonball—
"Bang!"
"Crash—"
"Ah—"
Screams, pain, darkness. When Gonzalo regained his senses, he found himself in a massive cage, its bars made of white human bones.
Alfonso had fallen off his back, landing among the venomous snakes.
He tried to protect himself with his sword but didn't notice a snake descending from above—
"Bone Prison." A sinister voice
spoke in Gonzalo's language:
"Respected Chivacoatl, I'll leave the rest to you."
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