Chapter 57: Wrath of the Ruins

Chapter 57: Wrath of the Ruins

Not long after, an enormous hall opened before them, filled with a multitude of ruins in various historical styles. In one place stood a colosseum, in another an amphitheater, and in a third, ancient Roman baths.

On a large hippodrome, the remains of war chariots were visible, and further ahead lay several ruined palaces. The Mayor traced the path where the roots moved through the walls of the hall and pointed toward one of the palaces. "We have to reach the other side of that palace."

The group slowly began to advance, and soon, undead creatures started to emerge sluggishly from the ruins. They were first attacked by a group of zombies in copper armor, armed with long bronze spears. It was clear they had once been powerful soldiers; somehow, their muscles had survived the necrotic curses. However, they lacked the agility and combat experience of their living predecessors and quickly fell beneath the blows of the Mayor, his son, and Douglas.

The three of them formed the spearhead of their battle formation, while the two Echidrids guarded the flanks and could always support the center when needed. Fjorn and Emilia remained in the rear, providing support with battle talismans. Emilia was responsible for healing the injured, while the more experienced Fjorn, who had recovered significantly, had a handful of defensive talismans and would use them to stop enemy attacks at key moments. Emilia had to conserve her spiritual energy and not rely on fireballs. They were relatively weak and were better used as a surprise than for dealing lethal damage.

Next, the group continued to encounter various reanimated heroes, large golems, and even two self-propelled war chariots with broken wheels. At one point, a group of Gorgons with snakes instead of hair attacked them from the colosseum. Since the Gorgons were also children of Echidna, they immediately recognized the Echidrids and assailed them with incredible hatred.

The two groups locked in a deadly fight, but the Mayor and his son were freer and managed to break away from the battle, flanking the Gorgons from behind. Fjorn expended a full eight talismans in three minutes, and Emilia continuously used healing talismans.

The Mayor and his son then smashed into the unprotected backs of the maddened Gorgons and began to strike them down with powerful blows. As children of Echidna, the Mother of Monsters, the Echidrids possessed a very good resistance to poisons. The numerous small wounds and snake bites they had received in the brief battle quickly closed up, healed by the magic of the talismans.

But the group had no time to rest. They kept running toward the ruined castle, while increasingly stronger and more terrifying creatures began to awaken behind them.

Emilia saw strange stone creatures watching them from the roofs of some of the buildings; the mana within them was slowly activating. Gargoyles! Emilia thought. But besides gargoyles, there were Kallikantzaros and gigantic Imps.

Enormous five-meter-tall creatures, with four arms and two heads, began to rise from an ancient tomb, and in the distance, Emilia spotted two sphinxes.

The group started running with all their might, and Fjorn and Emilia spared no talismans.

At that moment, the remnants of the palace guard jumped out in front of them. Armed with armor warped from countless battles and broken weapons, they tried to block two of the gates, but Douglas noticed several gaps in the fence, guarded by only a few palace sentries.

The Echidrids lunged like madmen at the guards, while the Mayor and his son had to hold back to protect the flanks in turn. Without delay, but at the cost of many wounds, the group dealt with the palace guards. Emilia saw a whole horde of creatures forming behind them, giving chase. Fortunately, they were getting in each other’s way, but an enormous, titanic golem, made of pure bronze, shoved them all aside and strode quickly toward their group.

The golem was sculpted to resemble an Olympic athlete with large, bulging muscles, and in its hands, it held a relatively short sword and a round shield.

"We won't make it; it’s going to catch us!" Emilia shrieked, sheer terror evident in her voice.

Fjorn fell back a step and activated all five remaining Exploding Acorns simultaneously. He destroyed part of the wall and sealed the gap they had just passed through.

Emilia sighed in relief for a moment, but a moment later, the golem slammed into the wall with all its might and began smashing it with powerful blows. She rushed to grab Fjorn, who was exhausted from the effort, and started pulling him forward. The front row was fighting even more palace guards. Emilia began activating Talismans of Strength on the vanguard. Luckily, these talismans did not need to be aimed like fireballs and did not consume much spiritual energy. She simply triggered the mana within the talismans, and they activated themselves.

With renewed strength, the group managed to carve a path through the palace guards and pressed onward. The Mayor’s son had lost his huge two-handed sword and now wielded two curved bronze sabers. He had taken a heavy blow to the head; his helmet was missing, and blood streamed from his forehead. His eyes were slightly unfocused. Yet, despite all this, he somehow managed to run along with the others.

The exit of the cavernous hall was visible ahead, and at that moment, Douglas looked back and shouted.

"What are we going to do? We have to seal the tunnel behind us somehow. Those things will catch up!"

Fjorn was running breathlessly at the very back, supported by the small Emilia. He wiped the sweat from his brow. "I'll take care of it."

The Mayor gave him an assessing look, fell back for a moment, came closer, and began supporting him. Douglas also dropped out of the leading line and returned to help support and guard the formation master. The three Echidrids up front had to deal with the chaotic and sporadic palace defenders. Only the weakest and slowest of them were left.

Not long after, the walls narrowed, and the group exited the cave tunnel. Fjorn stopped and began breathing heavily. "Emilia, find me the flags."

She recalled how for days Master Fjorn had been refining seventeen small flags, using a large portion of the mana-rich materials they had acquired. Furthermore, each flag contained at least three drops of pure blood essence, taken directly from the hearts of defeated monsters. These creations had consumed a significant portion of the master’s recovered strength.

Now, however, was the time to use them.

Fjorn began placing the flags at specific positions, activating the hidden power within them. He had to perform complex calculations for the position of each flag, as well as analyze the surrounding terrain. He needed to adjust the auras and energies of it all.

"We don't have time!"

Without understanding the complex process, the Mayor shook the shoulders of the formation master, who was frozen in calculation. Fjorn, however, ignored him, visualizing the intricate formation. A moment later, he raised his hand and placed another flag.

"Emilia, come and help me with these five flags. Use Solomon’s Formula for Aura Equalization and find the most conflicting spots on this wall. Then, secure the flags carefully and call out to me so we can activate them."

Emilia did not hesitate for a second. She immediately used Dispel Ignorance and began analyzing the mana and auras in the right-hand wall. Various tables appeared before her eyes, but she could not recall the exact values for most of them. She had never had to perform such complex calculations under high pressure.

I must act immediately. I will choose approximate values, using Hammurabi's Point Addition Method.

She frantically tried to analyze the auras one last time. One by one, she placed three of the flags. But then, she began to hesitate; she couldn't find the weak spots.

She simply couldn't see where best to create chaos in the order of mana and auras within the millennia-old wall.

"They're coming!" shouted the Mayor’s son.

Emilia allowed herself a split second, and with her peripheral vision, she caught sight of the bronze golem’s gleaming body. I'll just have to trust the approximate values and my intuition! she told herself, and she swiftly started laying the remaining flags. Exactly five seconds later, she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"I’m ready!"

"Everyone, get back," Fjorn commanded, and he whipped the mana within his body into a frenzy. He placed the final control flag in the very center of the formation and began manipulating the complex energies. The flags instantly activated, and the powerful mana hidden within them was violently released with destructive force into the walls of the cave tunnel.

Destruction had always been easier than creation. No one knew exactly who had built these tunnels or how many centuries and eras they had endured. But at that very moment, the chaotically released energies found their way to the mathematically weakest points in the walls.

Fjorn couldn't bear the strain, and his mouth filled with blood. He spat it out without thinking and, with bloodshot eyes, continued to direct the chaotic energies. The walls began to crack, and numerous scraping sounds echoed through the air.

At one point, seventeen small explosions sounded, and the flags released their remaining energies with a powerful surge. Fjorn’s legs buckled, and he stumbled, falling toward the ground. The Mayor, however, was nearby and covered the distance in two large strides, catching him.

The already cracked walls could not withstand the pressure of the liberated energy!

Dozens of fissures erupted simultaneously, the magic that had held them firm for centuries crumbled, and the ceiling collapsed with a deafening roar. Tons of rock tumbled into the tunnel, burying everything behind them. In the same instant, the Mayor hoisted the exhausted Fjorn onto his shoulder and leaped into the new chamber, where the others were already seeking cover.