Chapter 214 Battle in the Nest End (1/2)
The battle angel shot forward.
The devil sank into silence for a moment; then it suddenly made an ear-piercing shriek. Its screech was loud enough to send anyone to a daze as though thousands of spirits were burning in within the flames of hell. The towering chunk of flesh began to tremble violently, and it soon exploded, revealing a vestige of the holy relic within.
”NOW!”
Rhode yelled as he unhesitatingly summoned the Flame Killer. Before the poor hound could understand what was going on, Rhode gave it a 'generous' kick on its butt, sending the Flame Killer into the mouth of the wailing devil. Rhode quickly retreated and flapped his wings backward.
”———!!!”
And at this moment, a terrifying explosion shook the entire cave.
A bright, surging column of flames shot into the air from the insides of the devil's mouth. The earth quaked as the cavern walls began to lose its stability. Huge stalactites came crashing down, causing a thick layer of soil to rise into the air.
Cough…
Rhode finally landed on the ground with filth smeared on his face and a layer of soil rested on his head. Although he was protected by the Spirit Bird's wind element, after all, there was a limit to what humans could withstand. In the face of such a powerful explosion, even Rhode wouldn't dare take it head-on. Fortunately, the mercenaries were much further away, and they didn't suffer many injuries. Of course, Marlene and Lize played a huge role in protecting them with their spells.
Rhode casually waved his hand, summoning a gust of wind to clear the dust cloud. The tragic state of the devil could finally be seen.
The bloody flesh carpet had disappeared, and at a distance, they discovered the collapsed devil lying motionlessly on the floor. Its wretched appearance resembled a crushed watermelon. It was an incredibly disgusting sight. The Flame Killer's explosion had created a gaping hole in the ceiling of the cave, drilling a clean shaft straight to surface. Sunlight permeated through the newly formed opening, bringing a positive vibe to the living.
However, Rhode was slightly shocked when he found that he underestimated the power of the hound's explosion after its advancement. If it wasn't for the devil's natural resistance against fire, and its thick walls of flesh containing a majority of the force, perhaps the mercenaries wouldn't be walking right now. The underground cave was at least 100 meters below the surface… and to be able to puncture a hole all the way upwards was simply absurd.
Rhode sighed inwardly when he thought of this. Then, he withdrew his wings and walked towards the devil's corpse.
The devil no longer possessed any of its natural resistance after its death. Its body rapidly liquefied into a puddle of murky water and dried up soon after. Apart from a lingering stench, nothing was left to prove its existence.
Rhode scanned the corpse and found something that caught his attention.
There were two equipment that wasn't damaged by the explosion. One of them was a scepter carved with golden flowers, and the other was a fist-sized Spirit Core.
Not bad…
Rhode studied both equipments after picking them up. A surge of holy elemental energy churned from within the scepter. Legend told that this scepter once belonged to an archbishop who sealed the devil and was considered one of the secret treasures' of the church. If he gave it to Lize, her stats would increase substantially. However, Rhode didn't want to get on the bad side of the church just yet as he still considered the possibilities of collaborating with them. Furthermore, Rhode was aware the scepter was named 'Princess', a type of weapon that carried self-consciousness. It could judge the holder if they were genuine. If not, the scepter would rebel against the holder.
Back in the game, some players obtained this scepter by justifying themselves as 'the last hit.' Most of them were clerics who were allowed by their party members to deal the final blow to the devil. According to the game mechanics, only the person who administered the finishing blow could use the scepter. Currently, Lize was too weak and didn't have enough strength to kill it with an attack, so it was almost impossible for her to obtain it.
In any case, Rhode was more excited in the other 'free gift' that came alongside the scepter — the Spirit Core. This core originated from hell and was an exclusive item; it was even rare even to the Gods. Moreover, it was an excellent treasure for all Spirit Swordsmen. The Spirit Core had attributes that passively boosted the summoned spirits and also provide active buffs to them. This Spirit Core could even guarantee a 100% chance of summoning a high-level spirit!
Alas, the spirit summoned would most likely be a Dark elemental.
Rhode didn't intend to use the Spirit Core at the moment so he kept it in his spatial bag. Although the battle had ended, from the dreadful appearances of the mercenaries, Rhode didn't feel happy at all. The previous battle had given them a trauma, especially so after the catastrophic explosion which rocked the cave like a cradle. For a split second, they thought that this would be their final burial grounds.
The mercenaries froze in their steps. Their fingers turned pale after gripping their weapons ever so tightly. Most of them had blank expressions as they stared at the burnt chunk of flesh, dying fiends and the cracks in the walls.
Even the carefree Anne also supported herself by leaning against her shield, inhaling deeply. She had expanded most of her energy in the battle. Marlene and Lize weren't better off as they sat by a rock formation, exhausted beyond belief.
Lize took the initiative to ask, ”Is it over, Mr. Rhode?”
”Yes. It's over.”
Rhode nodded slowly as everyone glanced over to their leader. Then he lifted the scepter up high.
”With this scepter, our mission is complete!”
There was an awkward silence for a moment after that. The mercenaries looked at each other blankly, not knowing what emotion to display.
Huh, we completed the mission?
Did we really kill our way into Blackrock Depths and defeat a devil?
They couldn't believe it.
Many mercenaries began shivering when they thought of this. Ever since they entered the BlackRock Depths, they had been 'blessed' with Rhode's meticulous orders and continuously faced life-threatening battles one after another. Their mental capacity had been strained time and again without having much time to recover, so now that they've finally beaten the last BOSS, like an overdrawn bowstring, their taut minds snapped.
We actually defeated the devil!!
In all of Dragon Soul Continent, legends regarded the devils as the most terrifying beings that invaded their lands below ground. They lurked in the dark underworld, always ready to crush the humans on the surface. Normal humans could only dream of defeating one of them. Only those in the legendary figures from the stories were capable of killing these devils.
And now, we did it?
”Yeah!!”
”We did it!!!”
The mercenaries finally exploded in joy. Many of them whistled and screamed to express their excitement. Defeating a devil was an incredible honor, even if they did nothing for the rest of their lives, just this mission alone would give them enough substance to brag.
A wave of euphoria swept past the entire group of mercenaries. Even Marlene who had always displayed a cold expression was no exception. She stood quietly by the side, gazing at the rejoicing mercenaries warmly with an unnoticeable smile on her face. While Marlene hadn't placed them in her eyes before, but after fighting so many battles with them, it was impossible not to develop any connection to them.
Despite the insistence of many mercenaries to carry the devil's corpse back home as trophies, Lize and Celia stopped them from doing so. (Author Notes: Celia was withdrawn before the explosion and was resummoned later.)
After all, although it was dead, these things once belonged to the devil which could affect one's spirit if careless. As for the fiends, even though they were small, but they were extremely resilient. If any unborn fiend escaped to the surface, it would be a huge problem.
In order to prevent any accidents from happening, the angel engulfed the mercenaries with the Flames of Inquisition. Although it was slightly uncomfortable, the holy element within the flames could purge all remaining traces of the devil.
”Never in my lifetime would I have expected to defeat a devil,” Kavos said softly as sat on a rock, gazing up at the hole in the ceiling. As a veteran mercenary, he had killed countless of people, beasts, and even monsters. But a devil? Oh divines, this term wasn't in his dictionary of 'possible missions' at all.
”Yes, our leader is awesome,” Joey said cheekily as he squeezed over to Kavos.