The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 157 The Heart of Battle
Hearing a loud crash behind them, Elise and the others turned around and saw a large hole in the ground, through which Eric and Molly had fallen.

Just as they were staring in disbelief, the overhead illumination sphere went out, plunging them into complete darkness.

The wood elf looked up, "The divine magic has vanished... Could it be Eric...?"

"Freeze said!"

Elise turned to rush outside to get a torch, but a small ball of light pierced through the crack in the ground, illuminating the library once more.

"Eric!" She felt a sudden sense of relief and quickly moved closer to the crack in the floor.

His voice came from below, though it was dark below.

“It’s okay… Molly and I are still alive,” Eric said. “It’s not very high here, only three or four meters. We fell to the second basement level.”

"Can you guys still come up?" Leonard asked, leaning closer.

“We can’t go any further up here.” Eric looked at the four heads gathered around the cave entrance above. “You guys keep exploring down here. It’s not that big, and we’ll be able to regroup soon.”

"Okay...be careful."

Once the footsteps above had faded into the distance, Eric rubbed his backside and turned to look at Molly lying next to him.

She was so frightened by the fall that she fainted. He was there to cushion her fall and prevent her from getting hurt.

"There is indeed a hole in the floor of the library that connects to the second basement level. It's considered a shortcut in the dungeon... I was so busy looking for skill books that I forgot about it."

Eric shook his head, reached out and pinched Molly's arm, and she quickly woke up.

"Ouch!...Where am I...We've fallen?"

Molly sat up, clutching her arm, looked around, and then looked up at the large hole above her head.

"How could a hole suddenly appear?"

"Didn't you stomp twice?"

Molly also recalled the two stomps she had made, and was speechless, finding it unbelievable. After a while, she said, "It collapsed because I stomped twice? I'm a mage!"

“It’s your problem anyway,” Eric threatened. “If you want to get out of here alive, you’d better behave yourself.”

Molly did indeed behave herself a lot, staying close to him and never running around or touching him inappropriately.

"What is this place?"

Eric released an even brighter ball of illumination, scanning the surroundings. "Looks like a room for storing weapons."

This was a separate room, much smaller than the library upstairs, and surrounded by neatly arranged weapon racks filled with almost completely rotten standard-issue weapons.

Seeing Eric pick up one of the knives and examine it, Molly followed suit. But as soon as she picked up a sword, it broke in two at the hilt, startling her.

"It's almost completely rotten... It seems like all the equipment here is ordinary."

"It's probably placed here because it looks nice."

"What's so appealing about the weapon?" Molly asked.

“What do you know?” Eric put the knife back. “Gold coins are just pretty.”

Molly pursed her lips, glanced around, and then abruptly turned her head away.

"Where's the door?"

She carefully turned around the room 360 degrees and found that the weapons room was surrounded by walls on all four sides and had no door.

Eric glanced around and sighed, "Looks like we'll have to find a way out through this hole in the ceiling. Crouch down so I can step on you."

Molly was shocked. "You've got it backwards, haven't you?"

“If I go up, I can pull you up too. But if you go up, can you pull me up?” Eric retorted.

"But...but I can't lift you up! ...Can I go up and call them to come and save you?"

"They've already gone to find another way. Hang in there, I'm much lighter than Leonard and Tigerman."

"I hope my shoulder doesn't break..."

Molly squatted down with a mournful face, and then Eric walked to one of the walls, fumbled around for a few moments, and then pushed the wall, slowly opening a crack with a rumbling sound.

She was still in a daze when she saw Eric unable to suppress a smile. Finally, she reacted, got up, and pounced on him.

"How can you be so mean!"

"Don't make trouble..."

She punched him a few times before stopping, and then realized what was happening.

"How come you're so relaxed and not nervous at all? I feel like you know a thing or two about this place?"

“Didn’t I tell you I came down?” Eric pushed the stone wall, which was actually a revolving door. However, due to its age, the central axis had lost its lubrication, making it particularly difficult to push.

"Did you fall here before?" Molly pressed.

Eric ignored him, and pushed hard on the stone door, making it rumble and spin until a gap appeared that he could pass through.

On the other side of the darkness, a knife slashed down at the gap.

Eric had already heard the commotion on the other side, so he quickly dodged back and pulled Molly back as well.

"Immortal!"

"It's the same kind of mummified corpse we encountered up there earlier."

She gripped the staff with both hands. "But you're all alone now. Can you handle this?"

Eric gave her a strange look. "You're not human?"

His trust only made her more nervous at this moment. "Look ahead! Look ahead!"

When his first strike missed, the mummified corpse squeezed through the crack in the door, trying to enter the room inside. Eric seized the opportunity to push the stone wall from the other side, wedging it in the crack, making it much easier to deal with afterward.

After knocking away the weapon and cutting off the head of the mummified corpse, its body also lost its strength. When the stone door was pushed again, it collapsed.

His ease only fueled Molly's suspicions, though her thoughts drifted a bit too far: "You didn't find some treasure map somewhere, did you?"

"Hmm...you finally found out." Eric replied casually, listening carefully to the sounds outside. He remembered there were two mummies here.

Sure enough, as soon as he peeked out, another mummified corpse launched an attack from the shadows.

when!
The knife struck the stone wall, and Eric retreated back inside, finishing it off in the same way.

Both mummies were holding ordinary weapons. After confirming that there were no enemies outside, Eric crawled out and then gestured for Molly to follow.

She squeezed out, glanced around, and was stunned. "How come there are tables and chairs, and they're all arranged so neatly? Is this a large hall?"

“Hmm.” Eric cautiously surveyed the surrounding darkness. “I don’t know how it was designed in the first place, but this underground space looks more like a house that was originally on the surface and has sunk underground. The structure is just like an ordinary house on the surface.”

Molly looked at him. "Let me see."

"what?"

"Treasure map."

"...I burned it after reading it, and I memorized it all."

Molly was suspicious, but couldn't think of any other possibility. "So you know where the most valuable thing is, right?"

Eric nodded. "In the most dangerous place."

"where?"

“The tomb,” Eric said. “This underground space is connected to the tomb next to it because the wall in the middle collapsed. The most valuable thing is the burial objects inside, and the most dangerous thing is the giant ghoul over there.”

In other words, the final boss of this instance is a mutated ancient corpse from the graveyard.

“We two can’t handle this, can we?” Molly said.

Eric thought for a moment, "We can give it a try."

The BOSS is huge and can get stuck in walls. He remembered a mage and warrior's two-person no-damage strategy.

"Let's wait for them to come together." Molly didn't want to take any risks with this.

“They should be coming down soon.” Eric looked to the other side of the hall, where a staircase connected to the upper floor, which was the basement.

However, there are still some small monsters up there, and it will take time to clear them out. He plans to fight his way over from here and rejoin them.

After taking a few steps, Eric looked down, then squatted down and touched the intricately patterned carpet on the ground.

Molly stopped as well. "What, is your room missing a rug?"

Eric examined it closely for a few moments. "If it were shipped to Lutia, this centuries-old carpet could fetch over two thousand gold coins."

"...How much did you say?" Molly was so stunned she couldn't move.

“This is still the most conservative price,” Eric said. “With such a large area and such good preservation, the price will only be higher, and it’s not impossible for it to double.”

Molly instinctively chose to believe him, but he had just joked with her, making it hard not to suspect that he was teasing her again. "You even know about this..."

"I am, after all, an aristocrat, and I know more or less about these exquisite but useless luxury goods."

Eric then fired another ball of light overhead. "Watch your surroundings. I'm rolling up this carpet."

Seeing that he was actually starting to do it, Molly immediately put aside her doubts and helped him. "Are we going to Lutia next?"

"Don't go."

"How much will it cost?"

"Take it back first. We can sell it when we have the chance."

Eric rolled up the carpet and placed it on the table for the time being. He then led Molly up the stairs to meet up with the other teammates.

Hearing the sounds of fighting, he quickened his pace and saw the desiccated corpse that Leonard had knocked away as soon as he turned the corner. He quickly drew his sword and rushed forward to snatch the head.

Eric breathed a sigh of relief as the experience flowed into his body.

It's so satisfying to snag one.

"Eric! Are you all alright?"

"fine."

Once they met, Elise breathed a sigh of relief and stood behind him.

"Have you made any discoveries?" Leonard asked.

Molly looked at Eric, who shook his head. "I was in a hurry to meet up with you. Apart from the fact that this place is really big, I didn't find anything else."

Let's continue.

A group of people arrived at the lobby on the second basement level. Leonard quickly noticed the carpet that Eric had rolled up, asked a question about it, but didn't pay much attention and began searching the lobby with the others.

Molly was the only one who was nervous the whole time, which prompted Elise to ask her a question.

“Eric said this rug could sell for two thousand gold coins in Lutia,” Molly whispered to her.

Elise pushed the carpet aside, and it unfurled. She glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I thought young master Eric didn't care about these things."

"You know about this too?" Molly asked hastily. "Can it really sell for two thousand gold coins?"

“What Lutia has in abundance are wealthy and antique-loving nobles.” Elise had lived in Lutia for much longer than Eric and knew more about the hobbies of those nobles. “Two thousand gold coins is a very conservative estimate for such a complete ancient carpet.”

Seeing that the two of them said the same thing, Molly was both convinced and doubtful, feeling extremely conflicted.

"Are you two in cahoots to mess with me?"

Elise chuckled. "Why would I lie to you... Any knowledgeable nobleman could tell this is a valuable item. Only these clueless adventurers would ignore it and only see weapons and equipment as treasures."

Molly was so happy she almost fainted. "If we sell this carpet, how much will I get?"

"Hmm, then we'll have to ask him..."

The two whispered among themselves, while the others also made some discoveries in various parts of the hall.

The wood elves found an ornately decorated sword inlaid with many gems, the tiger men discovered some spices that were not even damp, and Eric and Leonard noticed that the armor worn by a dummy in the corner of the hall was genuine.

It's a complete set of purple-quality armor...

Eric muttered to himself that in the game, the armor on these dummies was just part of the map background; there was no way to pick it up or interact with it.

“We’re rich now.” Leonard stroked the armor, completely lost in thought. Eric could immediately tell it was a purple-quality armor set—he didn’t have that ability—but his years of adventuring instincts told him that this set of equipment was definitely worth a fortune.

“This is a set of heavy plate armor, and only you can wear it,” Eric said. “And I suggest you put it on now.”

Leonard was taken aback. "Why?"

“When Molly and I came out of the room we fell into, we vaguely heard a roar coming from inside.” Eric pointed in the direction of the BOSS. “If we continue to explore, we’re afraid there will be a fierce battle.”

Fierce battle...

Leonard hesitated. Even if today ended here, this was the most rewarding adventure he had had in all his years on the ancient battlefield—he could even retire by selling this armor.

Is it necessary to continue?
He looked at Eric, "What are your plans?"

Eric raised his sword. "I said when we teamed up last time that every time I venture into an ancient battlefield, it's in pursuit of combat and breakthroughs."

Of course, he had to continue fighting.

"To be honest, I don't understand you. I've been taking risks since I was fifteen, almost thirty years now, and it's always been for the sake of wealth..."

Leonard shook his head, then began to remove his armor and put on the heavy plate armor.

"But since I'm already here, I, Leonard, have never been one to back down from a fight."

Eric smiled.

The outcome of the battle was already decided the moment he donned that armor.

Donning heavy armor, Leonard wielded his greatsword, and after a moment's adjustment, his voice came through the almost completely sealed helmet.

"Wow... I feel like I'm invincible right now."

“At least in this underground space, no one can deal with you anymore,” Eric said, holding the Holy Spirit Pendant in one hand and pressing the other hand on the armor, casting a power-enhancing blessing on Leonard.

"Wow, your divine technique is really impressive. I feel my strength has increased quite a bit."

"Let us thank Yela for her blessing."

The group regrouped, Leonard explained the situation, and the entire team headed deeper in the direction Eric had indicated.

Pushing open a large door at the end of the hall, seven or eight mummies rushed out from the dark corridor.

Leonard, clad in heavy armor, showed no fear and stood at the forefront, wielding his greatsword with incredible speed. Eric and his companions seized the opportunity to finish off the remaining monsters.

As they entered a room in the corridor, Eric cast a light spell, revealing a hole in the wall and a completely different, eerie environment on the other side of the hole.

“That looks like a tomb,” the wood elf said, glancing at Eric. “You were right.”

“There’s really no other possibility.” Eric looked at the tin can next to him under the gazes of Elise and Molly. “Go, God of War.”

Leonard laughed loudly, picked up his greatsword, and crawled into the tomb from the cave entrance, with the others immediately following.

There was no need to look for that giant ghoul boss; it was lying right in the middle of the tomb. It didn't stand up until Leonard thumped right up to it. It was enormous, and its imposing presence was astonishing.

Molly's face turned pale, and she glared at Eric.

This ghoul was much taller than the two of them stacked up vertically. How could he have said before that we could give it a try?
Leonard didn't think too much about it and rushed forward, raising his sword to deliver a heavy slash.

The ghoul was swayed by his attack and immediately roared, filling the entire tomb with a foul stench.

Eric raised his sword and pointed it at the ghoul, then used the divine ring that Alena had carved for him as a medium to cast a Holy Light Punishment.

At the same time, a golden mark representing Yera appeared on his forehead, glowing yet corroding his skin like a branding iron, continuously causing him harm.

The Burning Intensity of Ascetic Practice

This is the core skill of the ascetic. At the cost of continuous life loss, it increases faith and spiritual attributes, and at the same time, it can instantly stack the characteristic effect of "Ascension of Suffering I" which increases faith when taking damage, and additionally increase the faith attribute by 15%.

Eric's faith attribute was already quite high, and after the upgrade, a single Holy Light Smite burned the ghoul so badly that its skin was torn open, and the aggro was immediately transferred.

He took the initiative to approach, cooperating with Leonard, who was blocking the ghoul like a giant block of iron, to keep the BOSS in place.

"You guys just start firing!"

Upon receiving the order, Molly and the wood elf, two ranged attackers, one began chanting a spell, and the other started shooting arrows at the ghoul's head.

Tiger Man and Elise also began to move around, launching surprise attacks without interfering with Leonard and Eric.

The light of the Holy Judgment Blade was brighter than ever before. Eric swung the blade, slashing around the ghoul. Because of the high damage bonus of the Holy attribute to the undead, the aggro was basically always on him.

Enraged by the constant damage, the ghoul roared fiercely.

The boss is about to go berserk!

"Back off!" Eric immediately warned, "Leonard, step back!"

Leonard had barely been attacked during the battle; he was completely ignored by the BOSS, yet he stubbornly clung to him. At this moment, he dared not be careless and immediately took a few steps back.

The ghoul, on the other hand, went berserk and began pounding the ground around it.

Boom!Boom!
The ground shook, and Leonard's face inside the helmet turned pale. This heavy armor could help him withstand a lot of attacks, but an impact of this magnitude would make him cough up at least half a bucket of blood.

Boom!Boom!
The furious, cathartic attack continued for a while, and then the ghoul's movements gradually slowed down.

The rampage is over... and the battle should end too.

Eric swung his longsword, which was once again coated with a dazzling golden light. He pushed off with his feet and instantly appeared behind the ghoul, launching a series of attacks in a fixed rhythm.

The ghoul spun around and slammed his arms down, then flashed to the other side and continued his attack.

The swordsman, slashing, cutting, and moving about, appeared small in front of the enormous ghoul, yet his momentum grew stronger and stronger until he reached a breaking point.

"die!"

Eric roared and swung his sword upwards, the battle spirit that appeared behind him doing the same thing. The huge ghoul was sent flying by the sword, crashing into the top of the tomb before falling heavily to the ground.

Another greatsword is already facing its end.

"cut!"

Leonard roared, raised his greatsword high, and brought it down with a heavy slash.

(End of this chapter)