Witch Redemption

Chapter 52 feels like visiting a haunted house.

Within minutes, after Aibo handed over the duties to the army guarding the Sunset Temple, Li Lan and his group were allowed to pass.

Because of their considerable grudge against the seven witches ahead, the three slowed their pace and observed the so-called Sunset Temple.

It must be said that when the entire ruins of the temple were fully revealed before them, they were so shocked that they couldn't utter a single word.

The temple's exterior is a cube, and within sight are numerous regularly symmetrically arranged, dilapidated yellowish-white pillars. Each pillar, reaching straight to the sky, is one meter in diameter and over fifty meters high. The many carvings on them have long been obscured by weathering and the ravages of war. At this moment, all they feel is grandeur, sacred solemnity, and a profound sense of history.

In front of the temple are eighteen steps. After climbing the steps, you can see the huge golden archway that leads directly to the center of the temple. At the top of the archway, you can barely see the engravings of the sun and clouds.

"so big!"

When Li Lan looked up, she couldn't help but sigh at her own insignificance, and even worried that the huge archway and the many precarious columns might collapse due to years of disrepair.

If this dangerous ancient site were to collapse, they would surely have died on the spot.

Trembling as they passed through the golden archway, Li Lan and the other two slowly walked onto the road leading to the central area, which was paved with a large number of rough gray rock tiles.

Li Lan felt that the wind was strong and cold. When he walked here, he couldn't help but look around, looking at the gloomy sky above, wary of the dangers that might be lurking around him, as if the coldness came from the tremors of his soul.

"arrive."

Less than five minutes later, Lana's eyes lit up, and she gave a reminder.

They had now arrived at the open area in the very center.

At the center of this area is a trapezoidal limestone altar, over ten meters high. The altar is empty except for a small door, about the height of a person, at the bottom. Presumably, entering through this small door leads to the underground area of ​​the temple.

That was also the destination of Li Lan and the others' trip.

The seven witches, including Della (codename 013), hesitated for a while before finally mustering their courage and taking the first step.

Li Lan and the other two exchanged glances, suppressed their fear, and followed the seven people inside two minutes after they left.

But inside the door was a spiral staircase leading to the underground area, winding downwards. Looking down, all one could see was darkness, and it was unclear where the faint light came from. Moreover, one could smell the stench of dust.

"Let's go."

Li Lan felt increasingly uneasy, but at this moment he really couldn't afford to back down in the slightest.

So the three of them carefully descended the spiral staircase, proceeding slowly while remaining vigilant. Soon after, a loud bang suddenly came from above, and the surroundings shook violently for a while.

"W-what happened?"

Lolina, who was following behind, was almost startled. When she looked up, the direction from which they had come in was completely dark.

"We may have triggered some mechanism, and now we're trapped here."

Lana's words sounded somewhat unconvincing.

The oldest and strongest human emotion is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear stems from the unknown.

This famous saying is not without reason.

It was precisely because of the lack of information that the three of them had no understanding of the Sunset Temple, which was why they felt so uneasy at this moment.

"Let's go down and take a look first."

Li Lan was also shocked. Why did it feel just as thrilling as the haunted house at Happy Valley on Halloween? At first, she didn't feel anything, but now, under the influence of her mind, she actually felt a chill in the surrounding environment.

Without hesitation, Li Lan grabbed the magic book from her waist and brought it to her front, opening and flipping to the abstract map interface of "Survey".

However, the abstract map within the circular frame was shaped like a spiral staircase leading forward, and no danger was found within a radius of fifty meters.

Of course, one cannot completely trust the map in this magic book, so Li Lan gripped the Libra Cross Greatsword tightly in his hand, and without hesitation, he cast the four buffs of "Blessing," "Prayer," "Guardian," and "Courage" on himself, taking the lead.

Lana and Lorina behind them were also paying attention to the anomaly in the grimoire, their greatswords ready to strike, and both Lana's "Mind's Eye LV1" and Lorina's "Death Omen LV1" were kept active the whole time.

………………

After walking along the spiral staircase for nearly fifteen minutes, and not knowing how many meters underground they had descended, Della, codenamed 013, finally arrived at the bottom with the six witches behind her.

"This should be the underground palace of the Sunset Temple that Major General Abbot mentioned."

Della spoke softly, then carefully examined the route map that Major General Abbott had left her.

Throughout the journey, she remained vigilant about her surroundings, desperately trying to appear calm despite her inner fears.

As always, she is the backbone of the team and must shoulder the responsibility of stabilizing everyone's emotions.

Before her lay two forks in the road, one in front of her and one to the left. The environment was very dark, and the light from who-knows-where could only barely illuminate the road within a two or three-meter radius; anything beyond that was invisible.

I confirmed that the floor was covered in dusty, dark gray tiles, and the ceiling and surrounding walls were made of the same material.

No matter how you look at it, what lies before them are indeed three long corridors leading to who-knows-where.

“Della, I heard the footsteps of those three guys up there, and I’m sure there are no other strange noises around.”

Britney, codenamed 015, approached Della and whispered.

Her race is half-werewolf, and her sense of smell and hearing are far beyond those of ordinary people. She is usually responsible for guarding the team.

The reason she didn't announce it to everyone as loudly as usual today was because of an argument yesterday. Even with Della's mediation, Britney's relationship with the other witches could never be the same again.

After all, most women are petty and can hold grudges for half their lives over the smallest trivial matters, not to mention yesterday's farce that almost led to a fight between the two sides.

Thinking of this, Della sighed with some worry.

The argument yesterday occurred because the seven witches had each accepted Major General Abbott's missions separately. Britney believed that since everyone was now in the same boat, they should share information about their respective missions privately, which would be beneficial for the next operation.

However, these words drew strong opposition from the vice-captain, codenamed 014 Julie Haggai. Subsequently, the others shared the same view, believing that this violated their promise to Major General Abbott and thus suspecting that Britney had ulterior motives.

As a result, this straightforward, somewhat eccentric girl, whose sense of justice often overflows, exploded on the spot...

"Gentlemen, it seems we need to hurry. Major General Aibo's mission for us is to go to the main hall to check the sealing status of Archangel Angel. We can't afford to delay any longer."

After Della finished speaking, she didn't dwell on Britney's matter any longer. With business as her priority, she strode towards the corridor on the right without hesitation.

According to the route map, they still had to navigate around 36 forks in the road, just like walking through a maze.

Della took the lead, while Julie, codenamed 014, and others followed silently behind.

As they checked the safety of their surroundings, they exchanged glances unintentionally, communicating with each other through their eyes.

In any case, what is certain at present is that, apart from Della and Britney, the other five people have all received similar missions, and this mission is to use Della as a sacrifice to consolidate the sealing ritual.

Among the known witches, only Della belongs to the mythical race, the Feathered Clan.

If the goal is truly to save the world and Dawn City, then her sacrifice is indispensable.

Perhaps none of the five witches knew that it was precisely this legitimate and righteous reason that allowed the seeds of jealousy to grow strong, eventually transforming into the most intense and darkest murderous intent in their hearts.

………………

"Um, which way should we go?"

Finally, after climbing the seemingly bottomless spiral staircase, Li Lan was faced with a dilemma at the fork in the road.

Because Major General Aibo only told them to come in and collect the identity certificates of the witches from previous generations, without telling them which direction to go.

“Although the best approach would be for each of us to go our own way,,” Lana quickly glanced at Li Lan and said bluntly, “Karen’s profession is a priest, and her current level is not high. If she were to encounter danger while acting alone, the consequences would be unimaginable. Furthermore, we have never been to this place before, and we don’t know what kind of dangers might be lurking here. It would be more suitable for us to act as a group.”

“That’s good, even better this way,” Lorina’s face had turned pale since she stepped into this area, as if she had been frightened. Fortunately, seeing that Li Lan seemed fearless, she pretended to be calm and said, “My level isn’t high either, so I need you to take care of me.”

Wow, you're already at level 5, bro.

Li Lan didn't notice the fear in Luo Lina's eyes. She simply thought to herself and then said, "How about we just go straight to the middle road? If there's no road ahead, we can turn back."

"Okay, you go first, we'll just follow behind you."

Lana looked at the deep darkness and felt a little guilty.

"You're not scared, are you?" Li Lan thought of the wonderful use of the priest's skill "Courage".

"How could that be? I'm easily scared!"

Lana didn't dare look Li Lan in the eye.

"Me too, me too!"

Luo Lina also dared not look Li Lan in the eye, pretending to look at the scenery instead.

Li Lan was surprised by how supportive her teammates were, and felt a little ashamed. She thought to herself, "You guys are easily scared, but I'm not. I'm scared to death right now!"

Fortunately, she had the "Courage" skill. At first, Li Lan disliked this skill intensely, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be a bit of a bug.

Even a brute like them is afraid of ghosts. From the moment they entered the spiral staircase, they had a strong feeling that they had entered a haunted house. Everything was gloomy and terrifying, and they had no idea where the road was.

The three of them slowly took steps, wary of their surroundings, their eyes never leaving the abstract map on the magic book.

They're all faking it; it's just that one of them used a little cheat code.

………………

Just ten minutes after Li Lan and the other two, along with the other seven witches, left separately, faint sounds of fighting suddenly came from the spiral staircase above. The sounds grew closer and closer until finally, a piercing sound of flesh being sliced ​​open rang out, and a humanoid figure dressed in an imperial soldier's uniform was thrown out of the staircase entrance, covered in a large amount of dark red blood.

In the dim light, one could barely make out that the humanoid figure had a canine-like head, and after it crashed heavily to the ground with a thud, the dog's head vomited out an even larger amount of blood.

"A demonic abyss creature of the wolf type, its true name is Skul. So it was indeed sent by the Sixth Apostle?"

From within the staircase's exit came a woman's sweet voice, a voice that seemed to possess a magical power, capable of instantly bewitching anyone with a weak will and turning them into her loyal servant.

"vomit--"

Spitting out another mouthful of blood, the humanoid figure with a wolf's head spoke in a vicious, middle-aged voice, "If this weren't the goddess's domain, where my power is suppressed, would you, a pseudo-demon god who's about to step into a coffin, even think you could kill me?"

The wolf-headed uncle continued to howl, his barking as fierce as his species, "Very good! Very good! You forced me to this! I will take you all down with me!"

The wolf-headed figure struggled to its feet, unleashing its suppressed, immense magical power. A storm of magic, conjured from the ground, swirled wildly, carrying with it the blood that covered the area, intent on destroying everything.

Immediately afterwards, the abyssal monster known as "Skur" in the center of the storm let out a long howl.

"I'm going to fight you to the death!"

After a vicious, clenched-teeth voice, the guy suddenly turned around and recklessly rushed out into the middle corridor.

The terrifying pressure caused the two people in the spiral staircase to hide for a full three minutes before they cautiously walked out of the staircase's exit, realizing that something was wrong.

But then I saw...

Chapter 53 This is not a temple, but a witch's tomb!

Damn it!

The first person to step out of the staircase was a boy who looked to be about 16 years old. He was also wearing the uniform of a soldier from the British Empire. His handsome face had one black and one gold eye, and those eyes revealed a ruthlessness and cunning that was completely out of character for his age.

"Sorry, Master, it got away."