Chapter 439: 439
The stone door was three meters tall and carved with a beautiful, mysterious relief sculpture . A square slot in the middle of the door was apparently an installation for opening it . Although the entire stone door looked ordinary and was mediocre at best—the knock of a hammer would effortlessly smash it to bits—Rhode could sense a strange aura coming from it . It was obvious that these fine relief sculptures weren’t simply relief sculptures . Instead, they were powerful magical traps that would perhaps trigger if the method of inserting the key was wrong or if the door was forcefully opened .
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However, this wouldn’t pose a problem for Rhode, who held the correct key . Although he couldn’t understand the secrets behind the patterns of this magical trap, he was clear of the steps in the strategy in opening it . Rhode retrieved the four key fragments from his pouch and inserted them into the slot in the sequence he remembered . The four key fragments aligned and embedded perfectly with the entire pattern of the huge stone door . The dusty, stone door opened slowly .
A cold, chilly wind blew through the gap and the fireballs around them faded into nothingness .
“Miasma . ” Gillian scrunched up her face and she returned to her normal expression after a mere second . “Master, you must be careful, okay? There may be a bunch of corpses and naked, skinless creatures extending their tongues dashing out from there . This is more interesting, isn’t it?”
“Don’t worry, this degree of miasma won’t affect me much . Also, corpses are nothing new to us anymore . ” Rhode turned around and gazed at Gillian as he stepped into the pitch-dark maze .
Rhode didn’t understand too much of this maze’s history since he wasn’t interested . Rhode knew the types of species lurking in this underground maze and that was all he needed to know .
There were no signs of light apart from the fireballs that Gillian had cast . The fireballs shone upon their surroundings and thick layers of moss inhabited the stone walls around them . Coffins filled with ghastly white bones were laid out in a hideous mess while spider webs were spread out along the tunnel . The footsteps of the trio were the only sound in this silent tunnel .
“Leader, what exactly are we looking for here?” Anne was overcome with boredom as she fiddled with her hair .
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“We’re looking for an important magical equipment which will help us a lot for the next guild mission . Anne, you must be wary too . ” Rhode explained patiently .
“Don’t worry, Leader!” Anne brandished the shield on her hand proudly . “Anne will smash any creature that comes in our way!”
“No, what I meant was that you must be careful in controlling your strength… Because I don’t want to be buried alive . ” Rhode stopped walking . Anne swiftly turned around to lean against Gillian while lifting her shield and vigilantly inspecting the dark tunnel .
“Ughh…” It sounded as though there was a person mourning inarticulately . It could have been the lamentation of the deceased or the deep howl of a wild beast . If a normal human being was in their shoes, perhaps he would be at his wits’ end . However, the barking of a neighbor’s chihuahua would be more threatening than this voice to the trio .
“It seems that they are finally here to protest . ” Rhode shrugged his shoulders and drew two daggers from his waist .
These two daggers were the ones Lydia had entrusted the Battle Angel Army to reward Rhode with . At this point in time, Rhode hadn’t figured out exactly how he could awaken these two daggers . However, since they were weapons, they should be linked in countless ways with battles . Rhode had decided to battle with these daggers instead of his Crimson Blade . From another perspective, these daggers were a great aid to him . After all, the Crimson Blade’s sharpness was its biggest merit . Also, apart from its unique technique, the sword’s attribute was similar to an ordinary weapon . Furthermore, Rhode couldn’t possibly let it absorb his blood anytime, anywhere . In other words, the attributes of these daggers outclassed the Crimson Blade and their might could be said to be on par with Star Mark and Succubus . However, the only flaw they had was their lack of a distinctive feature .
Considering that Rhode needed to consume his spiritual energy to summon a card from the Holy Sword Card Deck while these daggers didn’t need his spiritual energy, he felt that it was a real bargain . Rhode decided to use this underground maze as a training location for the daggers . After all, there wasn’t much danger and Rhode could use this chance to feel their formidable powers through actual battles .
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In the darkness, the two daggers displayed their exclusivity . Their sharp blades glowed with magical radiance as though they had detected an approaching danger . And they were right, because at this moment, dark, slow-moving figures came into Rhode’s sight one by one .
They were shriveled corpses in skin and bones . Holding a sword in their hands, their empty eye sockets emanated weak, fading flames of their last remaining soul as they growled unpleasantly .
Maze Zombies .
“Gillian, don’t attack . ” Rhode took a forward stance, at the same time alerting Gillian . “I want to give them a test . ”
“Sure, Master . ” Gillian snickered and backed off in a few steps . She leaned against the stone wall while folding her arms leisurely . “I’ll stand here and admire your skills then . ”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine . ” Rhode slashed dazzling radiances in the pitch-darkness with the two daggers . “I’ll leave those at the back for you, Anne . Be careful; hold back your strength . ”
Rhode dashed forward in the blink of an eye .
Although these Maze Zombies were sluggish in their movements, their actions were swift . In a blink of an eye, the Maze Zombies snarled nastily and slashed their sword at Rhode . Rhode didn’t dodge even though he could easily sneak between their attacking interval . He stopped advancing and brandished the daggers in a criss-cross stance before him .
Clang! The ear-deafening collision shook the seemingly ‘extremely delicate’ Maze Zombie violently . Rhode was firm on his feet as he squinted his eyes to sense the feedback of the daggers’ powers, trembling, weight, and balance . After all, the technique for dual-wielding swords was completely different than that for a single-handed sword . Rhode had to find the most suitable battle style and strategy . As for these Maze Zombies…
Rhode raised his right arm abruptly .
Gracier sliced the Maze Zombie’s sword and hand instantly . As it stumbled backwards, Madaras pierced its throat in lightning speed . Rhode took one step forward and slashed its throat sideways . The sharp blade utterly severed the Maze Zombie’s skull and at the same time, Rhode withdrew his right arm before stabbing the other Maze Zombie .
Glinting starlight erupted from the dagger and in a split second, the defenseless Maze Zombie was shredded into pieces . However, this wasn’t enough to stop their aggression as another Maze Zombie pounced forward with razor-sharp teeth, attempting to tear his flesh and devour him wholly .
However, before its teeth could sink into Rhode’s flesh, a glaring magical radiance flashed . Gracier penetrated its skull from the bottom-up and sent it into the depths of the abyss .
Not too bad .
Rhode pushed the dead Maze Zombie away and flicked off the remains on his dagger . At the same time, he lowered his head and gazed at the daggers . Rhode was amazed that it was as though the two daggers had become the perfect extension of himself . Also, he was able to slay the enemies flawlessly as though he had been using the daggers for a long time .
Why do I feel this way?
Rhode’s eyes glistened curiously . Suddenly, two clear and sweet-sounding laughters sounded in his head .
“Huhuhu…”
“Hehehe…”
Rhode looked up but he couldn’t find anything apart from the Maze Zombies .
His ears fell into the silence of the tunnel again .