Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 167 - 160: Tomb Explorer
In the surging darkness, there were restless souls unwilling to remain dormant, who, at the slightest sound, pushed open the stone sarcophagi sealing them in, eager to unleash their resentment on the living beings of this world.
The next moment, as half of his body just managed to crawl out, a Holy Light Warhammer ablaze with fervent flames smashed onto him, shattering him along with his grave into pieces.
Within the darkness, a divine light flickered, illuminating that slightly chubby face, even though it bore a determined look in the eyes.
Behind the lively little Paladin, a slender figure made a remark.
"Karen, have you put on some weight recently?"
Like a cat with its fur on end, Paladin Karen swung her warhammer, which was taller than she was, flattening a skeleton that had peaked its head out.
"Not at all! I haven’t gotten fat from eating sweets!"
Aryan watched his niece, who desperately tried to hide herself, tilting her body sideways to prevent showing her front. She was also getting angry, swinging the Hammer of Holy Light so heavily and fiercely that it crushed the coffins and skeletons inside into debris.
Teasing her was indeed quite an amusing thing to do.
"But Karen, look at your body, the fat is about to show."
Karen hurriedly inspected her still loose nun’s habit, searching for the disobedient fat. Although she didn’t think she had gained weight in her own eyes, Aryan’s voice always made her believe she had really gotten heavier.
"I haven’t gotten fat! I’m just growing, and soon I’ll become a beautiful and capable Paladin!"
Aryan burst into cheerful laughter.
"Silly girl, I’m talking about the flesh on your face, are you saying you’re still growing your head? Well, for such a silly girl, growing your brain might not be a bad idea."
"Hmph!" Realizing she’d been played, Karen pouted in sulking annoyance. She tossed her hammer aside, only to accidentally create a hole in the wall, revealing a hidden chamber behind it.
"Sister Liana, there’s another hidden chamber here!"
Karen excitedly stuck her head in, oblivious to the skeleton lurking in the corner, eyeing her intently. This was a special skeleton, clad in a black robe from a bygone era, holding a no-longer-shiny bronze goblet in its hands, bubbling liquid inside. This was no ordinary black fizzy water; it was far more dangerous. And now, the skeleton was planning to hurl the goblet in its hand.
A shadowy claw seized his fragile body, and the sound of his leg bones and pelvis crushing echoed in his hollow skull. The shadowy claw gripping him, with long, spike-like fingertips, resembled the manicured nails of a lady.
One of the sharp tips was toying with his goblet. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
The skeleton watched helplessly as the bubbling liquid spilled from the cup, gradually pouring onto himself, enduring the torment of his bones dissolving. In his final moments, he locked his gaze onto the tall figure standing in the center of the chamber.
The silvery armor turned black under the shadow, and the darkness flowed behind her like a spring, solidifying into an abstract face, with only that chilling, sinister smile seeming to freeze one’s very soul.
"Sister Liana?"
Karen turned back and saw the familiar white figure standing in the center of the chamber, with light points on her that illuminated the darkness, like an elegant lily standing tall and proud. She tilted her head gently, and although wearing a faceplate, Karen could feel her contentment and smile.
"What’s the matter, little Karen?"
"There’s a new chamber behind here, and it’s not small."
"Then let’s get going."
```
"All right," Karen enlarged the break in the wall and then crawled into the secret passage behind it.
Aryan walked in with a smile. Before leaving the tomb chamber, she casually kicked a bronze wine cup that had rolled out back into the darkness.
The secret passage behind the wall was quite long, and the air carried a musty odor that had not been aired out. However, thanks to the nun’s purification, Karen could only sense the scent of sunshine.
"Sister Liana, why are we exploring this tomb? There are surely more activities for practicing our faith, like reciting scripture or praying to the Lord," Karen inquired.
"You are already devoted enough, little Karen. Now you should enhance your strength to protect yourself. Paladins, although like monks in their comprehension of Holy Light, also have their own unique way of cultivation. Paladins strengthen themselves by punishing the enemies of Holy Light; the demise of an enemy signifies the Paladin’s merit, and a Paladin’s glory is always equated with strength. This is a secret only known to high-ranking Paladins. The Church chooses to conceal it from lower-level Light Chasers so as to temper your devoted hearts first. Before you gain equal power, you must learn to shoulder equal responsibility," she explained.
"I understand, but Sister Liana, you’re a nun. How do you know the secrets of high-ranking Paladins?"
"That’s because my Archbishop is a Paladin, and quite an incredible Paladin at that."
Karen’s expression immediately lit up with excitement, "Really? Is Aunt Aryan serving a powerful Paladin too? A powerful Paladin, could that be the legendary..."
"Indeed, he is the rumored Crusader..."
Karen excitedly interrupted her, "That’s amazing! Aunt Aryan’s Archbishop is a Crusader fighter! I want to become a glorious Crusader warrior myself one day!"
Aryan looked at the excited Karen and continued to ask.
"Who is your role model, little Karen? Do you have a favorite Crusader warrior?"
"Of course, my favorite Crusader warrior would be someone high above others, powerful, and holy..."
"His Excellency Raphael Pembai! The Crusader leader! The Angel of the Earth!"
Aryan’s body paused for a moment before she spoke, "Don’t you like any other Crusader leader, little Karen?"
Karen frowned.
"I do like them, but, aren’t the other Crusader leaders already dead? Currently, the strongest should be His Excellency Raphael, right?"
"What about His Excellency Melok Raymond?"
Karen’s face twisted with conflict.
"I am not too fond of His Excellency Raymond because of him, I probably won’t make it. It’s rumored that he alone shattered a Heretical City. Is Archbishop Grandpa telling me stories to deceive me? Although he has the Holy Sword Thurmond, shattering a city is too far-fetched, isn’t it."
Aryan recalled the words of His Excellency Raymond.
[The shattered city? Oh, Simpson Park, right? Well, the higher-ups did fabricate a bit of a lie. They cheated you by saying I shattered the city, didn’t they? That’s wrong, a cover-up. That was the first day I held Thurmond, and I wanted to test its power, so I used all my strength in excitement. Simpson Park wasn’t shattered; it was turned to ash by me. However, the upper echelons thought such power was too outrageous and feared causing panic among the subordinates, so they moved some rubble overnight and set up a ruins. The rumors are indeed false.]
Because the truth was even more unbelievable.
"Moreover, His Excellency Raphael now has four Holy Swords, including Thurmond. Even His Excellency Raymond wouldn’t be able to defeat him now," Karen added.
Aryan recalled the words of His Excellency Raymond.
[Why didn’t I take Thurmond with me? What’s the use of carrying a useless weapon? I shine brighter than it, I hit harder than it, even with a stick, I could still kill someone. That idiot weapon can’t even transform; it’s inconvenient to carry around, so I left it for Raphael. Speaking of Raphael, just thinking about him irks me. That useless thing, he’s an embarrassment to us Crusader leaders, with half his strength in the sword. I intended to give him a weapon to see if it could raise the average power level of the Crusader leaders, but that substandard product couldn’t even wield two weapons at the same time, so the weapons are just for show. Why doesn’t Holy Light take him away? To leave this trash as a reminder to brothers and sisters that Crusader leaders are not that hard to reach, huh?]
```
