Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 64: Underground Dungeon

The political struggles among the royal family were beyond his control as a Magnus level mage.

The decision-making power lay entirely with Lucas, and Velrik could only bow his head obediently in Astrid's presence, not daring to show any overt defiance.

"Really?" Astrid raised her hand to her smooth, snow-white chin, her gaze sharpening. "Then please, Mr. Velrik, dig it up and show me."

On her way here, Astrid had asked Elise to probe the ground beneath their feet once more.

This time, the head maid mentioned finding something unusual, something curled up but unlike the bones of a sheep.

Velrik's body stiffened at Astrid's request, and a bitter smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Is Your Highness joking? It's late, and such sights could easily give you nightmares."

Seeing Velrik's reluctance to reveal the truth, Astrid abandoned her earlier hope and spoke with an even colder tone.

"I'm not afraid of such things. Since it's not too late, please proceed quickly, Mr. Velrik."

Realizing that Princess Astrid's visit was purposeful and not a routine inspection, Velrik tightened his grip on his staff, a hint of doubt flickering in his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Astrid asked in a low voice, "What, Mr. Velrik, do you have something unspeakable to hide?"

At this point, it was no longer realistic to continue playing dumb.

Velrik waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to start digging.

Astrid glanced at the direction of the excavation and said coldly, "Two positions to the right, then dig again."

That was where Elise had mentioned the oddity.

Seeing this, Velrik's eyes grew colder.

He subtly gestured for one of the Grand Knights present to leave and report the news, while the others tried to slow down the digging as much as possible, buying time for Prince Lucas's arrival.

"I recall that Mr. Velrik is a Magnus, correct?" Astrid suddenly asked after a few minutes.

Velrik hesitated, then nodded. "That's correct."

It was one of his proudest achievements and a key reason he had become Lucas's right-hand man.

"Then why not use earth-based magic? Wouldn't that be more efficient?"

"..."

Astrid's suggestion was reasonable, and there was no way to refute it.

Velrik swallowed imperceptibly, inwardly cursing the silver-haired princess for her arrogance. Still, he began chanting a spell under his breath.

"I beseech you, O earth that bears all things, to open the way for me and reveal what lies beneath..."

As soon as the words left his lips, the ground in front of them trembled violently.

Astrid, wearing high heels, stumbled slightly, but Lyra quickly stepped forward, offering her arm as support to steady the princess.

It wasn't long before a shallow pit, about one and a half times the height of a man, appeared before everyone.

The dust kicked up by Velrik's spell, whether intentional or not, was swept away by Elise's outstretched hand, ensuring none of it fell on Astrid or Lyra.

Astrid narrowed her eyes as she looked at the large cowhide bag now exposed in the pit.

She reached for the knight's sword at Lyra's waist and drew it.

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The moonlight glinted off the blade, casting a silvery-white glow.

Astrid pressed the cold tip of the sword against the surface of the leather bag and, with a swift motion of her wrist, sliced it open.

In the next second, the white bones inside were revealed.

Lyra blinked several times, her clear eyes fixed on the exposed remains.

Though the corpse had ossified, the shape suggested it was once a lamb.

Astrid, however, was not satisfied. She turned her attention to another, much larger cowhide bag nearby.

Elise, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, closed her eyes briefly.

Through mental feedback, she already knew what lay inside and was prepared to act on Astrid's orders at any moment.

With a hiss, the sharp blade sliced through the cowhide bag little by little.

Astrid stared intently at the tip of the sword, her mood growing heavier with each passing moment.

When the bag was fully opened, Lyra's pupils contracted slightly, and her stomach churned.

Though she had often helped her parents with cooking and had hunted in the mountains, and though she was familiar with how the village butcher handled cattle and sheep, seeing the bones of a human being with her own eyes was too much for the young girl.

She felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

"Mr. Velrik, I'd like to hear your explanation for this."

Astrid's voice was icy as she stared at the gruesome sight before her, a skull nestled among the remains, tattered robes clinging to fragments of flesh and blood.

Her delicate frame trembled slightly as she turned her gaze to Velrik.

Velrik opened his mouth to explain, but before he could speak, a wisp of dark mist began to form in the moonlight.

It surged along the sword, racing toward Astrid's arm.

In a flash, Elise materialized her mental energy into a blade and severed the dark mist.

As the dark vapor dissipated, an even deeper darkness enveloped the area, blotting out the moonlight and plunging everyone into shadow.

On the outskirts of the imperial capital, at Jones Farm, centered around the shallow pit dug by Velrik, all living beings within a kilometer radius were cut off from breath.

A thick dark fog obscured the sky and the sun, blocking the moonlight, rendering both the naked eye and mental power useless for direct observation from the outside.

Astrid felt an oppressive sensation, as if she had plunged into the depths of the sea.

Every muscle in her body seemed to be pulled outward by an invisible force.

Something in the space around her, fragile like foam, disintegrated instantly, bringing with it a continuous ringing in her ears.

The sudden weightlessness made it difficult for Astrid to maintain her balance.

Her delicate body instinctively tilted to the right, her plump chest bumping against the arm of the person next to her.

Turning her head, she saw Lyra gently supporting her shoulders, a slight frown on her face.

Compared to the fragile mages, the knights were more physically resilient and quicker to recover from adverse conditions.

"God said, Light is the beginning of all things," Lyra murmured.

Elementary spell, illumination.

As soon as Lyra's words fell, a dazzling light erupted from her palm, slightly dispelling the darkness around them.

With her excellent affinity for light elements, even in such a dim environment, Lyra could effectively gather nearby light elements and use them to cast light magic.

Astrid, now steady on her feet, let go of Lyra's supporting hand and reached into her bag for a battle potion.

Suddenly, a whistling sound filled her ears, and she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow rushing toward her with incredible speed, aiming directly at her left chest. It was too fast to dodge.

Her Royal Highness Astrid?!

At the same moment, Lyra sensed the danger.

Realizing she didn't have time to draw her sword, she instinctively stretched out her arm to shield Astrid's chest, hoping to mitigate the impact.

The nearly tangible wind reddened Lyra's skin.

Just as the dark shadow was about to strike her arm, potentially severing her fragile flesh and bones, a sword light cut through the darkness, splitting the shadow in two.

Five meters away, Elise stood alone, her legs firm, her knight's sword already unsheathed.

Her arms were raised to shoulder level, her long jet-dark hair fluttering as if caught in an unseen breeze.

The metal blade gleamed with a silvery-white cold light under the illumination.

Without waiting for Astrid and Lyra to react, Elise swung her sword again.

The sword aura shot out like an electric saw blade, spiraling around the master and servant, cutting down the dark shadows.

The surging mental power instantly pierced through the thick dark fog.

Astrid realized they were no longer at Jones Farm but in a place resembling an underground cave, surrounded by earthen walls and topped by a dark red stone ceiling that was nearly impossible to see.

The dark shadows Elise had cut down rose again, forming floating masses of half-void, half-solid sheep-headed dark spirit.

The head maid's sword severed the skull connecting the sheep's horns, but in the next second, the broken horns reconnected seamlessly, showing no signs of damage.

"I'm sorry, Miss Astrid, for the fright caused by my lack of vigilance," Elise said, appearing behind Astrid as if by teleportation.

Her cold blade sank into the sheep's head, and the mental power of Master Knight surged through it.

The ghostly sheep-headed shadow melted like snow under a soldering iron, leaving only a white skull that clattered to the ground near her leather shoe.

Is this the strength of a Master Knight? It's overwhelming...

Lyra took the knight's sword from Astrid's hand, her eyes widening slightly as she noticed the torn horn behind her.

Usually, when sparring with Elise, she couldn't intuitively grasp the full extent of her strength.

But now, on the battlefield, Lyra suddenly realized the vast gap between them.

With explosive speed that seemed almost instantaneous, mental power so abundant it could form a waterfall, and sword aura as sharp as a direct slash, Elise's prowess was overwhelming.

If Elise had ever gone all out, Lyra doubted she could survive even half a move.

With the powerful head maid taking action, Astrid breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they were safe for the moment.

She quickly retrieved several potions from her bag, checked their labels, and handed half of them to Lyra.

For someone at the Master Knight level, the effects of intermediate-level potions were negligible, almost imperceptible.

It made more sense for Astrid to consume them herself or use them to temporarily boost Lyra's strength rather than waste them on Elise.

Intermediate Strength Potion, Intermediate Agility Potion, Intermediate Perception Potion...

Watching Astrid down the potions one after another, Lyra followed suit, drinking the bottles as instructed.

In less than half a minute, she felt her body grow warm, her surroundings seemed to slow down, and her senses sharpened dramatically.

"Your Highness Astrid... What on earth is going on here...?"

In just a few minutes, they had gone from the open farm to this dim, enclosed cave.

Lyra, who had never experienced anything like this, was utterly bewildered.

In truth, even Astrid couldn't find a reasonable explanation.

In the novel, this dungeon didn't involve any spatial transformation.

When the Master Knight Lyra and the Arcanist Charlotte discovered the sarcoma monster in a dark underground lair, they defeated it with the support of Emperor Hibbort's army.

Ultimately, Lyra used her Soul Bound weapon, the "Holy Immaculate Sword of Light," to purify the area completely.

Based on common sense, this dungeon shouldn't involve spatial manipulation.

According to the power system rooted in human capabilities, space and time were domains reserved for Spellcreators among mages or Transcendent beings among knights.

This necromantic monster, while powerful, couldn't possibly reach that level.

Could it be that its birth wasn't accidental...?

Instead, was it driven by a force far beyond what Astrid had anticipated...?

If so, it wasn't surprising that Charlotte, the Arcanist, hadn't detected the monster's presence in its early stages.

The entity behind this might even surpass the Arcanist in power.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Astrid's heart sank, and her lips pressed into a tight line.

However, no matter how fast Lucas moved, it couldn't have gathered enough lives and souls in such a short time.

What had she triggered to cause this quest to activate prematurely?

"Elise, can you detect the exit?" Astrid asked softly.

At this point, Lyra was only a low-level Knight and didn't possess the Holy Immaculate Sword of Light.

Astrid's first instinct wasn't to fight but to retreat as quickly as possible.

At the very least, they wouldn't stand a chance until Charlotte joined the fray.