Too Late to Leave (Regarding the Holy Light Church)

"What's this?"

Hervey was stunned for a moment when he saw the portal that suddenly appeared in front of him.

He rubbed his thigh and pinched his eyes—

"Ouch! I got the order wrong!"

The pain coming from above his eyeballs finally made Hervey believe that he was awake.

He stared at the portal, his eyes gradually brightening, and then radiating a physical light!

"I get it, it's the type that can only be triggered after you die once!"

His knowledge of the Zane Dungeon allowed him to instantly understand the situation before him.

It's the same situation as most people having to die once at the Omen Oni' place before they can go to the Roundtable Hold!

"No wonder everyone couldn't find the way out; it turns out it was hidden here. It's really not easy to find," Hervey remarked.

Actually, this design should be quite easy to spot, right?

However, the Starfire Knight led by Hervey are considered elite, and together they are definitely a qualified gold-level team in the Adventurers' Guild, with solid strength.

In addition, since they all claimed to be experts in the Sien Dungeon, they at least had a certain understanding of the design habits of the Zane Dungeon. That's why they were able to avoid those malicious traps time and time again. In the end, they were defeated and lost their first blood because of the unexpected "scene destruction" of the dragon at the Wyvern Bridge.

"Oh right, where's the Wyvern Sword!"

Hervey hurriedly searched for the weapon that the dragon's tail had transformed into, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that he had been holding it tightly all along.

Fortunately, the Wyvern Sword wasn't lost. This thing is clearly a special weapon. If he lost it, what if the dragon was still in a broken-tailed state when he entered the Zane Dungeon next time? Then he wouldn't be able to get it.

Hehe, my darling.

He stroked the blade, which still seemed to retain the warmth of the dragon, while waiting for everyone to return, glancing at the portal every now and then.

The portal clearly shows the outside world, but it's mostly focused on the sky, with almost no view of the ground.

He felt like he had been in the Zane Dungeon for quite a while, but why was the sky outside still black? There was only one answer: they had been there for at least a whole day, and the sky had turned dark again after getting light.

It should only have been a day, right? If it's been two days, that would be too strange. Their exploration wouldn't be that slow.

As for why Todd isn't here.

Either he ran into the Undead Burg, or he has already left through the portal.

"Never mind, although he's an interesting person, we were just strangers who met by chance. Hope we meet again someday."

Hervey decided not to look for Todd, since she still had to go back to the church to explain things and didn't have time to search for him.

He would be quite welcoming if Todd were willing to join the Sparkfire Church, but

"I wonder if it's just my imagination." He rubbed the helmet, which felt wonderful to the touch, and muttered to himself:

"I always felt there was something unpleasant about Todd, but he didn't seem to react to Choking Dragon Fang at all. He is indeed a pure human."

Not long after, or rather, almost two or three minutes later, the Starfire Knight returned to Firelink Shrine one after another, and each of them used their imaginations to figure out why the portal had appeared.

"Get ready, sharpen your weapons, and be careful once you're out there."

Hervey's Choking Dragon Fang dispersed in advance and adhered to everyone's bodies, but they did not activate their abilities. They merely protected vital points as a kind of insurance measure.

The view of the outside world reflected by the portal did not appear to be a real-time scene, but rather an abstract generalization of the outside landscape. They could not discern any changes that had actually occurred in the outside world.

Therefore, we must prepare for the worst.

For example, the people of the Holy Light Church have already gone outside and set up a trap, just waiting for the Starfire Knight to walk out and walk right into it.

Hervey and the others kept their preferred weapons unused in preparation for the current situation, and now was the time to go out!

"Let's go, everyone! Give it your all!"

Hervey raised the Wyvern Sword and pointed it directly at the portal. The Starfire Knight shouted in unison and charged toward the portal!

Let's rewind to a short time ago.

"I... I'm out?"

Todd knelt helplessly on the dusty ground of Hypha Town, staring blankly at his own body, then at the familiar scenery around him, and finally accepted the truth.

He left the Zane Dungeon!

"But why are we back in Hypha Town?!"

How he wished he could come out and find himself in the prosperous Arnor Kingdom!

Even if all I see when I come out is poor Rhett fishing, that would be fine!

The one thing he absolutely didn't want to do was return to Hypha Town place filled with dark memories!

Just as he was helplessly and furiously roaring to the sky, something small suddenly rushed into his arms.

He was still a bit nervous from his adventure in the Zane Dungeon, and instinctively raised his hand to unleash a spell, but thankfully he stopped himself in time.

Because the two children who rushed towards him were the only two children in the church he founded—the "Frenzy Flame Cult"—the two siblings.

The brother and sister's faces were filled with worry, but also with relief at seeing him return safely. They couldn't help but rush into his arms.

Todd was stunned by this action, his raised hand froze in mid-air, and he looked at the child in his arms, a look of helplessness on his face.

He genuinely didn't know what to do. Although he had been living a life of deception and fraud, he had very little contact with children.

In other words, he simply doesn't know how to interact with children!

Fortunately, the two children didn't continue in that awkward position. They immediately jumped out of his arms, each grabbing one of Todd's arms, and said:

"Uncle, let's go! We need to get out of here! It's not safe here!"

Having been visited by two waves of demons and monsters in succession, even a child would know that the feng shui of Hypha Town must be quite particular, and they couldn't stay here any longer.

Just as Todd was about to ask how to escape, how to drag all those old, weak, sick and disabled people in the church away, he was about to ask...

A horse-drawn carriage, seemingly pieced together from various broken parts, appeared before his eyes.

The elderly, the infirm, and the disabled of Hypha Town all stayed on the carriage, but everyone looked rather unwell—mainly because the carriage creaked and groaned whenever they moved it, and who knew when it would break down.

The horse pulling the carriage was, of course, Dorian's Magitech Pegasus, which he had apparently picked up.

One is a masterpiece of the church's highest level of craftsmanship, while the other is a dilapidated carriage that would make even an old farmer in the countryside shake his head. The contrast is no different from finding a white-haired Saintess in Goblin's lair.

The contrast was even more striking when he saw Dorian sitting atop the Magitech Pegasus.

At this moment, Todd shuddered. He suddenly remembered that the reason he had racked his brains in the Zane Dungeon was to avoid Dorian. And now, he had run into him again!

Unfortunately, he has no way to get rid of the other party now. If he really leaves with the other party on a Pegasus, who knows if the Zane Dungeon will open a new portal next to him? He may never have another chance to leave in his life.

By the way, if we can wait for the people from the Sparkfire Church to come out, perhaps we can join them.

No, what if the Holy Light Church comes out first? They'll definitely rush up and chop us up if they see that we've blasphemed the Magitech Pegasus!

Todd wasn't the kind of person who was good at calm thinking like an elite adventurer. He was in a complete mess right now. On one hand, he wanted to run away as soon as possible, but on the other hand, he didn't want to leave with Dorian. His conflicted feelings reached their peak at this moment.

However, there is one person who would not hesitate in this situation.

It's Dorian.

This elderly demon, who was usually energetic and agitated to the point of madness, was now surprisingly serious, displaying a rare display of solemnity. For a moment, one might have thought he had shaken off the influence of the Frenzied Flame.

But that's impossible. Even if he were to eat the Frenzied Flame Fire Medicine like candy pills, it's unlikely that his current condition would be cured, let alone his complete resistance to anything that might weaken his "connection" with Frenzied Flame.

But now he seems to have a lot of opinions.

"We can't stay here, partner. It's extremely dangerous here, even though the guidance of the Frenzied Flame has come here."

He appeared in front of Todd in an instant and said calmly.

It didn't seem like a spontaneous calmness from the heart, but rather a forced calmness under pressure from some external factor, with the will to survive taking over the high ground of intelligence.

"Dorian? You?"

Todd looked up at the other person with a surprised expression, never expecting to hear such a calm tone from this guy.

But before he could finish speaking, he felt a perfectly timed blow to the forehead.

His head was struck hard, and a buzzing sound filled his ears. The next instant, his consciousness was plunged into darkness.

The two children were about to drag the unconscious man back to the carriage when Dorian surprisingly picked Todd up on his back, giving the two of them a slightly fierce and neurotic smile.

Before carrying Todd away, he looked back at the portal to the Zane Dungeon one last time, his brows, which had relaxed with a smile, furrowing again.

For some reason, he always felt very conflicted whenever he saw anything related to the Zane Dungeon.

On the one hand, the Frenzied Flame he currently "worships" originated from the Zane Dungeon, which is likely the only place that still records Frenzied Flame. Logically speaking, he should regard the Zane Dungeon as his holy land, just as the Holy Light Church treats the Holy Light Dungeon.

However, for some reason, he found it difficult to feel any respect for this underground city. He showed not only no respect but also no reverence whatsoever, which puzzled him greatly.

"Has anything bad happened to me here?"

He scratched his head in confusion.

However, those memories are gone.

Moreover, he had a vague feeling that there was something important going on here regarding Scamellon.

What was it again? It was something important that shouldn't be forgotten.

He suddenly clapped his hands.

"Forget it, running away is the priority. We don't need memories anyway."

He needs to run away quickly; nothing is more important than running away.

If he comes back again, he'll have to take a good look at the situation. Maybe he'll never get close to the portal to the Zane Dungeon again before the war in Scamellon ends.

Even now, he understands that this portal has been targeted by something extraordinary.

"Two Brave? Why are there two of them here at the same time? And that weapon... Luckily, luckily I hid so well I wasn't discovered. Luckily, they were absorbed by Saine as soon as they arrived."

Life truly is the greatest miracle, composed of countless miracles. As a demon, Dorian can now boast of his successful escape right under the noses of two Brave.

This is an unprecedented feat by the demon race!

"Hiss--"

High-temperature steam spewed from the gaps in the Magitech Pegasus's metallic shell, and the jewel-encrusted copper buckles gleamed, silently pulling the dilapidated carriage along.

Under the cover of night, the carriage, filled with "treasonous" church members, sped across the wasteland, leaving the deserted town billowing with thick smoke.

As the choking smoke gradually subsided, the portal standing alone in the center of Hypha Town flashed, and a large group of people poured out – the members of the Sparkfire Church.

"Ah, this air, which is no fresher than that of Farron Keep, we're finally back!"

The Starfire Knight uttered a rather emotional sound.

The short time I spent in the Zane Dungeon was truly precious.

"It's like hell."

They said it in unison, then looked at each other and gave each other a wry smile.

When there was no way to get into Sien, everyone was clamoring to get in.

Once inside the Sien, everyone fell silent.

Just as Lord Ye loved dragons in ancient times, Starfire Knight now loves Sion.

"They really did run away."

Hervey looked around but couldn't sense any other living beings in Hypha Town, and shook his head regretfully.

He actually quite enjoys teasing Todd.

"Hervey, let's go. Let's hurry back and tell everyone to come over," the Starfire Knight said.

"There's no need to go back. It's a good opportunity to test our latest communication device."

Hervey took out a bamboo tube and threw it into the sky. With a "whoosh," a bright firework exploded in the night.

"I didn't smell any of Anlesi's gang. They must not have come out yet. Let's wait for reinforcements to arrive and then gang up on her!"

At the same time.

Anlesi, who was sleeping—no, conserving her energy—inside the warm bird's nest, suddenly opened her eyes.

"What, what did you do?"

For some reason, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, as if she were being plotted against.

Caius, who was next to him, also suddenly shuddered in his sleep, as if he were experiencing the same sensation.

Could it be that there is a mysterious telepathic connection between siblings?

Just then, the wind was suddenly disrupted by an external force, and Anlesi looked up at the source of the disturbance.

Suddenly, a giant bird opened its claws and lunged at him!

"When did they come out?!"