Chương 50: The Killing Cult

"You're welcome, it was nothing..."

In response to the gratitude, Richard readily replied.

Isabella glanced at the four corpses outside out of the corner of her eye.

She took care of four people in less than half a minute; even if she were to do it herself, it would be difficult for her to do it any better.

This cannot be described as a mere act of kindness.

I was right all along; this Mr. David is no ordinary bard!

And this extraordinary poet appeared precisely when he needed help the most.

It's a coincidence as wondrous as an opera...

After exchanging pleasantries, Richard continued, "So, Isabella, Amelie, how did you get here?"

Isabella preached:

"Two days ago, we came to the nearby mountains to visit a hunter."

"But then he stumbled upon this group of cultists who had kidnapped him, so they chased after them and entered this underground stronghold through a secret passage at the foot of the mountain."

"As a result, they accidentally knocked down a hidden door, fell into an abandoned passage that was almost a pit, and were trapped, forced to watch helplessly as the hunter met his demise..."

"If we hadn't met you, we really wouldn't know what to do."

It's quite a coincidence, to be honest.

Wait, you just said cultists?

Richard blinked and pressed, "Isabella, do you know where these people come from?"

Isabella nodded, and seeing Richard's curious expression, she explained in detail: "Judging from the style of their armor and the badges and books they carry, they are undoubtedly members of the Killing Order."

Richard raised an eyebrow: "The Killing Order?"

"Yes, have you heard of the God of Slaughter?"

"Of course I've heard of it; after all, I'm a poet!"

In the various legends and stories of Terella, there are three types of characters who often serve as the final villains.

First, there are evil dragons; second, there are demons or devils; and third, there are those fearsome evil gods and their followers.

Among them, four are the most notorious: the God of Plague, the Lady of Fallenness, the Prince of Conspiracy, and the God of Slaughter, as Isabella mentioned.

Legend has it that He wields the power of violence, slaughter, and part of death, and is a powerful evil god capable of directly confronting the Lord of Radiance.

but……

"I remember the God of Slaughter has already fallen, hasn't he? He died hundreds of years ago at the hands of the God of War and the God of Law."

Richard asked in bewilderment:

"Although He left behind a multitude of offspring on Earth, who were to resurrect Him by killing one another..."

"But among those people emerged a great hero named Chanam, who successfully defied fate and, with the help of the benevolent gods and through his own sacrifice, severed the transmission of the killing god's power."

"Thus, the god of slaughter was utterly destroyed, his church fell apart, and he disappeared from the world."

Across from her, Isabella sighed softly.

"You're right, but things changed twenty years ago."

"A chosen one of the Radiant Lords named Aidan betrayed his faith and invented a special ritual that could be used to retrieve the killing power that should have dissipated."

"Then, he united three red dragons, an orc tribe, and hundreds of fallen humans under his leadership to form a new Killing Order."

"They've always operated in the north and east of the Progenitor Continent, rarely coming to the Gulf region, so it's normal that you haven't heard of them..."

Richard's eyes widened in disbelief.

Is this even possible?

Damn it, I came here to exterminate snake people, and how did I end up running into cultists?

You snake people, can't you have any racial knights? Why do you mix with cultists...

After lamenting his fate for a while, Richard also told Isabella the reason why he had ended up like this.

Isabella's spirits lifted when she heard that Grace and a complete team of adventurers were still on the ground.

She told Richard, "From what I've observed, there are only about twenty members of the Killing Order in this stronghold. Apart from the leader, the rest are all low-level professionals."

"If your friends are all safe, then once we join forces, we have the capability to completely wipe out this group of cult members! Leave no one alive!"

Richard gave a wry smile.

After being rescued, she didn't think about escaping; all she wanted was to eliminate the threat completely. This Paladin lady is quite bloodthirsty.

However, the reasoning behind it is correct.

As an 8th-level paladin, Isabella could at least hold off Harald, if not defeat him.

As for the rest, they can be dealt with by themselves and Grace working together!

So, we're back to the original question...

I don't know the way!

Remembering the Book of Grayscale's mixed guidance, Richard regretted not having spoken up earlier. He scratched his head and asked, "Do you know how to get to Stonehold?"

Isabella shook her head: "I came in from the entrance at the foot of the mountain, so I don't know anything about Stonehold, but..."

She turned her head and looked at Amélie.

The girl immediately understood, quickly ran to the next intersection, first licked her fingers with her pink little tongue, then held them up to sense them, then paced back and forth, carefully observing her surroundings, before finally running back to the two and saying:

"There are two paths ahead. The one on the left looks undulating, but it's actually downhill, most likely the path we came from at the foot of the mountain. The one on the right goes uphill, with many footprints and fresh air circulation, so it's probably leading to the summit!"

Isabella smiled and said to Richard:

"Amélie is a very skilled wanderer, or what you adventurers often call a thief, but she doesn't plan to steal anything anymore, so she doesn't really like that title."

"Although she made a small mistake with the trap, she was still able to judge the general direction. I was able to follow her in because she led the way."

"This underground base is a place for people to live, not a pure maze. There are no confusing detours. As long as we keep going up, we will most likely reach the mountain fortress you mentioned."

Richard nodded slightly, then glanced at Amélie's stats again...

Holy crap, a level 5 thief!

Disrespect and disrespect.

At the same time, the Book of Grayscale also spoke: Hey kid, are you underestimating me? I was just about to tell you that you should turn right next!

Ah, yes, yes, yes.

Richard ignored the Book of Grayscale and turned to walk with the two women toward the passage on the right.

Midway through, at Isabella's request, he opened his dimensional bag and took out bread and water for the two women to replenish their energy.

A few minutes later.

They entered a new passage, where the air was fresher than before, and some walls even had small perforated windows through which they could see the cliffs outside... well, perhaps it would be more accurate to call these firing ports.

But in any case, they've climbed to a higher level.

The next step is to find an exit...

"Shh! Someone's coming, a lot of people, we have to hide!"

Just as Richard was looking around, Amelie suddenly warned him in a low voice, then pointed to several large cabinets lined up on the side of the aisle.

Richard and Isabella rushed over, trying to hide in the closet.

However, when Richard opened the cabinet door in front of him, he found it filled with longbows with their strings removed.

Forget about hiding inside; he was in a flurry of activity for quite a while before he managed to prevent the bows from falling out and hitting the ground.

Just then, he heard a dense chorus of footsteps in the passage behind him.

Damn it, this is really bad...

In a moment of panic, Richard hurriedly opened the cabinet door next door, only to find Isabella already hiding inside.

He could only whisper "sorry" before squeezing in and barely managing to close the cabinet door.

In an instant, the two of them were so close that their noses were touching.

Outside, a large number of members of the Killing Cult poured into the passageway...