Let’s go , - Zac whispered , feeling like he’d been fed garbage .
Still , Zac was full of gratitude as he looked at his half-orc companion . He knew it hadn’t been easy for Kruta to go out of his way to antagonize an imperial . It was one thing for Zac , who lived in a remote corner of the universe on a planet protected by the System . Besides , he was already fated to butt heads with people like the imperials over Ultom , but Kruta wasn’t .
Kruta eagerly nodded , and he grabbed Zac’s shoulder while snapping a bone with the other . The surroundings shifted , and Zac swore as he found himself right in front of a Red Cap . Behind it were dozens more , including two Blue Cloaks .
What! - Kruta exclaimed as he kicked the puppet away from them . - Why from this direction? This region should be safe! -
To the river! - Zac urged as he ate a handful of Soldier and Satiety Pills for his almost depleted Vigor .
The world shifted again , and they found themselves at the edge of the haze , with an endless river filling up their vision . It was too wide to spot the other side . Zac would even have guessed it an ocean if not for the powerful current that created frothing waves .
Damn , what a mess . The path we took here is blocked , - Kruta sighed after confirming there were no puppets on their tail . - Is it the Golden Champion? Maybe they can summon puppets from far away . -
Maybe , - Zac nodded . - For now , let’s— -
Zac said , but a pang of danger made him drag Kruta dozens of meters away with Earthstrider] . It barely allowed him to avoid a torrent of light that pierced a hole through the Edge . From the haze , Valsa appeared , her armor a mess , but her wounds fully mended . Valsa retained four soul lamps and had lost yet another gem on her crown . Was it to throw off the Golden Champion?
Seeing her appear made Zac’s battle lust surge , but he only had five seconds remaining on Arcadian Crusade] . Worse , Valsa was still channeling those rivers of light , and they were getting closer . He didn’t have the energy to counter it with Primal Edict] .
There was just no way .
Do you trust me? - Zac whispered while he took out a Void Core .
No! - Kruta groaned .
Well , too bad! - Zac said as he grabbed Kruta and jumped . - Hold onto me and I’ll get us through this! -
No! We’ll— - Kruta screamed , but his words were swallowed as they plunged into the frothing waters of the liquid mercury making up the river .
It was so full of energy it veritably vibrated . Zac groaned as thousands of invisible blades dug into his back . It felt like burning maggots were trying to burrow into the wounds , and the agony was enough to drive one mad . Then , the pain disappeared as Zac activated Void Zone] . The waters around them stilled , but his Void Energy was getting drained at a worrying pace .
Zac sighed before cramming the Void Core into his mouth , chewing at the rocklike resource to shave off energy-rich filaments to swallow . A storm of unstable energy soon coursed through his body , turning his insides into yet another battlefield . Most of it was unusable before Void Heart]’s purification , but some could be extracted and used for himself .
It wasn’t enough to recover his stores , but it slowed the loss considerably . A weak warning of danger made Zac look up just in time to see the surface getting pelted by thousands of projectiles . Unfortunately for Valsa , the daggers were almost instantly ripped apart by the dense energies in the river . The few that barely reached Zac were nullified and erased . The powerful current had soon dragged Zac hundreds of meters , and no more attacks came from Valsa’s side .
Zac prayed it was because the Golden Champion had tracked her down .
Kruta didn’t dare so much as blink out of fear he’d break whatever Zac was doing , so Zac had Vivi fasten the orc to his back while he scanned the river’s edge with his Soul Sense . It only took a few seconds before spotting what he was looking for—a small outlet that veered right . Zac urged his harried body to drag them into the channel , after which he let the current do its thing .
Their journey met an abrupt end ten seconds later as they slammed into a stone wall . That was their cue , and Zac carefully dragged himself and Kruta to the surface . They were in luck . He had expected the channel to lead them to the moat he’d spotted outside Saeward’s Castle , but they’d been ferried into the castle proper . By the looks of it , they’d been deposited at the bottom of a well .
What? Wh— - Kruta blubbered as he looked around with wide eyes . - What? -
Want me to slap you to wake you up? - Zac offered as he glanced at well’s mouth . - Well , shit . -
Zac couldn’t see what was happening within the castle , but the open well provided a perfect vantage of the night sky .
The huge Edict of Candor was still floating in the air . Just how long would that thing last? Would he have to leave the Stand of Saeward to free himself of its effect? He tried breaking the seal again but was rebuffed like his previous attempts . Not a great situation when you’d accidentally infiltrated a haunted castle full of Hero Souls .
Zac was absolutely wrung dry , and his ultimate skills would be on cooldown for a few more hours . He hadn’t noticed , but even his pathways had been damaged . Part of it was probably courtesy of the river and eating a Void Core , while the rest was because of the Dao infused into Valsa’s attacks .
Even worse , he never got a surge of Kill Energy after they jumped into the river . Her lanterns should have run out already , yet Valsa survived . That had to mean the large puppet army hadn’t managed to catch up to her . Was she returning to the teleportation array , or was she still lurking in the region?
Perhaps she even had a backup squad ready to go .
For now , he could only deal with things as they came . Zac indicated Kruta to be silent before having Vivi inch her way to the mouth . There was no response after a minute , so Zac had the Spirit Plant slowly drag himself and Kruta upward . They couldn’t stay much longer this close to the lethal waters . He was plumb out of Void Energy , and even hovering above the calm waters of the well felt like a steel bath .
He tried to sense any activity through his various senses , but he could find nothing except an incredibly energy-rich environment . Kruta shook his head slightly , confirming he couldn’t sense anything either . Peering over the edge , they discovered the well was situated in a remote corner of a flourishing garden .
There was a garden in the middle of an ancient battlefield?
It clearly wasn’t some wild plants having found a footing thanks to the energy-rich environment . The flowers and shrubbery , all of which emitted strong auras of Conflict , appeared to be carefully planted to create a good ambiance . The scenery made Zac’s depleted cells loudly complain with hunger , but he stilled himself as he searched for threats .
As far as he could tell , there were none . There were no puppets , Hero Souls , or any other people for that matter . Neither could they spot any suspicious energy patterns indicating a hidden array . The only arrays they could find were a set of arrays that covered the flowerbeds , which helped gather energy and infuse it into the plants .
Zac shrugged at Kruta’s inquiring look , and they crawled out of the well and moved into a hidden corner where they erected a set of arrays . Only after ten minutes did they breathe out in relief and move about . It really looked like they’d managed to break into the castle unseen . Had all the Hero Souls inside already been forced onto the battlefield? It was impossible to tell . The garden had to be covered in an isolation array since they couldn’t hear a peep .
With no outside threats around , Zac turned his sight inward . Purity of the Void] and Void Heart] were already fast at work expelling the foreign Daos of Valsa and the puppets . Immutability of Eoz] was still trying to expel the shield , but Zac managed to redirect its attention after a few tries . Thankfully , it looked like no curses or marks were left on him during the battle .