Chapter 73: Confusion And Disbelief

"If they were able to kill Moriel, what if they come back? There's only the two of us left..."

"They won't have the chance to return," Shaman Timmah spat out the words with certainty. "And sooner or later, I'll settle this debt with Celeste."

"There's a hole above? How could the Temple Knights have known something that even we didn't?" Lorelei gazed up at the fissure in the cave ceiling—the very place where the Temple Knights had made their escape.

"This isn't the time to worry about that. Moriel is dead, and those dark-skinned wretches must be in complete disarray. We need to gather the remaining troops and wipe them out first," the Shaman exhaled deeply. The devastation caused by the forbidden spell was a severe blow, but compared to the imminent fulfillment of his long-cherished dream—uniting Nigen—it was something he could temporarily set aside on the scale of his emotions.

But the moment Timmah and Lorelei arrived at the Minotaurs' Palace, the Satyr Temple, that scale completely collapsed.

The White Bone Shrine, meticulously maintained by generations of Shaman and built from countless accumulated bones, now lay in ruins—scattered fragments covering the ground.

Yet, this wasn't even the worst of it. Beyond the temple, in the largest Minotaur settlement—the Labyrinth—what truly pushed Timmah to the brink of madness was the sight of countless corpses of young Minotaurs and females strewn across the ground.

Even the Minotaur females and younglings, who were unable to fight on the battlefield, were far from easy targets for ordinary warriors, especially considering that there were over a thousand of them left behind. However, they were up against Caitlyn, the grand mage of the Temple Knights.

Caitlyn had separated from the main force, facing the slaughter of the Minotaur women and children all by herself. Being assigned such a task was a testament to her immense magical power and exceptional combat ability. Moreover, she carried with her over ten scrolls for summoning elemental giants.

Without the powerful warriors and priests, no one could handle the dozen or so earth elementals summoned by the mage. Caitlyn wasn't in a rush to use high-level magic. Instead, she unleashed rapid mid-level spells like a crossbow, casting fire walls that created seas of flames, sand mounds blocking all exit routes. Two air elementals floated around, patrolling, preventing any minotaur from attempting to escape for help. Meanwhile, shards of ice and lightning crackled through the air, mercilessly slaughtering the minotaurs. Although the minotaur women and young fled deep into the labyrinth to seek shelter, under the gaze of the great mage's magical eye, the slaughter continued unabated.

By the time the Minotaur forces that had retreated from Othello arrived, they could see the blue afterglow of the teleportation scrolls Caitlyn had used. The once-thriving labyrinth now had less than a hundred Minotaur women and children left scattered in the remains.

The Minotaurs' reproduction rate had always been low, and the women and children of this tribe represented the future of their race. The deaths caused by Caitlyn had already claimed most of their future. Coupled with the thousands of adult warriors who perished in Othello, incinerated by the flames of Purgatory Paradise, the Minotaur tribe, though not completely eradicated, had been left in a dire state.

Standing amidst the ruins of the Demon Corner Shrine, hearing the reports of casualties among the women and children, Shaman Timmahh's massive, stone-like form swayed. Unable to hold it in any longer, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Celeste... I will settle this score with you!" The Shaman roared, his voice shaking the walls of the shrine. The remaining Minotaur warriors also bellowed in anger, their cries echoing like thunder.

However, before their fury could fully ignite, an even more shocking report arrived, nearly causing Shaman Timmahh to vomit more blood.

This report came from a harpy witch under Lorelei, tasked with monitoring the situation at Moriel's Dragon Cavern. With her fragile body, she could not enter the cavern alongside the Minotaur warriors or Temple Knights. Yet, she was one of the few witches among the harpies, and though her magical power was weaker than that of even a regular human mage, her years of practice with a half-developed magical eye, combined with her speed and agility, made reconnaissance no trouble for her.

"Moriel is not dead... the remnants of the Dark Elves are gathering and coming to kill us," the harpy witch gasped, her voice hoarse and broken from flying at full speed. To Timmahh and Lorelei, her report was like the roar of thunder, far more shocking than Moriel's dragon's roar that had recently shaken all of Nigen.

"What? Say it again? Speak clearly!" Shaman Timmah completely lost his composure and grabbed the harpy witch. "How could she not be dead? We all heard her scream."

"I heard it too..." The harpy witch flapped her wings and limbs, her wrinkled face turning bright red, like a chicken held in the grip of a strong human. "In the Eye of Magic, I saw... after that scream, her life force did indeed wane, almost to the point of death... but then someone appeared, and her vitality was restored... Finally, the matron of House Duden led her troops into the dragon's lair. I heard them shouting as they emerged, rallying their forces to attack this place..."

"Damn it. How could this be?" The veins on Shaman Timmah's bullhead bulged, as did the hand gripping the harpy witch. He was on the verge of madness, his once deep voice now resembling that of Lorelei. "What about the temple knights? What about Priest Marcus?"

"One of them seems to have died, but the others appear to have escaped... Help... oh..." As the Shaman's hand convulsively tightened, the harpy witch's face grew redder, her limbs flailing more violently. Finally, she let out a rooster-like crow, gave a violent twitch, and went limp.

"Marqus failed? How could he fail? He had those scrolls…" Timmah muttered to himself, his massive body trembling like a chicken in the cold wind. He seemed to have forgotten that he was still holding the eagle-witch's body, which continued to make cracking sounds as the bones broke and the body twisted.

"How could this be? How could this be?" The eagle-witch screamed like a madwoman, no longer concerned with the fact that the last of her witch clan had been crushed into meat paste. "What do we do now? What do we do now? Moriel won't let us live. As soon as she recovers, she'll come out and deal with us."

"She has already recovered. She could come out at any time. Otherwise, the Black Elves wouldn't have such high morale, they wouldn't be attacking us like this," Timmah muttered.

The ground trembled slightly from the advancing giant lizard knights. The Black Elves' gathered forces were getting close, and the Shaman could feel it.

"What do we do? What do we do?"

"Retreat, everyone, run away. Moriel will never allow any Bullhead or Eagle-Witch to survive," Timmah's voice returned to its deep, grim tone. His once fiery eyes were now completely devoid of light, filled with a blood-red hue—born of despair and anger.

"Retreat? Where to?" Rorelei asked miserably. She couldn't think of anywhere in all of Nigen to escape to.

"The ground," Timmah finally managed to utter, the words coming out difficultly. Then, a low growl, a mix of a groan and a roar, rumbled from his throat. It was a deafening roar, but it didn't match the bull-headed creature, filled with bloodlust as though it belonged to a carnivorous animal. "Celeste, Magnus, just wait, I will come to you!"

Moriel had actually been sealed in Nigen by Akibard five hundred years ago. Akibard sealed part of her life and soul into a drop of her own blood, which served as the core of the seal. As long as she stayed away from the seal, her power and life would continuously weaken, which is why Moriel had never left Nigen all these years. I believe whether it was her dragon instinct for collecting rare treasures, or her dissatisfaction with Lord Akibard, she would definitely take the sword hilt.

This gemstone is the dragon's blood that seals Moriel's life force, and the seal was personally placed by Lord Akibard. It should have been kept close to Moriel, so why has it ended up in your hands now?

Someone must have wanted to deal with her, which is why they broke the seal. Fortunately, from the appearance of this gemstone, it seems Moriel is still alive for now. You must go to Nigen immediately and return this to her. As long as you help her repair the seal, she will surely be grateful.

These were the words Grandma Ail told Asa after seeing the black gemstone.

From the time he began to remember things, Asa had never doubted anything that came from Grandma Ail's mouth, whether it was teachings with hidden meanings or straightforward explanations. In fact, it was always the case—the words of this elderly woman, the most insightful, powerful, and experienced on the continent, had never been wrong. They had always guided Asa's path forward, both in reality and in spirit. So when Grandma Ail said this, Asa naturally believed her. He believed that she would never lie to him, nor would she have any reason to deceive him.

Even in the final moment before losing consciousness, all that echoed in Asa's mind was confusion and disbelief, without a trace of doubt. Even after regaining consciousness, that same feeling continued to swirl in his thoughts.