Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 1296: Chapter 706: Lighting the Path Ahead (4)_2

The altar was made from gray-black rock, similar to the giant stone pillars surrounding it, with blood-red tentacles twisting and clinging to the altar. At its top platform was a skeleton statue, from which blood flowed, even spreading across.

This reminded Lance of the old god altar in front of the gateway, with the difference being that the blood-red tentacles extended from the ground to secure it in place.

Also, the tentacles on the altar turned into skeletons, implying that the sacrifices might have different subjects, though the blood flowed similarly, as if the ancestors researched and created this thing.

Lance knew this thing was called the ”Iron Crown,” although he wasn’t particularly familiar with it. According to the information left by saints, one should use the Hands of Praise.

He took out a green-gray severed hand. After returning, Lance specifically sought out Alhazred, a mystical scholar, to inquire, learning that the Church indeed had similar methods.

However, the Church also wanted to maintain appearances, so ordinary Hands of Praise were made from the left hands of some death row convicts, using their own fat to make candles for use in special rituals.

So what power would this saint’s hand, made from a legendary strongman’s left hand, possess?

Lance did not hesitate further, placing it on the Iron Crown. The fingertips surprisingly ignited like a candle, releasing a burst of power.

The flesh mouths clinging to it let out sharp screams that echoed throughout the dungeon, as though in immense pain. The spreading flesh convulsed continuously, as if the ground was trembling.

A thunderous shriek burst forth—was the giant beast writhing!

The exaggerated commotion caused a panic among the people, even making Lance a little flustered, though he dared not show it.

If it really collapsed, everyone would perish. Fortunately, as time passed, everything gradually calmed down again.

”You guys take a break first, the four of you come with me to clear these flesh.”

Lance wasn’t in a rush to move on; instead, he gave them a break, providing food and water. Sugar during such times could soothe their tense nerves.

Meanwhile, Lance didn’t rest, but led four trusted aides to start removing the surrounding flesh for sacrifice, replenishing the spiritual essence consumed earlier.

Interestingly enough, while the Holy Hall protector seemed quite formidable, it didn’t drop equipment, a real waste.

Like butchers, they continued to segment the flesh, slicing it piece by piece, stripping it away for sacrifice.

As Lance continued his work, he simultaneously gave the obtained spiritual essence back to his trusted aides, bestowing blessings upon them. Reinforced aides, tireless, continued to strip the flesh—truly perpetual motion machines.

Initially, Lance struggled to gather spiritual essence, requiring meticulous allocation. Nonetheless, there was always a shortage, and he could only enhance bit by bit, while the spiritual essence needed for advancing to master or champion levels remained beyond his reach.

Unexpectedly, today he could squander freely, reveling in the abundance from the ancestors’ bowl!

After the squad finished clearing, they briefly rested and set off anew. Although encountering flesh monsters along the way, with this team setup, it was really just a massacre.

Until they reentered the Holy Hall domain.

”Retreat!”

Upon Lance’s shout, the four personal guards withdrew, leaving Baldwin and the others to face the enemy head-on.

Yet this time, the Holy Hall shrank back, with an oddly shaped flesh hound positioned in front of it.

The monster’s body, unlike those of the deformed flesh, was slender overall, with a simple framework supporting skin-like smooth flesh. It was not standing but grounded on all fours and had two long, but sharp-ended hands.

Its head was densely packed with black eyes clustered together, and its mouth was an octopus-like circular maw with tentacles of varying lengths, and its back was lined with spines.

Flesh Hound—the name probably linked to its dog-like stance, although Lance wasn’t sure why the ancestor’s ”hound” had tentacles and six limbs.

But those hounds reacted swiftly, charging at them immediately upon entry.

Similarly, the Holy Hall lurking in the rear opened with a [Revelation] as a greeting, targeting Junia in the back row.

However, everyone present had experienced this once already, and with the Inflaming Talisman increasing their immunity, it scarcely affected them.

Yet the unexpected action of the Holy Hall took everyone by surprise, as the revelation was accompanied by a flying bone spur.

Needle Sniper!

This move caught Junia off guard because the former Holy Hall protector never showcased a similar ability.

”Bang!”

With a loud thud, Lance raised his shield to block in front of Junia, and the bone spur pierced through the large shield. Luckily, Lance’s specially crafted iron shield was indeed a sturdy iron plate. While the bone spur penetrated partially, it lacked further force, wedging in the shield.

Given the proximity, Lance could feel the poison on the bone spur. If it hit him, it would be trouble indeed.

”Be careful, everyone; the monster shoots bone spurs, and they’re fucking poisonous too!”

Lance warned everyone while sweeping his gaze, noticing although roughly resembling the Holy Hall protector, with a human torso and scorpion tail, its lower half was composed of twisted flesh instead of many shells, with black eyes appearing on it.

Likewise, the tail end wasn’t a green stinger, but a swollen mass of flesh burgeoning with countless bone spurs. The longest of these fired off under muscle propulsion, and continuously writhing flesh revealed a cavity where another was slowly forming.

Not a protector, but a Holy Hall warlord!

Baldwin and his team didn’t bother with much else since the two flesh hounds had already attacked.

They didn’t expect these creatures to have tricks up their sleeve either. A short distance away, it opened its tentacles, a blue-purple tentacle with suckers extending from the middle mouth, jetting forward instantly.

Baldwin reacted swiftly, slashing the tentacle with a reverse sword sweep—speed and precision, truly that of the Sword Saint.

Barin was slightly slower, and the tentacle clung to his armor, its suckers tightly adhering, attempting to drag.

But the size difference between the two was ludicrously comedic. The flesh hound strained to pull, yet Barin barely budged.

With the speed the flesh hound displayed earlier, Barin would find it hard to catch it—yet the creature practically handed itself over to death.

Barin raised his hand to grab the tentacle, casually tugging it to drag the hound close. At this point, it couldn’t retract—it was flung onto the ground with a smack.

He stepped up swiftly, stomped down—War Trample!

A crack of breaking bones, the skeletal framework collapsed inward, unable to stand upright.

Another stomp directly crushed its head; despite having bones, it couldn’t withstand such power, caving in instantly. Its eyes, fragile as bubbles, shattered and ruptured, a black murky flow mingling with its blood coursing out.

The other side also had Junia, no pushover, with Lance deflecting bone spurs. As she grasped the situation, she raised her torch, summoning a lightning strike on the Holy Hall warlord.

Lance charged with the large shield toward the warlord, disregarding others and keeping it engaged until his comrades arrived.

The warlord had just been washed by Holy Light. As it regained composure, it experienced the unreserved force of Lance’s shield rush.

Shield Bash!

With a muffled thud, the large shield met the warlord in intimate contact. Despite the size gap, the result was a retreating warlord.

Unfortunately, the distance allowed the warlord to react, buffering part of the impact with its pincers, or else Lance might’ve knocked it out and severed its tail.

The massive form of the Holy Hall warlord stabilized after a few backward steps, by which time Baldwin and Barin had eliminated the flesh hounds and caught up.

The two sides entered a brief standoff; after all, the intimidation of three massive men was enough to overpower the mindless warlord.

”Attack!”

Lance wouldn’t give it any chance, shouting as he wielded weapons to initiate the fight...