Chapter 132: The Hidden Door (Part 2)

The three obsidian stones did not perfectly match the slots in the magic formation, yet they found a way to affix them in place. However, much to Sacker’s dismay, nothing happened.

“Perhaps it requires a spell to activate?” Wu Qingsong speculated.

He glanced at Xeila, who subconsciously recited the phrase, “All is illusion, only death is eternal,” and then repeated it in the Batiz language.

Wu Qingsong noticed a brief flicker of an eerie grey-black light within the magic formation, but the room remained unchanged.

“Did it fail?” Sacker asked.

A soft click sounded as the obsidian stone taken from Wu Qingsong’s ring suddenly disintegrated into dust, spilling to the ground from its slot.

Bewildered looks were exchanged among the group when Ling, standing by the door, suddenly let out a scream, “Wu! The corpses! The corpses!”

Wu Qingsong dashed out of the room, only to find many of the mummies that had laid in the temple now unsteadily standing.

“Damn it!” Wu Qingsong cursed. 

He approached the magic formation intending to remove the two remaining obsidian stones, but the moment he touched them, a dark light burst forth, sending a sharp pain through his fingers. Despite the agony, he tried to forcefully dislodge them, but they seemed as if they were fused to the spot, unmoving.

“Wu!” Nina’s voice echoed from outside, already engaged in battle with the mummies, sword in hand.

Their movements had become more adept, some even picking up fallen weapons to charge at them. Nina and Sacker desperately fended them off. Xeila once again merged into the shadows, but these mummies, driven by magic rather than the senses, rendered her stealth techniques ineffective. She was forced to rely on her agility and assassination skills in combat.

These mummies were far more formidable than the zombies they had encountered in the Tecks Mountains, surpassing them in strength, speed, and combat prowess, equivalent to elite warriors. Sacker managed to block one behind Nina, while Xeila, engaging four or five, maneuvered around a column. The majority concentrated their assault on Nina, creating a dangerous tight situation.

Wu Qingsong hurriedly rushed toward Nina.

Once again, silver moonlight filled the temple, casting light around. The mummies, which had been fighting in silence, emitted a bizarre roar and madly lunged at Nina.

“Be careful!” shouted everyone.

With a sudden outburst of silver moonlight, a massive explosion sent the leading mummies flying, landing motionless on the ground.

“Watch those columns,” Wu Qingsong warned.

The columns bore the weight of thousands, if not millions, of tons of stone and sand. He certainly didn’t want to see Nina bring one down with her sword. Not only would the mummies be destroyed, but they could also end up buried beneath the rubble.

“I know,” Nina responded.

With the power of the silver moonlight awakened by Wu Qingsong, Nina had the strength to stand against formidable elven magi-warriors. Despite having to limit her power to avoid damaging the columns, these mummies posed no real challenge to her.

She quickly realized that their source of power was also from an artificial heart within their bodies, unlike the previous zombies. These hearts were carved from solid obsidian, likely the reason behind their formidable strength.

Whether it was thrusting, sweeping, side slashing, or diagonal cutting, Nina’s combat skills remained potent, even without her preferred weapon, the two-handed greatsword. The mummies were swiftly reduced to pieces before her. Soon, Sacker and Xeila found themselves stepping back from the front lines, retreating to stand beside Wu Qingsong and Ling.

“Truly the Moon Maiden,” Sacker remarked.

Xeila, however, kept her gaze on Wu Qingsong.

They might not fully grasp why Wu Qingsong could enhance Nina and Ling’s strength, but having such allies was undoubtedly a boon for them

Roughly thirty to forty mummies that had risen to attack were effortlessly dispatched by Nina. Within mere minutes, they were all rendered motionless, collapsing to the ground.

“Just as I thought,” Wu Qingsong said, but the ground suddenly quaked as though a heavy object had descended.

Next, they observed the enormous statue of God of Death at the temple’s center stirring to life and advancing toward them. Although not as tall as the statue in the main hall, it stood over twenty meters high, with each step causing a tremor reminiscent of an earthquake.

“Seriously? Is this necessary?” Wu Qingsong cried out in frustration.

Such a colossal statue couldn’t possibly be animated by the magic circle alone, it had to have an alternative power source.

Sacker and Xeila stood in shock, while Nina, gripping her sword firmly, dashed through the columns straight toward it.

Her sword gleamed brilliantly, slicing a deep gash across the colossus’s chest. Yet, whatever material composed its body astonishingly withstood her attack.

The colossus bellowed, sweeping its arms forward. Nina dodged backward as it pounded a column, splitting it midway. The temple’s dome immediately let out an ominous rumble, and torrents of sand and soil started cascading down.

“This is bad!”

The temple’s dome, already laden with an untold amount of sand, threatened to collapse entirely with the loss of just one more column.

Nina, realizing the danger, refrained from seeking shelter behind the columns. Instead, she summoned every ounce of her strength, channeling all her lunar power into a massive silver sword of light. With a fierce roar, she unleashed her full power against the God of Death statue.

“Die!” Wu Qingsong yelled at the top of his lungs, as though his voice could somehow amplify the sword’s might.

Sacker and Xeila instinctively tightened their fists, overwhelmed by a battle that far surpassed their abilities and understanding. At this moment, they placed their hopes of survival squarely on Nina.

The colossus’s movements came to a halt.

Had they succeeded?

A vast crack emerged from its right shoulder, diagonally slicing across its chest to the left side. Seconds later, its body split in two. The upper portion, with an arm and head, began to slide downward, accelerating until it crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact.

They did!

Wu Qingsong couldn’t contain his excitement, laughing joyfully. He hugged Ling, who was right beside him, planted a kiss on her cheek, and then joyously lifted her into the air.

Ling, caught off guard, was completely disoriented.

Nina, her silver lunar glow seemingly expended, reverted to her usual appearance and approached them, visibly fatigued.

At that moment, however, the remaining half of the giant statue suddenly tipped over to the right, crashing heavily against a column and knocking it forward. This set off a domino effect, with another pillar tragically toppling in the collision.

“Nina!” Wu Qingsong screamed.

The temple’s heavy dome lost its support, causing massive stones and an endless stream of sand to plummet downwards.

The deluge of sand created a powerful shockwave, catching Nina, who was making a desperate dash forward, and hurling her into the air. Wu Qingsong instinctively moved to catch her, but he too was caught by the incoming wave of sand and wind, slamming heavily into the stone wall behind him.