“Azrael, to your right!”
At the shout from a Paladin nearby, Azrael immediately slashed his sword to the right, successfully blocking the incoming attack.
Another Paladin took advantage of the opening to strike down an unguarded enemy, eliminating it in one blow.
As the battle on Azrael’s side came to a pause, Larian also dispatched the last enemy.
She waved her hand, signaling everyone to take a brief rest before moving forward.
Beneath Larian lay a ground strewn with enemy corpses. Among them were not only the “Bronze” armored soldiers Colin and the others had encountered before, but also some strange humanoids wearing iron cages over their heads.
Judging by the multiple arms extending from beneath their tattered cloaks, these beings bore little relation to humans.
Even those “Bronze” armored soldiers were quite different from the ones Colin’s group had faced. Some wielded swords and small shields, while others carried long cylindrical objects that seemed equipped with aiming lenses.
Just by appearance alone, these foes looked difficult to deal with, yet Larian and the Templar Order had managed to overcome them.
Of course, this was partly due to the formidable strength of the Templar Order, but there was more to it than that.
During the fight, Larian had discovered a fatal weakness these enemies possessed.
By exploiting that weakness, the knights could easily suppress them.
That was why they had advanced here so smoothly and quickly.
Yet, even after pushing this far, Larian had still seen no sign of Colin and the others. She had no idea where exactly they had been teleported to.
Larian’s expression grew serious as she looked toward the three exits ahead.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t worried about Colin’s group.
After all, she had never expected this kind of situation from the start.
She didn’t know which part of this labyrinth Colin and his team had been transported to.
She had already carefully searched around the entrance area but found no trace of them.
That meant they could only have been teleported deeper inside.
In her original plan, she and the knights were supposed to be leading the way for them.
Now, Colin had somehow ended up ahead of them.
How could Larian not be concerned?
But she also understood that no amount of worry would help now.
It was better to press forward and find Colin and the others as quickly as possible.
Besides, she had considerable faith in Colin.
She believed that with him leading, nothing bad would happen.
That belief was the true reason she managed to suppress her anxiety.
“Captain, we’re all rested now. We can move on. Let’s find the senior quickly!”
Azrael approached Larian and reported that the team had finished resting.
She and the others were eager to find their senior, hoping the captain wouldn’t hold them back.
Larian turned around and saw that none of the knights showed even a hint of fatigue.
On the contrary, they all looked ready to spring into action.
They were eager to find Colin—their important senior.
Seeing them like this, Larian felt somewhat relieved.
These weren’t the main force of the Templar Order, but rather rookies she had brought up over the past year or two.
She had intended to use this opportunity to train them, but judging by their current state, perhaps they no longer needed such drills.
Larian couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
She had trained wave after wave of Paladins, and had witnessed many moments like this.
Every time, she found herself quietly admiring the vigor of youth.
Still, she was young herself now.
Looking at her own body, Larian suddenly had a thought.
But now was not the time for such musings.
She quickly pushed the thought aside and commanded the knights to move forward.
Yet, she didn’t forget that idea entirely—it remained buried in her heart, ready to resurface soon.
Colin led everyone through one room after another.
Strangely, no matter how many rooms they passed, there was only one path ahead.
He really had no idea what the designer of this path had been thinking.
“This is way too long! How much farther do we have to go?”
Lavinia couldn’t hold back her complaints again.
But the group didn’t mind.
Lavinia’s grumbling brought some liveliness to the otherwise silent team, which was better than trudging along without a word.
When they entered another room, they spotted enemies blocking the exit ahead.
Lavinia quickly raised her bow and took aim.
“Ugh, them again. Let’s get this over with quickly.”
Her tone was casual, but the arrow she released flew with considerable force.
However, this time her arrow was blocked by the enemy’s shield.
That immediately raised everyone’s alertness.
Looking closer, these enemies did seem different from the “Bronze” armored soldiers they had faced earlier.
Their equipment appeared more refined, and they no longer all carried spears with medium shields.
Instead, they wielded large shields.
Some “Bronze” soldiers didn’t even carry spears anymore but had swords and small shields.
What’s more, their movements were noticeably more agile and less stiff than before.
Clearly, they would have to take this fight seriously.
“Liyami.”
Colin called out to Liyami, who instantly understood and melted into the surrounding shadows.
Colin drew the Sanctified Sword with his right hand, while conjuring a Shield of Holy Light with his left.
He charged straight at the enemy, shield raised.
He didn’t choose to charge with full power to preserve his strength for potential surprises ahead.
He also wanted to observe how these enemies differed from the previous “Bronze” armored soldiers.
The others followed suit and began their own moves.
Eleanor, as always, cast a protective ward over the team.
Lavinia fired another arrow, aiming at an enemy holding a small shield.
Unexpectedly, the enemy who had blocked her previous arrow with a large shield stepped aside to intercept this arrow, shielding the smaller-shielded ally.
They had started showing team coordination!
This was very different from the enemies they had fought before.
Colin’s expression darkened.
Although the enemies were only blocking attacks for each other without any further coordination, even this basic teamwork made these foes much more troublesome.
All of this happened within a few seconds.
Colin had already closed in and was ready to strike with a sword slash.
Suddenly, a transparent barrier appeared around the enemy.
Although it didn’t stop Colin’s attack—the sword instantly shattered the barrier and sliced the enemy’s large shield in two—the enormous impact sent the enemy flying.
Perhaps due to the barrier or the shield’s protection, the enemy was still alive.
Though its armor was nearly cut open and bore a terrifying, deep sword scar, it struggled to get back on its feet.
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