Chapter 625: The Dark Valley
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At that moment, Benjamin was feeling extremely nervous.
The magic oscillation emitted by the bracelet had definitely exposed their whereabouts, and the people of the Church would immediately rush over! Of course, he was not afraid of those who were standing guard outside; if they rushed in, he could kill them all with only the tip of his finger, However... it should be borne in mind that this was the stronghold of the church.
He was afraid that crushing one bee would result in the entire bee colony swarming toward him.
What could he do?
Many ideas flashed through Benjamin’s mind. He still did not want to face the entire Church here head on, and the Abandoned Valley of Gods... Although he felt that there was something very powerful in existence here, who knew for sure? It was a legend from so many years ago, perhaps there had been nothing left anymore.
Because of that, there was a sudden desire to retreat in his heart. Leaving now while they could, the Church would not have enough time to react, and they should be able to retreat entirely.
However...
"The entrance to the Abandoned Valley of God... That’s it!"
Miles, however, seemed to not have thought at all about retreating. His eyes were looking at the ground in front, his entire body stunned, like a patient on his deathbed who had just seen a panacea.
Benjamin looked to where his sight was focused on...
Only to see that on the ground not far away, there appeared, suddenly, a bright circle of light. The bracelets in Benjamin’s hands were flashing in resonance with that circle of light; the two items were shining and reflecting light off each other, as though they were one and the same.
Was that... An entrance?
Benjamin felt some doubt. He had thought that the Abandoned Valley of Gods would be buried in some location like a prison ruin. However, seeing this, the circle of light seemed to be a gateway.
A gateway... To an unknown place.
Before, in Ferelden, when he had entered the underground remains which had been full of green light, it had felt like he was, on some level, passing through dimensions and arriving at another world. The circle of light before his eyes... It could not be the same setup as the underground remains, could it?
The Abandoned Valley of Gods was not in this world, instead, it was in another dimension?
"What is that? Has the entrance appeared? Quickly, go and report this to the honorable bishop." Not far behind them, the voice of a Holy Knight was dimly heard. They were coming closer as well.
How Troublesome...
Benjamin had some doubts, but Miles was still unusually excited. Suddenly, he turned his head and in one swift move, grabbed Benjamin’s arm, and dragged him along as he rushed towards the circle of light.
"Hey! That..."
Benjamin was only halfway through his sentence when he disappeared with Miles into the circle of light.
Behind them, a few Holy Knights ran over hurriedly and stared at the circle of light that had just swallowed two people. They looked at each other, not sure what had happened.
"Who were those people just now? Did someone sneak in?"
Realizing that they could lose their jobs, the Holy Knights had on really ugly expressions. They stood next to the circle of light; they could not leave, they could not speak. The dilemma was great.
Very quickly, the leader of the cleaners had hurried over. With one look at the circle of light shining brightly on the ground, he was surprised for a moment.
"Oh god... This must be the entrance to the Abandoned Valley of Gods!" He was stunned for quite some times before he regained his senses and pointed at the few Holy Knights, saying, "You guys, go in first to search out a path. We will immediately go and report this to the honorable bishop."
Hearing this, the few Holy Knights looked at each other, as though slightly reluctant.
"That... Great leader, just a few moments ago, there were..." They wanted to tell their leader what they had just seen, but their leader seemed to be a little too agitated at this moment, and waved his hand, not giving them a chance to speak at all.
"The entrance to the Abandoned Valley of Gods has suddenly appeared, this is the will of God. There is no one amongst us who is worthy enough to disobey." He immediately pushed the few Holy Knights toward the circle of light, "As the Holy Knights who have the opportunity to be the first ones to enter and explore the place, you should feel honored."
"But..."
"What? Are you scared?"
"No, how can the messengers of God be scared..."
Just like that, the Holy Knights had no chance at all to give their report. In the end, they gave each other a look, took a deep breath, and walked towards the circle of light.
The moment they stepped into the circle of light, a bright, white light flashed over the Holy Knights’ visions; the world around them spun. When they regained their consciousness, the prison ruins and the circle of light had all vanished, and before their eyes was another world.
"This... Is the Abandoned Valley of Gods?"
Preparing their hearts, they lifted up their heads and looked around them.
This was an overcast place. The skies were covered with layers and rows of dark clouds; a dim light was shining through faintly, as though it was the daytime, yet it was impossible to ascertain it. The shady weather seemed to bring with it a threat, heavily pressing down on the hearts of these Holy Knights, causing them to feel suffocated.
On either side of them were steep mountain walls, dark grey stones where not even a blade of grass had grown. From top to bottom, they were greeted with a chilling atmosphere that made them shiver.
In the midst of such an atmosphere, the Holy Knights drew out the swords on their waists in unison and raised their shields up. They gulped, calming down their own nerves slightly.
"... What about the two men who had just come in?"
After observing their surroundings and realizing that there was not half a shadow around, a Holy Knight could not help but ask the question.
"It does not matter. We just have to find those two people as soon as possible," Another Holy Knight seemed to look rather happy, however, "If we can get rid of them quietly, we won’t have to lose our jobs anymore."
Hearing that, the others looked as though something had just dawned on them.
"No wonder you were hesitating just now and did not want to report the news to the chief."
"If we had reported that to the chief, how can we keep the positions we have now?" The Holy Knight shook his head vigorously, saying, "Remember, if you don’t want to be sent to guard the city gates, you have to keep this a complete secret. Other than us and the Almighty God, no one else can know about this."
The Holy Knights all nodded their heads.
Right as they had determined a direction and was ready to move on forward along the valley, a sound suddenly came from above their heads.
"Excuse me, I seemed to have been listening in on your secret conversation." Benjamin suddenly flew out from the left wall of the mountain, and floated above their heads, speaking with an innocent face, "Please don’t blame me, it was accidental."
This band of Holy Knights was stunned.
"You... You are..."
"Mage Benjamin, the one who founded the Academy of Magic," "Benjamin smiled, saying slowly, "The Church has given you training, so you should be able to recognize me."
And by the terrified looks on the Holy Knights’ faces, he was right; they did recognize him.
"How could... You... Was it you who opened the entrance?"
Benjamin nodded.
"Alright, let’s not waste time on them. The Abandoned Valley of Gods is very large, we need a lot of time to explore it." Miles suddenly walked out from behind a huge stone, speaking with a stern face, "Get rid of them quickly. Who knows, there might be more people coming in later."
Hearing that, Benjamin shrugged and put on a regretful expression.
"Too bad, it’s been a long time since I’ve played around with Holy Knights..."
Saying thus, he drew out a few runes with his fingertips deftly, flashing across the air. Accompanied by a violent elemental disturbance, in the blink of an eye, the Holy Knights were drowned in a fierce water-element storm.
After about ten seconds, this stray band of Holy Knights vanished completely in this dark valley.
Done with all of that, Benjamin turned his head and looked once more to Miles.
"Don’t you get anxious now. I have the map to the Abandoned Valley of Gods." He suddenly opened his mouth and spoke thus.