Chapter 438: Chapter 343: It Was All Me (2)

Shire smiled calmly, then turned and instructed Broken Tooth behind him, "Tell everyone to gather at the cave entrance."

...

The cave was dark and foul-smelling, but that was hardly a challenge for the Holy Order Army. They had dealt with countless evil incidents, and some had even fought demons who had crossed the planar barrier into the Material World. The gruesome, bloody scenes they had witnessed were far worse than the present situation.

The Paladin at the vanguard raised his shield, casting the Light Technique with his other hand to instantly illuminate the surrounding darkness. The others followed close behind, ready to strike down any monster that might charge from the shadows.

The formation advanced slowly but surely, a completely different force from the one that had chased the goblins earlier. It seemed they were only now revealing their true strength.

"This place really stinks," a Paladin muttered under his breath.

"Shh." Someone behind immediately signaled for him to be quiet. They hadn’t been attacked once since entering the cave, which put everyone on edge, constantly on guard for a sudden ambush.

But it seemed their luck had finally turned for the better. There were no enemies along the entire path, not even a single trap on the stone floor.

"This is going a little too smoothly," Lingard muttered, frowning as he walked near the rear of the formation. Behind him were the Paladins with sprained ankles; although the Medical Technique had been used on them, they still suffered from minor physical problems. ’Could it be that these goblins fear the Evil God’s anger and don’t dare enter this cave?’

On their way to the entrance, the Holy Order Army had endured several ambushes, and the attacks grew more frequent the closer they got to the stone tower. This had convinced everyone that the goblins were protecting their Evil God. But after entering the massive cave opening, the ambushes had vanished completely, leaving Lingard baffled. He had originally assumed the path to the Evil God’s lair would be paved with the blood and corpses of goblins.

’Something’s strange.’ Just as he was pondering the issue, the Paladin at the vanguard halted. "Looks like we’re here."

Hearing his subordinate’s quiet report, Lingard narrowed his eyes. This meant the main part of the operation was about to begin; their clash with the Feathered Serpent God was imminent.

He moved past the men in front of him, making his way to the head of the formation. Illuminated by the Light Technique, the entire underground cavern spread out before him.

The cavern was vast, with a high ceiling—clearly the lair of some massive creature. The ground was blanketed in crushed bones that made a sharp CRUNCH sound underfoot.

"Up ahead," Lingard said, his gaze sweeping across the cavern. On a thick pile of white bones, a massive green body lay coiled. "The Feathered Serpent Evil God really is hibernating."

"What’s our move?" a Paladin asked, sidling closer.

"Approach slowly," Lingard whispered, pointing at the enormous form. "Once we’re in position, we’ll slay it together."

He scanned the pile of bones and saw nothing else nearby. It seemed the Feathered Serpent Evil God was the only thing in the cavern. "Find the evil god’s neck, and directly..."

He whispered to his men, making a slicing motion with his arm.

He reminded them again to be light on their feet and make no sound.

At his command, the Holy Order Army began to file in. Weapons in hand, they stepped gingerly onto the crushed bones, terrified of making a sound.

CRUNCH... CRUNCH... After a few soft steps, the Paladins reached the Evil God’s side.

"This..." Lingard stared at the body of the evil god before him. Up close, he could see that it was indeed massive, taller than a man, yet it showed no signs of life. The entire form was made of woven leaves and branches.

It was just a massive "model" of the evil god.

"We’ve been tricked!" Lingard roared. But just as he was about to order an immediate retreat, a flaming arrow—WHOOSH—shot from the cavern entrance straight toward the "Feathered Serpent Evil God." THWACK! The burning arrow embedded itself in the model.

"What’s that smell?" a Paladin asked.

The next second, as if in answer, a violent explosion ripped through the cavern. A massive BOOM and a fiery shockwave knocked everyone off their feet. The Blazing Fire Glue packed inside the "Feathered Serpent Evil God" had been set off by the flaming arrow, triggering a chain-reaction explosion that engulfed the entire cavern in an inferno.

All the Paladins were consumed by flames. Though they were protected by various Defense Spells, the sheer force of the explosion and the raging inferno still sent them into agonized howls.

Many of the Paladins struggled to cast multiple Medical Techniques on themselves to ease the pain, all while desperately trying to flee the inferno. Unfortunately, just as they neared the cave exit, a vile stench assaulted their nostrils.

The intense stench made the Paladins violently ill. They felt nauseous and began to dry-heave, collapsing miserably onto the piles of bones. Pools of black liquid spread out before them, seeping into the gaps between the bones. The Paladins felt their temples throbbing and their limbs growing weak. Unfortunately, the searing pain still stimulated them. Driven by their will to live, these men struggled to support themselves, crawling on hands and knees toward the exit.

Lingard was lucky. The moment the arrow flew in, he had immediately moved behind his men, so the blast’s impact on him was limited. He was still burned, but compared to the others, he was mostly able to remain on his feet. He braced himself against the wall, biting his lip to fight off the stench of the Stinky Spores. While the others passed out from the smoke and lack of oxygen, he stayed conscious, forcing himself step by step out of the cavern.

Behind him, a few other lightly-wounded Paladins also gritted their teeth and managed to follow.

’Who the hell is it? Who is plotting against the Holy Order Army?’ Lingard cast a Medical Technique on himself as he walked. He also took a Healing Potion from his bag and downed it in one gulp. The potion bottle was engraved with the name "Drink Undying," but he had no time to care about such things. ’I have to get out of here. Mobilize all our channels. I must find out who is targeting the War God Church.’

’Such a scheme could only be the work of the other three Great Churches,’ Lingard concluded. ’First, they have a merchant lure me into the forest, then set various traps to make me walk right into them.’ ’They’re really willing to spare no expense for the holy war.’

He spat viciously. The Lord Bishop had warned him that the Four Great Churches would stop at nothing for the holy war, but only now that it was happening right before his eyes did Lingard understand the ugly truth.

"Shameless. They even used those goblins. The mastermind behind this is more shameless than the goblins themselves." Lingard glanced back at the few squadmates staggering behind him, then turned and walked out of the cavern alone without looking back. He had no time to take care of others now.

The moment he stepped out of the cavern, however, his eyes widened in shock. A dense crowd of goblins stood before him, each one gripping a weapon, as if they had been waiting specifically for him to appear.

"Not bad. You’re pretty lucky. I thought you’d all be goners in there." Shire pursed his lips. To set this trap, he had spent a considerable sum on a large quantity of Blazing Fire Glue, and even had Bai Mao lead a group of goblins to work through the night creating the "model" of the Feathered Serpent Evil God. "Evita’s shot wasn’t great, though. The explosive effect wasn’t quite ideal."

"You... you’re that goblin from before?" Lingard stared daggers at Shire. That flawless Common Speech was unmistakably from the same infuriating creature as before.

"That’s right, it’s me." Shire stood beside an elephant, resting a hand on its thick leg. "You’re pretty tough, huh? Even that didn’t finish you off."

"Hmph. If you think you can kill me, your master is being far too naive." Lingard straightened his helmet. He was a pathetic sight; the vomit on his chest and the burn marks all over his body made it impossible for him to maintain his former dignity as a Vice Commander.

"My master?" Shire glanced over his shoulder, where a massive horde of goblins stood. "Oh, I get it. You’re saying someone is controlling us."

"Unfortunately, you’re wrong," he said with a shrug. "Sorry to disappoint, but from start to finish, it has only been us goblins dealing with you. No humans were involved."

"None?" Lingard was stunned.

"That’s right. Only goblins," Shire said, smiling.

At these words, Lingard froze. His expression shifted rapidly, finally settling into one of pure fury. Veins bulged on his forehead, and he erupted in a towering rage.

"You damned goblins! To think you’d make a fool of me like this!" He violently drew the Longsword from his waist and charged at Shire.

Shire, however, simply stood his ground, watching him with a smile. The other goblins also remained completely unfazed.

Just as Lingard’s Giant Sword was about to reach Shire, the elephant beside the goblin suddenly swung its trunk. BANG! An immense force sent Lingard hurtling into the sky, where he vanished like a shooting star.

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