"There’s something here!"
Emily screamed as Frank’s eyes turned serious, and Simon rushed to her side, his eyes filled with concern. "What happened?!"
Emily looked down and said nervously, "I think I stepped on something." She had indeed stepped on something, triggering a mechanism under her foot.
"There’s a trap here, be careful!" While Emily was still trying to figure out what happened, Frank bent down and examined the mechanism Emily had stepped on.
After 4 hours, the group had made significant progress through the forest, and the fact that they hadn’t encountered any traps so far was good news. However, the sudden appearance of this mechanism suggested that something was definitely here.
Night had already fallen, and Frank took a closer look to see better. After 10 minutes, he leaned back and relaxed.
George, concerned for his sister, looked at Frank. "Grandpa, it’s not dangerous, is it?"
As Simon and Emily waited anxiously, Frank finally delivered good news. "We’re lucky. This mechanism is old and probably lost its function. You can lift your foot."
Emily listened to Frank, and with trust in her grandfather, she slowly lifted her foot. Fortunately, the trap didn’t activate. She exhaled deeply, regaining her composure.
"Watch your steps from now on. There might still be functional traps ahead."
The group quickly nodded, knowing that dying recklessly was a bad idea. After the tension eased a bit, Simon spoke up. "Let’s go, but in a single file."
"I’ll go first. Follow me."
As Frank moved forward, George handed him the torch he was holding. Frank took the torch and led the way.
After two hours of walking, the group arrived at a cemetery. It looked old and dirty. The tombstones were broken and stained, and an ominous atmosphere surrounded the place.
Simon’s spine tingled as he wondered, "Could there be ghosts here?" and he became tense. Frank’s eyes scanned the area cautiously as they walked along the cemetery path, checking for anything unusual.
"This place looks really dangerous," George said as he walked carefully with Emily along the muddy path.
After ten minutes of exploration, they reached an old cabin. It was made of stone and appeared to have collapsed over time. Frank stepped inside and looked around carefully.
"There should be a clue here, but it’s been abandoned for a long time and far from any human settlements. We shouldn’t get our hopes up."
"I think we should go back. There’s nothing else here." George wandered around, examining some old books with a bored expression.
"No, we should investigate further," Frank said as he looked around, addressing George. "There’s something hidden here."
"Frank! There’s someone here!" Simon exclaimed as he looked out the door and saw a figure dressed like a gravedigger. The man’s face was turned toward the graves, and Simon could only see his back.
"Hello! You there!" Simon called out as he approached the man, with the others following behind. The man didn’t respond to Simon’s call and simply stood in place.
"Simon, I advise you to stop," Frank said.
Simon turned to Frank, confused. "Why?"
"Because of this."
In an instant, Frank leaped forward and swung his staff with all his might, striking the man in the back and sending him crashing to the ground.
"Frank, what are you doing?! Are you crazy?" Simon, concerned for the man on the ground, was shocked by Frank’s serious expression.
"Look around."
"What?"
As Simon looked around, he suddenly froze. Numerous red, glowing eyes were watching him menacingly. He took a step back.
As Emily and George readied their weapons, Simon quickly drew his sword. "What do we do?"
Though he tried to stay calm, sweat had already started to form on his back from the tension. Frank observed the surroundings, remaining calm compared to the others. "Let’s get out of here quickly."
As soon as Frank gave the word, they hurriedly left, but skeletons began to rise from the graves, chasing them. Though some stumbled to the ground, they didn’t seem very intelligent.
However, they were many—around 2,000 skeletons. Even if the group had the strength to defeat them all, they were still human. Once they got tired, the skeletons would overwhelm them.
"Come on, come on!" Emily cut down the skeletons in front of them with her bow, while George swung his axe with fury. Simon, meanwhile, charged forward, knocking aside any skeletons in his way to clear the path.
"There are too many of them!"
"Maybe the Lich didn’t die and has been hiding?"
"Impossible," Frank frowned, confident the Lich was dead. "If the Lich were alive, the Church wouldn’t have overlooked it. They would have eliminated him immediately."
"But it doesn’t explain the strange atmosphere in this forest."
Emily glanced around thoughtfully. "We’ll probably find out soon..."
"You’re right," Frank said. "At the end of this place, we’ll find the answers. Let’s move on."
"Yes."
After a long walk, the group reached a massive door. Seeing the huge metal door, Frank examined it closely. "There must be something behind here. I can feel its mana from this distance."
"Like what?" George asked curiously. Even though he had lost his axe, his fists were still strong. Frank looked at him with a warning in his eyes. "Keep your discipline, boy. You could die."
Feeling Frank’s stern gaze, George wiped the grin off his face, straightened up, and quickly nodded. Meanwhile, Emily felt uneasy about passing through the door.
"I think we should turn back."
"We can’t turn back, the skeletons have probably filled that area by now."
"Then what do we do?"
Simon sighed and looked at Emily, who seemed helpless. "I don’t know."
After a moment of silence, Frank decided to speak. "We’re going in. This is our only way out."
As everyone prepared, they rested for ten minutes before pushing the large door open.
The first thing they noticed was that the area beyond had better lighting. The walls were adorned with some paintings, and the place was enormous.
"To see humans after all these years... How delightful."
When a voice echoed around them, everyone tensed up, looking around in confusion. Frank stepped forward, gripping his staff tightly, carefully scanning the area. "Who are you!"
"Who am I? Well, since you’re so eager to know, I’ll allow you to learn my name. Be honored, lower life forms! I am the strongest of the Knights of the Round Table, the slayer of King Arthur! The rightful and newest Emperor of Albion! The great Mordred Pendragon!"
For a moment, everyone froze, and a strange, high-pitched sound filled the silence. "Now, bow before me, and I might spare you! Lower life forms!"
"Ghahahhaa! Is this voice serious!? Ghhaha, I can’t even speak from laughing!" George laughed, clutching his stomach. Not just George, but Emily also burst into laughter.
Simon tried to maintain his seriousness but failed. Was this guy really the Lich? Instead of sounding like a Lich, he was speaking like a 12-year-old child.
"You—you—you! How dare you! Laughing at me is a sin!"
While the others couldn’t stop laughing, Frank was dead serious. The mention of the Pendragon name had struck him like never before. He swung his staff sharply, hitting George in the stomach.
"Oww..." George groaned, his laughter cut short. Frank narrowed his eyes angrily. "What are you doing?! Do you want to make him angrier?"
"Ah—right, right!" Simon quickly coughed and composed himself. Emily also stopped laughing. But it was too late. As the voice continued to mutter, the walls started to shake as if they were about to collapse.
"Fenris! Kill them!"
As the arrogant voice echoed one last time in a furious and crazed tone, something shocking happened that made everyone’s eyes widen.
The side of the great hall cracked open, and from it emerged a massive, skeletal beast—more precisely, a dragon. An undead dragon.
"That’s a dragon!" Emily said in fear, her eyes darting around in search of a solution, but to no avail.
"Go that way!" Simon shouted, pointing to two separate doors ahead. They immediately began running toward the doors.
"Grahhhhahah!!" The dragon roared, causing the hall to shake as if it was on the verge of collapse. Frank shouted, "Split up! It can’t follow all of us at once!"
Nodding, George and Emily ran to one door while Frank and Simon went to the other. The dragon seemed unsure of which to follow.
The arrogant voice echoed once more, still angry but now calmer. "Wait, I don’t want to kill them anymore. I want to torture them, Fenris."
"For now, I’ll play with them. Let’s see how they survive..."
The arrogant voice laughed wickedly, then cut its connection with the undead dragon.