Chapter 399 Similar But Different (End)

When the people regained their vision, what they saw was a long and deep trench beside Cyane who had lost consciousness. Basil was at the end of the trench, so even the least bright person would also be able to tell that he was the one who had created the trench.

When one thought about a clash, surely, one would expect to see both sides receiving damage. The people were no different as they tried to figure out how much damage Basil had sustained; he didn't get any and that baffled the people.

The ground behind him didn't even sustain any damage, which proved just how formidable his defence was. The people were astonished by this fact, so the realization that their Legion Commanders had been beaten to unconsciousness came late.

Gazing at the dumbfounded people, Basil remarked, "I think it is time for a rest."

The people blinked their eyes in surprise but acted quickly as Basil told them to take care of their "resting" Legion Commanders. The Legion Commanders from Braxtein and the Cohort Commanders shook their heads at the scene and thanked themselves for not joining the fight.

Although they knew there would be no fatal damage done to them had they joined, they were not willing to lose their dignity as Commanders. It was hard for them to stomp the urge to test themselves, but the mental debate was worth it.

"I think we already figure out something from this army," Iliana remarked as she came to Basil. "No one is a powerhouse; therefore, fighting in a Formation is best. Well, at least, until they have grasped each other's fighting habit."

"Have you also thought about the quickest way to defeat them, Iliana?" Basil responded.

"I have analyzed them that much and you are asking me that? Of course, I already know the best way to defeat them," Iliana harrumphed.

"You know, Iliana, we are going to shape the army the way we want. We will make it formidable but also fragile at the same time."

"We are going to make it strong with us but weak without us—is this what you want to say?"

"Roughly, yes."

Iliana frowned lightly and muttered solemnly, "In the end, these people, too, will have to taste our blade, huh?"

"Everything is fair in love and war. You don't have to feel like you are doing something bad," Basil said assuringly. "They have done a lot to our people without them realizing it, so you can consider it as us delivering them their karma."

The closer the moment came, the more uncomfortable it was to talk about. Iliana was someone who would do something when it was required, but she was not an emotionless machine; she would still feel hesitation when she was about to cut someone she knew.

Shaking her head to clear her thought, she followed Basil, who was walking toward the soldiers from Braxtein. Although they were bound to be enemies in the future, they still needed to cooperate currently.

…

At the same time, in the other part of the world, Ione was exploring a Dungeon with the Assassins who had sworn their loyalty to Basil. She had been doing it for the past week, so it was already the fifth Dungeon she visited.

She, of course, didn't visit every existing Dungeon in the world. She only visited Dungeons that had a Kinslayer inside and were available to visit.

After two years of an arduous search for the Dungeons, they had found seventy-eight Dungeons with Kinslayers inside. They had marked each of them so they would be easy to track, but the search was still arduous regardless; the Dungeons kept moving.

"Miss Ione, the closest Dungeon from us has just moved," notified one of the Assassins as they ran through the Dungeon.

"Stop informing me about that kind of bothersome thing. Notify me only when you have located the Kinslayer," Ione responded, slightly frowning.

The ground rumbled as the wall shook. This caused Ione and company to stop and looked ahead to watch for any incoming Dungeon Demons.

Whoosh!

When the rumble stopped and the shaking ceased, a cold wind brushed past them. The hair on the back of their neck instantly stood on end as their feet involuntarily shook in terror.

Ione grasped the pendant that Basil gave her and immediately calmed down. She spread her hands and materialized her Magic Circle at the same time she summoned her Grimoire.

"Miss Ione, let me accompany you."

"Stay behind, whelp. This is not something your meagre power can handle."

Under the Assassins' worried eyes, Ione walked toward the other side of the way by herself. They admired her bravery for coming up to the source of the terrifying pressure, but they didn't have a good feeling about the choice.

Swish!

Their hearts sank to the bottom of their stomachs when they saw a gigantic hand with dirty, sharp nails coming at Ione. They immediately sprinted to save her, but the hand was faster in snatching her than they could move.

"Miss Ione!"

"Stay if you don't want her dead, insects!"

The Assassins were stopped in their tracks by the deep and thunderous voice from the end of the way. Their souls were shaken to the point where they almost went crazy.

Thinking about the worst thing to happen, they looked ahead in horror. If they lost their mistress there, they were sure Basil wouldn't even let their souls go after they left their bodies.

"This is not a place for a fragile lass to play, I warn you. You have been negating my Mana Sense from earlier and I don't like that!"

"Oh, I thought I was just defending myself from Dungeon Bump."

"Don't play with me, youngling."

As the Assassins she brought with her were preparing themselves to die to atone for their sins, Ione was having a fairly civil conversation with the Kinslayer who was lifting her by her neck. Like Caesar, he was a skinny old man with long white hair and a long white beard.

Looking at the hand grabbing her neck, she wondered just how much the Kinslayer had endured to be that skinny. High-Class Mages were known for their vitality, so it was as saddening as it was mind-boggling to see how malnourished the Kinslayer before her was.

"I am sorry for fooling around, o Great Warrior," Ione said as she activated her Pacifer Seal. "You have done so much for our Clan, but we can only do something for you now. We won't make any excuse—we are embarrassed."

"This is… oh my Lord!"

The Kinslayer's eyes widened and he immediately let go of Ione. He stumbled to the back and fell down as she stared at Ione in disbelief.

"W-We didn't lose. W-We still can rise again!" he exclaimed heatedly before laughing in ecstasy.

"O Great Warrior, tell me your name," Ione said.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Milady. My name is Xander Phiteos, the former Legatus of Burning Hammer Legion. I am ready to once again serve the Pacifer Clan to atone for my failure in the past."

Ione smiled wryly at the heated statement. "It is very exciting to see the enthusiasm, but I am not your Master, so I can't do anything for you except for reclaiming you as part of the Clan."

"That is…" Xander looked at Ione expectantly.

"The Fated child has been born. It is time for us to reclaim our glory," Ione said neutrally but proudly.

"Finally … Finally!"

Xander clenched his fist and bit his lower lip emotionally. His eyes welled up as he thought about the sufferings he and his comrades had suffered in the past.

He had been living while cursing the Church and the Empire every day expecting he wouldn't live long enough to see the day they reclaimed their glory, so the piece of information that Ione had presented him really made him grateful for not giving up.

"Milady, may I ask you if you have been looking for all of us? I reckon I have sensed those people's presence a few months ago," Xander asked as Ione deactivated her Pacifer Seal.

"We have spent two years marking and tracking the Dungeons where all of the Warriors are entrapped. It was only a week ago did My Lord decide that it was time to free all of the Warriors from their cages and end their sufferings."

"For The Lord to decide to do that… does that mean…?"

"Yes, the war with our enemies is closing." Ione noticed the solemn look on Xander's face, so she assured, "Our new Lord, young as he is, is formidable. He is prepared and I am sure, under his leadership, we will get the triumph that was taken from us years ago."

"Ah, I don't doubt our Lord's capability in the slightest, Milady. I was just wondering if my fellow Warriors still have that burning passion in them."

Ione looked at Xander in surprise and then smiled sourly. Xander immediately shook his head bitterly and scolded himself inwardly for bringing up something that ruined the mood.

"Standing on the battlefield with the Fated Child will bring me back to the time when I fought on the Lord's side, surely, but it will not be the same. The blade in my heart has become blunt and I can no longer fight because of that," Ione said solemnly.

"Was that what they said?" Xander asked, earning a nod from Ione. "A lot of us lost the blade in our heart when we heard The Lord had fallen. It was as heartbreaking as it was saddening to hear the person whom we had thought was invincible end up like that."

Sighing forlornly, he added, "Similar but different ... I have been in that phase; however, unlike them, I managed to pull through it." Shaking his head, he turned to Ione and asked, "What should I do next, Milady?"

"You have to regroup with the others without getting out of the Dungeon and wait for our Lord to see you."

Hearing that, Xander was taken aback and bemused. Instead of talking much, Ione asked Xander to bring her to where the Sealing Sword was located.

Being a Ninth Circle Mage, whose ninth Magic Circle had been cruelly destroyed, Xander immediately figured out what Ione would do. He brought Ione to the room where the Sealing Sword was located and watched as she pulled it out.

Activating the Runes carved on the sword, she opened one of the hidden paths in the Dungeon. She told Xander to follow along the path and the said veteran immediately complied.

After a certain amount of time spent walking through the path, he was reunited with his comrades who hadn't lost the blade in their hearts. Like him, they couldn't wait any longer to see their new Lord and return to the surface.