Inside the underground palace, Lucian, gripping the longsword "Frost," darted through the corridor, leaving afterimages in his wake. Sophia, who had cast "Haste" on herself, followed closely behind, but neither could fully utilize their speed. They had to frequently stop to determine their direction, lest they go astray in the ever-shifting labyrinth.
"Don't take the door ahead, or you'll step on a trap and activate a terrifying Magic Circle," Sophia pointed towards the end of the corridor after carefully examining the nearby arcane patterns and comparing them to the map.
Lucian, who had figured it out twice as fast as her, frowned. "Then what should we do? Cracking the formation would waste too much time."
Sophia chuckled softly, her earlier panic seemingly completely gone. "Of course, we go around it. This isn't a trial of the Mages' Parliament testing one's mastery and deciphering of formations. Among those who entered, aside from me, how many actually understand Arcane Magic? They're just relying on collected intelligence and maps, fumbling their way forward. When they encounter dangerous formations, they either detour or wait for time to pass so the formation's position shifts on its own."
"Which takes longer, detouring or waiting?" Lucian felt like a "Professor" patiently guiding a student, using the ruins to test the young woman's judgment.
"Detour," Sophia answered without hesitation. "We'll enter this room; it connects to another corridor."
She pointed to a rosewood door a few steps away, a hint of pride in her expression—the pride of a spellcaster.
Perfect! Lucian murmured to himself, then took a few quick steps and carefully pushed open the door.
The Sun King's underground palace naturally suppressed sensory perception, and with Sophia nearby, Lucian couldn't expand his spiritual field.
The rosewood door was even heavier than Lucian imagined, almost comparable to the densest metal. As it slowly swung open, a foul stench assaulted them.
"Watch out!" Sophia warned urgently, only to see "Borlac" sidestep with almost no reaction time, as if he had been prepared.
She pointed her emerald wand, and a howling gale erupted, quickly dispersing the foul smell.
"Toxic gas?" Lucian asked, already knowing the answer.
Sophia nodded solemnly. "Probably someone passing through here triggered a Magic Circle. You need to be careful."
She watched as "Borlac," clutching the azure longsword, slipped into the room with a knight's stride.
Inside, the wardrobe, sofa, and desk were either severely damaged or overturned, as if a fierce struggle had taken place.
On the other side of the doorway, two young noblemen lay on the ground, their faces blackened, their hands curled like talons, with pools of vile liquid at the corners of their mouths.
"Poisoned?" Lucian recognized them as nobles who had followed Alten, one of whom had even awakened a bloodline ability.
A sharp gasp came from behind Lucian. Sophia had also spotted the two corpses, her expression darkening again. "They are Denis's cousins. I never thought they'd die here. No matter how this matter ends, your Plantagenet family is going to face enormous trouble. The combined power of so many noble families cannot be underestimated. You'll have to pay a tremendous price to appease their fury."
"Damn the conspirators, and the traitor families who collaborated with them!" Lucian cursed like a true member of the Plantagenet family, then slowly moved toward the two bodies, examining their wounds to determine what had happened to them.
Huh? On the chest of one corpse, Lucian noticed a distinct indentation. The size was not something a normal human could cause!
With a sudden thought, Lucian rolled sideways. Behind him, the sound of a wooden door shattering and a whistling rush of wind erupted.
"Steel Golem!" Sophia shouted the term to warn Lucian.
After rolling clear, Lucian pushed off the ground with his elbow, sprang up and spun around, and saw a two-person-tall golem forged from steel. Two cold red lights flickered in its eye sockets as it raised a giant hammer overhead and brought it crashing down.
Suppressing his impulse to cast "Infrasonic Resonance," Lucian moved nimbly, sidestepping the direct attack, gripping "Frost" with both hands, and hacked fiercely into the side of the hammer.
*Clang!* Amidst the ear-piercing clash of metal, the hammer was knocked far off course, but Lucian's hands went painfully numb, trembling slightly.
What terrifying strength!
The steel golem's power exceeded that of an ordinary Great Knight, making it hard for Lucian, wearing his Ogre's Strength Gloves, to withstand!
The creature seemed utterly unaffected. It swung its hammer in a wide arc, smashing towards Lucian's midsection.
Lucian's hands glowed with silver-white light. A layer of icy azure shimmered along the blade as he drew the sword back, bracing it against the hammer.
Around them, a fierce gale suddenly solidified, transforming into countless cyan blades that slashed into the steel golem. However, they only left shallow scratches on its silvery-white body.
Having little combat experience, Sophia seemed to have chosen the wrong spell on her first try!
*Clang, clang, clang!* The unaffected steel golem swung its hammer, repeatedly striking against Lucian's "Frost," producing deafening noises.
It had been a long time since Lucian had fought in close combat, especially against a steel monster that outstripped him in strength. The seemingly cramped room left no space for him to maneuver; he could only block each blow head-on, using the knightly techniques Natasha and John had taught him—retreating one step after each parry to alleviate the immense pressure.
The steel golem's strength was comparable to a peak fifth-rank Great Knight, and Lucian was struggling to parry its attacks, his situation precarious.
The more difficult the situation, the calmer Lucian became. Even though his hands trembled uncontrollably, he could still grip his sword firmly, blocking the golem's relentless assaults time and again.
The azure glow flashed continuously. A layer of frost gradually formed on the golem's hammer and body. Although it couldn't cause the creature any damage, it did slow its movements.