Chrysalis Chapter 1730 - Monstrous Weight

The War Bishop positioned himself among his soldiers, standing side by side with the comrades he shared beds, meals, drills, and battles alongside. Survival wasn't assured for every one of them that day, yet it remained the essential toll required, and each was prepared to shoulder it fully.

Sacrifice served as the solid bricks and mortar forming the bedrock of the Path. This reality had endured ever since the era of Ascension, and it would continue until that era returned once more.

On the left and right flanks stood the warriors supplied by Green Mountain, each group commanded by a Marshal, while the Judgement Battalion held the virtuous core. United, they created a formidable and unbreakable barrier that the ant would have to breach if it sought triumph.

Without question, it would attempt to overwhelm them with the spell recounted by the captives, a devastating force that pinned them to the earth or hoisted them skyward, rendering them powerless. Graham wouldn't have led his followers into the Dungeon without countermeasures ready for such magic.

Provided they could endure that crushing force—which they ought to—the beast would then face them head-on. The horde it commanded might add some difficulty, but Graham felt certain his forces could handle the threat.

In the end, he had undergone training since youth to confront monsters. Mere ants and humans stood no chance against him and his fellow warriors.

Near the Dungeon's entrance beneath Green Mountain city, the passage opened vast, spanning more than a kilometer in width and reaching hundreds of meters in height. It made a perfect assembly point for a massive army venturing deep, yet also an excellent spot for waging war.

The ants' need to advance from below only boosted the terrain edge for Graham and his troops. Though he doubted that edge would prove decisive. To an ant, the ceiling was simply another surface to traverse.

As the enormous ant drew near, Graham sensed the fervent clarity of his belief ignite inside him, flaring ever more intensely with every second. He realized his companions would experience the identical surge, their Classes bound to their devotion, unleashing a strength that surpassed the individual.

In the far distance, a shift occurred, making all nine thousand soldiers stiffen as the ant ascended into the sky, continuing its advance but no longer treading the floor. From that elevated position, it gazed down upon them with near-arrogant disdain.

If it chose to limit its own movement for dramatic effect, Graham offered no objection.

“Hold,” he cautioned his nearby comrades, and they steadied themselves before relaying the order across the lines.

Revealing their strategy prematurely might drive the entity to escape, leaving no way to pursue it. They could only engage fully once it committed entirely.

Even at several kilometers distant, the ant halted its approach, though activity stirred somewhere below it.

They held their breath in anticipation as a solitary human shape advanced toward them, striding fearlessly toward the assembled host while the ant loomed threateningly afar. As the figure neared, Graham discerned finer traits. Cloaked in a hood, yet featuring elongated extensions sprouting from the head, the individual donned garments reminiscent of a Path Priest's attire. With a pallid complexion and a brief, somewhat unkempt brown beard, the man might have appeared commonplace, save for his gaze.

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That gaze burned with frenzied intensity. With loyalty. With obsession. With Faith.

Graham recognized such eyes from past encounters, frequently reflected in his own mirror.

A ripple through the formation allowed Alir to press forward and position himself beside Graham, even as the nearing form remained two hundred meters off.

“That’s the heretic,” Alir whispered sharply. “Church informants report this individual disseminates false doctrines and heresy wherever he travels. A bounty persists for his capture or death.”

The War Bishop inclined his head gradually to acknowledge the information.

“Th-that’s it? Aren’t you going to kill him now?” Alir pressed.

“We should listen to his message first. Since he arrives alongside the ant, he will perish in the impending clash. I shall ensure that outcome.”

Heresy against the Path. An utterly horrific and irredeemable offense.

Graham faced the Grand Priest.

“Are you staying at the forefront?” he asked.

Awareness dawning of his location, Alir startled and pivoted, shoving his way rearward again.

“Greetings!” a voice rang out, echoing massively through the passage with commanding power. Continuing his advance, the robed man lifted a hand. “I salute you on behalf of the Colony!”

Something compelling resonated in that tone, pulling at the emotions of all listeners. This was a skilled orator of high Level, a master of rhetoric and persuasion.

“Relay orders to our allies. Ensure they ignore this man's words,” he directed, and a runner dashed off moments later to comply.

Judgement Battalion members had training against such influences, but he held no guarantees for the rest.

“Advance no further,” he commanded. “Deliver your words.”

The figure halted, then inclined in a bow, his antennae swaying as he straightened.

“My name is Beyn Naligic. Once, I served as a Priest of the Path, and I hold utmost admiration for the Judgement Battalion's devoted members.”

Pleasing phrases, yet tainted from a heretic's lips. Graham tempered the holy blaze in his heart. The moment hadn't arrived.

“We claim no regard from one who has strayed so deeply,” he countered. “Relay whatever your aberrant overlords commanded, then depart.”

“I follow no lord but the authentic creed!” the heretic proclaimed, his eyes alight with fervor. “The renewed Path unveiled to me via a profound miracle!”

The man ignited swiftly. Mere lines of speech and his tone thundered against the tunnel's rock surfaces.

“YES. THE GREAT ONE HAS SPOKEN TO ME AND DECREED THAT I, BEYN, PASS ON THEIR WONDROUS WORDS! YOU HAVE BEEN EXTENDED GRACE BY THE GREAT ONE!

“SURRENDER YOURSELVES, AND YOU WILL BE SPARED GREAT PAIN! RESIST, AND YOUR LIVES CANNOT BE GUARANTEED!”

With that, the former Priest regained composure, his chest rising and falling from the intensity of his fervor.

“What say you?” he demanded hoarsely.

Graham shook his head. This soul had succumbed to insanity.

“There will be no surrender.”

The man, Beyn, nodded with regret.

“I feared as much. Then, I bear additional words for you.”

Afar, the colossal ant gradually turned midair, orienting away from the forces.

“The Great One requests that you kindly avoid death.”

Uttering this, the heretic spun about, gathered his robe's edge, and dashed swiftly down the passage.

“SHIELDS!” Graham roared.