Even though their goal was to make a quick move, the mages weren't the only ones who were caught off guard by the paladin's outburst. On the other hand, the high recognition of the Holy Light also allowed Alan Wingert to immediately confirm their identities, and dodged the attack with a completely reflexive flashing technique.

But that doesn't mean he'll be able to get a head start. As soon as the mage broke out of the encirclement and stood firm, the Shadowhunter caught his position. A galloping arrow interrupted the mage's chanting, forcing him to convert the spell into a protective spell, and then hurriedly threw a trap to stop the warrior from rushing in front of him.

Dinen stopped before the flask hit the ground, and the next second, the poisonous mist that exploded enveloped the space in front of him. He held his breath and rolled backwards, trying to bypass and find another path to approach the mage. But Alan Wingert made a gesture, and the doors of the closest row of cages to them slammed open. Some didn't move, but many more roared and rushed out, driven by their bloodthirsty nature, to the nearest living.

Albert had seen enough of these deformed beings, and he knew that he would not be able to catch up with the nimble mage, so he did not hesitate to shift his target. The Light responded to his rising rage, and the gloomy hall was half illuminated, and everyone and non-human took a few steps back in front of the dazzling light, including his companions with subtle expressions.

But immediately Dinen noticed that most of the monsters had turned their attention to him, and the warrior who realized that he was being treated as a soft persimmon was furious, and sneered and raised his twin swords to meet the enemy.

These test subjects who have been transformed by various spells have extraordinary agility and strength, coupled with their nightmarish appearance, which is undoubtedly a disaster for ordinary people. But it's nothing to mention in the face of a war machine. In particular, they are not carefully cultivated soldiers, but just a motley army mixed with many failures, some of which are even so chaotic that they can distinguish between friend and foe. Dinen sneered and dodged the headless tentacles, then methodically chopped them up in turn, not even for a minute.

The last of the group tripped over him and fell into the green mist behind him, the corrosive poison instantly burning the flesh and skin on the surface. The skeletons that were still connected trembled reluctantly, and finally scattered to the ground with a thud.

Dineen admired the scene with a peaceful expression, and then smiled at the ugly mage through the gradually dissipating mist.

The mage flicked his sleeve in anger, and the vicious tone of his voice squeezed out of his twisted lips was more like a curse than a chant. They heard a series of cage doors opening, but this time Dineen didn't look behind them. He believed that Albert could solve the problem, and that it was his responsibility to get the most important source of the problem.

He and the troll looked at each other, then quickly surrounded him.

***

Alan Wingert was well aware of the extraordinary nature of his enemies. They are not adventurers who come for money and fame, nor are they righteous people who want to punish evil. The purpose of these people is very clear through that smile.

- I want you dead.

This is the only goal they seek, and there is no doubt that they are capable enough to achieve their ends. On that side, the paladin held the test subject firmly behind, and the battle was stalemate but steady. The trolls on this side insidiously countered his necromancy, and the warrior chased after him with lightning speed, and it was clear that if he was approached, he would not end much better than the scene he had just seen.

The mage could only curse his useless men in the bottom of his heart, and prayed with a series of vicious curses that they would soon see through the intruder's tricks and rush back. And now he has to rack his brains to delay time. Thankfully, the opponent lacks the means to strike from a distance, and the only hand crossbow that can be used has also been reduced by a few points due to distance and ammunition.

A series of flashes, stealths, phantoms, and intuition clashed fiercely with both sides. But the mage, who had devoted himself to the study of psychology, was keenly aware of the enemy's agitation.

Of course he should be agitated. Alain sneered in his heart. As soon as the little distraction they used to distract was over, the returning followers would be able to contain them inside and out, and then deal with them.

But wait...... What if he seized the opportunity?

If he waits for help to deal with the invaders, his prestige and power will undoubtedly be questioned. After all, there were not many of these enemies, and it was Alain himself who sent out most of them to investigate the riots. The only way to avoid this is to deal with the cultists before they return. A few minutes ago, the mage had been intimidated by the strength of these men, thinking that he could only stalemate and procrastinate, but now he sensed that his opponent was more impatient than he had expected, and quickly realized that this was a wonderful opportunity. He can use the flaws exposed by this eagerness to break the situation.

The mage immediately jumped into action. He calculated his spells more carefully, adjusting the pace of the battle. He paid a lot of money for this, and almost ended the battle early.

— but he did it in the end.

***

Although the roar was noticeably distorted by intense emotion, and the tone was eeriely like the barking of a beast, Albert was the first to distinguish Dinene's voice. His heart sank, and he jumped backwards, snatching a few seconds of space from the distance, and then turned his head to look.

Dinein, who had been chasing the mage, had stopped and stood in place, grinning like a beast, spitting out a violent stream of air from between his teeth, making a snorting sound. The muscles on his forehead were bruised, and the knuckles of the hand holding the sword were white from too much force, and it was obvious that he was trying to endure something.

The paladin instantly understood the reason - it was obvious that Dineh was affected by the other party's illusion. That's what Alan Wengert is trying to accomplish at the cost of an arm. Without Dinein's support, it would have been difficult for the Shadowhunter to completely suppress the mage without the weapons at his disposal, and he himself was entangled by these monsters and could not get out, and the tide of battle immediately turned against them.

And that's not going to be the worst.

"Calm down, brother!" Albert shouted in a raised voice, then threw a healing spell over. This behavior of his was completely out of habit, and the healing technique would not have much effect on the spirit, and even if it did, it would not be negative. But Dinein's reaction to this was unexpectedly violent, and he rolled sideways violently, dodging the holy light with unprecedented reaction speed, as if it were a deadly attack.

When those red eyes looked at him, Albert realized in despair that his partner seemed to think so, and that the worst he feared had become a reality.

Who keeps emphasizing the need to stay calm! The paladin cried out in a broken heart.

But it's useless to say anything at this point. That light apparently sparked Dinein's emotions on the verge of collapse, causing him to completely lose his ability to distinguish between friend and foe. Albert found himself in a flanked dilemma.

Fortunately, Ngas on the other side dragged Alan in time and didn't let the mage take the opportunity to add fuel to the fire. Then he shouted at Albert in a half-baked lingua franca: "Run!" Get back! ”

Albert wasn't sure what he meant by the withdrawal. There's no way he's going to leave Dineh here, and it might be even worse to withdraw, and God knows if the army in Nanhai Town has launched an attack. But at least the previous order made sense, he couldn't deal with the mad Dineh and the large number of undead monsters at the same time, and there was only one way to die if he continued to stand still.

If we made it back alive, Albert thought hatefully as he ran, I swear I'll figure out what the grudge is between Dinen and the Light!

He inadvertently made a circle, getting the undead monsters between him and Dinein, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it worked. Although Dining's target was clearly still him, he would not be polite to the undead who stood in his way. He fiercely cut straight into the enemy formation, and cut a path as neatly as chopping melons and vegetables. Although he was dealing with obstacles in front of him and not looking at the side, Albert felt the pressure plummet and a chill in the back of his neck.

…… This is not a contradiction.

He continued to walk in circles, hoping that the killing spree would allow Dinen to vent his anger a little and calm down. But it doesn't seem to have much effect. And the mage seemed to sense his thoughts, and did not release more monsters. The phalanx of the undead quickly thinned out, which made the speed of the warriors significantly increase. In the end, Albert had to stop and get ready to fight his partner.

The last time he fought Dineen was a few months ago in the Colosseum. At that time, he was very impressed by the skill of his partner. Even if the opponent has not recovered to the point of flexible movement, he can only stand in place and fight him, he will lose like a child who has just learned to hold a sword in front of Dineh.

And now he has to deal with Dining, who is in good shape and full of anger, and the difficulty is simply the rise of the founder. Albert tensed his nerves as much as he could. He knew that Dineh's fighting style was to crush his opponent with a stormy attack, and that blindly defending and killing himself were basically the same. He had to get ahead of him and stop Dinen's offensive before it could begin. Although he was not at all sure that he would be able to do it.

- And he did.

Albert himself was surprised when Warhammer stopped the two swords, after all, he and Dinein's reaction speed was very different. Tempered fighting nerves allow Dineen to make the most accurate judgments without thinking, and he often has to be a beat slower. But in any case, he did it, and Dinin didn't even have the intention of withdrawing to attack again, but instead pressed down the overlapping twin swords and began to compete with him for strength.

This is completely out of line with his usual style. Dineen doesn't like stalemates and prefers a quick resolution of the fight. Albert was puzzled, but the situation was in his favor after all. In terms of sheer strength, he was able to stalemate for a while. At first, he thought about using the stalemate to persuade a sentence or two, but then he found that he really didn't have the strength to speak. Seeing the warhammer pressed down little by little, Albert, who had planned not to use the Holy Light, felt that he was about to run out of patience.

But then Dinen looked up and looked at him.

- His eyes were clear, without the slightest trace of being incited and bewitched, and even with a slight smile.

Albert almost lost his strength at this glance, only to be pressed by Dineen to press the hammer to his chest in one go. The other party adjusted his direction slightly, and then gestured with his mouth: Use all your strength.

The paladin didn't know exactly what he wanted to do, but he guessed a few of his partner's goals. He gritted his teeth fiercely, and once again summoned the power of the Holy Light, and slammed the warhammer out!

The eruption was completely unblocked, Albert almost flashed to his waist, and Dinen flew straight out, and the landing point was ...... Alan Wingert's feet?

During the time of their stalemate, the Shadow Hunter, who was fighting the mage alone, was already at a disadvantage, and the identities of the prey and the hunter were completely reversed. The trolls struggled to cope and fled in all directions, while the mage was smugly in pursuit, defenseless against the two who were killing each other. So when Dineen fell to his feet, Alain, who had just escaped from the stealth technique, didn't even react, but instinctively took a step back. Before he could cast the spell again, the warrior had already grabbed his ankle and climbed up like a python, and the next moment, a strong smell of blood suddenly spread!

There was a sudden silence in the hall. After confirming that it was over, Dinen snorted, pulled his hand from the broken heart, grabbed the mage's robe and wiped it vigorously.

"So you're actually- why do you use your hands?" Seeing this, Albert forgot the question he was going to ask.

"It's just confusion."

"But the word 'revenge' is clearly written on your face."

Dineen looked at him for a moment: "Why are you always smart when it's out of place?" ”

“……”

Fortunately, by this time, Ngas had also walked to their side. He looked at the mage and nodded, "Good hunting." ”

Albert couldn't understand what he was saying, but he could tell from his expression and tone that the Shadowhunter wasn't all that surprised. Dineen shrugged his shoulders at his question.

"There's always a benefit to learning an extra language."

"Oh." The paladin then understood, so that roar was actually a troll word. No wonder it sounded so strange, "So, I have a reason to learn troll." ”

Worried about the situation outside, they simply cleaned up and evacuated here. The hallways and stairs were as silent as they had come. But when they opened the heavy metal door again, the sound of fierce fighting could be faintly heard.

"So the army of Nanhai Town has arrived." Dinen said as she looked at the troll. The Shadowhunter immediately understood.

"It looks like we're going down a different path. But don't worry, I'm not going to pick prey here. They won't even see me. N'Gash stepped back and hid himself in the shadows. His voice also became distant, "As for the debt between us, let's wait until the next time we meet." ”

Then the sound was gone.

Albert stared at the wall, completely unsure of how the troll had left: "I thought he and we were already friends." But it still sounds malicious.

"Trolls have special values, especially when it comes to hunting and sacrifice." Dineen motioned for him to continue upward, "I killed his prey and saved him." We offered him a blood sacrifice, but he didn't deliver the final blow, and he promised to leave here quietly, which I owe him. Next time he might take me as a prey, but he also knew my power and wouldn't decide to do so lightly unless he suffered great disgrace. So it's possible that we'll work together again as well. But friends? No, he and you are at odds. ”

As they spoke, they had already returned to the hall. There were traces of a fight, but judging by the small squad of soldiers stationed there, it was the living who won. Dineen and Albert slipped quietly through the corridor next to them, then exited the castle through the window.

Two hours later, they rushed back to the hotel in Nanhai Town. But it was uncharacteristically crowded, and there were even many people around the door to poke their brains inside, and there was no path to pass. Dineen's face immediately darkened, and Albert sighed and pulled someone over to ask him what had happened. His original intention was just to appease his partner who was in dire need of rest, but the other party gave them a completely unexpected answer -

"The village to the north has been attacked by orcs!"