"TCH!" Seth clicked his tongue in annoyance as he pushed himself back up to his feet, tightly clutching his cutlass.
Instead of immediately rushing back towards White Flame for another attack, he distanced himself from the flickering figure.
Seth arrived beside Orion and Fifi.
"Although he isn't that strong, I can't seem to penetrate that body of his with my blade, no matter how hard I try," Seth said.
He briefly focused on the armoured woman before shifting his gaze towards Orion and Fifi.
"Yes, we've been having that issue too. Whenever our weapons feel like they could break through his defence, they stop at the last second. We've tried everything, but no matter how much strength or method we apply, nothing seems to work well enough to get through his defences," Iris explained immediately.
"Then that means we will have to leave here as soon as you can," Seth responded with a frown.
He had no intention of fighting against an opponent with an impenetrable shell, as that would only deplete his energy—an outcome he wanted to avoid.
Despite wanting to issue orders on how to handle the situation and quickly find Saria to leave this place, given that they couldn't defeat the 'god,' he had lost the leadership role to Orion. The final decision was now left for Orion to make.
"The only thing we can do now is quickly go and rescue Saria to get out of here as quickly as possible. Since the 'god' is imprisoned in here, there's no way it would be able to once we're out," Seth added with a solemn expression, still offering his suggestion.
Hearing his words, although Iris didn't understand the rest, she still grasped the unknown man's meaning. "Bang!" Iris collapsed on her knees, the armour around her kneecap caving inward as the upturned grassy soil settled around her legs.
"Mr. Orion, please, I beg of you… Help us! If we don't get the chance to kill White Flame here, then the Prismerion race might never again have the opportunity to be free of this curse. I understand this is too much of a request and isn't your burden. However, given that you have also experienced the trials with us, I am sure you understand just how much this means to us…. Please… Foreigners from outside the mountain, help us," Iris pleaded.
Her two hands were dug deep into the grassy soil, gripping it tightly, and her forehead firmly placed on the ground.
Following that, as though the rest of the Crystalforge Clan warriors had heard her words, Orion watched as they all went down to their knees one by one, positioning themselves the same way as Iris, with their hands still tightly grasping their weapons.
"Foreigners that came from outside the mountain, please help us!"
"Foreigners that came from outside the mountain, please help us!"
"Foreigners that came from outside…"
One by one, their shaky, unwavering voices rang out loudly in the air.
As Orion and the others listened to their voices, he immediately understood that the warriors before him were not just individuals who had risked their lives for the trial because they had been trained to do so but individuals whose backs had been pushed against the wall for generations. Now, with the only opportunity they had to free themselves right within their grasp, even if the chances were slim, even if they needed a miracle, why—
Why should they let it pass?
As far as they were concerned, the moment they stepped into the upper region of the mountain, there were only expected results: defeat White Flame and release the curse that had been placed upon the Prismerion race, or die and forever accept the fact that they would never be able to leave this mountain.
Another thing other than that... was unacceptable!
Orion focused his attention on Fifi, who shook her head with a sigh escaping her lips, signifying that this was a decision he needed to make.
He then shifted his attention towards Seth, who snorted at his gaze, "I've already given you my opinion. As the leader, the remaining decision is left for you to make. Just remember that due to the importance of this mission, failure to rescue Saria and return her safely to the Village is not an option. As such, in case you don't want to make one of the most haunting and damaging mistakes of your life, I advise you to think about this wisely, Leader Orion," Seth said, ending his sentence with a huge grin.
If Orion makes a stupid decision that would put them all in trouble, then no one would be able to refute it if he regains his leadership of this mission. Furthermore, he could use it as a valuable excuse against him in case Orion reports the issue about what happened yesterday to the Village's key figures.
Orion understood what Seth was thinking as he wasn't even bothered to hide it. Regardless, it would be his fault for giving him such an opportunity since this was his decision to make.
"Why are you humans helping these filthy invaders?"
A cold, emotionless voice rang out in the air, sending a shiver down the spines of the bowing Crystalforge Warriors. This was the third time they had heard White Flame's voice, but this time, it carried a tone of both curiosity and disdain.
Meanwhile, Orion and the others turned their heads toward his direction, immediately fixing their attention on him. His body was still flickering with White Flames as he hovered in the air; however, his humanoid form gave him an even more strange and unnatural presence as he focused on them and the other warriors still waiting at the cave entrance.
"Did you forget the day that they tore into our world, reaped our lands away from us, planted our bodies like seeds under the soil so that they could rid us from the surface of the earth? They did all this and many more without the slightest bit of regret or shame, and now you stand with them?"