The two of them gently lowered the corpse to the ground at the same time.
After spending some effort to drag all three bodies into the hidden chamber, Roland and Hela began making their way deeper into the stronghold.
Hela showed no mercy as she cut down every cultist they encountered man or woman, young or old. If they crossed her path, she killed them without hesitation.
Roland, on the other hand, suspected the High Priest might be nearby, so he refrained from engaging directly. Instead, he maintained a high frequency of life detection, searching for the High Priest's presence.
Persistence paid off.
After Hela efficiently dispatched a patrol squad, Roland who had been maintaining his scan suddenly halted. After probing a few key locations, he finally located a third-ring life signature.
Looking up toward the direction where the High Priest was hiding, Roland muttered quietly,
"Found him. He's really here. Hela, use the scrolls and alchemical potions."
At his words, Hela gave a slight nod. With her left hand, she wiped the blood from her longsword. Then she produced a bottle of alchemical potion, uncorked it, and poured the red liquid over her blade.
The moment the red potion touched the sword, it was immediately absorbed, fusing seamlessly with the weapon. As the entire potion was consumed, the black blade took on a temporary enchantment, its surface laced with intricate crimson veins.
Next, Hela drove the weapon into the ground beside her and pulled out a second potion, this one yellow. Without hesitation, she drank it in a single gulp. Then, without pause, she retrieved three spell scrolls from within her cloak and activated them with her own magic.
As the effects of the alchemical concoctions and the scrolls took hold, Hela's mind grew sharper, and a surge of stamina began flooding her body. Her skin gradually turned a stony yellow, and a layer of stone-like protection formed over it. At the same time, a shimmering, transparent barrier flickered briefly around her form.
While Hela was preparing, Roland wasn't idle either.
Aside from enchanting his weapon as well, his preparations were of a different kind.
Roland focused mainly on internal alchemy, downing seven different potions in quick succession. With practiced control, he used his magic to harmonize and balance the substances within his body.
He had prepared thoroughly in advance and rehearsed the sequence of potions, so within minutes, both of them were battle-ready.
At last, they exchanged a glance. Confirming they were both prepared, Roland took the lead, heading in the direction he had detected the life signature. Hela followed close behind, her grip steady on her longsword.
Not wanting to waste the duration of the alchemical effects, they advanced with brutal efficiency following the straightest line to their target.
Their sudden, direct assault shattered the stillness of the stronghold.
The cult, being little more than a ragtag operation, couldn't muster any meaningful defense. Only a few patrols or zealots too crazed to care threw themselves forward, dying swiftly in vain attempts to resist.
Roland and Hela carved a blood-soaked path straight to the High Priest's location.
There, in the center of a wide plaza, the High Priest stood atop the altar. He wore a dark golden mask, a flowing robe, and held a black staff. His cold eyes regarded the intruders as they stepped through the gate.
Roland met the High Priest's gaze and, without hesitation, flung out a prepared spell scroll.
Third-ring Spell - Celestial Veil.
A vast area spell erupted instantly, and in the blink of an eye, the entire plaza was plunged into darkness.
Thick, ash-gray matter, like the folds of a heavy curtain, enveloped the space, cutting it off entirely from the outside world.
Then, the rest of the scrolls activated in quick succession.
Third-ring Spell - Frozen Tempest.
Third-ring Spell - Bladed Wind.
Third-ring Spell - Storm of the Mind.
Third-ring Spell - Wind of Death.
The four third-ring spells detonated simultaneously under Roland's precise control, quickly engulfing the entire plaza.
When the spells finally subsided, everything was covered in blackened frost except for the altar and the small space where Roland and Hela stood. Nearly all of the cultists gathered by the High Priest had been annihilated. Only a handful of personal guards near the altar had narrowly survived.
As the magic faded, the High Priest lowered his staff, and the gray barrier shielding the altar vanished.
He stared silently at the frozen corpses of his priests and soldiers, his grip tightening on the staff.
Though clearly enraged, his fury was tinged with hesitation as he considered Roland's extravagant use of five third-ring spell scrolls in one go.
Scrolls of that caliber were not cheap. Typically, a mage could only craft scrolls one level below their own. The sheer number of third-ring scrolls used here implied either a powerful fourth-ring mage backing them… or wealth beyond reckoning.
Either possibility was more than the High Priest wanted to provoke.
And so, he raised a hand to halt his remaining guards from attacking and said coldly,
"You two. Leave now, and I'll pretend none of this happened."
But Roland and Hela didn't bother responding.
Without breaking stride, they began moving toward the altar. Roland, especially, unleashed scroll after scroll without pause.
Though he refrained from using more third-ring spells, his barrage of first- and second-ring scrolls was relentless. On average, a scroll detonated every five seconds.
By the time he'd taken just a few steps forward, Roland had already used over twenty spell scrolls.
Realizing that Roland was fully intent on killing him, the High Priest's expression darkened. He raised a protective barrier to absorb the incoming magic.
Then, without warning, he turned to his remaining guards and struck.
Black tendrils erupted from his back, impaling their hearts and draining the life from their bodies in an instant. Dark elemental energy surged into the corpses, beginning the process of transforming them into undead.
These guards had been specially cultivated by the High Priest precisely for this purpose: to serve as undead soldiers when the time came. As such, the transformation met no resistance. Empowered by the altar, they swiftly converted into first-ring undead warriors.
With a command from the High Priest, the newly created undead soldiers charged down the steps, fanning out as they launched their assault on Roland.
Roland was hardly surprised by this.
In fact, if he hadn't opened the battle by clearing the plaza with area magic, they would have faced far more undead.
Every one of the frozen corpses could have been raised into undeath.
But by killing them with spell craft, Roland had purged the dark elements that the High Priest had embedded in their bodies. Without that, even if the High Priest tried to reanimate them, all he'd produce was ordinary undead cannon fodder not first-ring elite undead like his personal guards.