Small villain's Viewpoint

Chapter 26

"I thought you drop dead?", Michael scoffed at the glaring cleric, his eyes as condensending as ever. "Too bad, I'm still alive", Julius retorted, looking down at the man sitting on the rocky pathway. Michael merely snorted, ignoring the cleric's mocking gaze.

"Sir......I'm sorry......I'm really sorry...."
Siam rushed towards him, crying, he looked really agrieved. "It was my fault.....",the half elf began wailing, like a lost child. "No. It's not your fault. In fact, if a certain person only acted like a proper mature adult, my condition shouldn't have gone worse. So don't blame yourself", flustered, the priest placated the crying Siam. He is not used to seeing people cry over him, it just made him feel awkward.

"I was trying to help you", Michael responded nonchalantly. The scene beside him is nauseous, it is better to leave before his eyes began to rot. "Help me? To what? Die faster?", the priest scoffed. If his help comes in the form of unabashed hostility, he'd rather not have it. "Next time, just leave me alone. My chances of surviving will be much higher", sneering, Julius' eyes were icy. His respect towards his baggage is continuing to decline the more he interact with him.

If it weren't for the children, he would have left him here inside the tower. Ingrates like him are more tenacious than normal people anyway, so he'd probably be able to adapt if he live here. "Sure. I'll do that", Michael agreed, acting like he had just lost an annoying burden. "Then please stay away from me from now on. It will be my pleasure not to see you around me", Julius smiled, this agreement was the most peaceful conversation that they ever had.

Julius was the first to leave, he could not endure the stifling silence between Siam and that pest. He still need to discuss the plan with his brother. Julian rushed towards him the moment he sees him, embracing his elder brother. His emotion was too unstable right now. "What.....Julian-", shocked, Julius tried to push the knight away, but his strength was much weaker that Julian so he remained locked in his brother's  arms.

"Please forgive him, Sir Julius. He is currently experiencing extreme mood swings. Silica tower is a bit special, its more malicious than the usual ones. Its easier for people to be affected. I'm sure your aware of it. Since a malicious artifact resides here, the tower could cause people to lose their self control", Ruiz followed his friend, it seems that he was monitoring Julian.

"So you knew Silica tower is like that, yet you still entered it?", Julius frowned. This Ruiz guy is basically a ticking bomb. If he went insane, this raid will turn into a disaster. A warrior of that caliber berserking amidst your group during a crucial raid can be fatal. It could only lead to a worse case scenario.

"Of course. That's why I have this", shaking a golden purse, containing a holy amulet. Exclusively used by elite class exorcist, it was an item used to kill high tier demons. It was very effective on people who are in the verge of mental collapse as well. Julius was lost for words. How did this lunatic even managed to posses a golden purse? Only elite church members could carry them. Since the creation of such amulet was hard, only a few high ranking priest have them.Which poor person has been robbed?

"Where did you even get that?" Julius was sure that no church will ever sell a holy amulet, even to an aristocrat. "This? I got this from Bishop Franco. He was very happy to lend it to me. I'm pretty sure it is still effective, since he added new strands of his hair inside the purse", Ruiz was smiling very brightly. At this point, Julius could only pray on Bishop Franco's behalf, he must have been reluctant to lend such a personal item, but the other person is the kingdom's mad dog, so the poor priest don't have much of a choice. "Ah right. I heard that the more hair strands was wrap around the amulet, the holier it will become. Can you lend some of yours?", Ruiz had an expectant look.

"No. Leave my hair alone", Julius flatly rejected. This psycho had no shame. "Brother, please let me go",Julius patted his brother's back, he cannot stay like this. "No", Julian refused to let go. "We still needed to discuss our next plan. I'm still alive, so please calm down already", Julius felt suffocated, this arm lock is squeezing his lungs. He remembered Jade's warning, he shouldn't be exerting himself too much, he could potentially die. "Sorry", ashamed, the house head loosen his arms, he had lost his self control. "It's fine",Julius dismiss it, successfully diffusing his brother's embarrament.

"The next trial will be hard. There should be a huge temple at the end of this rocky path. Gather all the clerics. We will be blessing your army's weapon with holy property", Julius pointed at the rocky pathway. "Well start moving, we cannot stay here much longer", Ruiz nodded in agreement. Towers are unpredictable, this place could be attacked by monsters if they stay at a single location.  

"Hey someone go get Hurial!!!", Ruiz yelled at the nearby raiders. The raiders needed preparation as well. They would be essential for the next trial. "Ok gather here!!!!", Hurial immediately took the lead. Most of them were veterans, they knew that devising plans were crucial for raids, so they were the easiest to talk to during the meeting.

"For the next trial, I expect everyone to cooperate. I don't want anyone acting stupid, it could cost us our lives, so please don't go acting like heroes. Please use your brains to adapt to sudden situations."

"The next trial will commence the moment we step in inside the temple. Inside, we will be swarmed by lamias and minotaurs, so have your weapons blessed by the clerics. Lamias are easy to kill, but they are poisonous so avoid getting scratch by them."

"The knights will deal with the minotaurs. Create a barrier that will protect the party. The raiders will deal with the lamias. Hellhounds might appear as well, so be more cautious, we needed to swept them away the moment we step inside"

"The clerics will provide support in the middle. Purify anyone who got bitten by the hellhounds, be careful not to turn into a ghoul"

"Inside, a square platform is situated in the middle, that's where the stone tablet is placed. It is a device that is needed to be enchanted. It is the key to open the temple's underground exit, that is where the artifact is hidden."

"Its easy to open it, but the problem is the monsters' swarm. Four statues situated on north,east, west and southern part of temple held summoning devices, its the reason why monsters will keep on spawning not until those are destroyed."

" In order to destroy the summoning devices, it must be dismantled at an order. The northern statue, followed by the eastern statue, the Western statue and lastly the southern statue. The order cannot be reversed, since the devices are designed to react to its counterparts, thus making it indistructable."

"Four separate party will be form, it just needed two people to dismantle the devices. It would be easy; as long as the purple power crystal is destroyed, the device will automatically stop. The other person will be the one to use light magic to signal the next party and provide protection"

"The rest will protect me and Jade as we enchant the stone tablet. Surround the square platform as we focus on the enchantment, buy as time. As long as the exit opens, the summoning devices will be destroyed as well. So its either we open the gate first or raiders destroy the devices first; that is the only way to stop the monsters from swarming."

"I hope no one dies"

Julius sighed. Its a relief that the party is more willing to listen to him now, it was a nice change. On the other hand, Jade is shaking at the back nonstop, wondering why Julius decided to drag him over, he could have chosen a better partner, someone who is good at combat if he needed a protector. Someone as feeble as him will be the first to die if a hellhound jump at them.

Why him......

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Thanks for reading......