Just as Locus said, the stronghold was filled with Valkyrie's eyes and ears, and they would not let go of the news of Jenn's return. Soon, the news was passed to the commander of the Valkyrie army stationed in the rear.
This guy actually came back?!
Looking at the report in front of him, Pan De sighed helplessly.
The entire upper echelons of the Valkyrie hated Jenn to the core and demanded his arrest. Even if he was killed, it did not matter. They wanted to see him alive or dead.
But for the real frontline soldiers, they were actually not willing to provoke this malefic.
Not because of anything else, but because Jenn's previous brutal massacre was too terrifying.
An entire formation of guards was killed by him to the point that there were less than ten people left, and even a strong person like Gustav was turned into a pile of meat paste.
The nobles of the Valkyrie were very happy. They did not think that even Gustav, the strongest person in the Valkyrie, was dead. If they, who were not even in the legendary level, went there, wouldn't it be like sending food to Rhode?
And because of this, the soldiers of the Valkyrie army who were really in charge of guarding the portal were actually very unwilling to meet this malefic.
At that time, Jenn had killed so many people, and there were also holy knights and mercenaries present. In addition, the people who dealt with the corpses were the Valkyrie's own people. Of course, they knew how terrible the situation inside was.
They collected more than two hundred corpses, but not a single one was intact. All the corpses were missing arms or legs, and the neat incisions showed that they were not smashed, but cut off.
Just this point alone was enough to make the soldiers tremble. Dying without a complete corpse was simply the most terrible punishment.
They could not imagine what kind of pain their comrades were in when they died.
Moreover, the Valkyrie and Jenn had a completely personal grudge. Jenn did not invade their country, nor did he kill their relatives.
Even if there was a conflict, it was the nobles who provoked them first. In this case, no one would be willing to let these soldiers die for the meaningless pride of the nobles.
Previously, the guards were just blinded by the killing. After the few who survived came back to their senses, almost all of them had a mental breakdown and became lunatics.
Under such circumstances, they were naturally unwilling to provoke Jenn.
Pan De originally thought that it would be best if the two sides could continue to be in a stalemate. When the Temple of Light left this place, he only needed to put on an act. Perhaps the young man would have already died in the Underdark.
But it was a pity that Pan De's prayers didn't work at all.
Just like that, Zayen swaggered out of the depths of the Underdark and came here.
The nobles would definitely react to this, but wouldn't they be the unlucky ones in the end?
Cursing and complaining was one thing, but things still had to be done.
In desperation, Pan De could only bite the bullet and lead hundreds of elite soldiers to the Temple of Light's stronghold.
Although the soldiers were unwilling, since the higher-ups had given the order, they could only carry it out, even if it meant death.
However, Pan De had already thought it through. As a soldier, he had to carry out orders from his superiors. However, if the Temple of Light overreacted and the young man really went on a killing spree …
If that was the case, he could just call his soldiers back.
When the nobles questioned him, he could just say that it wasn't that they didn't work hard, but that the other party was too strong. As for the rest of the problems, he would let the nobles worry about it.
The teleportation portal wasn't far from the stronghold, so it didn't take much effort for them to arrive outside.
But at this moment, Pan De was still hesitating about what to do. If he just barged in like this, it definitely wouldn't be appropriate.
If the Holy Church tried to stop him, it would only take a moment for that fellow to escape again.
By then, the higher-ups would only blame him for not capturing the young man properly and wouldn't think that the other party was too strong.
But …
"Sir!"
At this moment, a young man who looked like a mercenary quietly emerged from the shadows. Seeing his appearance, Pan De immediately perked up.
This young man who looked like a mercenary was the secret agent that Pan De sent to the stronghold to monitor Jenn's actions.
Now, it seemed that the other party had responded.
"How's the situation?
Where is that fellow? "
"Just now, he left with a group of holy knights and Sir Locus!"
"Damn it!"
Hearing this, Pan De couldn't help but curse inwardly.
If Jenn and Locus were together, then they really couldn't do anything.
They couldn't possibly rush to Locus's side, right? Wouldn't that be equivalent to declaring war against the Church of Light?
I didn't expect this fellow to be so cunning … Now, I don't know where they went.
If I enter the Gloomy Region rashly …
Pan De pondered for a moment with his brows furrowed, and then asked.
"Is there any other news?"
"Other news … Right, we found one of the women following him!
It's that Mage! "
"A female Mage?"
Pan De's eyes glinted in the face of this news. He remembered very clearly that in the information about Zayen, it was mentioned that he had two female attendants.
One of them was an Intermediate Mage and the other was a little girl.
And now, hearing that the female Mage was also there, Pan De immediately perked up. Indeed, he couldn't deal with a Legendary Mage.
But an Intermediate Mage wouldn't be a problem!
As long as he could defeat her, capture her, and bring her back.
Then those nobles would definitely be overjoyed. A female Mage, and a beautiful one at that … Pan De realized that this was a great opportunity.
"Where is she?!"
"She's outside in the tunnel."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Pan De was taken aback.
He originally thought that the female Mage would be by Jenn's side or in the stronghold.
But he didn't expect her to be alone in the tunnel. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him!
Just now, his follower had already reported that Jenn and Locus had left with the holy knights, and they probably wouldn't be back for a while.
Only this female Mage was left. Now that the stronghold's guards were empty, those mercenaries wouldn't go against the nobles. This was the best opportunity!
Thinking of this, Pan De immediately became spirited.
"Let's go!
Go and capture that female Mage! "
Under Pan De's lead, hundreds of soldiers rushed into the stronghold without hesitation. What surprised them was that not a single person was left behind to defend the stronghold. Not to mention the Holy Knights, even the mercenaries were gone. They didn't know where they went.
Only a few guards were left here to take care of the stronghold.
Seeing so many soldiers coming, the guards were shocked and hurriedly went forward to inquire.
But Pan De wasn't in the mood to care about these guards. He pushed them away and looked around for traces of the female Mage.
Soon, he found traces of her. It wasn't because Pan De was sharp, but because a young lady dressed like a lady in a lace cloak was simply rare in the Underdark.
In just a blink of an eye, Pan De found Elise who was walking to the other side of the tunnel entrance.
"Do it!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Pan De immediately gave the order.
And hearing his words, the soldiers didn't hesitate.
Soon, several soldiers holding crossbows sprinted out, aimed at the beautiful figure in the distance, and shot the crossbow in their hands.
Accompanied by the whistling sound of breaking through the air, several crossbow bolts quickly shot toward Elyse.
The young lady who sensed the crossbow bolts was obviously taken aback. But, after all, she was a high-grade Mage and had protection around her at all times.
A bright red halo flashed around Elise, and at the next moment, the crossbow bolts that were flying toward her were deflected by an invisible barrier.
"Go!
Capture her! "
Pan De was naturally mentally prepared for this, so Elise's reaction wasn't beyond his expectations. The reason why he launched a surprise attack on Elise from the beginning was to prevent her from chanting the spell.
To Pan De, an intermediate Mage was much easier to deal with than a legendary Warrior because Mages only relied on spells. As long as their spells ran out, they were no different from trash.
Compared to Warriors, they were much easier to deal with.
Seeing the soldiers pouncing on her, Elise revealed a panicked expression. Then, she flashed and dashed toward the depths of the tunnel.
"Go, we must capture her!
Don't let her escape! "
Seeing the young lady escape, Pan De immediately issued an order, and then the soldiers pounced on Elise like ferocious tigers.
If it were on the surface, then Pan De could capture her by surrounding her from all directions.
But the problem was that this was underground, and the unique characteristics of the underground tunnels made it impossible for them to block every gap along the tunnels. Not to mention that humans didn't know where these tunnels led to.
Therefore, Pan De had no choice but to attack head-on. After all, a young lady definitely couldn't run as fast as a well-trained Warrior. As long as she didn't have the chance to cast spells, she wouldn't be a big threat to them.
Pan De's idea was good, but the problem was that Elise wasn't an ordinary human girl. Her half-vampire physique made her several times stronger than humans in this aspect.
Whether it was speed or strength, it wasn't something that humans could compare with.
But at this moment, facing Pan De's capture, Elise seemed to be a little flustered. She ran around in the tunnel in a daze, trying to shake off the pursuers behind her.
But Pan De didn't let go of Elise and didn't let her shake him off at all.
And just as they were about to catch up with Elise, they discovered that the young lady turned around abruptly and ran into a tunnel at the side.
Looking at this scene, Pan De was even more excited.
He hurriedly rushed into that tunnel with the soldiers and continued to chase in the direction of Elise.
The entire tunnel was dark and narrow. But after several chases, Pan De had gotten used to the environment of the Underdark. He led the soldiers forward step by step.
Soon, they heard a burst of hurried footsteps from not far away. It must be that young lady's voice.
"Everyone, charge!"
Upon hearing the footsteps, Pan De became increasingly excited. He took the lead, raised the torch, and rushed into the tunnel ahead in the direction of the sound.
But at the next moment, Pan De's smug expression suddenly changed.
In front of him was no longer the dark and narrow tunnel from before. Instead, it was a wide space that looked like a square.
There were low buildings carved out of rock all around.
As far as the eye could see, Elise was no longer in sight. The young lady seemed to have disappeared completely.
This is …
Before Pan De and his soldiers reacted, they heard a roar. At the next moment, the gray dwarf army seemed to have drilled out of the ground and appeared in front of them.