The old woman's words and actions were very strange, but Messmer's response was even stranger. No matter how one looked at it, the leader of the Extinction Legion, known as the "Impaler," should not be someone who would show mercy to an old woman from the target race.
Perhaps noticing the doubts of the Aozaki sisters, Messmer thought for a moment before finally explaining.
"That old crone is a priestess of the horned people's god," Messmer carefully chose his words. "She has placed a curse on herself—or rather, she has offered herself as a sacrifice. If she dies at the hands of an invader, she will bring down the wrath of the horned god from the outside world, destroying the enemy."
"I don't fear any external deities of the horned people, but since this kind of trouble can be avoided, imprisoning this old woman until the end of her days is no problem at all."
So that's how it was. Truly, this primitive religious race, capable of turning others into living sacrificial vessels without remorse, was just as ruthless toward their kind.
Aoko nodded, not paying much attention to this matter. Instead, she continued following the army up the steps of Divine Tower, meticulously clearing out the remaining horned people in the city.
To her surprise, besides various horned warrior types, there were also some bizarre giant scorpions. Were these creatures also part of the Furnace Myriad?
Since arriving in the Shadowed Lands, Aoko and Touko had rarely conducted such large-scale and thorough searches of a region. Even the only dungeon they had explored yielded spoils that were merely barely useful.
But Divine Tower was filled with things. Aside from the special power-infused ores they collected under Rellana's guidance, there were also various amulets, weapons, and equipment crafted by the horned people.
Although neither Aoko nor Touko had any use for these items, Touko's obsession with collecting antiques made it impossible for her to resist. She carefully took everything she could carry, as happy as a rat that had fallen into a rice jar.
The entire purge of Divine Tower was nearly completed in less than a day. The city was already half-destroyed, and the remaining or returning horned people were few, completely incapable of resisting Messmer's well-trained forces.
Not to mention that every member of Messmer's army, including the Aozaki sisters, harbored no moral hesitation toward the horned people. After Aoko shared everything they had discovered in Bonnu Village—including the fate of the surviving Golden Child girl—this sentiment became even stronger. Even Rellana remarked, "It seems Prince Messmer has regained his former edge."
Just before sunset, Messmer's army finally reached the highest point of Divine Tower, standing before the sealed Tower of the Gods, Enir-Ilim, where they encountered the last remaining Divine Beast Lion Dance.
According to Rellana, these Divine Beast Lion Dances were horned warriors wearing the skins and crowns of their revered divine beasts. Through special summoning rituals, they borrowed power from external deities, becoming formidable combat units.
At one time, the horned people had many of these Divine Beast Lion Dances, each with varying levels of power. But in the end, they were all slain by Messmer, impaled on spears, and displayed along the roads as a warning.
This last Divine Beast Lion Dance was no exception. Its strength was no greater than those before it. In fact, due to the weakening of the divine vessel, its power was even less than the earlier ones.
A deity's power was not simply amplified by concentrating it into one vessel—there were limits to how much divine strength a single being could contain.
In front of everyone, the Impaler Messmer displayed his masterful combat skills and immense strength. No matter how the Divine Beast Lion Dance wielded wind, rain, thunder, or lightning, it could not escape the inevitable fate of being skewered like a lion kebab by the spear Messmer summoned.
The only constraint on Messmer was that he could not recklessly use his fire abilities. The only way to unseal Enir-Ilim's thorny barrier was with his flames, so he had to be careful not to burn away the Thorns of Rejection at the entrance of the Tower of the Gods.
At this point, the largest and last stronghold of the horned people in the Shadowed Lands had been completely purged by Messmer's expeditionary force. Marika's firstborn son had finally completed the mission his mother had given him. Now, he was ready to return home.
Break Line.
Messmer's army gathered once again in the military camp before Shadow Keep. Among them were various war machines and all eight Furnace Golems.
These absurdly powerful war weapons, which even the Aozaki sisters had once chosen to avoid, now stood in perfect formation, obediently awaiting their legion master's command.
The Chief Flame Knight and Rellana stood silently beside Messmer, but Aoko could tell they were both extremely excited. No matter how loyal they were to Messmer, these warriors and knights had been away from their homeland for far too long.
"I don't like wasting words," Messmer's voice echoed through the camp, and every expeditionary soldier focused intently on his words. "But there is no doubt—we have completed the mission given to us by Mother. It is time to go home."
A slight stir ran through the ranks, but it quickly subsided. These battle-hardened soldiers had long since steeled their hearts.
"Now, the Elden Ring is shattered. The disloyal traitors wage war among themselves," Messmer swept his gaze across his army. "A madman of unknown origin occupies the royal capital, Leyndell, and even Queen Marika herself is trapped deep within the Erdtree, unable to speak."
"Therefore," Messmer's calm voice carried an undercurrent of rage, "it is time to bring death upon the traitors… The only thing awaiting them is destruction!"
As Messmer's words fell, the expeditionary soldiers did not cheer or roar in anger. Instead, with perfect synchronicity, they drew their swords and staffs, raising them high into the sky, silently expressing their burning fury.
"It is time to depart," Messmer nodded toward Aoko and spoke. "Open the passage."
Aoko floated into the air, raising the Scarlet Staff in front of the army. A massive surge of magical power flowed into the miniature universe at the staff's tip. A pitch-black, spherical void appeared before them, expanding steadily until it surpassed the height of the Furnace Golems, then gradually stopped.
Messmer took the lead, stepping into the dark void. Rellana, the Flame Knights, and the disciplined expeditionary soldiers followed in turn.
Finally, as the six Furnace Golems also entered the portal, Aoko, and Touko stepped through as well, leaving behind two Furnace Golems to guard Shadow Keep.
The entrance to the dark portal closed over the Shadowed Lands. Once a heavily fortified city, Shadow Keep now stood empty, its master leading the legion on yet another campaign.