I, Yuhaka, am hungry!

However, before they could pull Yuhaka out of the pile of stones, Yuhaka's little head popped out from the pile of stones, and there was a stone on Yuhaka's head.

"OwO?"

Seeing the bewildered expressions on Claire and the others' faces, Yuhaka also expressed some confusion. After emerging from the pile of rocks, Yuhaka dusted off his clothes. Claire, standing nearby, looked at Yuhaka and said:

"Youyou, are you alright?!"

Hearing Claire's words, Yuhaka shook her head to indicate that there was no problem. Then Yuhaka looked around. They had fallen into an underground cavern somewhere, with several tunnels and some old, broken tools left behind.

"It looks like we've fallen into a deeper part of the mine."

Lindsay looked up at the empty space above and said this, Claire also looked up at the mine above and said:

"Yes, I wonder how Alice and the others are doing. But should we continue searching for the True Temple now? In those labyrinthine tunnels..."

After all, the interior of this mine has been dug by the miners into what looks like an ant hole. Not only has the tunnel been in disrepair for many years, but due to earthquakes, some passages are also at risk of collapsing. Getting lost would be a real headache.

Most importantly, they didn't know where the True Temple was.

Just as Claire and the others were having a headache, the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword in Yuhaka's hand suddenly turned into particles of light and then condensed into the shape of an adorable little girl who spoke to Yuhaka:

“Master, I know where the True Temple is.”

Hearing Esther's words, everyone present showed a surprised expression. Yuhaka looked at his contracted spirit and asked curiously:

Where?

Esther pointed in a certain direction and said:

"there."

Claire and the others were quite surprised to hear the conversation between Yuhaka and Esther. With questions in mind, they asked Esther how she knew the location of the True Temple.

"Yes, I know. Before this place became a mine, hundreds of years ago, when this mountain was a high temple serving the elves, I often came here before I was sealed in the sword."

After hearing Esther's explanation, Claire and the others understood why Esther knew about this place. After all, it was quite normal for Esther, as a high elf, to be worshipped by humans.

Claire also looked at Esther and said:

"Could you please take us there, Esther?"

Hearing Claire's words, Esther nodded and said:

"of course can."

Yuhaka, who was standing nearby, patted Esther's little head and said:

"Estelle, that's awesome! OwO~"

"Mmm~ Master, please pat Esther's head a few more times =w=~"

Touch~

After watching the interaction between Yuhaka and Esther, Claire and the others felt for some reason that something was about to drip from their noses, but it wasn't snot.

.................................................................................

While Estelle and the others were heading towards the True Temple, somewhere else...

Geo, leaning against a wall of ruins, watched with a bored expression as Alice, the Wind King's Knights, fought a large group of skeleton soldiers below. He said:

"I say, why are you wasting your time on these delicate young ladies? Why don't you just let me take care of them?"

On the wall above Geo, a black-haired girl, resembling a fallen angel, sat looking up at the sky and said:

"We don't need to waste our time on those lovely young ladies; we have an important task to handle right now."

Upon hearing the black-haired girl's words, Geo exclaimed "Huh?" with a puzzled look on his face. Wasn't their mission simply to liberate the strategic-class military Pokémon [Jormungandr]? Was there any other mission?

Soon, the black-haired girl saw a crow-shaped sprite fly onto her shoulder. After taking off a card-like object from the crow sprite's back, she smiled and said:

"Of course, it's a very important [task]..."

Chapter 675 [Arrival at the True Temple]

Seeing what the black-haired girl was holding, Geo looked at the mysterious card in her hand with a puzzled expression and said:

"Huh? What is that?"

Upon hearing Geo's words, the black-haired girl showed him something that looked like a card and said:

"This? This grants one the power of a Heroic Spirit~"

Upon hearing the black-haired girl's words, Geo's eyes lit up. As for his understanding of Heroic Spirits, Geo had heard that those Shadow Servants were incomplete versions of Heroic Spirits without their sanity, and that Heroic Spirits also possessed something like Noble Phantasms. This made Geo extremely eager for the cards in the black-haired girl's hand.

After all, being chased around like a duck by Yuhaka before had been incredibly humiliating for Geo, and he wanted revenge. The black-haired girl, seeing the desire in Geo's eyes, threw her card at him. Geo immediately caught the card, looking at the image of a knight wielding a lance on his own card, and raised an eyebrow, saying:

"Lancer? Why not Saber?"

Looking at the cards in his hand, Geo said this with a slightly disdainful expression. After all, Geo knew that among the Heroic Spirits, Saber was the strongest, while Lancer's strength was only second to Saber.

Seeing Geo's disdainful look, the black-haired girl gave him a mocking smile and said:

"You're disgusted? Fine then, give me back the cards and deal with that Holy Sword Wielder yourself."

Upon hearing the black-haired girl's words, Geo's expression immediately turned ugly. Although Geo wanted to throw the card back, he didn't want to do so. Without the power of the Heroic Spirit, Geo doubted whether he could defeat that little dwarf.

After all, his strongest ace, Rider, was defeated by Ehaka in one move some time ago. Even if Rider is a Shadow Servant of Heroic Spirits, it is impossible for her to be defeated in one go, right?

Then Geo put the cards in his pocket and said:

"Huh? Don't even think about it. Where has that Holy Sword Master gone?"

Hearing Geo's question, the black-haired girl knew that Geo wanted to get revenge, and she answered him truthfully:

"They must have gone to the underground True Temple, since that's the core location that controls the strategic military spirits."

After finding out where Yuhaka and the others were, Geo looked at the black-haired girl and said:

"Dark Elf, take me there. I want to show that Holy Swordsman my new Pova!"

The black-haired girl looked at Geo with a speechless expression and said:

"Are you a little brat who just got a new toy? Are you already so eager to show it off to the other kids?"

"Shut up! Take me there quickly!"

Seeing Geo's angry face, the black-haired girl helplessly spread her hands and said:

"Alright, I'll take you there, and I'll also explain the quest and how to use this card."

............................................................................

In the tunnels beneath the mine, Yuhaka and Esther were leading the way. Because the events were so long ago, Esther would occasionally find herself in a dead end, while Yuhaka would dig a large hole in the dead end that was blocking the way.

Seeing Yuhaka using Baradion, which he had transformed into a shovel, to dig a hole made Fiana feel ashamed of that spirit; a dignified spirit being used as a shovel by its own spirit master.

In less than half an hour, Yuhaka and the others arrived at a spacious area. Esther stopped in front of a giant wall, turned around, and looked at Yuhaka and the others, saying:

"Master, we are here."

Upon hearing Esther's words, everyone looked around with puzzled expressions. It was simple: they didn't see anything that resembled the True Temple.

"We've arrived??? But there's no road ahead!"

Claire looked around with suspicion. Unfortunately, in such a dark cave, Claire could not see any trace of the True Temple. Then Claire used the Fire Spirit Magic to illuminate the area above her, and immediately exquisite stone carvings appeared on the stone wall in front of them.

"These are... stone sculptures that look like the Five Great Elf Kings?"

Fiana looked at the stone carving in front of her and said, "The patterns of the five great spirit kings are often used as images for carving. The elemental spirit realm is also composed of attributes such as fire, water, wind, earth, and holy, and the five great spirit kings are the pinnacle of these five attributes."

Soon, after a rumbling sound echoed in the underground tunnel, the stone wall in front of Yuhaka and the others opened up, emitting a bluish-white light.

Seeing the open stone wall before her, Fiana clapped her fist as if suddenly realizing something and said:

"Oh! So this place is a secret door!"

Esther, who stood calmly to the side, also said to Fiana:

"Yes, this is a relic from the mythical era, which only high elves can open."

"As expected of Esther! She's amazing!"

Linslet clapped her hands and said this. Hearing Linslet's words, Esther also put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest which was slightly larger than Yuhaka's, and looked very proud. Yuhaka, who was next to her, patted Esther's head. Esther, who was being patted on the head by Yuhaka, immediately showed a comfortable expression on her face, closed her eyes and said:

"Master, it feels so good..."

Seeing this, Claire and the others blushed slightly, and Fiana quickly coughed and said:

"Ahem! Everyone, let's hurry inside. The strategic-class military sprite might be about to wake up."

Upon hearing Fiana's words, everyone quickly realized what was happening and walked into the stone gate.

Behind the stone wall lies an incredibly vast space. The floor is a single, polished agate slab, and the stalactites on the ceiling are inlaid with countless elven minerals. At the very center stands a temple crafted from precious metals and crystals. Although it cannot compare in scale to the grand temples on the ground, its solemn and majestic appearance far surpasses that of the temples on the ground.

Chapter 676 [The Spear Piercing the Deadly Thorns]

After Yuhaka and the others arrived at this True Temple, Fiana carefully observed her surroundings, nodded, and said:

"There's absolutely no mistake, this is the true shrine of the mine!"

Hearing Fiana's words, Linslet looked at Fiana curiously and said:

"Now, as long as Fiana performs the second sealing ceremony here, Kagura will have completed her mission, right?"

Fiana nodded in agreement with Linslet's words.

"However, before that..."

Fiana pointed to a clear little pool of water not far away and said:

"I must undergo a purification ritual to remove the impurities from my body."

Upon hearing Fiana's words, Claire and Linslet looked at themselves. It was inevitable to get dirty while walking in the tunnel, and Yuhaka and Esther, who were leading the way, were covered in dirt.

So everyone took a bath to wash away the dust and dirt. Yuhaka and Esther washed each other until they were clean and shiny.

After taking a bath, Fiana changed into a clean set of ritual attire and prepared to begin the second sealing ritual with Kagura.

At the same time, Yuhaka's ears perked up, and his little nose sniffed the air. Seeing Yuhaka's movements, everyone looked at him curiously and asked:

"What's wrong, Youyou?"

Yuhaka squinted and stared outside, saying:

"There's the smell of an enemy..."

Then Yuhaka reached out his hand to Esther, and Esther placed her small hand in Yuhaka's hand and complained: