The other elders were fighting valiantly as well, using their own unique sword techniques to defeat the fishmen. One of the elders had a technique that allowed him to create illusions, confusing the fishmen and allowing him to strike them down.
Despite their best efforts, the fishmen were numerous, and the battle was taking its toll on the elders. Kaelar knew that they needed to end this fight quickly.
"Use the Formation Technique," Kaelar shouted at the elders.
The elders nodded and quickly formed a circle, their swords pointed towards the center. Kaelar infused his own spiritual energy into the circle, and suddenly, a powerful vortex of energy formed, sucking the fishmen towards the center.
Kaelar and the elders struck simultaneously, their swords cutting through the air with incredible speed and precision. The fishmen were unable to escape the vortex, and one by one, they fell to the ground, defeated.
The last fishman lunged at Kaelar, but he was ready. With a swift strike, he delivered the final blow, and the fishman fell to the ground.
Kaelar and the elders stood in silence, their breathing heavy and labored. "That was just the first challenge," Kaelar said, looking at his companions. "We must be prepared for what comes next."
Shortly after the fishman fell to the ground, the pool of water disappeared, and water started filling the place once again. Kaelar and the elders looked around, catching their breath, and assessing the damage. The place was in shambles; broken swords, and torn fishman scales were scattered all around.
The statue's eyes glowed once again, and a deep rumbling sound echoed through the place.
"Congratulations, you have passed the first challenge. But the second challenge will not be as easy."
Kaelar frowned, wondering what kind of challenge the statue had in store for them this time. He looked around, trying to find a way to bypass the wall, but there was no apparent opening.
"Everyone okay?" Kaelar asked, turning towards the elders.
All the elders nodded.
"We're fine," Elder Shiro replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "But that was a tough battle. I didn't expect them to be so strong."
Kaelar nodded, his eyes still fixed on the big statue. He could feel a sense of unease building up inside him. They had come too far to fail now.
Suddenly, the statue began to move, and a loud grinding sound filled the air. The statue slowly sliding, revealing a dark, narrow passageway.
"Be careful," Kaelar warned as they entered the passageway. "Who knows what kind of traps or dangers we might face."
Eventually, the passageway opened up into a large, circular room. The room was dimly lit, but Kaelar could make out several strange symbols etched into the walls.
Then they saw two statues of Fishman, blocking the entrance of the maze.
Kaelar's heart sank as he realized the second challenge was a maze, and the statues were the guardians of the maze. He could feel the immense spiritual energy emanating from the statues.
The cultivation of each statue was early-stage Core Formation Realm, which made Kaelar serious, because each statue could easily kill the elders he was with right now. Although he was a late-stage Core Formation Realm, he couldn't take care of five people at once while fighting the two statues.
Kaelar took a deep breath and drew his sword. "We must be cautious," he said. "These statues are powerful, and we cannot afford to underestimate them."
The elders nodded, drawing their swords as well. They stood in a defensive position, ready to fight.
The two statues moved forward, their eyes fixed on the elders. Kaelar could feel their spiritual energy, powerful and ancient. These statues were not just stone; they were imbued with the energy of the Fishman people.
The first statue lunged at Kaelar, its sharp claws slicing through the air. Kaelar deftly sidestepped the attack and swung his sword at the statue. The statue blocked the attack with its arm, its hard scales deflecting the blow. Kaelar could feel the force of the impact reverberating through his arm.
Kaelar was taken aback by the impact, because the statue possessed strength comparable to that of a cultivator in the middle stage of Core Formation realm.
The second statue attacked Elder Shiro and Elder Li simultaneously. Elder Shiro raised his sword to block the attack, while Elder Li dodged and weaved, avoiding the statue's claws.
Kaelar realized that the statues were bent on killing the weaker people, which were the elders. He knew that they had to work together if they were going to survive this battle.
"Form the Sword Formation!" Kaelar shouted at the elders.
The elders nodded and quickly formed a circle, their swords pointed towards the center. Kaelar infused his own spiritual energy into the circle, and suddenly, a powerful vortex of energy formed, sucking the statues towards the center.
Kaelar and the elders struck simultaneously, their swords cutting through the air with incredible speed and precision. The statues were unable to escape the vortex, and one by one, they fell to the ground, defeated.
As the dust settled, Kaelar and the elders stood in silence, their breathing heavy and labored. "Damn, all this work for nothing. The treasures of this tomb better be worth it," Elder Li said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Kaelar couldn't help but chuckle at Elder Li's remark. "Let's hope so," he replied, sheathing his sword. "But we still have to make it through this maze."
The elders nodded in agreement, and Kaelar took the lead, carefully examining the symbols on the walls. He realized that each symbol represented a different path, and they had to choose the right one to reach the end of the maze.
"Which way do we go?" Elder Shiro asked, looking at Kaelar.
Kaelar studied the symbols for a few moments before pointing towards a symbol that represented a spiral staircase. "This way," he said. "I believe this is the correct path."
The group followed Kaelar, and they soon found themselves climbing a spiral staircase that led to a platform high above the maze. From there, they could see the entire maze, and Kaelar realized that it was much larger than he had anticipated.
"We have to find a way to get through this quickly," Kaelar said, scanning the maze for any clues. "We can't afford to waste too much time here."
As they descended the staircase, Kaelar noticed that one of the symbols on the wall was different from the others. It was a fish symbol, and it glowed faintly in the dim light.
Kaelar walked towards the symbol, and as he did, a small door opened in the wall. "This way," he said, motioning for the elders to follow him.
They entered the door, and it led them through a narrow, winding path that eventually opened up into a large chamber. In the center of the chamber was a large, circular pool, and Kaelar could see something glinting at the bottom of the pool.
"We have to get that treasure," Elder Li said, eyeing the object greedily.
Kaelar shook his head. "We can't just jump in blindly," he said. "There might be traps or guardians guarding the treasure."
As they approached the pool, Kaelar suddenly heard a faint whispering. He strained his ears and realized that the whispering was coming from the water.
"Elder Li, wait!"
But Elder Li didn't seem to heed Kaelar's warning. Kaelar caught a glimpse of Elder Li's eyes becoming blank, and then he eagerly jumped into the pool and swam towards the glinting object. As he reached for it, a loud rumbling noise filled the chamber, and the water in the pool began to churn.
Kaelar watched in horror as a giant fish with razor-sharp teeth leaped out of the water and swallowed Elder Shiro whole.
The fish then turned its attention to the rest of the group, and Kaelar quickly realized that they were in grave danger.
"Stay back!" he yelled, as he unsheathed his sword. "This fish is no ordinary creature!"
The fish charged at Kaelar, who deftly dodged its attack and sliced his sword across its scales. The fish recoiled in pain, but it was far from defeated.
"We have to work together!" Kaelar shouted to the other elders. "Use your cultivation to weaken the fish!"
The remaining elders nodded and began to channel their energy towards the fish. The fish writhed and twisted, but they were slowly weakening it. Kaelar took advantage of the moment and charged at the fish again, plunging his sword deep into its side.
The fish let out a deafening roar and thrashed around wildly, causing the water in the pool to splash and spray in all directions. Kaelar and the other elders struggled to keep their footing as the fish continued to lash out at them.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the fish let out a final gasp and collapsed onto the ground. Kaelar wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a deep sigh of relief.
"We need to move on," he said, looking around the chamber. "But we have to be more cautious from now on."
The elders nodded in agreement, but there was a sense of unease that lingered in the air. They continued on through the maze, encountering various obstacles and challenges along the way. Kaelar's quick thinking and leadership kept them alive, but the tension was palpable.
As they reached the end of the maze, they found themselves in a large chamber filled with ancient ruins and artifacts. In the center of the room stood a pedestal with a glowing orb resting on top.
"This must be it," Kaelar said, approaching the pedestal. "The end of the maze."
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