Chapter 7: Fire Among Kings

Aude sat sideways on her expensive-looking staff, flew past the crowd behind them, and reached the space above Samir’s head, naturally joining the conversation.

“This was the original plan.”

“Then a brat jumped out halfway to mess things up; if it weren’t for worrying about him the first time we met the Hunter Rat King, we would have successfully captured it alive and moved the plan along smoothly.”

Samir, who had already run to the head of the formation, raised his bow with dissatisfaction and poked at Aude, who was flying above him.

“Flying all over the place; have you no manners? Get down here!”

Aude actually listened to Samir, lowering her flight altitude until she was level with his height, then maneuvered her staff to fly behind him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t keep a good eye on Will,” Mary apologized while following behind them.

“Mm, I forgive you,” Aude replied flatly.

“Can’t your mouth stay still? Just fly quietly and talk less!”

Samir poked his bow behind him again, and Aude nimbly dodged.

Watching the two of them bicker in silence, Mary felt a subconscious sense of security from their effortless demeanor, and she took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

The tightness in her chest, which had been there since she learned Will was caught up in this, finally eased a little.

That’s right; I need to stay calm.

Will was a clever kid who was bold enough to act, no taller than a broom, and possessed quite a bit of luck.

After scrambling through life-and-death situations over the last few days, Will surprisingly had no injuries at all, aside from some soreness in his arms.

In contrast, the “adults” currently running, though without fatal wounds, were all more or less battered.

To find Will, Mary had been charging at the very front the entire time.

Jack and his mercenary brothers had also risked their lives along the way, never daring to slack off.

The elite team led by Aude was the main force of this operation, tracking the Hunter Rat King day and night, even launching ambushes in the middle of the night and pursuing it relentlessly.

Before meeting Mary and her group, they hadn’t had a single proper rest.

Mary kept encouraging herself mentally, running with her head down.

Her running speed grew faster and faster, and Aude increased her speed as well, her staff’s gemstone tip constantly poking Samir’s back, forcing him to accelerate along with her.

Jack noticed he was falling behind, and that simply wouldn’t do! Who was he? Jack the “Great Bear”!

“Boys! We can’t lose! Speed up! Speed up! Speed up!”

“Oh!” and so several mercenaries also hollered and shouted as they rushed forward.

Next was the coachman, York.

With Lord Aude flying ahead, he tearfully tried his best to maintain a steady speed to keep up.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go faster, but someone in the rear was dragging their feet.

The swordsmen had strong physiques and were nimble with plenty of stamina, while the knights wore heavy armor but could ride swift horses.

But Lord Aude, not all mages can fly!

The mages were delicate and precious; they kept up at first, but it didn’t take long before they were all out of breath.

Eventually, the knights took these mages on their horses—two to a mount—to ensure they weren’t left behind.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last; after running for a while, it was the horses’ turn to reach their limit.

The people hadn’t rested well over the last two days, and the horses had been laboring alongside their masters; now, carrying two people at once, they were nearly ready to buck!

The knights had no choice but to dismount, giving their precious horses to the mages.

As the team stretched longer and longer, it gradually split into two parts: the ones in front charging ahead as if injected with chicken blood, and the ones in the back gasping for air and chasing with all their might.

Eventually, York could no longer see the figures ahead of him.

Right at that moment, they finally arrived at the Land of Divine Abandonment.

As the winners of the “running race,” Mary and the others didn’t rush in immediately.

Each of them restrained their impatience, lying prone on the ground to quietly observe the situation inside the Land of Divine Abandonment.

“How come I don’t see Will?” Mary said, cautiously lifting her head.

The Land of Divine Abandonment was surrounded by five massive General Sherman sequoias, towering into the clouds with lush foliage and canopies like umbrellas.

They looked like five giants stretching their arms to hold up the firmament.

In the air hung a dazzling energy ball formed by countless dust particles.

Beneath the giants’ powerful feet, nine Magic Beast Kings were either lying or standing in silence, absorbing the dense divine power within.

Mary saw the Hunter Rat King at a glance; of the nine Kings, it was the most pathetic-looking one.

It was covered in wounds, its fur soaked in blood that had dried into matted clumps; both of its eyes were blind, and there was a massive lump on the back of its head.

The Hunter Rat King stayed far away from the other Kings, leaning against a sequoia root protruding from the ground.

Enduring fatal pain, it had arrived by instinct and had begun absorbing divine power impatiently.

Only as its injuries showed signs of improvement did the King open its seemingly intact eyes, “staring” at its peers with wariness and greed.

The long, hairless tail behind it whipped back and forth constantly, crushing patches of fine grass and getting stained with green juice.

But Will was not on that long tail.

Mary crawled forward a bit more, getting closer to the Hunter Rat King.

“Hey, where are you looking?” Samir leaned over and turned Mary’s head. “There! Huddled right next to the Elephant-Trunk Pig King’s backside!”

Mary looked closely and, sure enough, the Elephant-Trunk Pig King was lying leisurely, comfortably wagging its short tail.

Splat. A pile of dung dropped and was flicked everywhere by the tail.

A tiny figure was hiding in the bend of the magic beast’s hind leg, covered by thick fur; not only was he untainted by any filth, but it also masked his own scent.

The sense of smell for the Hunter Rat King and the Elephant-Trunk Pig King wasn’t particularly keen, but the other Kings might be different.

Talk about good luck!

Will’s hiding spot was truly ingenious; likely only Mary’s group, lying on the ground, could see him, as the nine massive Kings couldn’t discover him at all.

“Stop looking around; you two siblings only just met, so why are you both equally prone to peeping?” Samir crawled back. “Come on, let’s go back and discuss how to save him.”

York had already arrived with the stragglers, and they moved slightly further away to ensure they wouldn’t be discovered by the Magic Beast Kings inside.

From the looks of it, Will’s life was not currently in danger.

However, time was running out; although the Land of Divine Abandonment was as bright as day, looking up through the gaps revealed that the sky blocked by the canopy had turned from a deep ink to a pale gray, faintly ashen, as the Misty Forest prepared to welcome a new day.

“Once dawn breaks, the divine power will naturally dissipate, and the Magic Beast Kings inside will leave the Land of Divine Abandonment; the possibility of Will being discovered then will be very high,” York said, steadying his breath. “Lord Aude, the plan may need to be scrapped.”

“No.” Aude refused to change the plan.

“Lord Aude…”

“So, what were you originally planning to do?” Mary asked.

“Charge straight in,” Aude answered.

Is that even a plan?!

“The prerequisite for charging in is to get Will out first,” Samir rolled his eyes. “You are a believer in the God of Light; why is your bloodlust so high?”

“Ending killing with killing.”

“Aude, shut up!” The irritable elf directly covered Aude’s mouth.

“Oh, what’s so hard about this? Divert their attention and take Will away while we have the chance, isn’t that enough?” Jack stood up. “I brought several bottles of strong liquor; have your mages fire a few firebolts, and it’ll definitely blow those brutes out of there.”

“Fine, let’s do it that way!”

Aude stayed quiet obediently, letting Samir take full command.

Will hugged his knees, staring blankly at the magic beast dung right in front of him, his mind a complete void.

He felt like he was dreaming.

The moment he entered the Land of Divine Abandonment clinging to the Hunter Rat King’s tail, Will’s sharp eyes had spotted the other Magic Beast Kings.

Taking advantage of the Hunter Rat King slowing down, he immediately let go of its tail, hugged his head, and rolled backward.

Unfortunately, he rolled in the wrong direction, straight toward another magic beast with spikes on its back and a mouth full of fangs.

The sound of crushing grass and leaves caught the beasts’ attention.

Just as they cast their gazes toward Will, the late-arriving Elephant-Trunk Pig King blocked the view in front of him.

And so, he rolled right into the Elephant-Trunk Pig King’s thick, dense fur.

Behind him was the warm body temperature of a magic beast; in front of him was its pungent excrement.

Having temporarily saved his life, Will dared not move another inch.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the Land of Divine Abandonment.

The wind whirled over a clump of dead branches and withered leaves, landing in the center.

Although the volume was somewhat large, such things were everywhere in the Misty Forest, so this didn’t attract the attention of the other Magic Beast Kings; only the Hunter Rat King twitched its nose.

In the next moment, crimson magic bolts shot in from the outside, landing precisely on that clump of dead branches and leaves; flames instantly soared, and before the Kings could react, the clump exploded into a shower of sparks!

The splashing fire from the explosion hit many of the Magic Beast Kings.

Coincidentally, most of these nine Kings had fur.

Forgetting about their “evolution,” they all began busily trying to extinguish the fire.

The smarter ones rolled on the ground; the less intelligent ones craned their necks to bite at the flames.

As a result, the fire grew larger and larger, and in the panic, they began to collide with one another.

As the kings of their respective packs, these nine magic beasts did not have good temperaments.

With the fire burning, they lost all reason.

Even without the humans waiting in ambush to step out, they started fighting among themselves.

There’s a chance!

Will’s entire body jolted; as soon as the Elephant-Trunk Pig King’s backside shifted, Will scrambled and crawled on all fours into the nearby grass.

It was Sister Mary coming to save him!

Mary had already been crouching and making her way near Will.

She watched with her own eyes as Will maneuvered nimbly and dove straight into her arms.

Mary quickly pulled Will back as they retreated, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire of the crazed Magic Beast Kings.

“This kid Will is truly clever.”

Jack was delighted; he drew his long blade and turned to Samir. “While those brutes are at each other’s throats, let’s go!”

With the rescue mission confirmed successful, Samir also felt relieved.

“It’s time. Aude, it’s your turn.”

“God said, let there be light. I say, let light take shape.”

Aude raised her staff and struck the ground; countless light blades appeared in mid-air, pointing toward the nine Magic Beast Kings and shooting out in unison!

“ROAR!!!!” The wounded Magic Beast Kings went completely insane!

They stopped tearing at each other and charged toward the detestable humans in a fit of rage!

With the Kings’ hatred firmly drawn, Mary, who was pulling Will far away, belatedly realized a problem.

One Hunter Rat King was hard enough to deal with; now there were nine Magic Beast Kings—how were they supposed to kill them all?