Chapter 8: Divine Judgment.

Three mercenaries stood at the front of the group and channeled their “Shield.”

The familiar light curtain appeared, successfully blocking the oncoming Magic Beast Kings.

Mary had just breathed a sigh of relief when she saw cracks appearing in the light curtain under the force of the Kings’ assault.

After a few breaths, the light curtain grew overwhelmed, shattering under the heavy barrage and vanishing.

The nine Magic Beast Kings breached the defense, crowding one another as they surged toward the group.

Mary’s heart, which had just settled, leapt into her throat once more.

The Magic Beast Kings were all hideous, their massive maws filled with fangs as they let out deafening roars at the humans.

The thundering sounds erupted from their throats, mixing with the stench of their breath to form waves of sound that swept across the meadow.

The sound waves howled and surged past the trees, making them sway, while the kicked-up dust blotted out the sky.

The group was struck head-on by the sonic wave.

Things were looking bad!

Mary held Will tightly and cautiously retreated a bit further.

She instructed Will, “I’m going to help, you stay hidden.”

Will nodded, “I understand. Be careful, Sister!”

After confirming Will was safely hidden, Mary immediately rushed back.

The blade Jack had given her was truly a masterpiece.

Even after slaying so many magic beasts, it remained as sharp as ever and gleamed with a cold light.

However, Mary noticed that the blade tended to slip from her hand after prolonged killing.

Before acting, she specifically wrapped the hilt with cloth, binding it tightly so she wouldn’t have to worry about it slipping again.

Before the spirited Mary could take more than a few steps, countless massive vines sprouted from the ground in the next second.

They instantly bound all the Magic Beast Kings.

The vines tightened and coiled with force, as if trying to bore into their flesh and take root within their bodies.

This sudden turn of events did not throw the Magic Beast Kings into a panic.

They immediately began tearing at the vines coiling around them, just as they had torn at their own kin.

In just a few bites, the vines were ripped to shreds, and their binding force began to weaken.

Even from a distance, Mary could see the Kings’ struggles intensifying.

They were about to break free once again.

Yet, aside from Mary who was rushing toward the center of the battlefield, everyone else remained standing where they were, facing the Magic Beast Kings.

No one moved to attack, and no one thought to retreat.

‘Is there another trick up their sleeve?’

The ground trembled as countless more vines surged from the depths, rapidly growing and expanding to re-bind the Magic Beast Kings before they could break away.

These vines were even taller and thicker.

Differing from before, these new giant vines were covered in tendrils and suction roots.

As the vines coiled tightly, these tiny, soft parts followed the contours of the pressure.

They pressed gently against the Magic Beast Kings’ bodies and seeped into their wounds.

Quickly, the bright green color began to darken from light to deep green.

Finally, hints of brown appeared on the dark green vines.

That was the color of red mixed with green.

These vines were sucking blood!

Feeling her hair stand on end, Mary’s footsteps faltered for a moment.

‘Is this thing prone to confusing friend and foe, which is why the rest of the team isn’t making a move?’

Before she could figure it out, a new change occurred on the battlefield.

Following the two waves of rooting vines, the ground of the Land of Divine Abandonment had long since become rugged and uneven.

It was littered with fragments of stone and clumps of earth of all sizes.

At that moment, the ravaged ground surged once more.

A vibration seemed to travel from deep underground, affecting every living creature upon the surface.

Mary could no longer walk steadily, and she found it impossible even to stand still.

It was as if she were at the epicenter of an earthquake.

“What is that!?”

Clinging to a nearby tree to steady herself, Mary watched in astonishment as the blood-sucking vines completely turned a brownish-tan without her noticing.

‘How much blood have they drained!?’

‘Are the Magic Beast Kings being sucked dry?’

No, they were not.

The Magic Beast Kings struggled even more violently.

Even though the strangling force of the blood-sucking vines was greater than before and the act of draining blood caused them significant injury, they remained formidable.

After all, these were Kings who had survived countless battles within the Misty Forest—the peak of power among all magic beasts in the woods.

Once the vibrations began, the vines binding them were bitten loose again.

History was about to repeat itself.

Did the mages, who had already cast two massive Wood-element spells, have the strength left for a third to summon even more powerful vines?

Mary didn’t dare to bet on it, and she had to move closer.

The vibrations from the ground began to weaken.

Mary was now very close to the main force.

She could even hear the heavy breathing of the Wood mages.

They were panting and exhausted, leaning against the knights as they sank to the ground with limp limbs.

With no time for second thoughts, Mary finally arrived and stood before the mages.

She held her blade across her chest and stared tensely at the Magic Beast Kings about to make their “jailbreak.”

“Go, quickly!”

She didn’t know how long she could hold out—perhaps not even a few seconds.

But as long as she could buy a little more time for them to catch their breath, maybe the others would have a better chance of survival.

The more people who survived, the better Will’s chances of survival would be while hiding in the distance.

“I’m no coward either! If you’re afraid of death, don’t be a mercenary!” Jack shouted.

“Girl, let’s compete and see who’s still slaying at the end!”

“Deal!”

“Deal, my foot; get out of the way, it’s not time for you to throw your lives away yet.”

Samir interrupted them coldly.

He used his longbow to ruthlessly shoo away the “Hot-Blooded Squad” in the front while letting out a sneer.

“Let’s move!”

Mary shifted her body slightly, though most of her attention remained focused on the front.

She stayed alert for the moment the Magic Beast Kings might break free.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Aude stepping forward from the crowd.

Even in this life-or-death moment, her cold and beautiful face remained serene, without a hint of emotion.

‘What is she doing?’

‘She’s a mage; she shouldn’t be so close to danger…’

Mary instinctively reached out to pull Aude back, but a blinding light struck.

What was happening?

A clear, cold voice rang out in her ear:

“Forbidden Spell—Light’s Grace.”

This intense light erupted at the very center of the dim Misty Forest, radiating in all directions.

In an instant, the world turned into a sea of white.

Every living creature present was blinded by the brilliance, unable to open their eyes.

For that moment, it was as if a scorching sun hung directly overhead, illuminating the realm of man.

Though dawn had not yet arrived, it felt as if high noon had reached them.

Even with her eyes tightly shut, she couldn’t block out the damage from that terrifying radiance.

Mary’s eyes began to sting.

“Turn around, everyone! Do you want to go blind?”

Samir’s voice drifted as if from mid-air.

Mary turned around in a daze, feeling her forehead grow hot from the intense light as her mind began to swim.

She thought it was an illusion, but after turning around, a terrifying wave of heat surged against her back.

“Forbidden Spell—Fire Dance of the Heavens!”

It was the three Fire mages in the team.

They were only making their move now!

The sky-filling flames formed a fine mesh that licked at the vines.

Already parched by the scorching light, the plants ignited with a roar, bursting into a raging inferno.

The temperature against her back rose even higher, reaching the level of actual roasting.

Bound within the vine cage, the Magic Beast Kings began to howl incessantly.

Their cries transitioned from irritability and anger to terror, then to shrill screams of agony.

This was accompanied by the crackle and pop of burning wood.

Mary finally realized that the massive vines had been set ablaze!

Covering her face with both hands, Mary couldn’t resist squinting through her fingers.

She couldn’t see the ground before her and didn’t dare turn her head.

She could only imagine how the Magic Beast Kings, trapped in their vine cage, were struggling in desperate agony.

As the temperature climbed higher, their voices gradually faded until only faint groans of pain remained.

Meanwhile, outside the range of the Forbidden Spell, Mary and the others—who were caught in the indirect roasting—couldn’t help but groan.

It was so hot!

Large drops of sweat fell, letting out a hiss as they hit the ground.

Even the sweat was evaporating.

Her exposed skin began to sting and burn.

Mary felt as if her brain were being cooked.

Aude’s ultimate moves were effective, but they certainly took a toll on everyone.

She asked Aude, “Lord Aude, if we keep being roasted like this, we won’t last much longer.”

“Those Magic Beast Kings are thick-skinned and won’t char easily, but us humans can’t take it!” Jack shouted.

The aroma of roasting flesh and fat actually began to drift over.

However, everyone, with their backs to the “barbecue” scene, had no appetite.

They were all listless from the heat.

“Water Ball, rapid fire!”

A water ball the size of a head smashed into the ground in front of Mary.

The splash of water soaked her shoes and trousers.

Before Mary could react or fully process the sudden coolness, another water ball struck her right on the head.

The coolness instantly traveled from her head to her toes.

It especially soothed her back, which had been scorching under the heat.

The cool water soaked her body from top to bottom, instantly washing away the previous heat.

The sudden chill made Mary tremble involuntarily.

It felt so good!

“So there was another trick! As expected of Lord Aude!” Jack let out a howl of relief.

“Of course; Lord Aude prepared thoroughly for this operation!” York shouted.

“Her Lordship personally stepped in to gather the most exceptional talents from all of Greater Catay Island, selecting only the best of the best.”

“And naturally, Lord Aude is the most exceptional among us!”

“You should know that even on the talent-filled Greater Catay Island, they could only find a few mages capable of casting Forbidden Spells together.”

“Yet our Lord Aude can cast one all on her own at such a young age!”

“Lord Aude is that powerful!?” Jack was very supportive.

“Why didn’t you cast the water balls earlier? I think my hair’s been singed into curls!” Samir shouted.

“Oh, the temperature is so high and the fire must be huge; won’t the vines burn through?” Mary worried about the current state of the battle.

“Heh heh, they won’t burn through; I told you, Lord Aude is far-sighted and planned everything perfectly; let me tell you…”

“Shut up.”

Aude spoke up from Mary’s other side, where she was also crouching.

It was clear that the water ball spell had timely saved everyone, and they now had the energy to chatter away.