Amidst Cecilia Ross’s frenzied spell explosions, a peculiar-looking monster suddenly burst forth.
It had only a single, massive eye, two short yet muscular hind legs pumping swiftly beneath it, and, by sheer luck, it dodged every attack, bolting straight for the entrance.
At first, Selim merely glanced at it and instantly lost interest, thinking it was just another lucky creature that had slipped through the net.
The monster let out a bizarre screech, its tongue – dripping with thick, viscous fluid—lolling as it lunged forward with savage intent.
A Soldier stationed at the doorway became its first target.
Selim had expected that, with the Soldier’s strength, handling such a monster would be effortless.
But reality proved otherwise.
“Ahhhh!”
The Soldier’s weapon clattered to the ground as a soul-piercing scream of agony rang out.
Contrary to Selim’s expectation that the monster would use its fangs to bite, it instead pushed off with its powerful hind legs, hurling its entire body like a cannonball at the Soldier.
The instant they collided, the monster’s rough hide began to twitch and swell violently.
BOOM!!!
With an ear-shattering blast, the monster instantly exploded into a shower of green, viscous liquid, splattering across the ground and drenching the Soldier completely.
Thick white smoke rose with a harsh, corrosive hiss.
The sound was reminiscent of when Selim had thrown sodium metal into water during chemistry class.
Except, the sight before her was a hundred times more horrifying.
When the smoke dissipated, all that remained was a half-kneeling corpse.
Its skin and muscles had been entirely corroded, leaving only gleaming white bone, with a few charred scraps of flesh still clinging to it.
Something’s wrong!
Something is very, very wrong!
Even the most ordinary Soldiers on the front lines were at least Firefly Level transcendents. The scattered squad leaders were even at the level of Liu Light.
But the Self-Destructing Monster just now had, at most, barely reached the threshold of Firefly Level—a mere half-step on the path of transcendence.
With its meager intellect, any ordinary person with a bit of skill or strength could handle it alone—if, and only if, it didn’t self-destruct.
But it did.
Now, monsters capable of instantly killing transcendents of the same rank had appeared on the battlefield.
Selim’s gaze swept over the Liu Light-level squad leaders.
Their faces had lost all ease, replaced by deadly silence and undisguised wariness.
Clearly, this thing was just as lethal to them.
This sudden development had thrown the battlefield into disarray.
The Soldiers, well-drilled by years of discipline, managed to hold their positions.
But the other conscripted and hired Mercenaries had begun edging backward, hoping to distance themselves from the danger of the front line.
Seeing the wavering in his ranks, the Middle-aged Noble grabbed a nearby Mercenary trying to retreat and hurled him forward.
“Deserters will be dealt with according to military law.”
“Hold the line! Rangers and Mages, keep your eyes on any monsters that might self-destruct!”
“We will be victorious.”
With just a few sentences, the Middle-aged Noble, as Commander on the field, steadied the hearts of those present.
Of course, that didn’t include Selim.
“Damn it, how can there be an instant-kill mechanic in a Firefly Level trial scenario?” Her eyes darted across the scene, her mind racing. “What detail am I missing?”
She fixed her gaze on a monster in the distance that, unlike the others, wasn’t charging mindlessly—a One-eyed Monster that looked remarkably like a Great Frog Monster.
That huge eyeball rolled, the way it looked at them reminiscent of a predator eying its prey.
If she wasn’t mistaken, it had looked in their direction far more times than anywhere else.
Cecilia Ross, bound to Selim by a Soul Contract, sensed her confusion and anxiety. She stopped her magic and moved closer to Selim’s side.
“Don’t be afraid, Sel-sis. I’ll definitely protect you.”
“It’s nothing,” Selim shook her head and continued, “I just feel like something’s off.”
“Cecilia.”
“Mm? What is it, Sel-sis?”
“No matter what happens, you must follow my orders. Conserve your mana for now, alright?”
Cecilia tilted her head, a little puzzled why Selim was repeating what she’d already promised.
“Okay.”
She nodded obediently, lowering her mana output to show her obedience.
The battle raged on, with more Self-Destructing Monsters bursting from the horde from time to time.
Fortunately, the defenders had prepared for this, using ranged attacks to take down these monsters, leveraging their self-destruction to inflict collateral damage on the rest.
Yet as the transcendents fought on, both mana and stamina were being steadily depleted.
The battle line was gradually being pushed back.
Just as the Middle-aged Noble was about to rotate out for a break, the huge one-eyed Great Frog Monster began to move.
At first, it crept quietly towards the line.
Then, all of a sudden, it puffed itself up, and with a mighty leap, bounded right into the heart of the human formation.
A wave of Moonlight Level might erupted from its body.
“Filthy beast, how dare you!”
The Middle-aged Noble charged out of his tent, wielding a greatsword in both hands.
Two Moonlight Level auras collided, making it impossible for others to interfere.
Moonlight Level didn’t mean invincibility—unless you were a true genius like Sophia or Cecilia Ross.
Against too many enemies, even a Moonlight Level transcendent could be slain by lower-level transcendents working together.
Now, the monster was surrounded by other transcendents.
It would pay dearly for its recklessness.
The Middle-aged Noble launched the first attack, but the monster dodged nimbly with a jump.
While airborne, its tongue shot out with inhuman speed, sweeping through the crowd.
Two unlucky souls were snatched up and swallowed into its belly the next second.
After that, the monster burped and resumed its standoff with the Middle-aged Noble.
Seeing the frightened crowd, the noble’s expression grew grim, but he gave no further orders.
Facing a monster even stronger than himself, he had to focus all his attention just to keep up.
It all happened in a flash. From the first exchange, Selim could tell the difference in their strength.
As a veteran gamer who’d once been top-tier at this game, she had the experience.
She immediately used Soul Power to amplify her voice.
“Anyone without ranged attacks, fall back from its vicinity immediately!”
“Ranged classes, follow my lead—charge up and coordinate your attacks with the General’s assault!”
The battle was tough, but not hopeless.
Selim estimated their chances of victory at around seventy percent.
The Middle-aged Noble didn’t let her down. The moment Selim called out, he rushed forward with his sword.
A powerful slash swept forth.
The monster, with unbelievable reflexes, lifted a leg and twisted aside, dodging the blow.
But that was exactly what Selim had been waiting for.
“Attack!”
Countless attacks rained down upon it.
Especially from Cecilia Ross—a Fire Spear flew from her hand, blasting open the monster’s skin and spraying dark red blood everywhere.
As the monster lost its balance, the Middle-aged Noble pivoted and, with a glowing slash, severed half its leg before coming to a stop.
The monster, overcome by pain, collapsed heavily to the ground.
Selim couldn’t help but clench her fists—they could win!
“Well done, girls.” The Middle-aged Noble seized the moment to catch his breath, unable to resist praising Selim and Cecilia Ross.
“Would you two sisters like to join the army? I can give you a recommendation.”
“Let’s talk after this battle.” Selim pointed at the fallen monster and shrugged.
“Alright, next strike—I’ll send it straight to hell.”
Strike while the iron is hot.
The Middle-aged Noble gripped his greatsword, lunged forward in a bow stance, and as countless motes of light gathered at the hilt, cracks began to spider across the earth beneath his feet.
Selim recognized this move—it was “Vast Might,” a skill that Moonlight Level warriors could learn.
After charging for three seconds, the next attack was guaranteed to be a critical hit with massive piercing damage.
Normally, it was used to finish off monsters when they lost their balance—perfect for the current situation.
If all went smoothly, the battle would soon be over.
“Ribbit~”
Suddenly, the monster’s single eye snapped open, then shut tight as it spat out a ball of green energy.
It collided head-on with the charging noble.
BOOM!!!
After the explosion, a green ripple spread across the field, washing over everyone present.
『You have been attacked by ???. Due to the difference in rank, all attributes reduced by 50% for 15 minutes.』
『You have been struck by ???’s Soul Attack. You are stunned for 3 seconds.』
『Under the effect of Pure Soul (Purple), you will use Soul Power to resist.』
『Due to the effect of the Soul Contract, your Soul Power will be used to halve the negative effects for your Contractor.』
Everyone was stunned by the monster’s strike—not even the Moonlight Level Middle-aged Noble was exempt.
Even though his stun only lasted less than half a second, his left arm was gone from the attack.
Fortunately, he managed to impale his greatsword through the monster’s abdomen before being blasted who-knows-where.
Looking at the Soul Bar, which now stood at half its previous value—what used to represent her mana, but now her Soul Power—Selim’s face paled.
“Everyone, retreat!” Using her Soul Power to amplify her voice, she delivered a Soul Stimulus across the battlefield, then scooped up the dazed Cecilia Ross and ran.
If this had only been a mutual defeat, she could have worked with Cecilia Ross and the others once they recovered to finish off the wounded monster.
But now, that was impossible.
With everyone’s attributes halved and the monster’s full-area crowd control, the battle had completely collapsed.
Countless people, stunned, were cut down by other monsters.
She had already done her utmost, burning Soul Power to reduce everyone’s stun duration.
Now, all that mattered was saving herself and Cecilia Ross.
The monster, recovering first, immediately began harvesting lives nearby.
Suddenly, its eye rolled—it seemed to notice something interesting. It turned toward Selim as she fled.
Abandoning the crowd, it charged after Selim.