The Sacred Race’s procession traveled along a narrow path in the borderlands.
Countless white horses clad in armor marched side by side, their hooves striking the gravel road in a rhythmic beat. The angel nuns held their reins firmly, advancing with the group in perfect order.
According to the plan, they were heading toward the area where Asha had been killed to lure out the strange crawling monsters.
Hati and Lin Shu shared a single horse and were positioned in the middle of the group, protected by nuns in the front and back. Lin Shu sat sideways behind the saddle while Hati took charge of steering the horse from the front.
The other nuns on the road were oppressively silent, leaving only Hati to chatter excitedly.
“Hey, Lin Shu, I didn’t think you could really cast magic without all those messy materials. Aren’t you hitting the jackpot? You’ll save so much money!”
“Becoming a millionaire starts with not using materials for spells!”
“It wasn’t just that little brat; I saw everyone else’s faces change too, hahaha!”
Hati’s tail had been resting quietly between her and Lin Shu, but as she laughed, the white tail suddenly whipped back and forth across Lin Shu’s waist.
“Now you’re going to be a superstar in their eyes!”
“Mm…” Lin Shu responded distractedly.
At that moment, she was leafing through the magic textbook, searching for spells that might come in handy.
The section for low-level magic was filled with Asha’s youthful notes; it was clear she had once been a highly enthusiastic magic apprentice. It seemed to be a special edition meant only for beginners, as there weren’t many true high-level spells recorded—only two measly pages.
According to the rules, a novice mage could use three spells a day.
‘I wonder if high-level magic will affect the usage limit?’
‘Since I still have my familiar skills, but those are more for support… to be safe, I should pick a spell with strong survival capabilities.’
“Lin Shu? Lin Shu!” Hati’s repeated calls pulled Lin Shu back from her thoughts.
“Ah?” She looked up. “Sorry, I was just thinking about the magic. What is it?”
“It’s just something I thought of—that idea of yours to use yourself as bait.” Hati turned her head slightly. “When you were with the Demonic Race, was it always like that? Being pushed to the front to handle the danger?”
Lin Shu answered vaguely, “Mm… not entirely.”
When she was with Liya, she had indeed been too desperate. To gain attention, she hadn’t hesitated to take on life-threatening missions. With Sefina, she hadn’t been asked to do much, but she had often taken risks on her own initiative to achieve her goals.
“Well, no matter how it was before, I’m here now.”
“Besides, these nuns are all professionals. Once you’ve cast your spell, just stay safely in the back, okay?”
“Is that so…?”
Lin Shu’s gaze landed on Hati’s fluffy ears. The daylight shone from the side, plating the edges of her ears in gold. She reached out and poked the base of Hati’s ear.
“Hmm?” Hati didn’t have much of a reaction, though her ear twitched with a springy rhythm.
“I’ll fight too. Of course, it’s not because of my old habits as a familiar, but simply because… I want to fight by Hati’s side. After all, aren’t we the best of partners?”
She didn’t want to keep shrinking back into a circle of protection. Since she could break the rules, she should try to use this power to achieve her own goals.
“If that’s what you want, Lin Shu, then of course I won’t stop you!” The corners of Hati’s mouth curled up into a brilliant smile.
“Mm.” Lin Shu smiled back.
Seeing that the nuns in front and behind weren’t carrying any visible weapons, Lin Shu grew curious. “By the way, how do angels fight?”
“I won’t tell you yet. You’ll see it with your own eyes in a bit!”
Just then, a white horse from the rear caught up, and an angel nun nodded slightly.
“Pardon the interruption, Captain Hati, Miss Lin Shu.” She raised her eyes to Lin Shu. “We’re almost there. Lady Angela specifically instructed me to ask—Miss Lin Shu, do you require support to cast your magic?”
“The incantation is a bit long, so I might need someone to protect me while I cast it. But since Hati is here, there’s no need to worry.”
The nun’s attention was drawn to the book in Lin Shu’s hand. “Ah, that book. It seems all the mages of the Spire have one.”
“Thanks to this, I can find most of the incantations.”
Who exactly wrote it? Lin Shu flipped to the back cover and saw two golden characters engraved there.
“Furina?” Lin Shu read the name aloud.
“Furina? She is the current Chief Mage of the Spire. Rumor has it she is an elf blessed by the God of Magic.”
“Chief…” Lin Shu murmured thoughtfully. “Does that mean she is at the level of a professor within the Spire?”
“I’m not too sure about the internal divisions of the Spire. After all, there isn’t much interaction between the Holy Church and the Spire,” the angel nun said with an apologetic smile.
As they talked, the procession arrived at the rocky beach of the borderlands—the very place where Lin Shu and Hati had found Asha.
A strange scent drifted on the wind, and the surfaces of the rocks were covered in traces of long-dried slime. According to the plan, the angel nuns quickly dispersed and moved into ambush positions on the outskirts, using the giant boulders for cover. To avoid alerting the enemy, they kept their wings tucked away.
Lin Shu went to a piece of high ground. The view was wide here, allowing her to see the entire layout of the rocky beach.
“Start whenever you’re ready, Lin Shu. I’m right behind you.” Hati gave her a look of trust and encouragement before crouching down in a nearby crevice.
Lin Shu pressed her palms together in front of her chest and whispered a long string of incantations. Magic swirled around her palms and began to spread outward. It was a concentrated chill.
With Lin Shu as the center, the surrounding temperature dropped noticeably. Even her breath turned into white mist. The once clear sky suddenly turned gray and overcast.
Hati looked up as a single snowflake drifted down from the sky, landing on the tip of her nose and melting instantly.
*Gurgle…*
A faint sound echoed. In the distance, a gray figure crawled out from a gap in the rocks.
Lin Shu’s heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look at Hati.
It was here!
“Watch out! There’s more than one!” the angel nun in the back shouted.
No sooner had she spoken than several eerie gray shadows crawled out from behind the boulders. The crawling monsters stared at Lin Shu standing on the high rock, letting out high-pitched screeches from their throats.
They scurried forward at high speed, their hind legs snapping with power as they lunged.
The nuns swiftly brushed aside their skirts, revealing holsters tightly strapped to their snow-white thighs with leather belts. They drew silver-white pistols with clean, practiced motions and aimed at their targets.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!!*
The gunshots tore through the air. Silver bullets pierced the bodies of several crawling monsters, sending foul-smelling blood flying.
“Roar — !!”
The monsters that were hit let out cries of agony. Seeing the nuns closing in from all sides, they stopped and observed the situation, making a chaotic gurgling noise.
“Cease fire! Leave them room to run!” Hati commanded loudly, leaping onto a rock to shield Lin Shu.