After Viscount Coste left, Henna cursed angrily, “You bunch of greedy bastards, why don’t you just take your money to the grave with you? When the time comes, I’ll definitely dig it up and use your money to build a public toilet right on your graves!”
After venting, Henna felt a little better, but looking at the empty two rooms, she couldn’t help but sigh.
She really was all alone in this world!
After thinking it over carefully, Henna decided to reach out to the Ophield family in White Stone City.
That was still better than just passively accepting aid from Her Highness Vivienne.
Thinking this, she put it into action.
Henna had someone notify the young man named Roland that in a few days, she would be hosting a banquet and inviting the Ophield family to attend.
…
In the Northern Mountains, deep within the forest, a series of booming sounds rang out, followed by the furious roars of a magical beast.
At this moment, a beast in the woods was making a desperate stand.
This magical beast was nearly five meters tall, with a tiger’s back and a bear’s waist, thick and muscular arms, its whole body covered in bronze-brown fur.
It looked somewhat like an ape, but not quite, with a mouth like a lion’s, yet bearing a pair of massive silver horns.
By now, the beast’s body was already covered in wounds, fresh red blood seeping from them.
Its eyes were bloodshot, glaring fiercely at the three people surrounding it.
One was a tall woman wielding a longsword,
Another, a burly woman holding a giant axe,
And a petite girl in a gray cloak, with a hint of silver hair showing.
Dozens of meters away, two more women stood, each holding a staff, watching the battlefield, ready to provide magical support or healing protection at any moment.
The Earth Dragon beast saw the three closing in, fury burning in its bloodshot eyes.
It lowered its body, and its two silver horns began to glow.
Anna noticed the change and immediately shouted.
“The Thunderhorn Earth Dragon is about to discharge! Find cover, quick!”
The three attacking the Earth Dragon beast all halted and quickly retreated.
Estelle, the petite girl in the gray cloak, had come to trust Anna and the others a bit after several magical beast hunts together.
Upon hearing the warning, she swiftly moved away from the beast.
Anna gripped her magic staff with both hands and softly chanted an incantation.
Very soon, a flower formed of pale blue halos appeared before her.
The priestess Milly hid behind Anna and also began to chant, but her chant was not a magic incantation—it was a prayer for divine magic.
A pale golden light settled on the magical barrier Anna had conjured, making the flower’s form even more solid.
At the same time, seeing its prey about to escape, the Thunderhorn Earth Dragon stopped gathering mana and instead raised its head high.
A blinding white light burst from its body, racing outward.
Dozens of electric bolts struck the surrounding trees and ground, filling the air with the stench of burning.
The turbulent air whipped up a wild wind, and the disturbance could be felt for a kilometer around.
Anna and Milly’s protective barrier caught one of the electric bolts.
Fortunately, it came and went quickly, and before the barrier could shatter, the lightning snaked away elsewhere.
Even so, the two women behind the barrier felt all the hair on their bodies stand on end.
The tingling numbness made their legs go weak, and they collapsed to the ground.
Anna’s magic staff slipped from her hand.
She reached to pick it up, but the instant she touched it, a spark crackled between her hand and the staff, and the sting made her instinctively pull back.
“Careful!”
Someone’s voice rang out.
Anna had just looked up when she saw the Thunderhorn Earth Dragon charging straight at them.
If it hated anyone most, it was Anna and Milly.
One kept harassing it from a distance and commanding the battlefield, while the other provided support and shields.
If not for the two of them, it would have killed those warriors long ago.
Now, Anna and Milly were pressed tightly together, both temporarily unable to move.
It was the perfect chance for the beast to wipe out these humans who dared intrude on its territory.
Its enormous, double-door-sized palm came crashing down, ready to flatten Anna and Milly into meat patties.
At the critical moment, a silver figure slammed into its arm.
Estelle was pitifully small compared to the Earth Dragon beast’s forearm—she couldn’t even wrap her arms around it.
But the silver longsword in her hand drove deep into its flesh.
A silver glow burst from the blade, sword energy flooding into its fingers and inflicting massive damage.
The Earth Dragon beast howled in pain and halted its charge.
Its other hand swung at Estelle.
The girl instantly pulled her sword free, not greedy for more damage.
With the blade stained red, she kicked off and leapt clear of the attack range in an instant.
Meanwhile, Anna had already picked up her staff, grabbed the still-numb Milly, cast a weight-reducing spell on her, and started dragging her away at a run.
The Earth Dragon wanted to give chase, but Estelle kept it occupied.
The girl moved like a butterfly flitting among flowers, always slipping away no matter how the beast tried to catch her.
All it could do was watch in fury as fresh wounds appeared on its body.
After a while, the other two warriors recovered from paralysis and joined the fray.
Now, the situation was back to how it started.
Once Anna was at a safe distance, she raised her staff and softly chanted another incantation.
Three perfectly round fireballs, each the size of an orange, formed at the staff’s tip.
These fireballs didn’t look particularly threatening, but the air around them warped violently, revealing their intense heat.
Anna released her hold on the fireballs at just the right moment.
They shot forward, turning into three orange-red streaks of light, each flying toward the beast along a different trajectory.
Estelle’s longsword shimmered with a silver radiance.
With a swing, she sent a ripple through the air, the sword energy slashing toward the Earth Dragon beast.
The beast raised its arm to block, but the sword energy left another gash in its limb.
At the same moment, an orange-red fireball struck its side.
The moment it touched, the fireball—originally the size of an orange—erupted in a blaze larger than the Earth Dragon beast itself.
Just then, Ruby, the swordswoman in Anna’s team, landed a blow on the beast’s back.
The Earth Dragon turned to defend, but another fireball curved around a tree in a strange arc and struck down on its neck from above.
“ROAR!!!!!!”
It let out a low roar, only to be struck by Marpel’s giant axe, charged with mana.
Its attention was drawn away again, and as it turned, it took a fireball straight to the face.
The Earth Dragon beast staggered, barely able to stand.
Estelle pulled back her hood, her beautiful silver hair streaming out.
Gripping her sword, she flashed past the beast’s nape, a silver glow slicing a deep wound open, blood gushing forth.
The Earth Dragon beast died before it could even cry out.
The girl stepped lightly onto a massive tree trunk, then floated gracefully down to the ground.
With an elegant flick, she cast the blood from her silver-gray sword, then sheathed it.
Estelle looked up. Through the gaps in the branches, she saw the blue sky—and in that direction, just beyond, was Red Pine City.
Suddenly, an arm draped over Estelle’s shoulder.
It was Ruby, the team’s other swordswoman.
Estelle remembered Milly saying Ruby’s father was a city guard knight.
Ruby was grinning brilliantly, pulling her closer.
“Not bad swordsmanship, Estelle.”
“Thank you for saving us.”
Anna walked over, with Milly the priestess trailing behind.
Milly pressed her lips together in a smile and said to Estelle,
“Thank you, Estelle. It’s all thanks to you—otherwise, I’d be fertilizer by now. I apologize for what I said before. You’re a trustworthy companion.”
Estelle nodded blankly, making everyone laugh. Looking at them, the girl kept replaying Milly’s words in her mind.
Thanks to you… thanks to you…