Her figure was like a blizzard sweeping across the icefield, crossing twenty meters in an instant, her longsword trailing an icy blue afterimage as it thrust straight at the Old Man’s throat.
The Old Man’s pupils contracted sharply. He didn’t even see how Ophelia moved—he only managed to instinctively retreat in a rush, his right hand spreading its five fingers as dark purple magic condensed into a thick Dark Magic Shield.
Clang—!
The sword tip struck the shield, emitting an ear-piercing metallic screech.
The surface of the Dark Magic Shield was instantly covered with web-like cracks. The Old Man grunted dully, his entire body blasted backward by the massive force, carving a deep trench into the ground.
Before he could regain his footing, Ophelia’s second sword was already there, its blade shining like a crescent moon and scattering tiny ice crystals as it swept through the air.
The Old Man bit through the tip of his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence. The blood morphed in mid-air into a ferocious Beast Soul phantom, roaring as it lunged toward the sword light.
But it was useless.
The icy blue sword light sliced through the Beast Soul phantom as if cutting through tofu. The phantom let out a blood-curdling wail and instantly dissipated.
Without losing momentum, the sword light precisely slashed across the Old Man’s neck.
Time seemed to freeze for an instant.
The expression on the Old Man’s face was frozen between terror and disbelief. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound emerged.
Plop.
The head rolled to the ground, and dark purple blood gushed from the severed neck like a fountain, staining the surrounding earth an eerie color.
The headless corpse swayed twice, then collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The battle was over.
From the moment Ophelia acted to the Old Man’s death, the entire process took less than five seconds.
The swamp fell into dead silence.
Everyone stared dumbly at the blonde girl standing with her sword, dark purple blood slowly dripping from its tip.
Even Lilian, who had seen all sorts of tricks from Camilla, couldn’t help but swallow nervously at this moment.
Although this enemy was just a bottom-feeder Dark Summoner and his deadliest summoning spells had been sealed, killing him so quickly was still unimaginable.
After all, that was at least a seventh-tier Dark Magical Beast Corps elite! And just like that… he was finished?
“Sister…”
Camilla’s voice shattered the silence.
Ophelia turned, the killing intent in her eyes instantly vanishing, replaced by undisguised worry. She strode quickly to Camilla, looking her up and down with care.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Camilla shook her head, but Ophelia still wasn’t reassured. She reached out and checked her all over, only relaxing a little after confirming there were no wounds.
“How did you come here?”
“Our Task Point is nearby. I sensed a strong wave of dark magic over here just now, so I rushed over.”
In response to Camilla’s question, Ophelia gave a simple explanation, her gaze sweeping over the Old Man’s corpse, brows slightly furrowed.
“Why would people from the Dark Magical Beast Corps show up here?”
“They’re using bloodworms for transmission.”
Camilla pointed at the severely injured member of Tom’s squad.
At this moment, Limulu had already finished its job. The bloodworm that had burrowed from the wounded man’s chest was now swallowed into its belly.
“Burp!”
Limulu let out a satisfied hiccup, transmitting the thought [Tastes awful…]
But Camilla knew the problem wasn’t solved yet.
The bloodworm might be removed, but the “Nest” and toxins left inside the host’s body remained. If not thoroughly cleansed, the wounded man still wouldn’t survive the night.
Camilla took out a Glass Vial from her satchel, filled with a viscous, pale-golden liquid. She pulled out the stopper and carefully dripped the Potion into the wound on the injured man’s chest.
The moment the Potion touched flesh, it made a faint sizzling sound, wisps of white smoke rising. Even in his coma, the wounded man twitched in agony, cold sweat breaking out on his brow.
But soon, the Potion took effect.
Deep in the wound, those invisible eggs and remnants of the Nest began to necrotize and slough off under the Potion’s influence, mixing with pus and blood as they flowed out.
At the same time, the potent healing ingredients within the Potion rapidly repaired the damaged tissue.
Three minutes later, the wounded man’s breathing became much steadier. His face was still pale, but no longer deathly gray.
“He’s stable for now.”
Camilla wiped the sweat from her forehead and put away the empty vial.
“But he’ll need further treatment. It’s best to get him back to the infirmary.”
She felt a pang of regret. If she’d found the problem and acted sooner, maybe they wouldn’t have had to take such a risk.
Ophelia seemed to notice her thoughts and reached out to ruffle her hair.
“You did great.”
Her tone was soft, but sincere.
Camilla was startled for a moment, then smiled.
“Mm.”
“Alright.”
Ophelia turned to everyone else.
“It’s not safe here. That battle made too much noise—more enemies could be drawn here at any moment. I know where the nearest shelter is. Follow me.”
No one objected.
Tom and his team carried the wounded man. Camilla’s squad followed close behind, with Ophelia leading the way at the front.
Ten minutes later, everyone arrived at Shelter No. 3.
It was a stone building atop a Hill, outwardly resembling an abandoned watchtower. But inside, the space was much larger than expected, and more than twenty students and three on-duty professors had already gathered there.
When Ophelia and Camilla entered with the wounded, a middle-aged female professor in a Wizard’s Robe immediately came to greet them.
“You ran into an attack too?”
“Yes, Professor Maureen.”
Ophelia gave a brief report: the Dark Magical Beast Corps elite, bloodworm infestation, and the enemy that had been slain.
Professor Maureen’s expression grew more and more grave.
“It’s not just you. At least six teams have reported similar attacks. The enemies are all elites transmitted here by bloodworms, generally between sixth and seventh tier. Over at the academy…”
She paused, lowering her voice.
“It’s bad. The leader of the Dark Magical Beast Corps is leading the assault personally, and even deployed a ninth-tier summoned beast. The academy’s main gate barrier has already been breached. Right now, there’s fierce fighting inside.”
This news made everyone’s heart sink.
A ninth-tier summoned beast… that was nothing students could possibly face.
“But don’t worry too much.”
Professor Maureen forced herself to sound encouraging.
“Principal Krolova has stepped in personally, and the academy’s regular combat forces are fighting back with all their strength. What we need to do now is make sure all the students are safe and wait for things to settle down.”
She looked at the Potion in Camilla’s hand.
“Student, you said you can treat bloodworm infestation?”
“Yes.”
Camilla handed the Potion to the professor for inspection.
Professor Maureen sniffed it carefully, then used a simple identification spell. Her eyes lit up slightly.
“Such a clever formula… Expulsion, detoxification, and healing all in one—and with minimal harm to the host. Did you make this yourself?”
“Mm.”
“Incredible.”
Professor Maureen gave Camilla a surprised look, said no more, and returned the Potion to her.
“Then I’ll count on you. We’ve stabilized things temporarily with the academy’s Inventory Potion, but it’s not as effective as yours.”
Camilla nodded, about to ask who the wounded were, when her gaze suddenly fixed on one spot.
On a makeshift bed in the corner of the shelter, the red-haired girl lying there—wasn’t that Shana?