Elena’s breathing was unsteady.
She felt the will of nature wailing as the greenery’s vitality was continuously drained by that eerie magic circle. As an Elf Warlock, her own power was waning along with it.
This space had become a death trap.
Attempting to fight a Tier 5 magic beast under these conditions was simply impossible.
“I…”
She spoke with great difficulty, preparing to accept that humiliating “Talent Cultivation Plan.” However, before she could finish her sentence—
*Hum—*
The blood-red patterns spreading beneath everyone’s feet suddenly flared with intense light. The ground began to tremble. A foul, bloody stench erupted from the nodes of the magic circle.
Monsters forced together from rotting meat, broken bones, and viscous blood struggled as they crawled out from the crimson circle beneath the earth. They had no facial features, only a gaping maw that constantly opened and closed, dripping with black liquid.
These Flesh Golems didn’t let out a single roar. Instead, they locked onto every living thing in the area with a bone-chilling silence. The viscous black liquid quickly solidified into skin with a metallic luster.
Then, they moved.
“So fast!”
An alchemist didn’t even have time to pull out a card before being violently knocked backward!
They were fast! It was a speed that completely defied their bloated physiques!
*Whoosh—*
A crossbow bolt shot out from the distant woods, accurately pinning itself into the head of a golem lunging toward a member of the White Queen’s team.
*Thud.*
The bolt sank halfway in, but it only caused the golem to pause for a brief moment.
“Kexia!”
Lomio called out.
Soon, Kexia emerged from the shadows with her hunter squad. She quickly regrouped with the Lead Team, her expression grim.
“Big brother, I don’t know how to fight these things! They don’t die even if you hit them in the head!”
“The defensive power of these things is incredibly high!”
“I’d like to see just how high it is!”
Lilith’s rage finally found an outlet.
“Scum!”
Her greatsword ignited with towering flames, and she transformed into a streak of fire as she charged head-on into the pack of golems.
“Flame Burst Slash!”
As the sword swung down, flames exploded.
The Flesh Golem that took the direct hit had half its body charred black, yet it continued to stride forward, waving its sharp claws as it lunged.
“What?!”
Lilith’s eyes were filled with disbelief. Her strike, powerful enough to shatter mountains, had failed to kill this monster outright?!
“Don’t use brute force! Their body structure is bizarre; the life core isn’t in a conventional location!” Elena immediately warned her, waving her staff at the same time. “Vine Bind!”
Dozens of tough vines erupted from the soil, attempting to entwine the golems’ limbs. However, the strength of those golems was extraordinary. With a barbaric heave, the vines snapped inch by inch.
“Wind Blade!”
Elena switched her magic, sending countless azure wind blades weaving and cutting through the crowd of golems.
*Rip! Rip! Rip!*
The wind blades left deep wounds that exposed bone, and black blood splattered everywhere. But under the glow of the magic circle, those wounds wiggled and healed at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Their attacks were more like a light massage than a lethal strike.
“It’s useless, Elena,” Karenina’s cold voice rang out. “The Dark Magic Circle is providing them with a continuous stream of power.”
“Damn it!” Lilith cursed, swinging her sword again to knock a golem back, though she couldn’t deal a fatal blow.
They were locked in a bitter struggle.
Right then, a flash of blade light flickered.
Ibuki Rei appeared beside a golem, her blade precisely slicing through its arm.
*Clang!*
‘So hard!’
Surprised by the hardness of the golem’s skin, Ibuki Rei’s hand went numb from the impact. A tiny notch actually appeared on her finely crafted blade, which pained her heart to no end!
“Fall back and save your strength! This is a common attrition tactic used by Dark Mages!”
Lomio flashed forward, his Dragon Sword sweeping upward.
*Splat!*
An arm with metallic skin—yet made of rotten meat and bone underneath—was severed and sent flying. At the same time, the familiar character for **[Slash]** appeared above the golem’s head.
*Puchi!*
Following the blade marks in his vision, the Dragon Sword in Lomio’s hand thrust forward again. He met no resistance. It was as if he weren’t cutting through the tough body of a magical creature, but a block of tofu.
Next—
*Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!*
Under everyone’s horrified gazes, the Dragon Sword in Lomio’s hand turned into a dazzling blur of phantoms. Every time the blade light flashed, it precisely dismantled the golem along its joints and fragile connection points.
He removed its limbs. He sliced open its chest. Finally, the sword pointed toward the exposed black core, which was only the size of a fingernail.
“Hah!”
With a battle cry, Lomio’s Dragon Sword pierced the core.
The Flesh Golem’s movements came to an abrupt halt. Then, it collapsed with a crash, turning into a puddle of lifeless, rotten meat. Simultaneously, a strange sensation transformed into power that flowed into his body, pulling and guiding his Ninjutsu.
“FLAME!”
Calling out in his heart, five fireballs manifested around Lomio’s body. It was the True Dragon Flame Blast!
*Boom!*
The dire situation immediately eased as five golems were reduced to ashes!
Execution kill, recovery, then another kill and another recovery. The power cycle of a Dragon Ninja was just that simple and unadorned.
“Is… is this the power of Tier 3?”
Lilith looked at Lomio, the greatsword in her hand feeling strangely heavy. Previously, when her attack was parried by Lomio, she thought he had used some trick or an alchemy card. But looking at it now… he probably wasn’t Tier 3 at all!
“This power…”
Even for Elena, this was the first time she had experienced the power of the True Dragon Flame Blast so closely and directly. Her braided hair, which had been severed by Kexia’s shot, scattered in the wind.
The young woman had fallen into a deep state of self-doubt.
Where was the chanting? Where were the alchemy cards?
All he did was say “FLAME” and such a powerful skill was released?! He hadn’t even seem to mobilize much mana…
‘What is he? What exactly is going on with this man?’
“Let’s go.”
Before Elena could react, Karenina had already raised her hand. A path of frost that froze the soil emerged, covering the runes on the ground while also sealing the black mud that generated the monsters.
“Sir!”
“Retreat.” Lomio had no intention of lingering in the fight.
“Then we—”
Just as the members of the White Queen’s team intended to step onto the path of ice, a wall of ice completely cut them off.
“This isn’t free,” Karenina barked coldly. She manipulated the ice to push the group back to their original positions.
“There’s nothing to be done. It’s your leader’s fault for being so difficult,” Lomio added.
Lomio wasn’t obsessed with making this single deal. Being able to recruit two SSRs to work for him and stop them from being antagonistic would naturally be a good thing. But watching his two competitors worry about their credits and school registration while he no longer had any such concerns…
How could that not be one of life’s greatest pleasures?
Just thinking about it made the smile transfer from their faces to his!