“When did they…”
Lilith’s pride was beginning to crumble. Her emotional anger transformed into a stifling, uncomfortable heat that rushed to her cheeks in the face of reality.
What had she been so anxious about?
Was it for the extorted credits? Was it because of that man’s shameless “tactical retreat”?
She hadn’t even noticed that these Dark Mages had crept so close. They could have launched a fatal spell at the back of the squad at any moment. And yet, she had been throwing a tantrum at the only person who had seen through the truth and was actually solving the problem.
If she had to describe it in one word, it would be “stupid.”
“Is it because nature has been weakened…”
Elena’s voice carried a hint of exhaustion. She straightened her lopsided glasses, her tone laced with self-deprecation. “I tried to save mana, and as a result, I let them get this close. I’ve truly brought shame to the art of elven magic.”
“Who are they? How do they dare set up such a vicious magic array within the Academy’s examination grounds?”
“Where is the Academy? Why hasn’t there been any reaction?”
“If… if we really had chosen to fight that beast head-on just now, would we have already…”
A member of the White Queen squad couldn’t finish her sentence.
The answer was self-evident. Looking at the Flesh Golems that Lomio had instantly cut down, and thinking about the terrifying scene where the Academy brooches had temporarily failed, they knew the truth.
Dark Mages were beings who would use any means necessary. Even though the Duchy provided complete and legitimate paths for advancement, these people sacrificed offerings and even their own souls to save on resources and achieve their goals, trading everything for the evil power of Chaos.
Facing such opponents, if their mana were exhausted or if they made a single mistake in battle, their end would be no better than those golems.
Lilith took a deep breath. The humiliation, anger, and resentment in her chest transformed into something much more resilient at that moment. She stopped looking in the direction where Lomio had disappeared and instead locked her gaze back onto the still-roaring Abyss Ripper.
She strode to Ibuki Rei’s side, lowering her body into a standard coordinated combat stance.
“Leave the left flank to me.”
Ibuki Rei nodded with satisfaction. “It seems you have finally recognized his charm.”
‘Charm?’
Lomio’s “golden words” flashed through Lilith’s mind. Sarcasm, provocation, and every sentence revolving around credits and business.
“Ah, he is indeed very charming.”
As a female knight, Lilith had never felt that a man could make her itch to punch him this much. And the worst part was, she wasn’t even sure she could win.
No more words were needed. At this moment, the atmosphere between them was completely different from before.
“Roar!”
The Abyss Ripper’s movements became more frenzied, yet also more sluggish. It swung its massive bone blade, sweeping toward Lilith, who was the closest.
“Watch out!”
“Hmph!”
Lilith did not retreat; instead, she lunged forward. The flames on her greatsword suddenly retracted, condensing into a solid red glow.
“Strike! Shatter!”
She didn’t try to parry the heavy bone blade. Instead, she dodged at an incredibly dangerous angle and thrust her greatsword precisely into the joint gap of the Abyss Ripper’s other leg.
*Squelch!*
Black blood splattered once again.
“Leave it to me!”
Ibuki Rei’s figure followed closely behind like a shadow. Her long blade sliced upward along the wound Lilith had just opened.
*Rip!*
An even deeper wound was torn open, and one could even see the twitching black tendons inside.
“Freeze.”
Karenina’s cold energy seeped in instantly, preventing the wound from regenerating quickly.
“Its regeneration speed has dropped!”
Elena immediately noticed the issue. Everyone looked over at her words.
They saw that although a thin layer of ice had formed over the two deep wounds under Karenina’s chill, the flesh beneath was still writhing strangely, as if trying to force a regeneration. However, the speed of that regeneration was more than twice as slow as before.
More importantly, what was escaping from the wounds was not pure mana, but a more chaotic and turbid aura.
“It… it is also being drained.”
A flash of realization appeared in Elena’s eyes. She turned her head and looked at the blood-red runes spread across the entire basin. “This array isn’t just draining our mana! It’s also draining the power of the Abyss Ripper!”
What?!
This discovery lifted everyone’s spirits.
“So that’s how it is!” Kexia slapped her thigh. “I was wondering why this big guy looked more and more listless!”
“Those Dark Mages aren’t strengthening it. They want to use us to wear it down, then wait until we’re both exhausted to come out and harvest us!”
“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!”
The situation had completely reversed at this moment.
—
Meanwhile, deep in the dense forest.
“Who… who exactly are you?!”
The last Dark Mage looked in horror at the youth walking toward him with a leisurely pace. Two of his companions had already fallen; one was killed instantly, and the other had been charred into ash by a flame explosion.
It had taken less than 10 seconds. The reinforced golems they had painstakingly prepared were as fragile as paper before this man.
“Me?”
Lomio stopped and tilted his head. He shook the purple scroll he had just “inherited” from the first dead man’s hand.
“I am a businessman who cares very much about the customer experience.”
“My customers paid a high price, so I have to ensure the safety of their ‘assets,’ don’t I?”
“What customers… what assets…”
The Dark Mage had no idea what he was talking about.
“Forget it, you don’t need to understand.”
Lomio’s figure vanished instantly.
*Slash!*
The Dark Mage felt his vision blur as a cold blade pressed against his neck. His last bit of consciousness was spent seeing his body and head separate into two parts.
After dealing with the three small fries, Lomio finally had time to look at the scroll in his hand.
**[Tier 4 – Gate of the Abyss]**
**[Effect: Can forcibly designate a spatial coordinate for short-distance teleportation.]**
**[Note: This scroll carries a risk of failure, which may result in the user being caught in spatial turbulence.]**
‘Ah, so it was this thing. I thought it wouldn’t drop until much later.’
Suppressing a bit of pleasant surprise, Lomio casually tossed it into his system warehouse. Although it was unstable, it could serve as a key item to unlock side plots at a critical moment.
“Now is the time!”
Elena’s voice was clear and firm. As the blood-red light on the Abyss Ripper’s body completely dissipated, its movements stiffened for several seconds. This was the moment the array completed its final drain, and it was also the beast’s most vulnerable state.
“Finish it!”
Lilith roared, pouring all her remaining mana into her greatsword.
“Flame Storm!”
**[Effect: Can forcibly designate a spatial coordinate for short-distance teleportation.]**
**[Note: This scroll carries a risk of failure, which may result in the user being caught in spatial turbulence.]**
‘Ah, so it was this thing. I thought it wouldn’t drop until much later.’
Suppressing a bit of pleasant surprise, Lomio casually tossed it into his system warehouse. Although it was unstable, it could serve as a key item to unlock side plots at a critical moment.
“Now is the time!”
Elena’s voice was clear and firm. As the blood-red light on the Abyss Ripper’s body completely dissipated, its movements stiffened for several seconds. This was the moment the array completed its final drain, and it was also the beast’s most vulnerable state.
“Finish it!”
Lilith roared, pouring all her remaining mana into her greatsword.
“Flame Storm!”
A Tier 5 magic beast was such an insurmountable chasm for them, who were only Tier 3 on average.
“No need to worry.”
Karenina’s vast mana capacity allowed her to still hurl large shards of ice to pierce the beast’s body. “He will come.”
“Not this fast.”
Elena did not agree with “Cafnir’s” opinion. “Dark Mages are so cunning; they must have life-saving methods. How could he possibly be back so soon—”
*Whoosh!*
From deep within the forest, Lomio’s figure flashed like a bolt of lightning, instantly appearing beside the Abyss Ripper.
“Well done!”
Before Lomio’s eyes, a bright red **[Execute]** symbol appeared over the beast that had been beaten to its knees.
So fast?!
Now, Elena truly didn’t understand. Those Dark Mages couldn’t even hold him back for 3 minutes?!
What kind of class was this? Did he even look like an Assassin anymore? Did he take some kind of demonic potion?!