Chapter 378: That Was Herbert (82K Bonus 204 205)

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Sophia furrowed her brow and said in a low voice, "I have a very bad premonition. Something might happen tonight."

"Hmm?"

Joanna raised an eyebrow, narrowed her eyes, and began to sense along with her.

"..."

After a moment, the priestess shook her head and said helplessly, "I don't sense anything on my end, and my Lady hasn't given me any revelation either."

Ever since arriving at the Misty Mountains, the Goddess of Ice and Snow had ceased giving her any revelations, but a habit built up over so long could not be easily changed, and this loyal priestess still instinctively relied on the gods' blessings.

"But since you say so, something bad is probably going to happen. Tell the others to get ready."

"Mm, you go notify your compatriots, I'll patrol the perimeter first."

The two finished speaking and turned to leave, preparing to notify the others to be on guard. Tonight was destined not to be a peaceful night.

But before Sophia and Joanna could leave, a somewhat lazy voice called out to them.

"I say... you two, aren't you being a little too tense?"

As the third person present, the mushroom merchant rather helplessly curled her lip, extending hyphae from her fingertips to fiddle with her miniature puppet.

Miss Mise squinted sidelong at the two, curled her lip, and said casually, "Is there really a need to be that afraid? That guy's strength shouldn't be enough to threaten your lives, right?"

The mushroom merchant found the two's reaction incomprehensible.

What's there to be so tense about?

After Sophia and the others' repeated calculations, although that "Three-Headed Chimera" was considerably stronger than any one of them individually, it absolutely couldn't be called overwhelming.

In terms of raw strength, it was indeed strong, but only to a limited degree.

The threat wasn't small, but it wasn't that exaggerated either.

What gave them the most headache about the opponent was the special attributes possessed by each of its three heads, as well as its extremely powerful regenerative ability.

Sophia had once gone all-out, using an injury-for-injury fighting style to leave grievous wounds on the Three-Headed Chimera, and as a spirit body, she had nearly suffered a severe blow and fallen into slumber.

The result was that the wound, which had nearly pierced through the entire chimera's body, fully recovered within just a few breaths—only one of its heads drooped to the ground, temporarily losing strength for a period.

After the main body suffered a fatal wound, it could absorb the life energy of one of its heads to recover.

Based on the deduced weakness, unless all three heads of the chimera were severely wounded simultaneously, it would be very difficult to deal it effective damage.

This was a very troublesome enemy.

Not only did it have complicated mechanics, but it was also a thick-skinned, meaty stat-monster.

Against an enemy like this, one couldn't strike lightly. Once they did strike, it had to be with the momentum of a thunderbolt, finishing the job in one decisive battle!

With the three of them present, the Three-Headed Chimera's threat to the Elteria Territory wasn't that high—but they still needed to be cautious.

Even Sophia and the others had to be careful, let alone the others. The dwellings of the group were even more precarious, easily destroyed by the reach of battle.

Joanna was quite tense about this. She cared deeply about the temple and the simple wooden cabins in the territory—those were all painstakingly built by hand by their priestess sisters!

Sophia was even more unwilling to let the Elteria Territory suffer the slightest damage, not even a single bit.

However, in Miss Mise's view, Sophia and the other's worries actually had no meaning at all.

Miss Mise currently had no particular feelings for the Elteria Territory, and her way of thinking differed from Sophia and the other.

The town before her—no, perhaps "village" would be more fitting... did it hold any special value?

The Elteria Territory's current construction was still in the earliest of early stages, with no facilities worth destroying.

What's there to worry about!

She even secretly thought to herself—in a certain sense, the destruction of others could also be viewed as reclamation.

"..."

Sophia looked at Miss Mise, was silent for a while, and ultimately said nothing more, merely shaking her head gently and stating firmly, "No matter what you say, I will guard this place until my Lord's return."

The centaur heroic spirit had already given up trying to explain to Miss Mise the significance this territory held for them; what needed to be said had already been said.

Since this mushroomfolk didn't think well of them, there was no need to waste more words.

"Compared to my own safety, Elteria is more important."

"This is our home."

"Protecting everything here is the task my Lord bestowed upon me. I must keep my promise to him!"

"Whether you believe it or not, once my Lord returns, every problem can be easily resolved," Sophia said firmly.

Those who walk different paths cannot plan together.

Although Sophia and Miss Mise were nominally both Herbert's subordinates, there was a gap in their loyalty.

However, Miss Mise's subsequent reaction differed from what Sophia had imagined.

The mushroomfolk, who had previously appeared quite arrogant, actually nodded in considerable agreement at this moment, without a hint of denial.

"Mm, indeed."

Hmm?

Sophia paused for a moment, turned her head, and looked at the mushroom merchant with some disbelief: "You believe it?"

"Of course I believe it!"

Miss Mise gave her a strange look and asked back in considerable puzzlement: "Don't you think about it—if I didn't believe in him, why would I have followed him here?"

"Haven't I been saying it all along? For such a small problem, once he comes back, can't it be easily solved?"

In fact, when it came to confidence in Herbert, Miss Mise had even more than the other two!

Sophia's unconditional trust in Herbert stemmed from her own faith; even knowing Herbert only possessed high-tier strength, she still had a kind of near-blind belief in him.

Joanna wasn't too clear about Herbert's actual strength, and her trust in him also came from the Goddess's arrangement—since the Goddess had said he was trustworthy, then he could be believed.

As for Miss Mise, she had personally witnessed Herbert's "true strength" with her own eyes!

It was merely a peak-legendary aberrant magical creature. That man had even been able to destroy an epic-level Miss Xie Shen incarnation.

"Although I don't know exactly what Herbert has set up here in this camp, he surely must have left some necessary measures in secret, right?"

A being like Herbert—how could he possibly have no contingencies prepared at his own base?

He must have made thorough arrangements long ago, set to trigger the moment he encountered any of the anticipated dangers.

Either some means sufficient to resist the danger, or a direct summons to him, letting him descend in person to handle it.

In any case, it surely won't be much of a problem!

Miss Mise's even more relaxed attitude left Sophia and the other two exchanging glances, their taut nerves easing just a bit.

"This…"

"Hah!"

Seeing Miss Mise so at ease, she must know some inside information!

Perhaps, just as she said, Herbert really had already hidden some measures here, ready to trigger the moment danger drew near.

Sophia was silent for a moment, then finally gave a slight nod.

The look she cast toward Miss Mise softened considerably as she said softly, "Miss Mise, perhaps you're right, but even so, we cannot afford to be careless. We still need to heighten our vigilance tonight."

"That should be the case. I haven't been stopping you either—do whatever you need to do."

Miss Mise shrugged and teased, "But you know, I know you'd really like to talk me into joining your team, but surely it can't be that we just finished discussing it during the day and then it comes attacking tonight, right?"

"How could anything that coincidental happen in this world? That would be far too convenient… huh!!?"

Halfway through her words, Miss Mise's expression suddenly darkened—and upon noticing that the others hadn't caught her change, she quietly adjusted the expression on the miniature doll in her hand to make a darkened face.

"Not good."

!!!

"What's wrong?"

Sophia sensed something was off and asked in a lowered voice, "Did you discover something?"

There really is a problem!!?

Miss Mise half-squinted her eyes and "listened" for a moment, then slowly nodded: "I've detected an unusual tremor."

"After arriving here, I buried some mycelia around the territory—on one hand to help me analyze the soil conditions here, and on the other to serve as an early warning."

Her expression grew solemn as she said in a heavy voice, "And now… one of the mycelia I buried underground has been destroyed!"

"It's coming!"

"Due west, three hundred meters out!"

"No, wait—it's already at two hundred meters!"

"Although its speed has slowed, it's still continuing to approach."

!!?

After hearing Miss Mise's words, Sophia's expression turned utterly Solemn.

This close!!?

Although that chimera had been probing all along, it had never come this near.

The closest it had come before was only to within three kilometers, without pressing further in.

The centaur spirit had no time to ask for specifics and rushed straight out.

And Joanna had already charged out the moment the three-headed chimera reached three hundred meters, issuing a warning to all the priestesses at rest.

A prism-shaped ice crystal flew from her palm and, upon reaching midair, burst apart like fireworks, jolting the already-slumbering Erda awake.

Bang!

After the great crash, all the resting priestesses of the Goddess of Ice and Snow sensed the strange surge of magical energy, woke from their dreams, and snapped their eyes open.

Something's happening!!?

Next, they heard my lord Joanna

"Everyone! Emergency alert!!!"

The priestesses' expressions turned solemn as they swiftly emerged from their respective lodgings, carrying all manner of weapons, and gathered at Joanna's side.

Flails, long-handled hammers, greatswords, two-handed swords, small scythes…

Among these priestesses, only one used the conventional staff one would normally picture—but even that staff had a bloodstained blue gemstone embedded in one end, one could not tell what tragedy it had once wrought.

Those roused were not only the priestesses; the other residents of the Erda Territory had also been startled awake.

The gray dwarves, who had finally enjoyed a few peaceful days, also poked their heads anxiously out of the burrows they had dug.

What happened?

Although the current Erda Territory could hardly be called ideal, for gray dwarves like them who had long been homeless, the mere freedom of a life without restraint or punishment was already worth more than anything.

They sincerely hoped no accident would befall this place.

"…"

Sophia stood above the entirety of Erda, gripping her powerful bow, her sharp gaze sweeping quickly through the mist beneath the night.

Nothing?

She had somehow failed to detect any trace of the other party.

"It actually vanished…" Sophia's heart sank.

The chimera hadn't appeared at all?

The thought flashed through her mind, but of course Sophia would not suspect Miss Mise of making such a pointless joke.

"Miss Mise, where is it hiding now?"

"It's now a hundred meters to the west… huh?"

Miss Mise was about to answer when her expression shifted slightly.

"No, that's not right—two hundred meters? Four hundred meters? Three hundred meters? Huh?"

"It... its presence has vanished."

Miss Mise sensed carefully for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It's already realized it's been exposed and has hidden itself completely."

Sofiya's expression darkened, and she slowly nodded.

This was no unexpected outcome.

After Joanna had flung that ice-crystal firework, it would have been hard for the Chimera not to notice.

If the Chimera could be driven back directly, that would be even better.

But what left Sofiya uneasy was the reaction the other side had shown.

And its way of acting was different from every previous display — it seemed more rational.

"It's not the goat head leading? The wolf head, then? Or... that vulture head?"

The three-headed Chimera's three heads each had their own personality and attribute.

The goat head was fire-attribute, hot-tempered, brash in its ways; most of the previous clashes had been led by it.

The wolf head was ice-attribute, cold and sinister in temperament, its style of action quite covert.

The third head, the vulture head, radiated an aura of death; it had always seemed utterly silent, showing no special reaction, yet it was impossible to simply overlook it.

"..."

The scene fell into a deadlock for a time.

For now, the people of Erda only knew that although the three-headed Chimera had not shown itself again, it had definitely not left.

That inexplicable pressure hung over everyone's hearts all the while.

In the crowd, two girls stood side by side.

At this moment, a subtle change came over Unnier's eyes, shifting from innocent naivety to mature depth.

The Winter Goddess had descended.

Her brows knit slightly as she observed; a light kindled in her eyes, she swept a glance around, then her gaze fell on a corner a thousand meters away.

Just as She was about to give these little ones a small hint, Teresa beside Her stuck out her tongue and it moved.

Teresa's expression suddenly changed; she pointed in the same direction the Winter Goddess had been looking at and cried anxiously, "Over... ow!"

In her haste, she bit her own tongue.

The girl, teary-eyed, pointed over there and called out with a swollen tongue: "I' i' over 'hat—"

Although Teresa's voice had gone a little off-key, Sofiya, whose attention was highly focused, still noticed and understood her words.

Although there was nothing there in her own eyes, she unhesitatingly swung her longbow around and released the taut bowstring.

Whoosh—

The sharp arrowhead tore through the long sky, stabbing from Erda's high altitude into the black fog.

That arrow, formed of magic, dispersed and split mid-flight, becoming dozens, then hundreds, raining down on that empty ground like a downpour.

Those arrows crossed a distance of a thousand meters; the instant before they hit the ground, a reaction finally appeared.

In an instant the arrows were stained pitch-black, then swiftly ignited with black flames and burst apart rapidly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

And behind the enormous cloud of dust, a hideous, colossal creature emerged from the shadows of the fog.

It had a lizard-like massive body, and three grotesque, terrifying heads.

Once exposed, it appeared especially furious; the goat head flung back and spewed a ball of raging fire, letting out a piercing shriek.

"ROAR!!!"

The vulture head stared viciously at the centaur heroic spirit, then slowly lowered its gaze to the girl who was pointing at it.

The Chimera had discovered who it was that had pointed it out.

It had already been preparing to withdraw, but since it had been spotted, this time it had to do something.

Kill her!

Next time it wouldn't be spotted!

Teresa:!!?

The instant the vulture head fixed its gaze on her, she felt an intensely powerful terror, as if she had plunged into a frigid abyss!

Death's malice closed in on her!

The moment she was stared down, Teresa could not help trembling, a soft whimper almost like a wail escaping her lips.

Instinctively she wanted to flee, to hide from that malice.

But the instant the girl was about to step and turn, she stamped her foot hard!

Thud!

"No!"

Teresa clenched her fists, forced herself to stay where she was, and glared in that direction.

She could not run.

She had already run countless times; she could not keep running away like this forever.

If she wanted to be worthy of standing by his side, she could no longer keep fleeing like this.

She had to face it.

Overcome the fear in her heart!

Although she still could not control the trembling of her body, she had at least taken that most crucial first step.

Unnier gently pressed her palm to the back of Teresa's heart and said softly, "It's all right, don't be afraid, everything will be fine."

Teresa felt the warmth transmitted from her back, drew a deep breath, and slowly nodded: "... Mm. Lord Herbert will definitely come save us."

Winter Goddess:?

Hey, wasn't I the one comforting you?

Why are you bringing up his name again?

You're clearly in love with him!

……

"Everyone, prepare!"

Under Joanna's command, the priests raised their weapons and formed a circle, within which a massive ice spike slowly took shape.

Everyone stood ready, watching the beast, hoping it would retreat on its own.

But clearly… that was impossible.

"Roar—"

As if sensing the town's tense atmosphere, the three-headed chimera grew even more excited.

It boldly took a step forward.

Thud!

Closer.

And as it felt the town's atmosphere grow even more oppressive, it roared, all three heads letting out excited shrieks simultaneously.

"Roar!!!"

It roared again, its probing steps growing bolder.

Thud!

One step, two steps, three steps… it broke into a run!

The beast charged forward, racing toward the light in the darkness.

"Get out! Leave this place!"

Sophia fired another arrow, issuing a stern warning.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Arrows rained down, but the chimera paid no heed, letting them strike its body, leaving wounds that healed swiftly.

It grew even more excited from the pain.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

At this moment, everyone—Miss Mise included—watched the charging behemoth, their expressions turning serious.

The mushroom merchant, though she claimed she wouldn't help, wouldn't do anything beyond her duties… at this moment of life and death, how could she possibly stand by and do nothing?

If she truly did that, when Herbert returned, her fate would likely be no better.

That Holy Knight was never a man to be trifled with.

Just as conflict was about to erupt and Sophia prepared to lead the others into battle against the three-headed chimera—

The spring at the town's center suddenly blazed with brilliant Jin Guang!

A dazzling column of light shot up from the water's surface, racing toward the heavens!

Hum!!!

"What!!?"

"What's happening?"

"That's…"

The Eldar all gasped, then sighed in relief as they realized the light came from their own side.

This sudden transformation caused the three-headed beast to halt abruptly—it sensed a powerful threat.

Danger?

"Roar…"

As it hesitated, wondering whether to retreat temporarily, a blood-stained Jin Guang burst forth from the light column.

That Jin Guang was like a golden lightning bolt cleaving the heavens, as if divine wrath had descended in punishment!

Crack!

The brilliant Jin Guang shot forward at incredible speed, striking the chimera's ram head directly between the eyes before it could react.

Before everyone's stunned gaze, the terrifying light vanished in an instant, piercing clean through the ram head and leaving a massive hole.

"Roar!!?"

The event happened too suddenly; only when pain registered did the remaining two heads let out belated, furious roars.

It had not suffered such a wound in a long time!

Though one head was temporarily destroyed, its overall power had not dropped much—if it absorbed enough energy, it could regenerate.

But this pain and fury drove the three-headed chimera utterly mad.

"Roar—"

It raised its head, glaring at the crimson figure floating in the sky, and from its wolf head unleashed a torrent of ice blades!

But its attacks seemed painfully slow to the figure—the silhouette moved with blinding speed, effortlessly dodging every ice blade.

After dodging, the bloodied figure still made no move to attack, merely hovering in the air, looking down at the monster as if in mockery.

The chimera understood that gaze.

It was not even worth noticing!

How dare it look down on me!

"Roar!"

In fury, it forgot caution, filled its lungs, and unleashed a freezing storm like a dragon's breath.

Dozens of meters around it instantly froze solid—the ground became a mirror of ice, reflecting the crimson figure in the sky.

Under the massive-area attack, the figure failed to dodge, struggling midair as its evasive speed dropped significantly.

…

"What is that!?"

Joanna watched the spectacle, exhaling in relief, and signaled the priestesses to lower their prepared spells.

If possible, she preferred not to involve her people in combat.

They had been sent by the Goddess to assist—not to shed blood for this territory.

"Was this one of Lord Herbert's backup plans?" Joanna complained to Sophiea, who had landed on the ground. "If you knew about this, why didn't you say so earlier? I nearly panicked!"

"Uh…"

At that moment, the centaur spirit could only awkwardly scratch his head and said uncertainly, "You might be mistaken—I have no idea what's going on."

Sophiea was now the most confused of all—what exactly was in this lake?

What had Fu Leimei left behind in the water when she created it here?

Joanna raised an eyebrow, moved her lips, and silently changed the subject: "Whatever it is, it seems Lord Herbert truly left a method, as Miss Mise said. The crisis has been averted."

"Hm?"

Miss Mise hesitated at these words, carefully sensing the figure radiating light and heat.

She checked again and again, blinking, more puzzled than ever.

"Um… what are you two talking about?"

She turned to them, speaking strangely: "What method? Isn't that… Herbert himself?"

Don't you realize what you're saying?

Isn't he right there?

"Lord Herbert?"

"That is Our Master!?"

Sophiea and the others were startled, staring blankly at Miss Mise, their confusion spilling out of their eyes—could you please listen to yourself?

That's Herbert?

Impossible!

How could that possibly be Herbert!

Miss Mise:???

The mushroom merchant, unnerved by their stares, glanced again and confirmed: "It's him! And he hasn't even used his full power yet!"

Miss Mise had witnessed firsthand how Herbert fought the avatar of Miss Xie Shen—it had nearly become a falling sun!

This legendary peak chimera is no match for him at all!

Trapped by a freezing storm?

Are you kidding?

He's a divine favored of the Sun God!

That scheming bastard is just playing around—he's deliberately mocking the opponent.

"Wait and see. You'll know soon."

As Miss Mise spoke, Herbert on the other side reacted immediately.

Just as a thick layer of ice formed on his body and he was about to fall from the sky—he suddenly erupted in blinding light!

The mirror array of the Mirror Space acted like a magnifying lens, amplifying Herbert's holy power severalfold, concentrating it all into his battle armor.

The suppressed light and heat exploded instantly, illuminating the darkness of the entire area!

"Roar!!?"

The sudden burst of blinding light, like the most terrifying flash grenade, caused the three-headed beast at close range to let out a piercing shriek, clutching its four eyes in agony as it shut them.

The moment it closed its eyes, it felt another piercing pain.

Herbert, prepared in advance, plunged downward from above, attempting to replicate his earlier tactic and sever the griffin head once more.

He condensed a longsword of holy light and drove it deep into the creature's brow.

But this time, Herbert failed regretfully.

The holy light sword did sink into the brow as expected—but it did not pierce through; halfway in, it was shattered by a direct impact.

Crack!

Yet Herbert did not abandon his attack. After retreating and dodging, he charged again.

Once more!

Whoosh—hiss!

"Roar!!?"

After his second attempt, leaving a symmetrical mark on the wolf head, Herbert vanished instantly, evading the beast's furious counterattack.

Herbert hovered midair, eyes lowered, coldly observing the beast's chaotic strikes below. He nodded silently—his deduction was complete.

"Hmm… still lacking."

He couldn't win.

As a newly entered legendary-tier paladin, he still couldn't defeat this creature.

Without the advantage of a surprise first strike, and without the stacked power, his newly achieved legendary-level strength was insufficient to slay a beast that had long reached legendary peak.

He had indeed inflicted real damage—only embedding the holy light sword into the griffin head's brow, leaving a bloodied hole.

Penetrated the defense—but not fatal.

His true strength in speed and defense far exceeded his realm—but he lacked an effective offensive technique.

It wasn't entirely without solution: if Herbert returned to the Mirror Space and recharged once more, he could still unleash that attack like Lei Ting.

But that would take too long to prepare, and it carries a certain amount of risk.

Delay breeds change!

This giant beast guarding the shard of the Heroic Spirit Pool had always been his target.

The chance of this three-headed chimera delivering itself right to his doorstep was rare, and without the Heroic Spirit Pool's boost, its strength had already dropped considerably.

If he let it go this time and it holed up in its lair, a chance this perfect would never come again.

He had to seize this opportunity!

As he thought, Herbert's gaze swept over the people of the Eluda Territory.

"Their strength… hmm, barely enough, but I'm afraid it's still a bit short."

Sophia and the others were not weak, but they probably couldn't pull off a crushing victory — there was a real risk of casualties.

Since they wouldn't work either…

Then there was no choice — he had to take emergency measures!

He had to throw a heavy punch!

Since you three-headed brat don't know what's good for you and refuse to drop dead obediently, don't blame this old man for playing dirty.

"You wait right there!"

Herbert looked at the three-headed chimera yowling wildly underground, the corner of his mouth curling up as he let out a snort of derision.

"I'm going to round up some people!"

Having said that, his mind stirred, and he looked at the ice surface that resembled a mirror — and sure enough, he saw the Mirror Demon Young Lady within it.

After receiving Lukariya's affirmation, Herbert took a deep breath and plunged straight down, crashing into the ice surface.

"Lord Herbert!?"

"My Master!?"

Fortunately, Herbert didn't smash his head open, but smoothly returned to Eluda through the "ice mirror surface"!

"Ha! It worked!"

Herbert let out a great laugh, and without even having time to talk with the Mirror Demon Young Lady, he didn't pause for a single instant — he pushed open the teleportation gate directly and charged into the Endless Labyrinth.

He called out, summoning the teleportation gate leading to the Deep Water Prison.

This time Herbert was preparing to field an all-star lineup, rounding up every monster girl he could muster, to teach that three-headed chimera a proper lesson.

"Fu Leimei, help me! Come — mm!?" Herbert was about to push the door open again when he suddenly felt a weight on his back.

"Hey! Where exactly are you going?" An irritated voice came from behind, making Herbert's expression freeze.

Hm?

The person behind him viciously "bit" Herbert's earlobe, huffing angrily: "Why look for her and not me? Is Fu Leimei more charming than me!? Speak!"

!!!!

"Valentina! You're awake!"

Herbert turned around, grabbed the Hungry Dragon Young Lady behind him in a hug, and said joyfully: "You'll do too — you're the one!"

Valentina was about to feel happy, but then felt something a little off about the way he'd put it.

…Hm?

"N-no, that's not right! You came at just the right time!"

Herbert couldn't be bothered to explain — he directly grabbed Valentina and planted a fierce kiss on her, saying quickly: "Quick! Come with me!"

"Someone's bullying me!"

Valentina was immediately delighted after being kissed, but she wasn't satisfied — she wanted to demand more.

But before she could speak, upon hearing those words her eyes suddenly flew open.

An extremely dangerous light flashed in her crimson slit pupils.

"Mm!?"

(End of chapter)