Chapter 111: The Grotesque-Jaw Beast

On the distant horizon beyond the Willow Sands District, where the yellow skyline stretched without end, towering magical beasts formed of sand and gravel slowly rose up one after another.

They came in all shapes—some like giants, some ape-like with arms thicker than their waists, others mere mounds of flesh that moved by writhing.

But without exception, each one bore at least three mouths, each with a complete human oral structure.

Their deep-red lips hung half-open, revealing tongues coated in white film and rows of filthy, yellowed teeth.

A thing built from sand and gravel, yet grown with organic flesh and blood—it was a grotesque sight.

"What is that?"

Witch Dimia wore a puzzled look.

Mages command vast stores of knowledge—that is the foundation of their spellcasting.

But now, none of the three mages present could identify the magical beasts ahead.

With every step the beasts took, their mouth-organs vomited forth thick, black sludge that burrowed into the ground.

It took no guess to know it was harmful.

As they drew closer, the wind and sand grew steadily fiercer.

Fweee—

A spiritual arrow split the sky.

It struck true, hitting the giant at the very front of the beast tide square in the head.

But their bodies were made of sand and gravel; the arrow punched clean through its skull with ease, then buried itself in the ground.

The very next instant, the head returned to its original form.

"Penetrating attacks aren't very effective, huh. Let me try."

Witch Dimia glanced at Rod, then stepped forward.

In truth, the failure to protect Shi Ying Town last time still weighed on her mind.

Though she was grateful Rod had saved her, that didn't mean she didn't want to save face in front of him.

Mana began to surge through her body; the hem of her gown, the brim of her magic hat, and her great braided pigtail with its pink end all began to drift and sway without any wind.

The two mounds of flesh on her chest rose and swayed along with them, jiggling gently—quite the eye-catcher.

Witches need no staff; their own bodies are the finest casting medium.

If a staff costing 15,000 Jin Along boosts casting speed by 20%, then from the moment a witch learns a spell, she is born with a 50% boost to her casting speed.

This is also why most witches are so fond of long-chant spells.

As the spell took shape—

A mass like an orange-red fire-cloud rose above the heads of the beast tide.

Boom—

A thunderous crack rang out within the clouds.

The next instant, orange-red flame laced with violent mana fell from the clouds, radiating searing steam.

【Rain of Fire】.

"A fine spell."

Lady Kali praised.

"Thank you."

Watching the magical beasts burn and collapse one after another,

the witch let out a long breath.

Then she looked toward Sharon and gave a very gentle yet provocative smile.

"What's so funny? It's been ages since I actually cast a spell. You ought to mind your own clothes—wait till your chest flies out from inside and see if you can still laugh."

The dog-girl paid it no mind and retorted coolly.

Come to think of it, a witch's skin is far more delicate than a normal human's, and it needs excellent breathability.

That is also why Dimia wears a magic hat with an extra-wide brim.

After casting, her skin took on a faint pink hue, looking even more delicate and dewy.

Rod paid no attention to their exchange.

He kept his eyes on the magical beasts in the distance and sensed something was off.

Though the beasts were being felled one after another by the Rain of Fire, those mouths with their complete structures kept opening and closing as they died.

As if they were screaming.

"Don't let your guard down. Something feels wrong."

Before the words were finished, his expression changed sharply.

Strands of silent psychic sound waves came from the desert, moving slowly but steadily toward Dimia.

Thud—

He vanished from where he stood and appeared in front of Dimia.

But he was a step too late.

Witch Dimia suddenly went deathly pale; she swayed and nearly lost her footing, but Rod caught her in his arms just in time.

Soft against his chest, Rod could barely feel any bones in her body at all.

The others' expressions all shifted.

Sharon reacted most violently; she snatched Dimia in a panic and hurriedly poured a healing potion down her throat.

"What happened?"

Lady Kali looked toward the forester ahead.

"Psychic attack?"

"Not bad."

"Mm, I remember now—this is a Maw Aberration, a type of cosmic creature."

After a brief moment of thought, the elf reached her conclusion and said:

"About a hundred and twenty years ago, it appeared on the continent as an invader—probably some mage's failed experiment accidentally released it. No one has ever claimed responsibility. Twenty years after it appeared, the population gradually swelled, and the Demon Control Union classified it as a C-rank disaster. There's a corresponding bounty for each one hunted down. Over the next ten years they were cleared out rapidly, and now it's rare to see them at all."

Sharon paused, then handed the witch over to Tally.

She took out a notebook.

This was clearly some kind of tool.

After she spoke a keyword, it began flipping rapidly through its pages, and after a few seconds froze on a particular page.

"Maw Aberration—a type of incorporeal spiritual cosmic creature. It likes to attach itself to things and can emit 【Soul Tremor】. The vomit it spews is a spiritual contaminant; those with low spiritual resistance are forbidden from contact."

Hearing this.

Kali's delicate brows furrowed.

"This is troublesome—my Jing Shen Xi Fa isn't very good."

Rod slowly drew out the longsword radiating Jin Guang.

He said with a smile:

"What's there to be afraid of? You've got me right here, don't you?"

"You? Don't do anything reckless! Spiritual resistance isn't the same as physical strength!"

The elf warned.

"No, Lady Kali." Sharon shook her head. "Mr. Rod's spiritual resistance is the strongest I've ever seen. If he can't handle it, then no one here can."

"Impossible? He's just a spiritual warrior who couldn't even shake off a succubus."

"Hey! Why are you dragging me into this!"

Tally protested, displeased.

Rod paid them no mind. With one ultimate leap he directly caved in the ground and launched himself into the air.

BOOM!!!

He traced an arc through the sky, landing among the mob of monsters like a cannonball.

The sand and gravel kicked up by the impact formed a circular curtain of dust.

Now that the distance had closed, Rod noticed the group gave off a foul stench.

"Die!"

A look of disgust crossed his face.

【Devotion Body Sword】 gathered a massive amount of spiritual energy.

A horizontal slash from left to right—his increasingly practiced 【Giant-Cleaving Slash】 finished charging mid-swing.

A single spiritual blade stretching over five meters long swept an entire row of monsters clean.

Immediately, Rod could feel wave after wave of silent soundwaves rushing at his mind.

But under the extreme spiritual resistance of 【Will of the Firmament】, they were all nullified.

Like cutting through melons and vegetables, he simply used 【Giant-Cleaving Slash】 as a basic attack, and in just a few strokes cleaned out a huge wave of monsters.

He returned triumphantly to the Sand Willow District.

He shrugged at Kali.

"."

The proud elf didn't feel like dignifying him with a response, and instead said:

"If these monster waves keep coming one after another, we need to think of another plan. We can't put all our chips on one person."

"Indeed, indeed."

After a short rest, Dimia gradually came back to herself, and was the first to voice her agreement with the elf's words.

She then looked at Rod and gave a small nod with a smile.

In the final moment before she had lost consciousness, she had seen Rod standing in front of her. Though she was still unwilling to admit it, a few extra threads of gratitude had quietly taken root in her heart.

Rod's thoughts drifted for a moment.

So that delicate, pale, slightly baby-faced cute countenance—when it smiled—could carry a mother's warmth too.

(End of Chapter)