Chapter 47: Siege

Tally seized the opportunity and used [Flash] to appear beside him.

She swung the Scythe Claw Reverse Blade in a wide arc, driving it straight into the shadow mage’s back.

Ping!

The final layer of magical shield shattered cleanly, leaving a deep, bloody gash across his back.

The shadow mage let out a shrill scream.

He had fought Tally for a long time; even in the most dangerous moments, she never revealed another card, so he assumed their mission was merely to delay.

He never expected this fool had a weapon with [Magic Penetration]!

And one that could shatter his magical shield in a single strike—its rank must be high!

He panicked instantly.

He scrambled to dive into the shadows.

Mages are always like this—fragile bodies, and once their last defense falls, they’re exposed to the deadliest attacks.

But Tally had been waiting for him.

She condensed a ball of pitch-black spiritual energy and slammed her fist into the ground.

Hss!

The next instant, countless shadow-formed spiritual spikes erupted from the very shadow where the shadow mage had tried to vanish.

They impaled him, dragging him back out into the open.

“【Shadow Spike Break Concealment】?! How the hell do you, a sixth-rank beginner with unstable aura, know this technique?!!”

The mage’s tone was utterly incredulous, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Who do you think you are? Do you think I owe you an explanation? Ghoul! Bite him!”

After casting this spell, Tally’s spiritual energy briefly stalled, leaving her unable to press the attack.

Pan Ni immediately ordered the ghoul servants to swarm forward.

The shadow mage frantically hurled dozens of magical missiles.

But these ghoul servants, freshly turned from fallen soldiers on the battlefield, still retained their combat skills—three of them broke through the missile barrage and bit down on the mage’s body.

“Ahh!!! Damn it! Get off me!!”

He unleashed a massive [Repulsion Spell], blasting all the ghouls away.

But chunks of flesh from his arm and shoulder remained clamped in their jaws, and the wounds bore clear traces of [Corpse Rot Poison].

As the mage tried to reform his magical shield, Tally [Flash]ed back in and hurled a glass vial at his face.

The glass shattered, spilling a thick glob of green liquid over him—only then did he realize his magic was instantly draining, dissolving rapidly.

“W-what is this?!”

Several [Spiritual Arrow]s rained from above, piercing his thighs and abdomen.

The searing pain made his mind reel, nearly crippling his ability to think.

“Son of a bitch!!!”

He staggered behind a locust tree, frantically downing several antidote potions.

The shadow mage glanced at the single-use magic ring in his hand.

It was the [Full Restoration], gifted by Bishop Hugo.

It could instantly restore the user to peak condition, but the side effect would leave them bedridden and immobile for a full week.

He had endured that misery before, so he always avoided situations that would force him to use it.

But now—he had no choice!

“I never imagined there was an organization like this in Shi Ying Town.”

He didn’t recognize Luo De’s face and didn’t connect him to the forest warden of Windwall Forest; he assumed this was merely a secret group secretly protecting Shi Ying Town.

Just as he was about to activate the ring, the shadow mage suddenly felt an intense itch on his face.

A kind of itching that surpassed pain.

A slender green figure appeared before him.

“Tree spirit?”

Her eyes, glowing with white light, locked onto his—and for a moment, they stole his very soul.

The magic needed to activate the ring froze solid.

In a daze, he felt himself sinking into an ocean of vines—soft, comforting, lulling him into calm slumber, as if returning to his mother’s womb.

The tree spirit’s innate spiritual technique—[Soul Seizure]!

When Tally and Pan Ni arrived, only a corpse, twisted apart by vines, remained beside the locust tree.

“Hey, Vivian, thanks to you.”

She was utterly exhausted and collapsed onto the ground.

Even after gulping down two magic potions, she still hadn’t recovered—no remedy could replace hunger.

Pan Ni took the potion offered by the succubus and stared curiously at Vivian.

“Who is this?”

“Her? Hmm, you could call her your senior—though still, she’s my junior.”

“Ah! Senior Vivian, nice to meet you! I’m Pan Ni!” The ghoul noticed the rune markings on Vivian’s collarbone.

“.”

The tree spirit didn’t respond, instead asked: “Where is Luo De.”

Pan Ni frowned.

“Here, I must criticize you, Senior—even if the Master isn’t here, you can’t call him by name behind his back!” She stole a glance at Tally.

Loyalty to the Master wasn’t enough—you had to show it to the Master’s top lieutenant too!

But Tally didn’t care; she simply pointed casually toward the center of the battlefield.

The tree spirit activated [Tree Walker] and vanished from sight.

Pan Ni panicked.

“Miss Tally, we should hurry too!”

“Why rush? The Master’s tough—he won’t lose so easily to that beastman. If anything, he’s stronger than the beastman in that department.”

“But Miss Vivian will steal all the credit—if the Master grows even fonder of her...”

Tally glanced at the ghoul.

This thing is so eager—does it want to compete for favor?

She waved her hand, unable to suppress a laugh at her own thought.

With my own fresh, versatile body here, how could the Master possibly care for a ghoul?

Over there.

Luo De’s intense clash with the beastman Ami had finally slowed.

His [Sacrificial Blade] was riddled with nicks and chips; his upper clothing had been shredded by blade winds.

A large footprint still marred his face.

The enraged beastwoman fought without honor, attacking relentlessly—Luo De took a flying kick to the chest to land a full [Six Flash] on her.

Ami now knelt on the ground, gasping, her body covered in deep and shallow wounds.

She had exited [Rage]—her skin returned to green, and her body was once again slick with blood from earlier injuries.

In this clash, Luo De’s superior endurance had ultimately given him the edge.

“You lost, beastman.”

“Ami... didn’t... lose. Ami is just... tired.”

She was among the more slender of her kind—her upward-pointing fangs weren’t large, and her nose was even more refined than some human women’s.

Her dark brown hair was tied into a small braid resting on her shoulder; her chest wrap, made of special beast hide, remained undamaged.

At that moment, Vivian burst from the tree trunk beside her.

She raised her hand and unleashed a [Steel Vine Charge] at once.

Ami cried out in pain—the steel vines couldn’t pierce her body, but they pinned her midair.

“Two-on-one? Ami quits! You’re cheating! This doesn’t count!”

Beastmen never lose.

Ami took the easy way out, accepting defeat under the unfair two-on-one odds.

“Vivian? Why are you here?”

“No call for help, Vivian, why?”

The tree spirit’s tone was sharper than before—Luo De could tell she was angry.

Before he could answer, the clouds above suddenly gathered into a massive black mass.

A crushing spiritual pressure plummeted down.

Both Luo De and Vivian bent their knees under the weight.

“Useless fools.”

On the hillside, Bishop Hugo gazed coldly downward.

When he sensed the shadow mage’s death, he immediately knew something had gone wrong and rushed to the battlefield without delay.

Now, seeing the scene before him, his eyes widened in fury—his rage boiled over.

It was that damn forest warden again!

(End of chapter)