Chapter 62: Frenzy

"Over there."

After observing carefully, the male land Naga holding the star chart pointed out the direction.

This was a band of pursuers, armed and fierce, all here to hunt down that fallen princess.

Leading them was a female Naga; she wore armor, her aura fierce, a sixth-rank expert.

Unlike Eve, her number of arms was the same as a human's.

It was said that multi-armed Nagas were a symbol of Wang Zu nobility.

Pfft—

Geothermal steam surged upward, white mist blooming in the air like fireworks.

"Heavens, is this the maze?!"

Behind the leading Naga stood a male jackal-wolf of the second-rank high stage; wiping sweat, he cursed.

At the same time, he glanced timidly at the leader, fearing she might be displeased and beat him again.

Jackal-wolves and half-wolves are not the same kind.

They are more like jackals that evolved hand-and-foot shapes; their skin, fur, and heads all retain the jackal's appearance, with no human features.

Skin, the name of this jackal-wolf.

Skin considered himself a poet with a romantic spirit; unlike his kin who only knew how to rob on the roadside, he preferred traveling to various places, encountering events, and recording them one by one on paper.

Of course, if given the chance, he would submit to the major newspapers of Aethelorn.

Thus, in the second year after reaching adulthood, he set out for the nearby human metropolis—Scorch City.

Unfortunately, before he could even observe the Holy Fire Team on the streets, he was captured by a band of land Nagas and thrown into the female leader's tent!

He had heard before that Nagas were barbaric and often forcibly took men; originally, he hadn't believed it.

But when it actually happened to him, Skin almost cried.

Oh my!

I'm so thin! She's so big! And she torments me every night!?

I just reached adulthood, you know!

"Does it hurt?"

This was a captured male half-dragon senior.

Last night, the senior had served another female Naga.

Yet compared to his look of near-death, this half-dragon seemed more at ease.

"I'm the type not wanted outside of the mating season," Skin said with a tearful face.

"Ah—I know, you beastmen have the concept of a mating season. But are there beastmen who want it outside the mating season too?"

"Some do, though not to the extent humans do."

"I see."

Half-dragons inherently possess the noble attribute of great dragons.

Although many are weaklings with diluted dragon blood, they still do not fall within the category of beastmen.

Skin hesitated for a moment, then whispered secretly:

"By the way, senior... can we escape?"

Who knew that the half-dragon's face suddenly turned serious; he rushed to the female leader's side and loudly reported him.

"No! You!"

Skin panicked completely, hastily denying it.

The female leader turned, looking at him coldly, extending a long tongue to lick her lips.

Just as his scalp went numb.

Suddenly.

The jackal-wolf's naturally powerful sense of smell detected a strange odor.

It was hard to say what kind of smell it was.

The scorched scent of burning fire, mixed with a hint of bitter resentment.

"Resentment?"

When did I start being able to smell resentment?

The thought had barely formed when the ground trembled violently.

Earthquake?

No!

"Alert!!!"

The female leader roared suddenly.

"Damn it! It's a beast tide! Does this maze have a beast tide too?!"

The Nagas all drew their weapons, looking tensely toward the distance.

The jackal-wolf instinctively turned that way, only to see, amidst rolling dust, a massive horde of fifth and sixth-rank demons charging forward!

Behind a huge rock not far away.

"You really are a madman!"

Eve cursed.

Then, pushing Rod away with all four arms.

As she moved away, her Bai Tu heaved once before settling back to calm.

Rod smiled, not minding much, and turned to look down at the battlefield below.

It seemed the Naga squad had used some treasure, as a layer of spiritual light covered them all.

Their strength and speed had both risen by a small tier.

They formed a circle, defending and attacking well, thus gaining a brief advantage amidst the charge of the massive number of fiends.

As for that highest-rank Resentful Fire Lion.

It had been swept off its feet, furiously hurling Resentful Fire at the Naga group while simultaneously commanding the other slightly lower-rank Fire Lions to attack.

The two of them, upon charging into the Naga pursuers' position, had consumed magic potions to mask their aura and turn invisible, thus hiding directly behind them.

"Is the slaughter here being counted against me as well?"

Rod murmured.

Wisps of aura from the pink soil constantly gathered upon his body.

It was the Pass constantly accumulating progress.

Because he had started this fight?

"Heh, truly unrepentant, even taking male pets at a time like this."

Eve sneered coldly.

What she was looking at were the jackalmen and half-dragons panicking amidst the Nagas.

"Hearing of it is not the same as seeing it. Look how thin that jackalman has become. I heard that the male pets you recruit outside are also backup rations. Is that true? Have they been drained so thin by you that there's still meat left to eat?"

Rod exclaimed in wonder.

"The Nagas on the front lines indeed have this habit, but these are the rewards they deserve. Is there a problem with that?"

Eve was unconcerned.

It seemed humans and other races still had great differences in their worldviews.

About an hour later.

Massive numbers of Fire Lion and worm fiend corpses lay torn apart on the ground.

The Nagas had lost two sixth-rank members, with over half dead or injured; those still alive were already suffering from chaotic auras and covered in wounds.

The Resentful Fire Lion had had its tail severed by their combined efforts, showing obvious severe injuries, with very few low-rank fiends left under its command.

Rod could feel the trial of the Pass had reached its final stage.

As long as all the remaining Nagas and fiends on the battlefield ahead were killed, it would be successfully completed.

However, at this moment, both sides were deadlocked there.

"I didn't expect them to be able to handle such a massive number of fiends."

"There is a maze inside Mirror Desert where beast tides often appear; the Nagas are long since experts at dealing with them. However, in this battle, they can only rely on the magic rings in their hands to win."

Having spoken, Eve narrowed her eyes slightly; she scanned the fallen Nagas and saw that many of their spell satchels were undamaged, only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

As long as they aren't broken, these are all the property of the Balar Clan.

Rod could not let them remain deadlocked like this.

While the effect of the invisibility potion had not yet faded.

He secretly approached the rear of the Nagas.

From a distance, he stomped his foot.

【War Stomp】!

The unprepared Nagas were violently shaken, all falling into a brief state of daze and loss of balance.

Just thinking that the Resentful Fire Lion would surely seize the opportunity to attack.

Unexpectedly, it whipped its head around sharply, shifting its gaze onto Rod.

"Ah, this..."

He saw the leader among that group of Nagas sneering at him, the magic ring in her hand turning to dust.

An anti-invisibility magic ring?

"ROAR!!!"

The Resentful Fire Lion exploded a huge ball of pink Resentful Fire, charging forward like a massive cannonball.

In Rod's Yu Guang, he saw the hatred and mockery in the Nagas' eyes.

Fine, fine, fine.

Anyway, I still have one skill I haven't tried yet, and everyone here is an enemy, not a friend...

Come on.

Boom!!!

An overwhelming spiritual force that shocked everyone present suddenly shot straight into the sky!

The spiritual wave it raised acted like a barrier, isolating the Resentful Fire Lion's physical charge.

Hiss—

A long sword emitting Jin Guang was thrown from the sky of dust and smoke, casually stabbed upside down into the ground.

Immediately after, a red figure shot out from the barrier.

Colliding directly with the Resentful Fire Lion.

At the moment of impact, the spiritual force even exploded the air barrier.

With a howl, the Resentful Fire Lion was driven into the ground, and the immense force caused it to scrape out an extremely long trail on the surface.

And at the original spot.

Rod's entire body swelled by a circle.

His skin turned pale red, his eyes filled with scarlet, and he bared sharp canine teeth!

Spiritual Art — 【Frenzy】!

"Run!!!"

The leading Naga's face was twisted with terror, and he made a snap decision and shouted.

(End of chapter)