Chapter 128: Each Other

It was an utterly strange and beautiful beast.

Below its head, its lower body was sacred and beautiful, its snow-white form faintly glowing with natural luminescence, each step as if treading on clouds, and the occasional cloud-like patterns radiating holy light.

Yet above its head, it bore a deformed, massive naked brain.

The overgrown brain tissue had burst beyond the skull, obscuring its face, leaving only the grotesque brain visible.

Enormous fleshy tentacles extended from it, whipping through the air as if issuing commands.

It, too, was an incarnation of the Master Brain—and the battlefield's command tower.

"Boom!"

The hidden force activated this colossal war machine; the beast's foot smashed straight through the city wall.

Even as its hooves bled from the force, it showed no hesitation.

"Hum!"

But an invisible barrier blocked it!

The city's defense system had been activated—a pale purple force field now shielded the wall.

When such strategic equipment is triggered, there is no doubt: this is true war.

And this monster was more than mere flesh; its brain's tentacles flailed continuously, summoning arrays all around it.

Fireballs, ice spikes, meteorites—each erupted from them.

These clearly over-spec magic attacks slammed into the city's defense array, sending ripples across its surface.

Though it still hadn't pierced through, this was clearly a form of attrition.

"Wait, did we miss an episode? No—we missed a whole season!" At this moment, Li En was genuinely stunned.

We just went out for a quick hunt, less than three days total—how did the final boss already spawn?

"This is Elsena? What an insane monster." Looking at the holy yet twisted beast, Li En instinctively sensed malice.

"No, if this were Elsena, one kick from Mosodilcar would've ended it. Besides, it's not this small." Ziqiangwei remained calm, her beautiful eyes fixed on the deformed stag, showing faint interest.

This is small? It's taller than the wall! One stomp could crush us all!

"Mind flayer… Master Brain?"

Even without seeing its deformed brain, the monster's companions made the answer obvious.

The beast drew attention, but the slave army centered on the mind flayer posed the city's true threat.

Vast numbers of orcs, gray dwarves, minotaurs (not orcs) formed the legion's core, even including several beholders.

They carried supply wagons and siege equipment, now deploying efficiently.

This was no mere raid—it was a war aimed at capturing the city.

As for why mind flayers attacked the dark elf city… well, if the attacker is a mind flayer, no further thought is needed.

The mind flayer race's lifelong pursuit is conquest and enslavement; they will seize any opportunity to act, otherwise they wouldn't have become enemies of all.

Enslaving other races to use them as backup food and breeding vessels is their survival premise—a parasitic, utterly evil creature, and the very reason Li En had unhesitatingly expelled them from the Heroic Pantheon.

It's not impossible for a benevolent mind flayer to exist; rumors say there's an extremely low chance a host might reverse-possession the mind flayer.

But that probability is negligible, and those who achieve it are invariably extraordinary figures—essentially outsiders wearing mind flayer skins, entirely unworthy of consideration.

"What should we do? Retreat now?"

As foreign envoys, Li En's group had no reason to join this war.

And this monster seemed to be the designated target. Li En turned to Ziqiangwei; she too was silently observing.

Sensing Li En's gaze, the magic girl smiled and shook her head.

"You overestimate me. This is a forcibly matured Prince of Beasts, with the Mind Flayer Master Brain compensating for its lack of combat skill and magical support—and I'm just an ordinary magic girl."

Ziqiangwei raised her staff and stood up; she had no intention of interfering.

Normally, a fully activated defense barrier would block teleportation, but Ziqiangwei was confident she could pierce through.

The question was: was entering the city truly necessary? Would they be pushed to the front lines as cannon fodder?

From her standpoint, the Prince of Beasts ending up like this was actually good—it saved her the trouble of hunting him down.

This forcibly matured war machine probably wouldn't last long anyway.

"Boom!"

As the envoy group hesitated, a sudden explosion drew everyone's attention.

A brilliant "fireball" was slowly rising.

"Filthy beast, retreat! This is the great Tarabal!"

It was a familiar voice—"Black Blade Woman" Verna Tarabal had arrived.

With her arrival, hilts forged of silver and brass floated into the air.

"Hummm!"

Faint sword-shaped force fields emerged atop the hilts.

Into them poured deep shadow energy.

The energy infusion lasted only a moment—four floating "black swords" now rotated slowly, guarding Verna.

A sword immortal of the magic world? No—this was a combat unit's cruise missile configuration!

One of them plunged violently downward, striking the nearest mind flayer squad!

The brave climbers moments ago now fled in terror; the mind flayers themselves bolted.

"Boom!" But how could they escape?

Near the wall where the squad stood, only a five-meter-radius crater remained, with the black sword, crackling with black lightning, embedded in its center.

The eighth-rank divine grace spell, "The Shadow Sword of the Silver Vase," derived its model from the seventh-rank Mordenkainen's Sword.

But after infusing a trace of shadow deity power, it triggered a chain annihilation reaction between ordinary matter and shadow matter, its explosive power rivaling a ninth-rank spell!

Verna sharply gestured—the black sword embedded in the ground returned to her hand.

One had detonated; the other three remained poised and ready.

She was both deterring and guarding against the other giant beast foretold to appear.

"Boom!"

But the stag beast answered her with a psychic shockwave like a tornado.

Negotiate? Withdraw? Impossible.

No words, no hesitation—when war between races for survival and continuity begins, it cannot be stopped!

The mind flayer race, hiding like rats in sewers, had waited for this day too long.

"Advance! This city belongs to us!"

The mind flayers whipped their accumulated slaves into the slaughter.

On the walls, dark elf warriors and spellcasters emerged, clashing without mercy.

Above the outer wall, the battle between the goddess and the beast continued.

The terrifying shadow black swords carved devastating wounds—but the beast healed instantly.

In turn, its occasional "gravity field" forced the goddess to constantly dodge.

She had no such absurd regenerative ability.

On the surface, the goddess seemed dominant—but her energy drain was immense.

Top-tier combatants deliberately avoided direct clashes; even a glancing blow would be fatal.

"Boom!"

Meanwhile, the city's magical cannons began activating one by one, taking turns to bombard the giant beast.

Unfortunately, the effect remained terrible—barely even scratching its defenses.

"Sssss." Suddenly, the stag beast slowly lowered its head; something invisible began to condense on its skull.

"Evade!" a dark elf shouted—but it was too late.

"Boom!" A crushing pressure released; a section of the wall collapsed, turning everyone atop it into pulp.

"Woooh!"

But in return, it took a full barrage from the goddess—one of its legs was cleanly severed.

Even though it could regenerate, its agonized screams echoed throughout the underground cavern.

Two races, fighting for survival, had begun a bloody, bottomless slaughter.

On the high ground, Li En's group still pondered: when evil fights evil, when enemy meets enemy, should we adjust our stance?

But soon, no hesitation remained.

The pure white magic girl descended slowly, her staff pointed at… Ziqiangwei, who smiled calmly.

"To see my 'fated enemy' while watching a show? How lucky." The floating pure white fawn's black pupils brimmed with naked malice.

It seems everyone has a destined opponent—then let the great brawl begin.

Below, the two races fight for survival; above, it seems two races fight for the same right to exist.

Alongside the Magic Tide, the fated war for racial survival arrived before Li En's group in an unexpected way.

(End of Chapter)