Chapter 235: Erphet Arrives.

The steep slopes of the canyon made travel difficult, but Efit leaped nimbly across the treacherous terrain. His hooded cloak, which he wore to conceal his appearance, billowed wildly in the wind as he examined the traces of battle along the way.

When he spotted several human corpses lying ahead, a flicker of surprise crossed his bloodred eyes.

He teleported a short distance, crouched beside a swordsman, and examined the fatal wound.

The man's heart had been brutally pierced by some enormous magical beast.

Frowning deeply, Efit inspected the other bodies.

None were intact. They all bore the marks of savage bites and tearing claws. Their deaths had been gruesome, and their faces remained twisted in terror.

Judging by the badges pinned to their chests, most had been high-ranking mages or swordsmen. They were fairly accomplished adventurers by human standards, capable of holding their own against magical beasts below the fifth rank.

Efit rose and surveyed his surroundings.

Nearby, he noticed the corpse of what appeared to be a magical beast.

He hurried over to examine it. After studying the body for some time, confusion spread across his face.

This isn't a magical beast!

No matter how much magical beasts evolved, they retained some resemblance to ordinary animals. That was what made them beasts in the first place.

But the grotesque corpse before him bore no resemblance to any animal whatsoever. Worse, it radiated an extraordinarily concentrated power of darkness.

Efit's frown deepened.

Is this... a creature born of darkness?

The power of darkness within it was unusually potent, surpassing even that of Dark Elves.

Startled by his discovery, Efit became wary of the strange creature.

Although Dark Elves possessed the power of darkness, their condition was ultimately the result of the Dark God's intervention. Their dark nature had been imposed upon them rather than being innate.

The monster lying on the ground was different.

Its power of darkness was something it had possessed from birth, as though it were a demon that had crawled straight out of hell.

Efit narrowed his eyes and stored the corpse in his storage ring.

He would take it back for a thorough examination later. Right now, finding Lanno and Luka was far more important.

Those two little troublemakers had certainly grown bold.

Lanno in particular was exceptionally gifted at potion-making. Despite his young age, he had already mastered the preparation of more than a hundred different potions.

No wonder he had recently been so absorbed in researching potions that concealed one's presence and disguised one's appearance.

Apparently, all that effort had been preparation for running away!

Efit had been tracking them the entire way, only to be misled repeatedly. If he hadn't known their destination was Woba Grand Canyon, he would have lost their trail altogether.

When I finally catch them, should I praise their ingenuity or give them a good spanking?

Efit straightened and sniffed the air.

A faint, familiar scent reached his nose.

Perhaps their scent-concealing potions had run out, or perhaps they had been too busy fleeing from monsters to use them.

Whatever the reason, the farther he followed their trail, the more clearly he could sense the two little ones' presence.

He had a feeling that if he continued a little farther, he would finally find them.

His figure blurred as he teleported another dozen or so meters, following the Dark Elf cubs' scent.

As he advanced, he encountered more signs of fighting. The ground had been badly damaged by the monsters, and their direction of travel was so obvious that he no longer needed to stop and examine the tracks.

After passing through a wooded area and reaching a slope littered with rocks, Efit's expression gradually turned grave.

Judging by the footprints, at least eighteen monsters were pursuing the cubs.

The humans he had found dead earlier had included high-ranking mages and swordsmen. They had carried high-grade protective equipment, potions, and magical scrolls. Their strength had been considerable, yet even they had been unable to withstand the monsters and had died horribly.

Lanno and Luka were only Intermediate Mages.

How could they possibly deal with so many powerful monsters?

Efit continuously expended his magical power, teleporting again and again in a desperate effort to rescue the two cubs, whose lives might be in danger at any moment.

"ROAR!"

Suddenly, a tremendous roar erupted ahead, shaking the sky and sending animals fleeing in every direction for miles around.

Without a moment's hesitation, Efit teleported toward the sound.

After covering more than two hundred meters through successive teleportations, he appeared atop a towering boulder.

Before he could even steady himself, he caught sight of a terrifying monster.

It was enormous and hideously deformed, with a dense aura of darkness surrounding its entire body.

Efit's pupils contracted sharply.

The creature was comparable in strength to an eighth-rank magical beast. Even with his abilities as a Senior Grand Mage, defeating it would probably take some effort.

Especially in its current state of fury.

The tentacles sprouting from its back writhed menacingly in every direction, while its enormous jaws gaped open as it roared threats at its opponents.

Efit swept his keen gaze across the battlefield.

He spotted a young swordsman confronting the monster, along with a light-element defensive barrier some five or six meters away.

At this distance, he couldn't clearly see the people inside the barrier, but he could make out roughly a dozen mages.

Just as Efit was considering whether to lend them a hand, the young swordsman moved.

He raised his silver sword high, releasing sharp, pure sword energy. A dazzling brilliance erupted from the blade.

Radiant Slash!

The swordsman swung his silver sword horizontally, sending a fan-shaped wave of light hurtling toward the monster.

The creature roared.

Ignoring the incoming Radiant Slash, it launched every tentacle on its back like a volley of arrows. It was willing to abandon its defenses entirely if it meant striking the swordsman.

But the young man was prepared.

He dodged with remarkable agility, his blade moving with ruthless speed and precision as he severed several tentacles.

At the same time, the mages inside the barrier unleashed their spells, suppressing the monster so thoroughly that it couldn't advance another step.

A hint of surprise crossed Efit's mind.

Judging by the power of those spells, there had to be at least six Senior Magic Instructors inside that barrier!

No, there might even be Grand Mages among them.

It seemed they didn't need his help after all.

Efit decided to continue searching for the Dark Elf cubs.

He jumped down from the boulder, circled around the monster, and passed the defensive barrier.

As he went by, he instinctively turned his head to glance inside.

Then he stopped dead.

Lanno! Luka!

The two small boys being protected in the middle of the group were none other than the Dark Elf cubs he had spent an entire week searching for.

Efit's expression hardened.

A massive black bow appeared in his hand. He condensed his magical power into a sharp arrow, drew the bowstring taut, and aimed directly at the monster's head.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot forward and struck the monster squarely in the eye.

"AAARGH!"

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the creature let out a piercing shriek.

The tentacles on its back thrashed wildly. Ignoring the swordsman's attacks, it charged viciously toward the defensive barrier.

"What's going on? Where did that arrow come from?"

Inside the barrier, Shu Li saw the monster charging toward them and immediately reinforced the defensive formation with a silently invoked light-element spell.

Seriu unleashed Cross Slash, Radiant Slash, and Gale Slash in rapid succession, attempting to stop the creature's advance.

"Someone's helping us!" Dixio exclaimed.

He turned and spotted a figure in a black hooded cloak standing near the barrier.

The stranger put away his bow and replaced it with a high-ranking magic staff.

"Great Dark God Milojia Hodehe, grant me the power to bind all things—Binding Spell!"

As the deep voice finished chanting, countless tough vines burst from the earth and wrapped around the monster's enormous body.

BOOM!

The creature crashed to the ground, bound tightly from head to toe.

Seriu froze with his sword in hand.

Inside the barrier, Shu Li and the others stared in astonishment.

At the sound of that familiar voice, Lanno and Luka both shuddered. Their faces displayed a peculiar mixture of fear and delight.

Shu Li turned his head and stared incredulously at the "mage" standing outside the barrier.

That voice... it's Efit!

They had actually run into each other outside Wanaku!

Then again, with the Dark Elf cubs here, it was only natural that Efit, who had been searching for them, would eventually appear.

"Did he just invoke the Dark God?" Dixio asked.

"Yes. You heard correctly," Kumandi replied with a frown.

"A spell invoking the Dark God... He's a necromancer!" Budno exclaimed in horror.

Because of what he had experienced as a child, the Little Fairy was deeply traumatized by necromancers.

"Efit is not a necromancer!" Lanno protested indignantly.

"Huh? Efit?" Angel exclaimed in surprise.

Could he be the same Dark Elf Efit who's been working with Sperien?

Hearing the conversation inside the barrier, Efit lowered his hood, revealing the distinctive features of a Dark Elf.

His bloodred eyes swept over the humans within.

But when his gaze settled on Shu Li, he suddenly froze.

Shu Li blinked at him and flashed a radiant smile.

Outwardly, Efit remained perfectly composed, though his emotions were surging.

The boy before him was disguised as a human, and his appearance had been slightly altered.

Nevertheless, Efit recognized him immediately.

This was the Little Fairy he had been working with for eight years!

"An adult Dark Elf!" Hector exclaimed in amazement.

Although Dark Elves could also be found in the Central Court, this was Hector's first time encountering one at such close range.

Siti and Nasha studied Efit curiously.

They noticed something distinctly different about both his appearance and his demeanor.

Compared with every Dark Elf they had encountered before, he seemed remarkably... clean.

Yes, clean.

They couldn't sense even a trace of the aggression and hostility usually associated with Dark Elves.

The Little Fairies stared at Efit with sparkling eyes, studying him from head to toe.

Their gazes were practically glued to him.

So that's Efit!

The Dark Elf who helps Sperien transport the fruit!

So this is what he looks like!

He was nothing like Moresy, with his roguish manner.

Efit looked refined and composed, with a cool, clear presence. If one overlooked his bluish-gray skin and bloodred eyes, he was scarcely different from a white Elf.

The Little Fairies' favorable impression of him soared.

Pretending not to recognize him, Shu Li greeted him in Elven.

"Hello. We're Mage Apprentices from St. Velia Magic Academy. Thank you for your help."

Efit glanced at the magical badge pinned to Shu Li's chest.

Then he raised a hand and pointed toward the two Dark Elf cubs inside the barrier.

"I'm their guardian. I should be the one thanking you."

Shu Li smiled.

"There's no need. Rescuing cubs is only natural."

Efit nodded without saying anything more.

He pointed his magic staff toward the monster, which was now wrapped so tightly in vines that it resembled a tightly bound parcel, and began chanting another spell.

Understanding his intentions immediately, Shu Li raised his own magic staff and called to his companions.

"Everyone, attack together! Let's finish it off in one go!"

This monster was the result of two creatures merging together. Its strength far exceeded that of either individual monster, making it comparable to an eighth-rank magical beast.

It had placed considerable pressure on the Light Squad.

Nevertheless, Shu Li wasn't afraid of it.

With Seriu holding the front line and drawing the monster's attention, Shu Li, the Little Fairies, and the young dragon could attack together. Defeating it was merely a matter of time.

Now that Efit, a Senior Grand Mage, had joined them, they could accomplish twice as much with half the effort.

Efit specialized in wood magic.

Shu Li used his spells as cover, secretly invoking his own wood-element incantations and launching attacks without anyone noticing.

For all their brute strength, these monsters relied entirely on physical attacks, no matter how powerful they became.

Once countless vines had bound the creature, it was completely helpless. All it could do was roar and struggle furiously.

Unfortunately, the monster's hide was extraordinarily thick and tough.

Even after several minutes of concentrated attacks, they still hadn't managed to break through its defenses.