Chapter 329: Everyone Charge First, I’ll Cover the Rear (3.39k words)

Puff, puff, puff, puff!

A hundred-odd split light arrows dropped from mid-air like a sudden meteor shower.

Before the dozens of magical beasts roaming within the forest could even react, blood blossoms burst forth across their bodies one after another as they let out muffled groans, before collapsing to the ground, continuously throwing dying spasms.

Squatting between the tree branches, Atalanta lowered the Bow of Heaven in her hand and waved her arm forward.

Rustling sounds echoed from the dense forest behind.

Several fully armed small squads stepped out of the mist, raising their shields and spears as they delivered finishing blows to the magical beasts that hadn’t completely died yet one by one.

"Clean up the battlefield, continue advancing!"

From within the magical resonance spell formation sustained by the priests, the command of the commander Hippomenes came through.

The subjugators immediately pulled out their daggers, swiftly dismembering the magical creatures to take away the valuable parts, serving as extra harvests for this hunt.

The fur and hides of the magical beasts, once cured and stored, could become raw materials for manufacturing leather armor;

The flesh and blood of the magical beasts were rich in nutrients and could be cooked into food that strengthened the body;

The internal organs and bones of the magical beasts gathered a unique spirituality, serving as crucial ingredients for manufacturing certain magic items and potions;

And then there were the magic cores, which were the most precious objects.

Not only were they useful across many fields ranging from livelihood to the mystical, but they also served as the performance credentials for this subjugation mission.

As long as one brought the corresponding quantity and quality of magic cores to the royal palace or the temples, they could be exchanged for handsome remuneration...

Most of the divine descendants participating in this [Beast Disaster] subjugation possessed limited strength and reputation, and had no prominent backgrounds either.

The reason they rushed to Arcadia to assist, aside from a sense of justice to eliminate public harm, wad that more importantly they wanted to acquire a certain amount of resources for themselves through this hunt.

Fortunately, the commander this time, Hippomenes, was quite reasonable, granting them time to harvest their spoils of war.

However, looking at the formation on the ground that was gradually becoming a bit scattered due to the scramble over the spoils of war, Atalanta furrowed her brow slightly.

Cleaning up the battlefield wasn’t out of the question, but right now dangers lurked everywhere.

Failing to first concentrate their forces to resolve the trouble, and instead dragging down the overall operation for a tiny bit of benefit, was not a wise choice at all.

Furthermore, it was about to get dark.

Once night arrived, the advantage of the magical beasts would be greatly highlighted.

Even an elite squad composed of divine-blooded heroes could suffer a disadvantage due to being unfamiliar with the environment of the Arcadian mountain range.

When that time came, the losses would outweigh the gains.

Just as this locally born and raised huntress wanted to speak up to advise them, a series of dull, vibrating rumbles came from the ground, and violent beast roars rose and fell one after another.

"The magical beasts are coming again!"

Atalanta shouted out a warning, and then, relying on a feline’s sharp perception, she gazed far into the depths of the dense forest toward the area where leaves were rustling and falling.

She drew her bow and nocked an arrow, and shot out a rain of light arrows forward, slowing down the impact speed of the magical beast swarm to buy time for the teammates below to reform their formation.

Puff, puff, puff, puff!

Several dozen magical beasts shot into hedgehogs by the light arrows collapsed to the ground and perished on the spot.

However, even more magical beasts spread out like a carpet, sweeping over in a dense mass; a small volley of arrows could only bring about an effect akin to trying to put out a burning cart of wood with a cup of water.

"Form up, meet the enemy!"

Fortunately, those who came this time were all elites possessing divine blood, and their combat experience was also relatively rich, understanding what was important.

Accompanied by the clashing sounds of shields, the crowd of subjugators immediately packed up and returned to the ranks, drawing closer and converging toward their respective familiar companions, operating cohesively like a piece of precision machinery.

"When the stars align in their proper alignment, the circle of principle manifests here. The origin is infinitesimally small, the expansion is infinite.

The output is an isosceles of one-third of lapis lazuli, bestowing the light of the celestial vault upon the voidless land!"

Under the solemn chanting of divine words, the followers of the Hermetic sect crushed the lapis lazuli (metamorphic rock) in their hands, activating a large-scale ritual spell that combined astrology and alchemy.

Accompanied by the drifting dust of lapis lazuli light, a glowing circle, either large or small, right side up or inverted, was constructed in the air above, automatically focusing toward the beast tide rolling grandly forward like a cluster of heavy artillery.

Hum!

Accompanied by the pause of the final syllable of the chanting, the stars casting down from remote correspondence projected a brilliant radiance.

Boom!

Amidst the shaking of the earth and the swaying of the mountains, layers of soil splattered outward.

The rumbling vibrations extended for several miles, and massive explosion clouds spiraled upward.

Meanwhile, the dense forest struck by the starlight heavy artillery formed a pitted, desolate zone, leaving several hundred magical beasts at the epicenter of the blast without a single trace of their corpses or bones remaining.

Seeing their peers display their might, the followers of the Eleusinian Mysteries were not to be outdone either, jointly chanting prayers.

"O merciful and dark Earth Mother Goddess, may their souls find eternal peace in your embrace!"

As the figures of the magical creatures had already appeared in the dense forest ahead, a peculiar vibration simultaneously transmitted through the ground.

In an instant, rock masses tore open, achieving deep valleys crisscrossed with ravines; or layers of soil bulged upward, turning into sharp earth spikes.

The dense formation of the magical beasts was instantly broken apart, continuously releasing wails as they fell into the deep valleys and were punctured through by the earth spikes.

Immediately following that, red-and-black spikes resembling thorns burst out from the soil.

Those monsters that had urgently halted their footsteps were also impaled right through the heart, failing to escape unscathed from this sudden anomaly.

At the same time, dark green fluorescence rose from beneath everyone’s feet, merging into the bodies of the subjugators like scattering stars.

A type of rhythm originating from the earth, along with a surge that awakened the potential of life, left everyone filled with wonder.

The Cult of Eleusis viewed Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture, and Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, as the two sides; light and dark, of the Earth Mother Goddess, jointly ruling over the authorities of life and annihilation.

Therefore, the recovery casters of the Eleusinian Mysteries didn’t merely play the role of a healer within the team.

Having finished appreciating the successive displays of skills from the three sects, Lorne pointed at the setting sun that was about to drop past the horizon and gave a deep-voiced reminder to the Gemini brothers beside him.

"It’s about to get dark.

We need to find the source of the [Beast Disaster] as quickly as possible. Tell them not to waste time and energy on these fellows."

The Gemini brothers nodded and immediately sought out Hippomenes, who was responsible for the command and coordination, putting forward the suggestion.

Hippomenes’s eyes flickered, looking a bit conflicted.

"Having just gone through several fierce battles, everyone’s consumption is not light. Forcing them to march further would be pushing them a bit too hard."

"There’s no telling how many more magical beasts are inside the mountains. If we drag it out until night, the situation will likely be even more disadvantageous to us."

Castor, the elder brother among the twins, spoke up to counter, furrowing his brow as he looked at Hippomenes.

The latter pondered for a moment, giving a compromise method.

"How about this: the two princes are exceptionally brave. Could you scout the path ahead for the main force?

That way, perhaps we can avoid meaningless battles and put an end to Arcadia’s [Beast Disaster] as quickly as possible."

Having come precisely for this purpose, the Gemini brothers nodded and agreed without a second thought.

"We’ll go too!"

Just as the two brothers were preparing to set out,

Lorne led Atalanta and Medea out of the ranks, proactively volunteering.

Hearing this, the twins hesitated slightly.

"More people means more backup," Lorne spoke with a smile, then blinked his eyes teasingly. "Why? Surely you two brothers won’t dislike us for getting in the way?"

With the words put that way, the Gemini brothers were caught between tears and laughter, and could only nod in agreement.

Promptly, the five individuals spontaneously formed a formation.

Atalanta was at the front acting as a scout, the twins were scattered to the left and right responsible for guarding the two flanks, and

Lorne resided in the center protecting the caster Medea while providing coordination for the entire team.

Under their absolute breaking power, the squad easily sliced through the charge of several hundred magical beasts, advancing against the flow.

That exquisite combat technique and tacit cooperation drew a round of astonishment and cheers from the heroes.

"Follow them!"

Hippomenes commanded in a deep voice, his gaze turning deep and profound as he watched the backs of the five individuals ahead.

At this time, along with drawing a distance from the main army,

Lorne gave a deep-voiced reminder to the few people around him.

"Our purpose is not to slaughter all the magical beasts of Arcadia, but rather to find and resolve the source of the Beast Disaster.

Therefore, do not linger in battle, advance rapidly!"

The four individuals nodded one after another, abandoning the clearing of the magical beasts.

They adopted a strategy of avoiding battle as much as possible, accelerating their transit through the dense forest to guide out the safest path for the army behind them.

And with the assistance of this elite small squad, the advancing speed of the subjugators was indeed effectively improved, proving almost entirely unobstructed along the way.

Even if they occasionally encountered the incursions of small groups of magical beasts, they were either blown into shredded meat by the mages or cleanly and decisively slain by the divine-blooded heroes.

But as they drew closer and closer to the deep heart of the Arcadian mountain range, the scouting quintet discovered that the surrounding environment was becoming increasingly strange as well.

Large patches of grassland had died off, revealing red-and-black, foul-smelling mud, with bones of various animals scattered all over the place.

Not only had the previously lush forest trees shed their leaves completely, leaving behind only bare main trunks and branches, but even the external shapes of the branches grew increasingly bizarre and ferocious, looking exactly like coiled giant serpents.

What was even more unusual was that the interior of the bark of these dead trees actually showed red-and-black textures resembling blood vessels.

And the further forward they went, the more ferocious the shapes of the dead trees and dead branches became, and the clearer the textures grew.

Seeing that the path at the end was virtually completely stuffed full by similar things, Lorne’s eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing.

This thing seems a bit familiar...

However suddenly, he halted his footsteps before the forest of dead trees, letting out a deep-voiced shout.

"Wait a moment first!"

Hearing his voice, the crowd halted their footsteps, looking at Lorne in the center with incomprehension.

The latter didn’t waste words either. Borrowing the residual force of his rush, he pulled out a javelin and swung his arm forward.

Puff!

Amidst a dull, teeth-grinding puncturing sound, woodchips flew.

But what was even more creepy was that a red-and-black fluid resembling fresh blood was gurgling out along the wound.

Rustle, rustle~~

The dead branches and vines hanging on the trees twisted violently, winding toward the five individuals like swarms of crawling pythons and serpents.

These trees were alive!

The faces of the crowd changed.

They immediately drew a distance, entering a combat state as they slashed apart the dead branches and vines surging up one after another.

Yet even so, those half-severed branches and vines that dropped to the ground still behaved like pythons and serpents, unyieldingly pouncing toward the five individuals.

Seeing this situation,

Medea quickly brandished her staff, her mouth chanting divine words at high speed.

Along with those small hands plunging the staff into the ground, a fiery-red magical array instantly formed across the surroundings.

The humming ether aggregated into columns of blazing-red fire rising upward, igniting the crawling vines on the ground along with the entire bizarre forest of dead trees all at once.

Instantly, the strange trees enveloped within the raging fire twisted and swayed one after another, faintly releasing chaotic shrieks resembling dragons, serpents, bulls, humans, and so on.

But under the large-scale fire-attributed magic, they ultimately had nowhere to escape, consecutively burned into ashes.

"Beautifully done!"

Lorne placed a hand onto Medea’s fragrant shoulder, quite praising this junior sister’s adaptability and magical control.

Hearing the praise originating from her senior brother, the little witch’s pretty face turned red, instantly feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

"It’s all because you and aunt taught well."

Hearing this, a peculiar sense of déjà vu couldn’t help but rise within Lorne’s heart.

It felt as if that was exactly how he had praised his grandmaster Hecate back then, right?

In view of the excellent tradition of mutual pitting between master and disciple within the lineage of Aeaea island, coupled with Medea’s future title of the [Witch of Betrayal],

Lorne’s eyelids twitched, and he quickly cleared his throat to remind her.

"No need to be so modest next time, it’s because you learned well."

Medea nodded bashfully, then looked at Lorne curiously, asking the confusion in her heart. "Senior Brother, how did you know there was a problem with these trees?"

"Don’t you think there are a bit too many skeletal remains inside the forest? Even if the magical beasts wanted to have a group meal, they shouldn’t be so concentrated, right?"

Lorne answered as he scanned the piles of completely burned ashes on the ground, his eyes flickering darkly.

"Furthermore, similar things like these, I seem to have seen them before..."

The Alima Cavern, the black vines growing around the head of Typhon!

"Roar!"

As if responding to his conjecture, a low roar resembling muffled thunder came from the distance.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions of violent impacts rang out, and severe vibrations rippled through the surroundings.

And under these continuous rumbled explosions, the rocks of Mount Arcadia in the distance fell pattering down, and the mountain body itself even started to show a bit of shaking.

At the same time, the thousands of various magical beasts resting nearby prostrated themselves anxiously and uneasily upon the ground, shivering as they looked far off toward a certain direction.

"Left front, seven kilometers!"

Atalanta leaped down from between the tree branches, reporting the basic orientation.

"It seems that is the source. We’ll go first, tell them to catch up quickly!"

Lorne spoke in a deep voice.

After letting Atalanta leave behind information, before the main army could converge, he led his small squad to rush toward the destination with burning speed.

Following the vibrations of the ground to trace the source, the five individuals quickly arrived at the heart of the Arcadian mountain range.

Looking out from afar, a massive fissure appeared within the mountainside, a red-and-black light flickering within it darkly.

"It should be right here!"

The Gemini brothers showed expressions of excitement, wanting to rush forward immediately to completely resolve the plague of Arcadia.

However, a horizontally extended arm blocked the front of the two individuals.

Lorne glanced at the fissure not far away, then looked at the two brothers with a half-smile.

"Look at you, impatient again."

~~

Two quarters of an hour later, several hundred subjugators arrived before the mountainside.

Hippomenes scanned the surroundings, asking in a deep voice.

"Where are the people?"

"There are footprints ahead, they seem to lead toward that fissure," a scouting hero answered.

"Then hurry up and follow them!

What if something happens to them?"

Hippomenes rebuked in a cold voice, his expression looking oddly a bit unsightly, as if he were truly worried about the safety of his few companions.

The crowd immediately formed ranks and advanced, walking toward that fissure radiating an ominous aura.

At the same time, upon a mountaintop several hundred meters away, the Gemini brothers looked at the subjugator army continuously approaching the fissure in the distance, their faces showing hesitation.

"Are we truly going to let them lead the charge?"

"How can we take all the benefits for ourselves? The brother forces behind have built up their energy for so long, this time it’s their turn to go first."

Lorne answered with righteous severity, then took a sip of the unfinished fine wine inside his flask, and lay prone upon the green stone, narrowing his eyes as he looked toward the army that had stepped into the core zone of the Beast Disaster.

~~

Before the mountainside fissure, the halting heroes had their eyes filled with shock.

Looking out, it was like peering into an abyss.

The fissure that ran through the mountainside was a solid expanse of scarlet inside.

Intricate channels connected with one another, looking like distorted blood vessels generating and spreading out from the deep recesses of the earth.

And beneath the dense, red-and-black light patterns lay the craggy stone walls on both sides of the valley, countless strange red-and-black networks densely plunging into the soil layers, mountainside, and abyss, with no telling where they extended.

These things resembled a banyan tree with a highly developed root system, a single tree forming a forest.

Tracing the roots to find the source along the networks, only by condensing one’s perception to the absolute limit could one faintly see a purple-red heart, mediating between the illusory and the real, enveloped by countless blood vessels, root nodules, and shattered stones through the red-and-black blood light.

Along with the brightening and dimming of the light patterns, that heart rose and fell together, a massive tidal wave of magical power spreading toward all directions through the densely packed blood vessels.

After the viscous bloodstains and peculiar fluids around the area dried, they formed purple-red markings. Purple-red, egg-like embryos resembling root nodules were distributed across both sides.

Ferocious monsters were sleeping inside one after another.

What kind of object was this?

Everyone was astonished to the extreme.

Seemingly perceiving the entry of outsiders, those purple-red embryos connected to the outer side of the blood vessels shook slightly.

Monsters curled inside the thin purple-red membranes lunged left and right, urgently desiring to break through this thin layer of obstruction to descend upon the world.

Puchis! Puchis! Puchis!

A moment later, successive sounds of bursting sacs rang out.

Several dozen magical beasts large and small drilled out of the egg bodies, growing and developing at a speed visible to the naked eye until they matured.

And seeing the appearance of these monsters, everyone’s scalps went numb.

The three-headed King of Monsters, Chimera!

The human-headed lion beast, Sphinx! The nine-headed serpent, Hydra! And the Nemean Lion!

The progeny of the Monster Progenitor Typhon; mythical beasts of the top-tier bloodlines!

What was even more fatal was that they saw the corridors seemed to be covered in shriveled, ruptured sac skins from before.

As if to validate their conjecture, violent low roars echoed from all around, and ferocious figures leaped out from the fissures and dense forest.

Their auras were even more powerful than the few waves of beast tides the crowd had encountered previously, their body sizes and appearances were even more ferocious, while simultaneously displaying a more obvious phenomenon of atavism.

The subjugators, who had been counter-surrounded, felt their scalps go numb.

(End of this Chapter)