Just as Kael was about to take another step forward with what little strength he had left, pride swelling in his chest, a dazzling ball of white light suddenly shot down from the darkness of the night sky, hurtling straight into the center of the Dark Mages’ formation!
BOOM—KABOOM!
An incredibly powerful burst of magical energy erupted in an instant, unleashing an extraordinary shockwave that sent Kael himself flying quite a distance backward. He crashed onto the dusty ground, his face contorted in utter bewilderment. "Huh...?"
Most of the Dark Mages were killed instantly before they even had a chance to cast defensive spells, while a few managed to survive, only to be hurled far away with severe burns covering their bodies.
They grimaced in pain, spitting fresh blood onto the ground, their faces filled with utter shock.
"Is there a Mage on their side?! It’s impossible for an ordinary Knight or swordsman to unleash a destructive spell of that magnitude!" they thought in a panic.
In their minds, there was only one logical explanation: the enemy had brought in a high-level Mage. But how could such a powerful sorcerer suddenly appear in this remote village?
When they raised their heads to look toward the source of the attack, their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Standing atop the back of a gigantic black-furred wolf were two beautiful women, both radiating an aura of anger and anxiety.
"A wolf... What kind of creature is that?!" one of the terrified sorcerers shrieked.
"Wait a minute...! Is that one of the Seven Mythical Beasts?! No ordinary beast could break through black magic so effortlessly. Only a legendary primordial creature could do that!"
"It... It must be the Wolf Guardian! But why doesn’t it look as large as the one described in the legends? Has its power diminished drastically because it was once subdued by the Empire?!"
Absolute terror swept through the remaining Dark Mages. The destructive power of that wolf’s single attack was already comparable to a natural disaster. In their critically wounded state, they stood no chance of winning.
However, it was already too late to flee. Just as they tried to crawl backward, Kael had already gotten back to his feet and blocked their escape route with the remnants of his broken sword.
The moment Lizzy saw Kael’s body covered in gashes and drenched in blood, her fury erupted uncontrollably. Her cold voice trembled with blazing rage.
"Not a single one of you is allowed to hurt my husband... except me!" Lizzy hissed furiously. "You’ll all pay the price for making him bleed!"
Lizzy shot forward at lightning speed, spinning her dagger in a deadly flourish. Overwhelmed by the panic and sheer terror brought on by the oppressive aura radiating from the gigantic wolf, the Dark Mages had even forgotten how to cast their defensive spells. They were no longer afraid of Lizzy or Cherry, but of the magnificent monster standing before them.
Cherry drove her sword into them mercilessly, while Lizzy was even crueler. She deliberately tortured the sorcerers one by one, repaying every wound on Kael’s body with another bloody slash.
Suddenly, Xavier raised his head toward the night sky. He opened his mouth and launched a pure white ball of light high into the air, piercing through the clouds before exploding overhead like a brilliant signal flare.
As the ball of light shot upward, the gigantic wolf’s body slowly shrank back to a smaller size. He looked exhausted, having depleted the last of his magical power.
Kael, who had initially intended to step forward and help, abruptly changed his mind. He folded his arms across his chest and watched the massacre carried out by his wife with a horrified expression.
"Well... It’s their own fault. Who told them to make Lizzy this angry? Even I have trouble dealing with her, hahaha."
In a short time, every remaining Dark Mage had been slaughtered without exception.
The threat to the southern village had now been eliminated. However, one major problem remained unresolved: the mastermind behind everything, the one orchestrating the chaos while impersonating the government of Vex City.
Kael wiped the blood from his chin and gazed into the distance toward the north, uncertainty flashing through his mind.
Far away, deep within a magnificent tower in the center of Vex City...
Zake, the cold-blooded demon disguised as the city’s mayor, had deliberately refrained from intervening in the village himself. To him, he was the key to the ritual’s success, in which the energy of all the victims from the surrounding villages would be absorbed to open a summoning gate for a great demon. The final stage would be to sacrifice the entire population of Vex City at once.
However, when he saw the glow of the white signal flare Xavier had fired into the night sky, Zake’s expression darkened dramatically. He knew all too well that the light was an early warning signal deliberately sent to alert the royal palace.
Although the city was quite far from the capital, a magical flare of that magnitude could hardly escape the notice of the kingdom’s magical surveillance network. Eventually, elite reinforcements would be dispatched here, and that would ruin his entire long-term plan.
Zake cursed loudly, venting his rage by smashing the stone table in front of him.
"Damn it! This is all the fault of those useless subordinates! How could they die so easily at the hands of a bunch of insects?! At this rate, I’ll suffer enormous losses and face severe punishment from the higher-ups in the demon realm!"
Even a demon of Zake’s caliber was still beneath an even more terrifying hierarchy of superiors. His plan had now fallen apart completely because of one unexpected variable that had never been part of his original calculations: Kael.
If that swordsman hadn’t interfered and thrown everything into chaos, the ritual would already have been one hundred percent complete. But there was nothing he could do now. The damage had been done, and all his efforts had ended in total failure.
Staying in the city and fighting the incoming royal army would only lead to his own destruction.
"I’d be better off retreating and reporting this unexpected failure to my superiors..." Zake decided in desperation. "At least, if I bring back news of the appearance of a legendary Mythical Beast, my punishment might be reduced a little."
With a pair of glowing red eyes filled with burning hatred, Zake turned toward the south, etching Kael and Lizzy’s faces into his eternal memory.
"Just you wait... You damned humans! One day, I’ll personally take your lives with my own hands!" Zake hissed through gritted teeth, his voice dripping with hatred.
In an instant, his body melted and dissolved into the pitch-black shadows, vanishing without a trace and leaving behind nothing but a silent, empty room.