Though they were still unbeatable for these level 20 monsters, that only held true up to a certain number. Right now, the outlook wasn’t optimistic.
“We can’t stay here any longer. There are too many monsters outside—our only option is to push deeper inside.”
Noticing that Bemira and Daisy were defending with all their might but still struggling to keep up, I pursed my lips and immediately made the decision in the party chat. “Satahia, seal the path with a fire wall.”
“Got it!”
As the most outstanding trainee group in the monastery, Kai and the others were always extremely obedient to orders—especially when the commander was such a cute loli.
And as a lord-level flame demon, Satahia naturally possessed exceptional combat talent.
After I used Blast Black Flame to repel the leading patrol soldiers and assassins at the entrance, she immediately raised her hand and repeated the trick behind us, throwing up two intersecting fire walls to block the horde of undead in the entrance passage.
Gone was her usual unserious demeanor; her focused spellcasting had a unique charm all its own.
Leaving Bemira to watch the rear for any movement, with Daisy and Kai handling the front together—plus support from the others’ damage—our brutally powerful squad tore through the undead ahead like a sharp blade, instantly carving out a path.
But upon advancing to the central arena inside the coliseum, the situation changed dramatically.
Lesser Undead Beast Tamer [Elite]: Level 20, HP 1500/1500.
Lesser Undead Gladiator Beast [Elite]: Level 20, HP 1800/1800.
Lesser Undead Gladiator [Elite]: Level 20, HP 1600/1600.
Not even mentioning the arena packed full of skeletal remains and undead beasts, just the three or four dozen elites were enough to send chills down one’s spine—especially since I seemed to catch a glimpse of something called a leader right in the center.
Though I spotted many demonized creatures among them, clearly, we’d need the capability to survive long enough to deal with them.
“Stick to the sides and advance along the corridor.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I stuck to the previous plan but added specific instructions to ensure the team’s safety.
I really wanted to switch to my warrior class to help share the defensive load with Kai and the others, but obviously, my underdeveloped warrior—barely even qualifying as one—would only increase Him’s healing pressure, so I abandoned that idea.
But there were still plenty of things I could do.
I pulled several magic scrolls obtained from Lobranch’s mage tower out of my inventory. Without much hesitation, I tore them open.
[Magic Scroll] Summon Arcane Puppet
[Magic Scroll] Earth Barrier
A massive arcane puppet appeared, smashing several fragile undead skeletons with its fists. The earthen barrier composed of soil elements shoved aside surrounding monsters and blocked many incoming spells and attacks.
Though these were genuine level 20 spells, under the undead’s terrifying numbers, they vanished into dust in mere moments.
With elites occasionally mixed in, the team’s advance slowed dramatically—which meant the attacks we faced grew increasingly fierce.
I sighed. Just as I was about to send Kai and the others back and retreat with Satahia using a quick teleport scroll, my eye caught an inconspicuous spot along the corridor.
“Over there!”
A narrow passage leading to a room that wasn’t spacious but could easily accommodate seven or eight people.
The entrance barely allowed two people to enter at once. Once Bemira set up her shield, it completely blocked the passage. The frequency of magical and physical attacks dropped significantly—with Him’s assistance, and even the holy knights’ self-healing spells, they could handle it fully.
“Whew.”
The tension I’d been holding finally eased. It wasn’t just me—Kai, Bemira, and the others, even Satahia couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
And once people relaxed, they started noticing other things.
“Your Highness, who is this?” Kai and the others’ gazes inevitably turned toward Satahia beside me.
“Satahia, my subordinate.” I hesitated but still explained her identity. “A flame demon.”
Kai and the others greeted her naturally, but Satahia didn’t seem particularly appreciative.
Though it was only natural for demons to hate holy light, it didn’t take much thought to know this idiot was just butthurt over the monastery team’s above-average combat prowess.
But the monastery squad didn’t mind and started whispering among themselves nearby.
“She’s flat-chested like Her Highness, and so cute…”
“Could we include her in our faith?”
“No way—one meter four and above doesn’t count as loli.”
Your standards are that strict, huh.
They called it whispering, but Satahia’s grasp on certain keywords was anything but ordinary. “Hey, what’s wrong with being flat-chested? You looking down on flat chests?!”
Yet the moment her words fell, they were rebutted with tones of strong indignation.
“How could we? In our eyes, flat chests are the world’s most precious resource!”
“We understand better than anyone that flat is the truth of this world!”
“That subtle rise amid the flatness—that wondrous curve is something no other girl can match! Absolutely impossible!”
This utterly embarrassing dialogue sent a chill through me.
And Satahia, who had been full of hostility a second ago, formed a friendly strategic alliance with them the next.
“I misjudged you all. You’re rebels against your class—this brave spirit of fighting fate is truly admirable!”
But I knew this seemingly solid relationship would crumble to ashes because of something called loli.
What I didn’t expect was that this so-called alliance, in order to strengthen their bonds, would engage in shady criminal dealings—
“So Her Highness usually likes wearing bear-print underwear…”
“Drink more milk and pay attention to physical exercise, huh… I see…”
“Enough, you guys!”
In the end, it was Daisy’s weak voice from over there that ended this farce. “Your Highness, Captain—could we switch someone? My arms are getting sore from holding this.”
That’s when I realized the current problem hadn’t been solved yet. After all, it wasn’t realistic to keep Daisy tanking the pressure from the passage forever, and with only room for two people behind Daisy, the output reaching the monsters in the passage made clearing efficiency just average.
With that many undead outside, we couldn’t just wait here and clear out the surging monsters in the passage one by one.
Looks like it’s time to use this, I thought, pulling an item from my inventory.