Despite the subdued atmosphere at the main camp, the front lines were still a battlefield of life and death.
However, Satan’s death had dampened the lizards’ momentum.
As the emboldened soldiers pressed forward, the conquest of Allen and Bamil forests in the north was in full swing.
But the conquest was merely a pretext.
In truth, it was a contest between Talos, the Mage Tower Master, and Karina, the leader of the Free Mages.
Their longstanding rivalry was well-known, drawing inevitable attention.
“Which side’s ahead?”
“Obviously…”
Though opinions abounded, Karina’s forces were clearly dominant.
Her unit, tasked with Allen forest, had already explored over half the area, nearly driving out the hidden lizards.
“The Master must be in a foul mood,” Rita muttered, nodding as she received the report.
The contest was intriguing, but with Satan gone, preparing for the future was crucial.
“Goat-shaped beasts have been spotted near Satan’s territory. They might expand their domain. Given the distance, we could encounter a new type, so tell them to stay cautious.”
After relaying the message through Count Roia, Rita, after much deliberation, decided to head to the scene herself.
Blena and Alois naturally followed, and Yan, lingering nearby, glanced at her cautiously.
Feeling guilty for snapping at Yan earlier, Rita gave a wry smile and gestured for him to follow. Yan’s sullen face lit up instantly.
“Rita, what about Seth… still not coming?”
“He needs time to adjust.”
Seth would likely join if asked, but Rita could see his mana was unstable. It was better to leave him behind.
“If you’re heading out, I’d like to come along,” said Michael, who had just finished treating the wounded and was now free, joining with a smile.
With Blena and Alois, both second-rank mages, and Yan already in tow, there was no reason to refuse a supreme-rank saint like Michael.
To avoid unnecessary attention, Rita’s group slipped out of the main camp quietly and headed for Allen forest.
Allen forest was under Karina’s command, and finding her unit was easy.
They were gathered at a temporary camp, resting.
As Rita whistled the signal, mercenaries recognizing their allies rose and approached.
“Isn’t that the Great Mage from before?”
“The Saint’s here too?”
A member of Zarka’s Sea Mercenary Guild spotted them first.
Despite their earlier hostility, they greeted Rita warmly, as if all grudges were forgotten.
To them, Rita had fulfilled Karina’s long-held ambition, making her a welcome guest.
“What brings a great mage like you to a place like this?” Karina asked, her tone slightly teasing but her expression soft.
Rita bowed respectfully.
“We’re here to scout the area. We’ll stick to the outskirts of Allen forest, so we won’t interfere with your strategy.”
“Such a shame. I could’ve handed everything over to a great mage like you,” Karina lamented, half-serious.
Rita faltered briefly, but seeing the Sea Mercenaries and Free Mages burst into laughter, she realized it was a jest.
Karina, chuckling, glanced at Rita’s companions.
“I’ve seen those mages before, and the Saint a few times. That kid, though…”
A foreign warrior following the Great Mage—a rumor already widespread in the expedition.
But seeing Yan in person piqued Karina’s curiosity, and she observed him closely.
As with anyone other than Rita, Yan responded to Karina with a sullen attitude.
“A quiet one, huh?” Karina remarked.
Rita felt embarrassed by Yan’s breach of basic courtesy, but Karina didn’t mind.
Her amused gaze reminded Rita of Sercia’s when she first saw Yan.
‘Could Karina and Sercia see something special in Yan?’
Intrigued by their unique perspectives, Rita brushed it off with a faint smile.
“If you’re not in a rush, how about keeping an old woman company? I’m dying to hear about the mother beast.”
There was no reason to refuse. Michael seemed eager to talk with Karina, and Blena and Alois’s eyes sparkled with interest.
Rita agreed readily and followed Karina inside.
At that moment—
From the east of Allen forest, near Bamil forest, a flock of black birds took flight with a deafening cry.
The massive swarm seemed to blot out part of the sky.
The faces of those who saw it darkened.
“It feels… a bit ominous,” Michael said, rubbing his arms.
Rita, sensing something suspicious, glanced at Blena, Alois, and Yan.
“My apologies, Lady Karina. We need to check Bamil forest first.”
“Let’s save the pleasant chat for next time,” Karina replied, smacking her lips regretfully.
With Talos in Bamil forest, a dangerous situation could benefit Karina.
But she couldn’t voice that openly.
“Want me to come along?”
“No, thank you for the offer.”
Rescuing Talos alongside Karina would be amusing, but Rita couldn’t disrupt her strategy further.
With a bow, Rita and her group turned toward Bamil forest.
Having confirmed Allen forest was stable under Karina’s control, it was time to check Bamil.
***
The stench of blood permeated Bamil forest from its entrance.
It was too subtle to be beast blood. Sensing something amiss, Rita urged the group to hurry.
As they followed the ruined forest path, sounds grew closer—human screams, inhuman roars, and the thunderous echoes of magic.
But the human screams were far more frequent, signaling a dire situation.
“Great Mage!”
Upon reaching the battleground, a member of Talos’s unit recognized Rita and cried out in desperation.
Of the eighteen members Talos had taken to Bamil, only two remained.
Talos, the Mage Tower Master, and a young mage—likely one of Rita’s peers—stood bloodied and sobbing.
Rita was speechless, stunned by the absence of even Torgo.
“What in the world…”
“R-Rita! Save me!” Talos’s terrified face emerged from the devastated scene.
Even at his desperate plea, Rita couldn’t shake her disbelief.
She wasn’t alone in her shock.
“Master…?” Blena’s eyes widened at Talos’s unfamiliar demeanor.
It was strange.
The warm, benevolent Talos she knew would have shouted to save his injured disciple first.
Yet Talos explicitly begged for his own life, his face pale as a mouse before a cat.
“S-Save me…”
The strong, dependable hero of the Mage Tower was nowhere to be found. Only a frail, trembling old man with disheveled hair remained.
His utterly pathetic state shattered Blena’s illusions.
“What are those?”
***
An hour before Rita’s arrival, Talos’s unit, clearing out lingering lizards in Bamil forest, spotted a peculiar hatchling.
Raising its head in the grass was a small “snake” with dark green scales, a fan-like crest, and red eyes.
But it differed from a typical snake in several ways.
“Isn’t it weird? The tail’s odd, and the skin looks tough—like a lizard.”
“Look… there’s something like arms under its neck. Tiny, though. Horns, maybe? Wait, are those arms?”
“Probably a lizard beast hatchling.”
“But it has no legs. The lower half’s just a tail.”
“Folks, there’s such a thing as a legless lizard. I’ve seen plenty back home.”
“Really? So it’s one of the lizard remnants?”
“A beast’s a beast, right?”
The inexperienced mages debated noisily over the hissing, unidentified creature.
The commotion drew Talos and Torgo, who had been resting.
“Hmm…”
“A lizard hatchling,” Torgo declared confidently, unlike the hesitating Talos.
With the elder Torgo’s assertion and Talos’s lukewarm agreement, the unit had no choice but to believe it.
Though they nodded reluctantly, the “snake,” wary of the humans, turned and fled into the forest.
“Hey, it’s escaping!”
“Let it go. It’s small and ran from us, so it’s probably weak. We’re burning the forest anyway—it’ll burn with it.”
Not long after, similar “snakes” appeared before Talos’s unit.
But these were far larger than the first.
“What… are those…?” Torgo’s face paled as he saw them.
Unfurled crests, human-like arms sprouting from their necks, and thick, serpentine tails marked their lower halves.
Distinct snake-like patterns confirmed their nature.
“Damn it, a new type of beast?”
“But the newly discovered ones were goats, weren’t they?”
“The Great Mage said there could be others.”
“There are over five adults alone…!”
“Lord Talos!”
Facing off at close range, the Mage Tower mages looked to Talos, trusting their Master to resolve the crisis.
“I-I’ll go first!” Talos said, visibly tense from the appearance of these unknown beasts.
He cast Flame’s Lament toward the blue-tongued creatures. A fiery barrier formed as a giant crow spewed flames, causing the snakes to hesitate.
Relieved, Talos watched as the largest adult beast let out a roar and lunged forward.
He instinctively stumbled back as it charged through the flames.
“Creeping Life!” Torgo shouted, hastily summoning vines to bind the beast.
Talos, snapping back, burned it from the feet up, but it didn’t die instantly.
The magic’s element was ineffective.
The beast writhed in the flames, glaring fiercely at Talos.
Terrified by its ferocity, Talos froze.
“Everyone, attack!” he ordered as the remaining beasts moved.
Trying to maintain dignity, he feigned calm, but unseen fear had already gripped the unit.
The Master’s timid demeanor left the mages hesitant and scared as they entered battle.
“Aaagh!”
The snakes’ venom was a given, and their speed was overwhelming.
Coiling one moment, they struck the next, sinking fangs into anything in reach.
Though simple, the beasts’ venom sapped the mages’ will to fight. The adults’ venom was particularly lethal.
“Lui!”
The first young mage bitten began convulsing.
Thirty minutes earlier, his arm bitten, he had turned blue and swollen.
Ten minutes later, his face was unrecognizable.
Ultimately, Lui died, foaming at the mouth, eyes unclosed.
The horrific sight stunned everyone.
“Lord Talos! We need to retreat!” a kingdom knight, drafted for the Bamil conquest, urged desperately.
“The priests say the venom can’t be purified…!”
Having witnessed the death, Talos, pale, swallowed dryly.
His advanced magic had long since faltered.
His trembling eyes scanned the surroundings, where the snake-like beasts swarmed.
As he calculated his options, a piercing scream rang out.
“Lord Talos, please!”
Coincidentally, an adult beast with vivid black stripes was coiling around a disciple, crushing them for an easy meal.
To Talos’s terrified eyes, it looked like his own future.
Ignoring his disciple’s pleading gaze, Talos quietly stepped back.
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