hotmtlnovel Chapter 72
Chapter 72
“Let’s retreat.”
Chris, the shaggy-haired mage, made the decision without hesitation upon hearing that magical beasts were also flooding into Areas A and B.
“But...”
Someone began to protest, but Chris shook his head firmly.
“If we delay any longer, the defensive magic circle may be breached and we could be surrounded.”
“Isn’t support coming soon?”
In response to someone’s optimistic remark, Chris let out a deep sigh.
“In that case, we can deal with the magical beasts then. Right now, we cannot guarantee our safety.”
Listening to their conversation, Leon silently put the large spatial pouch back into his robe. If they had decided to retreat, there was no need for him to show all his golems.
With Chris leading, all the mages turned to leave. Though anxiety surged, they knew that without anyone to hold off the beasts, the defensive magic circle wouldn’t last long, prompting them to make a quick decision.
The mages gathered their thoughts and hurried toward the location of the teleportation magic circle to escape the Valley of Souls. However, upon arriving, their faces instantly fell in despair.
“The teleportation magic circle...?”
Someone sighed and pointed to the damaged magic circle. It was already ruthlessly destroyed. The intricate patterns engraved on the floor had deep cracks, and the magical light had long since faded.
“Who did this...?”
When another voice filled with anger spoke up, a mage cautiously raised a question.
“Could it be one of those who went to request support damaged it?”
“A traitor, you say?”
“Wasn’t it Lucas? He’s been suspicious for a while now, and he’s been close to the Pigmelin faction.”
Chris shook his head with a serious expression.
“It’s unlikely that they would resort to such shallow tactics. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“Then what about support?”
“Is that even the issue? We need to worry about our lives right now.”
“We need to hurry and escape before the defensive magic circle is breached...”
The voices of the mages became a tangled mess.
At that moment, a strong tremor shook the ground. The distant howls of magical beasts echoed ominously.
“Did the defensive magic circle... breach?”
“Damn it!”
“Are we all going to die here?”
Some mages turned pale.
And rightly so; there were hundreds of beasts in Area C alone. If the breach extended to other areas, even more beasts would be converging.
“We can’t hesitate any longer! Let’s escape before we’re completely surrounded!”
Chris shouted in an urgent voice.
His mind raced as he formulated an escape plan.
With the teleportation magic circle damaged, they had no choice but to fly to Astellia. The problem was the distance; it would take at least three days of non-stop flying to reach there.
Leon and the other mages hurriedly followed Chris out of the building. But was it already too late?
Almost a thousand beasts were converging on Chris and his group. The moment the defensive magic circle was breached, the beasts rushed in with ferocious speed, surrounding them.
The mages, who had maintained their composure until now, paled at the sight of the beasts, revealing sharp claws and teeth.
One mage muttered in disbelief.
“Where did all these beasts come from...?”
“Even in the Valley of Souls, it doesn’t make sense for this many beasts to inhabit here.”
“Were they hiding their strength?”
“Didn’t we keep track of their movements?”
“True, we have neglected the deeper areas.”
Conversations mingled with tension and fear.
It had immediately discerned that the next target was Leon.
Leon realized it couldn’t gauge his level and was already gathering his magical energy.
‘Seeing that the shaggy-haired mage blocked the spear, it must be at the advanced special magic level... but its physical abilities must be stronger than that?’
If that were the case, Leon felt confident he could handle it.
“Blood magic?”
While Leon calmly assessed his opponent, someone muttered in a voice filled with fear.
A practitioner of blood magic, considered a taboo, had appeared here.
“Why is a blood mage in the Valley of Souls...?”
The sudden appearance of the magical beast horde. The long-lost blood mage. In the very place they had managed for decades?
Everything was filled with questions.
But they couldn’t focus on the blood mage.
They had to deal with the griffon pack.
As if obeying the blood mage’s command, the griffons ignored it and targeted only the mages of Astellia.
In the chaotic formation.
Leon activated magic infusion while chanting.
“Reveal it.”
At that moment, magical energy surged into his forehead. It was a conclusion reached after realizing he couldn’t gain the advantage in physical abilities through magic infusion.
The scene of the blood mage approaching Leon, swinging its arm towards him, flashed in his mind.
Without hesitation, Leon ducked.
A ripping sound echoed.
The air above Leon’s head trembled as if it were being torn apart. He narrowly avoided the attack.
The next scene continued to play in Leon’s mind. Frowning in pain, he quickly pulled his body back.
A blood-red spear whizzed past where Leon had just stood.
Leon drew his wooden sword. The ominous sword exuded a chilling aura around him.
The blood mage flinched at the sight of Leon’s drawn sword. But it quickly regained its composure and charged at Leon again.
Leon barely evaded the blood mage’s sharp claws, raising his palm.
“Drop!”
With a thunderous sound, a blue lightning bolt struck down from the sky. The brilliant flash illuminated the surroundings.
Surprisingly, the blood mage made no attempt to dodge the lightning. It was hit directly by the bolt.
The scent of burning flesh wafted through the air.
But even more astonishing was that the blood mage’s flesh, blown apart by the lightning, instantly healed itself. It was as if there had never been a wound.
Leon couldn’t help but be taken aback by the scene.
Could such insane regenerative power truly belong to a human?
Before Leon’s thoughts could conclude, a blood-red spear flew toward him. He quickly blocked it with his wooden sword and wiped the blood off the blade with his finger.
Although it was blood formed by magic, it didn’t change the fact that it was the blood of the blood mage.
“Stain it.”
As Leon chanted, black stains spread across the blood. It spread like ink dissolving in water, turning the blood black.
“Cough...!”
The blood mage suddenly screamed in agony. It clutched its arm. While there was no significant change in appearance, it was clear that the blood mage was in pain.
As Leon had anticipated, the Curse of the Black Night had an effect. However, the amount of magical energy it consumed was unbearable.
He needed to reach a conclusion quickly.
Leon immediately hurled his wooden sword at the blood mage.
The sword flew like an arrow. The blood mage, who hadn’t even thought of dodging, moved its body to avoid the wooden sword. More precisely, that scene flowed into Leon’s mind.
Leon’s eyes sparkled.