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"Who the hell are you guys?"
A large number of magicians were hidden within the forest, and now a man in a black robe had appeared to rescue Motoyasu and Myne. Jack knew that the other party wouldn't answer, but he couldn't help but ask.
"Then who are you, daring to attack the hero of the spear and the king's first princess?"
The black-robed man asked back, equally suspicious.
Both sides were in the dark, with one person in a hood and the other wearing a grimace mask, making it impossible for anyone to recognize the other.
For a moment, the entire scene fell into silence.
But the silence quickly ended as Jack made his move. In his mind, it didn't matter who these black-robed figures were—his mission was to eliminate Myne. If they stood in his way, then he'd just have to kill them all.
However, just as Jack took a step forward, two men in black robes appeared before him, blocking his path. They wielded short swords in their hands.
"Out of my way!" Jack roared, swinging the two swords in his hands towards them.
The two black-robed men did not flinch, facing Jack head-on with their own short swords.
The sounds of clashing steel echoed endlessly as Jack faced both opponents at once. Despite not being at a disadvantage, their defense was making it difficult for him to get close to Myne.
Jack noticed that the group was preparing to lift Myne, Motoyasu, and the two female adventurers, ready to make their escape. He grew increasingly anxious.
Seeing his momentary distraction, the two men seized the opportunity and managed to leave cuts on Jack's shoulder and arm. Stabbed twice, Jack retreated a few steps, glancing at his wounds. They weren't deep nor poisoned, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm being too reckless. Calm down," Jack muttered to himself, trying to regain his composure. His eyes scanned the situation as he assessed: "These guys clearly aren't ordinary. I can't break their defense and reach Myne. The only way now is to hold them off until Irene and the others return..."
Jack quickly evaluated the situation. If Irene and the others could eliminate the magicians in the forest, the men in black and Myne would be trapped.
He immediately acted on his decision, staying true to his principle of taking action without hesitation.
Jack rushed towards the two black-robed men once more. This time, his attacks were fiercer, almost as if he didn't care about getting hurt or dying.
Faced with such a desperate onslaught, the two black-robed men couldn't help but step back, retreating in the direction where Myne was.
The distance between Jack and Myne shortened from fifteen meters to ten.
At that moment, the man near Myne had just lifted her after applying hemostatic medicine to her wound.
"This is it!" Jack's eyes gleamed as he threw the two short swords in his hands like flying daggers.
The two black-robed men didn't anticipate Jack throwing his swords, reacting too late to block. All they could do was watch as the swords flew towards the unconscious Myne, who had passed out from blood loss.
The man holding Myne noticed the incoming daggers. In that instant, he faced a difficult decision. With both hands occupied holding Myne, there was no way to defend himself or dodge in time due to the close distance.
For most, the only way to survive would be to drop Myne.
But the man didn't hesitate; he turned around, using his broad back to block the daggers aimed at Myne.
The sharp blades pierced straight into his body, carrying poison, yet he didn't even flinch.
Witnessing this, a thought crossed Jack's mind: "A dead man!"
Those capable of training dead men weren't to be taken lightly, but Jack had no time to dwell on this as the two black-robed men attacked with their short swords once more, forcing him to retreat.
"Quite impressive," the man assisting Motoyasu commented coldly. "Without hesitation, you shortened the distance and let the thrown daggers exert their full power to stop Myne, buying time for your companions to arrive. You made such calm decisions in a dire situation—admirable. But now that you've no weapons, let's see what you can do."
"No weapons? Sorry, but I've still got six more!" Jack retorted, pulling another dagger from his waist and hurling it at Myne.
The man holding Myne was half-kneeling, already suffering from two stab wounds, yet he still managed to shield Myne once again, sacrificing himself to block the next attack. But this time, he lost his life entirely.
Without the man's interference, the next strike would surely end Myne's life.
Jack retrieved two more short swords from his leggings, intending to finish Myne, but the two black-robed men approached once again.
"So annoying!" Jack muttered coldly, reluctantly giving up his assault on Myne to fend off their renewed attacks.
For now, there was no need to worry about Myne being taken away since Irene and the others would handle the magicians soon enough.
Meanwhile, Irene and her group rushed into the forest, discovering a large gathering of magicians—sixty or seventy in number. It was no wonder magical skills had been raining down one after another.
Since they were enemies, there was no need to hold back.
Irene and her team charged forward with their swords, taking down over ten magicians instantly amidst the chaos and screams.
It could be said that Irene led the charge, but those being killed were stricken with terror.
Just as she was about to eliminate all the magicians, Irene halted abruptly. Three men in black robes had suddenly appeared, blocking her path.
While she was still trying to figure out who these intruders were, the three men raised their arms simultaneously, unleashing a dazzling burst of light.
A series of currents rose around them, rapidly forming a circular barrier that trapped all nine people, including Irene, within it.
"Thunder Cage? It's a highly durable prison—strong enough to hold even a powerful monster. But it has a fatal flaw: the caster is also inside the cage. Nine of us against you three, and you use a cage like this? I don't know who you are, but you must have a death wish!" Lilith remarked confidently.
She had studied numerous magic books and came across detailed descriptions of Thunder Cage in her readings.
"Lilith, if we just kill the casters, the cage will disappear, right? Got it," Irene responded calmly, holding her sword as she slowly approached the three men in black robes.
However, to her surprise, the robed figures began to remove their cloaks, revealing their intent without any sign of panic.
"It's futile," one of them said coldly. "Inside this Thunder Cage, no one can escape their fate!"
The three men revealed their bodies, each tattooed with numerous spells that now glowed with intense light. At the same time, the temperature within the cage began to rise rapidly.
"This is bad… They're planning to self-destruct!" Lilith's eyes widened in alarm as she realized their intention, shouting urgently.
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