Inside the Arcadian mountain range.
Guided by several veteran hunters, the indignant subjugation army followed the traces left by the magical beasts all the way in hot pursuit.
Seemingly due to the anomalies brought by the Beast Disaster, the thorns and poisonous weeds along the way grew exceptionally lush.
With just a few steps, one would step on the stark white bones of animals and humans hidden beneath the dead leaves and withered branches, dried blood thoroughly irrigating this land.
Looking at the shattered remains of victims scattered around, some fell silent, some trembled with fear, while others burned with righteous indignation.
Ever since the [Beast Disaster] began to spread, the entirety of Arcadia had fallen into a state of deep distress.
Many villagers who failed to retreat into the walled city in time even suffered the tragic fate of having their entire villages slaughtered and wiped out.
And now, another stroke of blood debt had been added to the crimes committed by the magical beasts.
Along the way, thick cedar trees thrust straight into the clouds.
The tangled, slanted branches and leaves blocked out most of the celestial radiance, leaving behind only dense darkness and a heavy stench of blood.
Walking within the ranks, Lorne furrowed his brow in deep thought, while his eyes habitually scanned the surroundings to keep track of the nearby situation.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a massive shadow piercing through the pervasive mist, seemingly heading straight toward his position, his pupils shrinking instantly.
He used lightning speed to pull Medea, who was just ahead of him, right behind his back.
"Roar!"
A violent screech exploded inside the forest as a pair of greenish-black scaled claws tore through the air with sharp, whistling sounds, lunging forward to strike.
A Wyvern?
Lorne's eyes narrowed slightly; the divine power within his body surged, as he grabbed the bronze spear he carried with him, and hurled it forward.
The spear shot through the air like rapid lightning, tearing through the hard scales protecting the heart beneath the wyvern's neck from a subtle angle.
Amidst a violent resonance of ether, a massive puncture wound exploded open.
The beast's terrified wails and struggles ground to an abrupt halt as chunks of internal organs mixed with blood flowed out of the gap, falling straight down into the forest with a dull, booming thud.
With the crisis averted, just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Atalanta's pricked cat ears twitched slightly, her face turning somewhat solemn.
"There are more behind us! A lot!"
As the warning call rang out, a dense, black mass of wyverns rushed out from the heavily churning mist of blood.
Narrowing her emerald eyes,
Atalanta immediately muttered a prayer under her breath and shot two arrows toward the mid-air.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
In an instant, a massive magical array centered around gold and silver celestial bodies was activated and formed.
The divine radiance of the Sun and the Moon instantly condensed into thousands of light arrows, howling and raining down like a meteor shower within the area covered by the magical array.
The thick mist along the way was like cold water poured onto a red-hot iron plate, hissing and steaming away as much of it dissolved into blue smoke.
.
.
Meanwhile, the hundreds of howling wyverns had their scales pierced, wing membranes torn, and limbs and skulls shattered by the successive rains of starlight arrows, crashing down one after another amidst their screams.
Although the sky was virtually cleared of the wyverns, the crowd did not relax in the slightest.
Because at this moment, the ground beneath their feet was vibrating violently, and the trees ahead were snapping and collapsing one after another, carrying the thunderous roar of a stampeding herd.
From the scouting expedition ahead, cries of alarm and furious roars rang out, while surging magical bullets and signal arrows whistled and exploded sharply in mid-air.
Within the dense fog, a terrifying shadow standing over twenty meters tall, looming like a small mountain, revealed its ferocious outline.
It possessed three heads, a lion, a mountain goat, and a giant serpent, and its hair, as rigid as steel needles, deflected the attacks coming from all directions.
'The three-headed King of Monsters, Chimera?'
Looking at that unique mythical beast that was exactly the same as the one in his memories yet possessed a vastly inferior aura, Lorne's eyes flickered.
Sure enough, the cause of this [Beast Disaster] was inextricably linked to Typhon's divinity.
The magical beasts and animals inside the Arcadian mountain range were likely turning violent and aggressive precisely because they were eroded and infected by that Monster Progenitor's divinity, gradually evolving into the forms of Typhon's progeny.
And if his expectations were correct, the source of the infection lay within the Arcadian mountains, and it wasn't very far from here anymore.
Just as Lorne was contemplating, the three-headed King of Monsters raised its heads and roared, and the vibrations of the ground ahead grew increasingly chaotic.
One, two, three...
Ten, a hundred, a thousand...
A moment later, packs of demonic wolves and demonic boars of all sizes emerged from the mud pits, from behind the bushes, and from within the burrows.
Piercing through the dense fog, they formed a wild, chaotic tide, crashing toward the subjugation army.
Watching this grand-scale counterattack, the crowd's gazes hardened, carrying a sense of caution and gravity.
"Shield-bearers and spearmen, step forward! Mages, conduct terrain interference to slow down the impact!"
"Archers, volley two rounds! Javelin-throwers, be responsible for disrupting the frontal formation!"
"Priests and recovery casters, prepare for rescue!"
Facing the danger without panic, Hippomenes, acting as the commander, drew his sword and slashed it downward, issuing commands in an orderly manner.
The subjugators spontaneously gathered to respond as spell bullets, arrows, and javelins whistled forward.
The densely packed magical beasts rushing up were either pinned dead to the ground or blown into chunks of shredded meat.
Puff!
Lorne raised his hand to pull his long spear out of a demonic boar's eye socket, his gaze tilting to the right.
He tucked the spear shaft under his armpit, thrust forward with his chest extended, directly skewering a leaping demonic wolf all the way through.
In just a few short breaths, several dozen corpses of magical beasts had already accumulated around him.
But even so, magical beasts continuously rushed out from the deep mountains in an endless stream, growing greater and greater in number.
Facing the magical beasts rushing up wave after wave, the heroes were like isolated islands in the sea, parting the waves time and again, standing tall and unyielding.
Seeing that his attacks failed to break through for a long time, that Chimera responsible for the coordination finally lost its patience.
Letting out a low roar, it lowered its heads and charged straight toward the subjugation army's defensive line.
Having withstood several rounds of the magical beasts' impacts, the self-confidence of a few small squads at the front lines surged massively.
Unable to suppress their excitement, they converged from the flanks and rushed forward in an attempt to intercept it.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
However, the divine power they took pride in and the sturdy shields they raised were as thin and brittle as paper in front of this Chimera.
Several fully confident subjugators instantly flew backward wailing, crashing to the ground while vomiting blood, their ribcages caved in.
Worse yet, two unlucky fellows happened to land right along the path of the magical beasts' charge.
Before they could even stand up, they were torn to shreds and trampled into minced meat by the surging beast tide.
Seeing this situation, the subjugators who had just been filled with self-satisfaction couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.
They quickly dialed up their caution to the absolute maximum, not daring to rush forward to clash head-on with that Chimera.
"Roar!"
Having experienced a slaughter, the Chimera's ferocity was fully unleashed.
Its blood-red eyes glared sinisterly at the crowd as it lowered its heads and opened its mouth, biting down on half the body of a severely wounded divine-blooded hero.
Crunch!
A crisp, ear-piercing cracking sound rang out as that massive mouth chewed on flesh and bone fragments, swallowing it whole.
A thick, crimson liquid dripped from the corners of its mouth.
Looking at that bloody feeding scene, the faces of several younger divine-blooded heroes turned pale, the hands holding their weapons trembling.
Seeing that the monster was charging toward them after finishing its bloody meal, the archers frantically channeled their divine power, shooting arrows to obstruct it; several spearmen also ran forward to hurl their javelins.
However, whether it was the arrows, the javelins, or even the spell bullets of the mages, all of them were deflected by the Chimera's hard hide and fur, failing to leave many effective wounds on it.
Instead, it further stimulated its ferocity.
"Get out of the way!"
Accompanied by a dull, explosive shout, a tall and burly figure rushed out from the ranks, heading straight for that Chimera.
Dozens of magical beasts large and small pounced up, attempting to tear this arrogant bipedal creature to shreds.
However, a dazzling, deep-blue halo vibrated outward, and these magical beasts, which were troublesome in the eyes of others, instantly turned into blasting sprays of bloody mire.
Organs, broken bones, brain matter, and muscle tissue flung out in all directions, turning into crimson raindrops that stained the surroundings with ferocious colors.
And under the cover of the bloody aura and dense fog, the three-headed King of Monsters, Chimera, had already accelerated its charge right to the front lines.
Bang!
Amidst a dull explosion, distorted light ripples spread outward.
Dozens of trees near the clash instantly turned into flying woodchips, and layers of soil were ripped upward.
Two figures, one large and one small, flew backward respectively.
Half of the Chimera's body blew apart into shredded meat, while the figure swaying as it stood up from the pile of corpses let out a hearty laugh. Unhooking the wineskin from his waist, he took several satisfying gulps.
The red wine flowing from the corners of his mouth landed on his knotted muscles, reflecting a sacred sense of strength and intoxication under the glow of the setting sun.
Seeing that the saint had successfully slain the leader of the magical beasts, the followers of the Cult of Dionysus shouted praises in unison.
"Holy, Holy, Holy! Our Lord Dionysus, Who was, Who is, and Who is to come forever! Your radiance fills the whole earth!"
Lurking somewhere near the back of the ranks, a certain involved party felt as if he had just heard cries of "Old Immortal So-and-So, boundless in magic power." He couldn't help but feel his old face turn red, coughing violently.
Flattery wasn't uncalled for, but one should at least pay attention to the occasion.
(End of this chapter)