âIn the end, you came to help me anyway, Marquis Ember,â Astoria casually said, her lips curved into a slight smile.
âIt was originally my job to clean up these dogs, to begin with. What would I do if you get yourself killed?â Ember coolly replied before she furrowed her brows. âNevertheless, itâs true that the Curse of the Purple Umbala does not affect Specialized Magic.â
âPerhaps it has something to do with the cohesiveness of mana in Specialized Magic,â Astoria guessed.
âIâve tested it earlier, but it seems like the Curse of the Purple Umbala has a weak dismantling effect. Mana gets pulled apart when it is exposed to the Curse of the Purple Umbala in the airââ
[Great Sword Wave]
Astoria cleaved away the goblins and hobgoblins as they charged at her. They had no interest in listening to her talk with Marquis Ember.
At the same time, the B-rank hunters from the Assembly of Silent Night hid within the goblin horde, awaiting their next chance to strike.
However, Astoriaâs monstrous strength kept them from getting close.
âHow rude of them to interrupt you, Headmaster Astoria. Well, I guess I canât expect much from these primitive creatures of lesser intelligence,â Ember coolly said as she took a few steps forward and stared at them with disdain and disgust. âSuch ugly creatures should disappear.â
Vroosh!
With a wave of her hand, a violent storm of purgatory flames surged from her body to towering heights, erasing everything in its path.
Tree branches and leaves it touched quickly disintegrated into black ashes under its scorching-hot temperatures.
Kreuk!
Countless goblins and hobgoblins cried as they were set ablaze.
The terrible heat tormented their minds and broke their abnormal mental states, causing pure chaos in their ranks.
However, the goblins and hobgoblins only struggled for a few breaths before becoming motionless, blackened corpses that crumbled into ashes when the wind blew over them.
In a short instance, a huge area of land and trees turned black, including more than two thousand goblins and a hundred hobgoblins.
Nevertheless, the B-rank hunters from the Assembly of Silent Night were smart enough to flee before the terrifying flames could reach them.
Even so, the destructiveness of Emberâs purgatory flames could not be denied. However, her mana consumption was equally great.
âAre you trying to burn all your mana in one go, Marquis Ember?â Astoria slightly frowned at Emberâs extravagant usage of mana. âYouâll be vulnerable once you deplete all your mana.â
âYou donât need to worry, Headmaster Astoria. Iâve stocked plenty of excess mana and Mana Restoration Potions in my Magic Domain, solely for this expedition,â Ember coolly assured.
Shortly after, she sent another terrifying huge wave of fire to burn her enemies.
However, her second attack wasnât as effective as the first time. Several magic barriers were conjured by Rank 3 Goblin Shamans to block it.
As a result, only several hundred goblins and dozens of hobgoblins died instead.
âOh? There are quite a few Rank 3 Goblin Shamans in this goblin horde. Could there be Peak Rank 3 Goblin Chiefs or even a Goblin King?â Ember uttered with surprise.
â¦
Meanwhile, Silver Hawk and his people retreated a great distance from the goblin horde and the two High Witches with lingering fears.
âSuch terrifying flames and destructiveness! How are we supposed to defeat two High Witches at once? They donât seem to be affected by the Curse of the Purple Umbala at all!â a Peak B-rank hunter with a completely transformed wolf head exclaimed.
âWeâve miscalculated the effectiveness of the Curse of the Purple Umbala. It doesnât work against the witchesâ Specialize Magic,â Silver Hawk uttered with a serious look.
âHowever, their mana isnât endless. Weâll have our chance once they completely exhaust their mana. Even if we have to sacrifice the entire goblin horde, we have to make it happen! We canât let them regroup with the others!â
âDefinitely not!â the other B-rank hunters quickly agreed.
Although they had to face two High Witches at once, they couldnât have hoped for a better situation. It was much better than facing the entire punitive expedition force.
Shortly after, the B-rank hunters assumed command of the goblin horde and had them circle to the rear of Headmaster Astoria and Marquis Ember, cutting off their path of retreat.
âAs expected, these dogs indeed have the ability to command the goblins. It looks like they really donât want us to regroup with our troops,â Ember uttered before her lips curved into a disdainful smile. âUnfortunately, it takes more than numbers to stop us.â
Vroosh!
Ember summoned another violent wave of purgatory flames with her hands and reduced hundreds of goblins into scorched-black corpses without a care for the environment.
â¦
â¦
â¦
Ding!
=====
[Killing Intent (Mid rank)]
Overview: When directing your killing intent at other living beings, there is a slight chance of inflicting fear to intimidate or break their fighting spirit.
Effect 1 [Normal]: 10% chance to inflict fear on Rank 2 beings. The chance increases by onefold on weaker beings for each rank difference.
Effect 2 [Goblin Slayer]: Thereâs a 40% higher chance of inflicting fear on Rank 2 goblin-type monsters or weaker.
=====
A series of system notifications appeared after Vaan decimated the thousand-strong goblin force.
Countless headless goblin corpses scattered across the area, and their blood soaked the ground, filling the region with a pungent stench.
Vaan stood in the middle of it all.
Shortly after casually swiping his gunblades at the empty air to clean the goblin blood off them, his calm eyes suddenly flickered with sharpness.
âYou can stop watching and come out now,â Vaan stated.
Moments later, several other men with wolf-like features stepped out from behind their trees in the distance. They were all Peak C-rank hunters.
Clap, clap, clap!
âVery impressive senses you have,â Black Crow casually clapped his hands and boldly approached Vaan.
âBut whatâs more impressive is your killing method; no wasted movement, and each strike are aimed to kill.â
âWhat do you want?â