Chapter 42 A Narrow Escape: She Loves Sunbathing So Much

"What's the current situation with the monster tide?" Heligalo went directly to Bishop Pol in the camp to ask.

“According to observations, a large horde of low-level magical beasts is currently heading this way, and it will likely last for about a day. Following them will be a horde of mid-level magical beasts. As in previous years, we will employ the strategy of guiding and diverting them.” Bishop Pol spoke rapidly, reporting the observations with deep concern. “The intensity of the magical beast tide will gradually increase. The camp’s current strength is insufficient to sustain a fight against the mid-level magical beast horde. Moreover, there are Gracia’s students here, and I heard there’s even a royal princess among them? Your Holiness, the Holy See has not yet reached the point of opposing the royal family; they cannot afford any harm to themselves.”

"The safety of Red Maple City is paramount. The Vatican's people will be at the forefront. If things really get extremely critical, have the teachers lead the students to evacuate to the high mountains on the side." Heligaluo made the decision quickly and calmly.

He left the tent and stood directly on the command platform at the outermost edge of the camp. The clergy, who were initially slightly uneasy, gradually calmed down when they saw him.

The first wave of magical beasts consisted of small, low-level creatures. Rust rats led the charge, their movements swift and their eyes bloodshot under the influence of demonic energy, instantly entering a berserk state, solely focused on spreading the rust toxins they carried. Large, cartwheel-sized spiders followed closely behind, spewing silk from their split abdominal mouthparts and dripping corrosive liquid from their chelicerae. Soldier ants rode on earthworms, burrowing bone fragments and dust into the ground.

They have lost their minds, devouring all the vegetation left on the ground in their path. Only the ancient trees that are stubbornly rooted in the ground can be spared. Lower-level monsters have become unfortunate victims of the torrent, corroded clean by the toxins.

The first rust rat to fall into the trench was the one that had been leading the charge. Before it could get up, it was immediately crushed by its kin who had followed. The trench was filled with struggling, writhing low-level magical beasts, which piled up higher and higher. Later, the rest of the herd was able to step on the bodies of the beasts that had been piled up and leap across the trench.

Snap.

With a snap of his fingers, the fire mage's fire rain fell into the trench, and the raging flames ignited the entire trench. The dry branches and leaves that had been laid out beforehand became the best fuel, and the grease dripping into the flames made the fire burn even brighter. The smell of charred flesh carried by the wind to the camp.

"It smells a bit nice," Ancia said unconsciously, earning strange looks from her companions.

“You can’t eat this,” Skark told her seriously.

"..." Of course she knew.

A few lucky monsters rushed towards the camp through the gaps between the trenches, only to be killed by the mages from a distance, turning into specks of light and disappearing a few minutes later.

"If the corpses disappear, there's no need to worry about the spread of plague and toxins." Ancia was relieved that the monster corpses in this world would automatically disappear after the time was up.

The first wave of monsters was simply overwhelming in numbers, and could be dealt with by trenches and the mages' finishing blows. After a brief period of calm, the second wave of monsters arrived.

Their size increased, and their mutations became more pronounced. The trenches could no longer stop them as they charged toward the camp, where there were numerous fluctuations of light magic, a strong temptation for the berserk monsters.

The clergy of the Holy See are not very aggressive and are more skilled in control magic. The knights of the Holy See in Red Maple City raised their greatswords at the bound monsters and cleanly decapitated them. They were covered by a continuous holy light that could resist the erosion of demonic energy.

Skark had already charged out and was fighting alongside the knights of the Papacy, skillfully slicing through the flesh of the monsters. With each flash of cold light, he took down a monster.

The knights laughed heartily, "Orc, your scimitar is just as cool as our greatsword."

"The scimitar is clearly cooler than the greatsword," Ancia couldn't help but exclaim.

The sound of arrows whistling through the air came from beside her, and Erlan gave her a cool look.

"Bows and arrows are cool too...bows, staffs, and scimitars are all cool!" Ancia wiped away her cold sweat and praised everyone fairly.

When Skalk returned, he was covered in the blood of magical beasts. He twirled around Ancia as if to show off, "I'm not injured!"

Ansia tiptoed and patted his head. "Good boy."

Airland retorted expressionlessly, "Are you training a dog?"

"Hey, hey, that's a bit harsh," Ancia said, shaking a finger and asserting, "Doing the right thing deserves a reward."

Isn't that just training a dog?

Skalk didn't feel that way; Ancia's reward gave him the same sense of pleasure he felt during battle.

“The third wave of monsters is coming.” Heligalo interrupted their chatter with a solemn expression. “All mages, control your mana consumption. This is a protracted battle. We must hold out longer until reinforcements arrive.”

Even until the very last moment.

The ground tremors from afar intensified, sounding like a continuous earthquake. The dense hoofbeats grew louder and clearer, and the roars of mid-level magical beasts arrived first, mixed with the chaotic wind.

The knights were already equipped with double shields; they no longer participated in the attack but instead bought more time and opportunities for the mages in the rear.

The teachers who had been observing descended from the sky to participate in clearing this wave of monsters. This wave of monsters was diverted to three regions. Their main road was responsible for resisting the central wave, while the other two diverted waves were handed over to Mortley and Cheryl respectively.

Yesika followed Merri to the west. The dark-elemental students could not accept light-elemental healing spells, and dozens of cloaked figures left mixed in with the silver-armored group.

With some of the camp's personnel taken away, the pressure on the camp has increased. Ancia has given up the opportunity to cast the Mark of Light. She is simply casting healing spells continuously, controlling the magic power of the healing spells to the most precise degree according to the friendly forces' health displayed by the system, without wasting a single bit.

Eve brought out all her potion reserves, and the finest potions from the royal family were casually laid out on the ground for anyone to take.

Ancia grabbed a bottle and gulped it down, numbly waving her staff. She had now reached a level of proficiency in casting healing spells that allowed her to use silent incantations.

Even with the aid of mana restoration potions, the enormous consumption still drained many of the low-ranking priests of the Holy See, who could only retreat to the safe zone, their faces pale.

The mid-tier magical beasts were all stronger than three-star class beasts, while the highest-ranking ordinary clergy of the Red Maple City Church were only three-star. This battle was more difficult than they had anticipated.

"The Light of Silence".

"Entangled in thorns."

The waterfall of light temporarily stripped the magical beast of its magic, turning it into an ordinary wild beast. The dark green thorns took the opportunity to pierce the beast's flesh, injecting venom into its blood vessels. The toxin took effect before the magic-suppressing state ended. The magical beast shook its head blankly, not understanding why it had suddenly become sluggish.

The sudden relief from the pressure allowed the knights ahead to catch their breath, and their advantage grew like a snowball, finally clearing out the wave of monsters just as the sun was about to set.

The knights slowly walked back to the camp and sat down on the ground without any regard for their image. No one spoke; everyone was taking the time to rest.

The long, seemingly endless monster tide eroded the morale of the camp. Based on past experience, reinforcements drawn from other regions by the Holy See often took a day and a night to arrive.

But they didn't know if they could survive the night. There would be at least two more waves of monsters before dawn, and they didn't know if the next wave would take their companions away.

Ancia's magic power was also running low. The priests behind her still had a chance to take turns resting. She had fought the entire wave of monsters from beginning to end, and the golden light of healing spells kept emanating from her palms without stopping.

She knew in her heart that the remaining magic power was not enough to sustain the fourth wave of monsters.

what to do?

Despite being NPCs she had never met before, residents of Red Maple City who hadn't even appeared in the game's description, and clergy members of the Church who were skipped in the Heligalo HE route, Ancia didn't want them to die at this moment.

The barbecue in Red Maple City was delicious, and the little nuns in the Vatican were adorable. She wasn't thinking about much else; in this moment, she just didn't want it all to disappear.

"Just consider me crazy," Ancia muttered to herself, grabbing the two remaining bottles of mana restoration potions from the ground and gulping them down.

Eve sat wearily on the ground, without asking why she had drunk the last two bottles of potion by herself.

Without any magic array to aid it, without any magical materials to support it, without a mentor to supervise it, its magic power is pitifully low...

Despite the unfavorable circumstances, Ancia walked alone to the outside of the camp and raised her hands.

Golden magic surged from her palm, rapidly etching intricate and complex lines.

A massive magic circle gradually took shape in the air. Ancia's tenacious and unwavering will allowed her to enter a state of flow once again, controlling the light magic to roam through the air.

“A fixed-type Starry Protection Array…” Heligalo recognized the array diagram that was about to be completed.

His priest's robe had several such magic circles, but he had never seen a giant Star Protection Magic Circle that could cover an entire camp.

In the dim light of the sky, the bright light emanating from this giant magic circle shone like a second sun on the outer edge of the Monster Mountain Range, even causing Mortley and Cheryl in the distance to turn their heads.

With just one stroke left, Ancia's magic power was nearly exhausted. The stinging pain from forcibly outputting magic power surged from her limbs to her brain, and her vision began to blur.

+1.

The mana restoration potion provided just the last drop of mana before she became dizzy and unconscious, just enough to complete the magic circle.

Arlan and Heligalo rushed toward the fallen Ancia to catch her, but Skalk, who had been sneaking over there, beat them to it.

“Her magic has run out.” Skalk carried Ancia back.

The fourth wave of Warcraft has arrived.

A chaotic and powerful roar grew louder as it approached, as if thousands of large beasts were simultaneously trampling the mountains. Trees along the path were all snapped in half, and the dark mass of monsters was even darker than the night. The ferocious torrent was blocked by a thin magic array.

The exhausted knight struggled to his feet, channeling his dwindling magic power into the magic circle—one, two, three…

The magic circle went from thick to thin, then back to thick. Brilliant spells passed through the magic circle and fell into the monster horde. Outside the magic circle were sharp roars, while inside was a steadfast silence.

With no magic left, Erlan could not cast a single spell, so he could only keep drawing his bow and releasing the string, his arrows never missing their mark.

The moment the Starshine Protection Array vanished, the last monster died from Elran's arrow.

Only five Gracia students remained. Heligalo walked up to Erlan and said softly, "I have a favor to ask of you, Erlan."

He glanced longingly at the unconscious Ancia before looking away. "Before the fifth wave of monsters arrives... please take Ancia away. I will have Skalk take Eve, but as for Ancia, I only trust you."

Airland was shocked by his implication, his mind too complicated to think clearly. After a long while, he lowered his voice and asked, "Is there no other way? Do you really have to..."

Under Heligalo's unperturbed gaze, he couldn't get any more questions out of him.

"The purpose of the Holy See is to protect. Every monster we kill brings a greater degree of safety to Red Maple City," Heligaluo said calmly. "We are all orphans adopted by the Holy See from childhood. We have long ago sworn an oath under the statue of the God of Light to uphold the doctrine and protect the weak, even at the cost of our lives. But you are different. You have never received any favors from the Holy See and do not need to sacrifice yourselves for it."

His voice suddenly softened, "Take her away. She loves basking in the sun so much; she shouldn't be resting in the gloomy Monster Mountain Range."

Erlan understood him and reluctantly agreed, "...Okay."

The fifth wave of monsters arrived, their crimson eyes standing out starkly against the dark mountains, their red glow visible even from a great distance.

The people in the camp were all exhausted, and Heligalo stood alone at the front, with the knights behind him helping each other to their feet.

Ellan held Ancia in his arms. He was confident he could leave before the monster tide engulfed the camp, but he wanted to see his best friend one more time. He saw Heligalo raise his hand, place it on his collarbone, and caress it tenderly twice.

A deafening roar pierced the sky, and a strong aura of demonic beasts carried on the wind.

In their desperate situation, no one noticed the soft, synchronized footsteps behind them.

Thousands of silver-white armored figures, illuminated by torches, converged into a bright silver torrent as they arrived at the rear of the camp.

"You've worked hard. Leave the rest of the monster tide to us," said Privy Councillor Finier with a smile.

Just when things seemed hopeless, the Vatican's support arrived in less than a day.