Chapter 52 Encirclement "Hehe~ Let's head to the Vatican together."...
After a few days of relatively peaceful coexistence—which was only barely achieved thanks to Tarasco and Xavier keeping a distance of 800 meters each day to avoid meeting—one day at noon, thousands of vines materialized in the cave.
Catherine had a vague premonition.
Sure enough, when the witch appeared, she smiled and waved her hand: "It seems we are heading to the Holy See."
Judging from the witch's words alone, she didn't seem very happy. But looking at her expression, Catherine knew that she was in a rather good mood.
Catherine stepped out of the cave and saw Lucas standing outside. But unlike a few days ago, he wasn't alone this time; behind him stood several rows of people. Catherine roughly counted; there were probably close to a hundred.
Half of them were familiar faces; Catherine had spent some time with them at the camp, while the rest were unfamiliar. Benson, of course, was among them.
Lucas had clearly told them everything, and they knew exactly what they were going to do. Fear and tension were mixed on everyone's faces, but no one chose to back down.
Their distant homeland pressed against their backs, making it impossible for them to retreat.
The witch seemed delighted to have so many people present. In her good mood, she casually raised her hand, and every human felt a sudden weight in their hand. Looking down, they found a small, seemingly empty pouch in their grasp. Opening it, they discovered it was filled with bottles and jars far larger than they could see. The jars contained various types of magical potions.
This was an incredibly generous gift, and everyone present instantly showed expressions of gratitude.
"Hehe~ Let's set off for the Vatican together."
Thousands of vines rose up, binding their bodies amidst screams, and then surged towards the edge of the Devil's Forest.
The vines moved incredibly fast, covering dozens of kilometers in just half an hour. As soon as the vines loosened, the group immediately bent over and vomited profusely around them. They all tacitly maintained a certain distance from the witch, resulting in an eerily empty space around her.
The witch seemed unconcerned. She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and basked in the long-awaited sunlight. As if she had broken free of an invisible cage, she appeared even more dangerously beautiful.
However, this was indeed the first time Catherine had seen the witch leave the Devil's Forest since she met her.
"I can't even remember how long it's been... since I've felt the outside air..." Her tone was full of satisfaction.
Catherine sat on Tarasco's back armor, her body completely relaxed in his embrace.
She glanced at the group of people beside her who were still vomiting—even those like Benson and Lucas who had experienced "vine travel" before, this was the longest journey they had ever taken. They weren't vomiting violently, but they were secretly rubbing the areas where they had been bound by the vines.
Catherine was even more relieved that she had reacted quickly. As soon as the witch spoke, she immediately had Tarasco carry her up.
Being bound by vines might make you fast, but it's also... a real pain.
She had already learned her lesson the hard way the last few times, so she naturally learned her lesson this time.
Catherine shifted her body to find the most comfortable position, then closed her eyes, intending to wake up when it was time for dinner.
But to their surprise, trouble caught up with them shortly after they left the Devil's Forest...
Just as Catherine was starting to feel sleepy, she felt a violent shaking beneath her. At first, she thought it was just the road being uneven, but as the shaking continued and the tremors grew stronger over time, she began to realize that it was an abnormal vibration coming from the ground.
Catherine suddenly opened her eyes.
She took Tarasco's arm and glanced around. They had just left the Devil's Forest and were on a plain a few hundred feet from the border of Vilandel City, where they could vaguely see a low, gray town ahead.
Everything seemed fine, except for the constant, increasingly rapid vibrations. Catherine felt her heart pounding wildly, a natural, instinctive sense of danger inherent in small creatures.
Xavier's cold laughter came from behind him, and he made a confident judgment: "Another monster tide."
Catherine's pupils contracted... She immediately realized that Xavier's judgment was correct.
It was as if she had pierced through the thin mist before her eyes in that instant, and she knew exactly where this familiar yet dangerous feeling came from.
The previous monster wave also started with a sudden, inexplicable tremor in the ground! This time, however, it was even more intense than the last one.
Catherine immediately shouted, "It's a monster horde! Spread out!"
Upon hearing the command, those at the rear immediately dispersed in an orderly fashion to avoid being struck directly by the approaching beasts—the probability of a wild animal colliding with a large group of people is much greater than the probability of it colliding with a dispersed, lone individual.
Long before leaving Devil's Forest, Catherine had spoken with those in the camp who had never experienced a monster horde, explaining how to prepare for one.
Since the Vatican can know my location and control the magical beasts to attack, they will only launch an even more ferocious attack once they detect that I have left the Devil's Forest. They have prepared a lot for this, and now they can put it to use.
Not long after she finished speaking, huge shadows gradually became clear in the dust and mist stirred up by the tremor to the side.
A few seconds later, what everyone saw first was the terrifying sight of a herd of giant yaks bursting through the dust. Their eyes were all bloodshot, and they looked no different from the mad bulls seen in the Demon Forest. As soon as the yaks emerged, they scattered and charged towards the people in various directions.
They all lowered their heads, with their long, curved, hard white horns pointing forward. Coupled with their astonishing speed, no one dared to imagine what the consequences would be if they were to be headbutted by them.
The battle began suddenly, and the surrounding area was filled with dust kicked up by the running beasts, making visibility instantly blurry.
Catherine remained seated on Tarasco's back armor, one of his arms around her waist, providing her with a "hold" so she wouldn't fall off when he sped up.
Catherine crossed her arms around his to make sure she wouldn't be thrown off, then took out the potion bag the witch had given her.
She seized the opportunity, throwing bottle after bottle of offensive potions into the pack of beasts. Combined with Tarasco's formidable fighting prowess, they managed to keep things relatively easy for a while.
But others are not in such a good position.
Benson had been standing beside him since the monster tide began, and now he stood with him. Benson shielded him behind him, wielding his greatsword and desperately hacking at the charging monsters. Lucas, meanwhile, lay behind, waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack with a potion.
However, the monsters that came this time were much stronger than the last monster wave.
Benson's broadsword struck the same beast seven or eight times before it was finally incapacitated. During that time, four or five more beasts rushed up and attacked them.
They were surrounded by crazed monsters, and although they wanted to hide, there wasn't enough room for them to escape.
On the left, a giant snake's tail lashed out like a long whip, while on the right, a yak charged madly toward the crowd. Above, many vultures soared low, ready to swarm any injured "prey."
They could only use their flesh and blood to buy time to kill their opponents within a limited space.
At this very moment, looking down over this entire battlefield, countless similar situations are happening simultaneously and continuously.
The sheer number of Warcraft monsters this time is astonishing. Compared to the last Warcraft wave, this one feels more like a game for dolls.
They numbered over a hundred, plus the two magical beasts Tarasco and Xavier, and the powerful witch, who fought against the group of magical beasts for over an hour, slaying countless crazed wild beasts... However, the number of magical beasts did not seem to decrease at all, and even showed a tendency to increase.
A steady stream of monsters surged from the direction of the Devil's Forest and then merged into the battle here.
This endless cycle of attrition is utterly hopeless.
Because monsters can be replenished continuously, but manpower will eventually run out.
Lucas watched as Uncle Benson's hand holding the knife trembled uncontrollably, Tarasco and Xavier's movements slowed down, and even the witch showed signs of fatigue.
Catherine couldn't help but wonder if the Holy See had sent out such a large number of beasts—enough to fill most of the Monster Forest, and perhaps even more—just to kill her. That seemed far too extravagant.
Catherine seized the opportunity and threw a bottle of fire potion to the side. A fierce fire instantly rose up and engulfed four or five wild beasts in the area.
A sharp hiss echoed through the flames, lingering for a long time. Even the other ferocious beasts in the vicinity, upon seeing this, instinctively moved several steps away from them.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Catherine glanced up in the direction of the witch.
The witch was buried in the horde of monsters, with vines flying and wrapping around the monsters that ran in front of her, either tripping them up or tearing them apart.
But no one knows what spell she cast, because even with her companions dying so tragically before their eyes, they couldn't repel the monsters' attack. They continued to charge towards her fearlessly, making the witch the one drawing the most firepower in the battle so far.
Her gaze swept around abruptly, and Catherine instinctively gripped Tarasco's arm tightly.
She turned her head and saw that Tarasco had just made that sudden change of direction to avoid a charging wild boar.
At the same time, he tightened his grip on her waist to prevent her from falling off the armor due to lack of awareness.
Catherine's eyes flickered. If it were before, he would never have made such a daring dodge. This could only mean…
The fatigue from the continuous fighting had begun to affect his perception of danger.
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