The Author's POV

"Whooooo!"

The Abyssal Mammoth raised its tusk into the air and let out a ferocious cry, much like the way a trumpet would sound. Simultaneously, its body raised up on its two legs―exposing its fluffy underbelly in the process—with its legs smashing down against the ground when coming down.

Rumble! Rumble!

The cave began to shake as a result of the mammoth's violent movements, and the color of the mammoth's eyes shifted to an ominous crimson hue.

"Not good; it's agitated!"

"The cave will collapse at this rate!"

Confronted with an unexpected circumstance, the demons began to panic a little. However, the panic didn't last too long. After all, they were all seasoned veterans.

It didn't take long before the order was restored, and immediately after, every demon began forming formations and barking orders at each other.

"Aim for the underbelly! That's its weak point!"

"Make sure you don't kill it!"

"Coming!"

Boom―!

The cave began to shake once more, and the combatants on both sides—the mammoth and the demons—engaged in a struggle with one another.

'This is worse than I anticipated..."

As I turned my head to look at Amanda, I heaved a sigh of exasperation and gazed at her with a frown.

It wasn't just her; everybody else was affected by it as well. They were getting to the point where they were a real pain to deal with.

...but I couldn't really blame them, to be honest. It was my choice to bring them along, and I was aware from the very beginning that the more mana, or demonic energy, they used, the more their minds became corrupted by the demonic energy.

It was also the reason why I avoided using my powers as much as possible.

Really...

If there was anyone to blame, it was me.

Xiu―! Xiuuuu―!

"Whoooooo!"

Amanda's arrows tore through the air as she continued to shoot in the direction of the mammoth. They rode through the air like silver bullets, arriving at the beast in a matter of seconds.

Ca―! Clank!

Unfortunately, when they collided with the mammoth's hide this time, unlike her first attempt, the arrows were deflected away and sent careening aimlessly toward the ground.

I wasn't surprised by this.

After all, there was a significant gap in the level of strength that existed between the Mammoth and Amanda. The simple fact that she had been successful in obtaining a hit in the first place was mind-boggling in itself.

Of course, it would have never occurred if it had not been caught off guard. But that was the whole point.

"Are you not going to make a move?"

the

to get rid of the beast. If

"I guess..."

nodded, agreeing

from my position and continued to observe from

make the same argument for the Duchess. If she were to make a move, things would turn for the

as strong

chose to omit

***

Clank―!

"Whooooo!"

struck against the hard fur of the mammoth, which further enraged it and caused it to

hung above the ceiling

nature of the rock that was used to construct the cave, held an incredible amount of weight—came hurtling down toward a series of demons, impaling

"Argh!"

"Watch out!"

over the cavern, and the demons didn't even get a chance

that their cores were not damaged,

sheer size of the stalactites made sure that no demon survived, smashing their cores alongside

demons have fallen so

battlefield from a safe corner

mammoth as her eyes her glare became colder with each

we've lost about ten Marquis

prepared

"Ten already?"

Priscilla's pristine features as her brows momentarily moved

was more than

his voice brimming with caution. "I believe that the reason for the losses is

"Enough!"

the same. The same couldn't be said for her voice as a bone-chilling coldness accompanied her next

If it were up to me, I'd

been troublesome, but the beast was truly nothing for her to be wary of. Sure, if she were alone, it'd prove to be an

answer was enough to appease her uncle for a

moment as he once

"Yes, I know, but—"

"Did the shot miss?"

on the hooded figure that had shot

close eye on the individual ever

out of spite or annoyance. It was more out of

cowards. The

although she liked courageous soldiers, it didn't mean she liked reckless ones. Had the individual missed, it would've been

wrong. For those who died...they were merely not

level, a soldier had to adapt to any situation that

eye lost, they had gained a good advantage. It was now up to them to exploit that advantage

right side! At

that once again caught Priscilla's attention as she slowly

'Another hooded figure?'

she noticed that the person who had yelled was donning a black hood, the same kind of hood as the one that belonged to the person who

she was giving seemed to be directed toward another hooded figure who had managed to get on the

That's

words were

figure leisurely approached the beast, walked up to it, and

to the chaos, or the figure's skills, or perhaps both, but much to her surprise, he

SHAAA!