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?"

asked, observing the

for them to get rid of the beast. If you were to help out, I'd help save some

"I guess..."

nodded, agreeing

I didn't move from my position and continued to observe from the back. My eyes currently focused on

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

strong as

omit

***

Clank―!

"Whooooo!"

and claws struck against the hard fur of the mammoth, which further enraged it and caused it to trash around with

more violently, and the stalactites that hung above the ceiling of the cave began to fall like sharp projectiles toward the

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

"Argh!"

"Watch out!"

a pretty one as dark blood spattered all over the cavern, and the demons didn't even get a chance to scream before

due to the fact that their cores were not damaged, but those were in

of the stalactites made sure that no demon survived, smashing

have fallen so

battlefield from a safe corner of the

gaze continued to linger over the mammoth as her eyes

ten Marquis

replied, seemingly prepared for

"Ten already?"

frown appeared on Priscilla's pristine features as her

was more than

believe that the reason for the losses is due to none other than the

"Enough!"

same. The same couldn't be said for

forget our objective. We're not here to coddle them into defeating the beast. We're here to test them. If it were up to me, I'd have killed the beast a while back. I don't need them to be

her to be wary of. Sure, if she were alone, it'd prove to

was enough to appease her uncle for a

as he

"Yes, I know, but—"

"Did the shot miss?"

cut her uncle again; this time, her gaze focused on the hooded figure that had shot the mammoth

eye on the individual ever since they engaged

or annoyance. It was more

The hooded's figure style was to

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

wrong. For those who died...they were merely

a soldier had to adapt to any situation that

It was now up to them to exploit

its right side! At its belly! That's its weak

coming from the distance that once again caught

'Another hooded figure?'

as a surprise to her when 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 had fired

instructions that she was giving seemed

fuckwit! That's where the

were rather harsh

the beast, walked up to it, and then

or the figure's skills, or perhaps both, but much to her surprise, he stood right beneath

SHAAA!