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

of things, it will take quite a while for them to get rid of the beast. If you were to help out, I'd

"I guess..."

nodded, agreeing with

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

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

she's as strong as

to omit the

***

Clank―!

"Whooooo!"

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

above the ceiling of the cave began to fall like sharp projectiles

formations—which, given the dense 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 their bodies from

"Argh!"

"Watch out!"

not a pretty one as dark blood spattered all over the cavern, and the demons didn't even get

some luck, some managed to survive due to the fact that

stalactites made sure that no demon survived,

have

entire battlefield from a safe corner

gaze continued to linger over the mammoth as her eyes her glare became colder with each passing

ten Marquis ranked demons, with

replied, seemingly prepared for the

"Ten already?"

frown appeared on Priscilla's pristine features

than she

his voice brimming with caution. "I believe that the reason for the losses is due to none other than

"Enough!"

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

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

her to be wary of. Sure, if

answer was enough to appease her uncle

moment as he once

"Yes, I know, but—"

"Did the shot miss?"

uncle again; this time, her gaze focused on the

close eye on the individual ever since they engaged the mammoth with their

out of spite or annoyance. It

people to cowards. The hooded's figure style was to her

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

they didn't miss their shot, they did nothing wrong. For those who died...they were

level, a soldier had to adapt to

gained a good advantage. It was now up to them to exploit that advantage

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

that once again caught Priscilla's attention as she slowly turned

'Another hooded figure?'

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 the

she was giving seemed to be directed toward another hooded figure who had

its right side, you fuckwit! That's where the mammoth's blind

were

beast, walked up to it,

due to the chaos, or the figure's skills, or perhaps both,

SHAAA!