A few minutes earlier—

At the Ice Fang Mountain Range on the eastern outskirts of the Great Winter Forest—

Because Yumo wanted something cold to drink, Limo had happily rushed all the way to the Ice Fang Mountain Range in order to make her mother happy.

After smashing several enormous craters into the mountain with her fists and digging out roughly a ton of glacial ice ore, Limo proudly revealed a smug grin.

The large tail behind her swayed nonstop, displaying her excellent mood.

As long as she brought all this glacial ice ore back—

Mother would be able to drink cold beverages whenever she wanted!

The moment she imagined Yumo patting her head and praising her, Limo became even more delighted and eagerly hoisted the one-ton chunk of ice ore onto her shoulder, preparing to return to their little cabin.

“Hehehe~ Mother is definitely going to be happy~”

As she imagined Yumo stroking her head and complimenting her, the wolf girl couldn't stop grinning.

Well...

It had to be said.

The somewhat airheaded Little Limo had overlooked one very important problem.

The Great Winter Forest was freezing all year round.

If someone wanted cold drinks, what they lacked was the equipment needed to make beverages—not more ice.

Unfortunately...

Limo, whose mind had already wandered into pleasant fantasies, was completely incapable of noticing such critical details.

However—

While she failed to notice that important issue, she inadvertently noticed something else while preparing to leap down the mountain.

The outskirts of the Great Winter Forest.

Thanks to the terrifying sensory capabilities possessed by a Demon King-class existence, even from tens of thousands of meters away, Limo could clearly see everything occurring on the forest's edge.

Not to mention that the Ice Fang Mountain Range wasn't particularly far from the outer plains.

And after seeing what was happening there—

The wolf girl's eyes suddenly narrowed.

Low, heavy breaths escaped her mouth.

Without hesitation, she threw aside the massive glacial ice ore and clenched both fists tightly.

Her sharp fangs pierced her lips.

Blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth, staining her brand-new clothes.

'T-That's...?!'

At that moment—

Within Limo's field of vision—

A frail pink-haired little girl was trembling in the snow.

Standing beside her was a heroic silver-haired female knight.

A knight of the Asumos Church.

The little girl Yumo had transformed herself into was practically flawless.

Ordinary people would never see through the disguise.

However—

The Demon King-class Abyss Demons who possessed Yumo's power and shared the same origin could instantly recognize her identity.

Of course, Limo had absolutely no idea why her mother had transformed into a little girl and appeared at the outskirts of the Great Winter Forest.

But...

One thing she could see clearly.

Yumo was trembling while sitting on the ground.

And standing before her was a knight of the Asumos Church.

The people of the Asumos Church had always hated Abyss Demons.

They wished nothing more than to wipe out the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.

And now those bastards were standing right in front of her mother?!

What the hell were they trying to do?!

'Could it be...?!'

'They're trying to hurt Mother?!'

'Or take Mother away?!'

No!

Absolutely not!!

The moment that thought surfaced—

Terrifying murderous intent erupted from Limo's crimson eyes.

Her gaze locked firmly onto the distant knights.

“You church dogs...”

Scarlet Shadow of Silence Power began pouring uncontrollably from her body.

The crimson glow in her eyes became increasingly savage.

Sharp fangs extended from her mouth.

Raging fury gradually overwhelmed the last remnants of her reason.

Bloodlust and overwhelming killing intent continuously poured from the wolf girl, spreading in every direction like a plague.

“You're courting death!!”

Accompanied by Limo's furious roar—

In an instant—

Every Abyss Demon within the Ice Fang Mountain Range fell under the influence of her emotions and became increasingly violent.

Countless terrifying crimson eyes turned southward.

Toward the location of the Asumos Church knights.

As a Demon King-class existence—

Limo also possessed the ability to command Abyss Demons.

At that moment—

Tens of thousands of Abyss Demons launched a charge toward the south.

--

Back to the present.

The stampede of countless giant beasts caused the earth itself to tremble.

World-shaking thunderous booms erupted across the land.

Together with horrifying Shadow of Silence Power overflowing with murderous intent, a devastating wave surged out from deep within the forest.

Like a cruel storm determined to devour all life, it swept toward the Asumos Church knights.

Black mist carrying the breath of death—

Exploded out of the Great Winter Forest before everyone's horrified eyes.

And behind that black mist—

Were countless ferocious monsters.

Massive Abyss Demons.

Terrifying numbers.

When those monsters charged together, they transformed into enormous black tidal waves.

Waves capable of bringing death to every living thing in existence.

The instant they burst out of the forest—

The Abyss Demons unleashed deafening roars.

Countless crimson eyes locked onto the Asumos Church knights.

The knights instantly felt their scalps go numb.

Like helpless rabbits targeted by starving predators, they trembled uncontrollably.

The black mist corroded the earth.

And in the same instant—

It corroded their courage and fighting spirit as well.

'H-How is this possible?!'

'How is this happening?!'

The forest had been relatively calm just moments ago!

W-Why?!

Why had so many Abyss Demons suddenly appeared?!

Facing the overwhelming horde.

Facing that suffocating pressure.

Garona froze completely.

Like the knights around her, her face was filled with panic and terror.

They already struggled against a single Abyss Demon.

Now they were facing tens of thousands.

The unprecedented pressure awakened the most primitive fear buried within everyone's hearts.

Only a single thought remained in their minds.

Run.

If they didn't run now, they would unquestionably be torn apart and devoured.

Without even having time to recover the bodies of their fallen comrades—

Garona let out a hysterical roar.

“RETREAT!!!!!! FALL BACK TO GAROS FORTRESS!!!! NOW!!!!”

“Forget the wagons and luggage!! Stop worrying about the bodies and RUN!!!”

“Leave everything behind! Get the hell out of here!!!”

...

...

Under Garona's repeated shouts, countless stunned knights finally snapped back to reality.

Terrified, they mounted their warhorses and charged toward Garos Fortress.

The once-imposing Light of the Sun squad had completely collapsed.

In utter disarray, they fled for their lives.

Meanwhile—

Standing at the very front.

Facing the charging Abyss Demon horde directly.

Although Mengxi wasn't as visibly panicked, fear still gripped her heart.

Due to the influence of her Holy Spirit Power, the Abyss Demons had already fixed their murderous gazes squarely upon her.

An unimaginable pressure crashed down onto her shoulders.

Even so—

After taking a deep breath, Mengxi forcibly stabilized her emotions.

She understood something very clearly.

The greater the crisis, the more important it was to remain calm.

Panic and fear would only get her killed.

Glancing at the pink-haired girl, who seemed completely frozen in terror, Mengxi stopped hesitating.

Determination filled her pale violet eyes.

“Sorry.”

After softly speaking those two words—

Mengxi immediately scooped the pink-haired girl into a princess carry.

The latter instantly trembled.

For some reason, a faint blush appeared on her little face.

Then—

A vast surge of silver-white holy energy erupted from Mengxi's body and flowed directly into the ring on her right index finger.

As power poured into it, the magic stored within the ring was instantly activated.

A high-level acceleration magic array appeared beneath her feet.

Empowered by the formation—

Mengxi transformed into a streak of silver-white light.

Carrying the pink-haired girl in her arms, she shot toward the fortress at incredible speed, instantly widening the distance between them and the Abyss Demons.

“Awoooooo—Awoooooooo!!!!”

The Abyss Demons under Limo's control exploded into furious earth-shaking roars upon seeing the pink-haired girl being carried away.

Meanwhile—

Held within Mengxi's embrace, Miss Yumo glanced sideways at the charging Abyss Demon horde and then toward the distant Ice Fang Mountain Range.

Afterward, she gritted her teeth and clenched her tiny fists.

A wave of anger began rising inside her heart.

'Limo!!!'

'You little brat, you've gone and caused trouble again and again and again!!'

'Does your butt seriously need another spanking?!'