On the plains outside Garos Fortress,

dozens of knights from the Asumos Church were desperately urging their warhorses forward, racing toward the fortress with the slaves they had just rescued.

Every knight wore an expression of terror. Under the overwhelming pressure of the vast Shadow of Silence Power, their bodies trembled uncontrollably. Even beneath Mengxi's mask, a trace of shock had appeared on her breathtaking face.

No one had expected such a massive Abyss Demon horde to suddenly emerge from the previously peaceful outskirts of the forest.

Under normal circumstances,

Abyss Demons gradually gathered according to instinct. Such movements could usually be detected in advance, allowing preparations to be made beforehand.

For so many Abyss Demons to assemble in such a short period of time...

It was impossible not to suspect that some existence was directing them.

A Demon King?

Of course,

none of the Asumos Church knights had the leisure to think about why the Abyss Demons had suddenly poured out of the forest in such numbers.

The only thoughts occupying their minds were how to escape the claws of the horde and how to stop this disaster.

For that reason, Mengxi had chosen to head toward Garos Fortress.

Among all nearby strongholds, only the massive Garos Fortress possessed enough troops and defensive capabilities to temporarily withstand such a horde. Once the situation stabilized, reinforcements could be gathered and the Abyss Demons exterminated here.

However,

as the number of Abyss Demons behind them continued to increase at an alarming rate, even Mengxi had begun to doubt whether this plan was feasible.

She was beginning to doubt whether Garos Fortress could actually stop the horde.

After all, among the Abyss Demons pursuing them were already numerous terrifying existences at the peak of the sixth tier...

When her peripheral vision swept over the black tide of monsters behind them,

Mengxi couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.

At the same time,

her pale violet eyes filled with gravity.

A trace of confusion surfaced in her heart.

'Why do these Abyss Demons...'

Mengxi wasn't sure whether it was simply her imagination,

but she had the strange feeling that these Abyss Demons...

seemed?

To be deliberately keeping their distance from them?!

What kind of nonsense was that?!

—

Of course, not everyone being pursued by the Abyss Demons was overwhelmed with fear.

The pink-haired girl seated on the warhorse in front of Mengxi felt absolutely none.

No matter how terrifying and hideous the Abyss Demons chasing them appeared,

in the eyes of that pink-haired girl—

Miss Yumo—

they looked no different from children playing a game of tag.

Compared to such baseless fear,

Yumo felt far more curious than frightened.

Patting the sturdy back of the black warhorse beneath her thoughtfully,

she murmured inwardly:

'So this is a Redhoof Warhorse? First time riding one. The experience isn't bad.'

Spirit beasts were creatures that could be tamed by humans.

Those that could not be tamed were classified as magical beasts, or lower-ranked wild beasts.

Among human armies, the most common spirit beasts were Black Griffons and Redhoof Warhorses.

The Redhoof Warhorse wasn't particularly strong in combat.

In fact, it was rather weak.

However, it possessed astonishing endurance and speed.

A fourth-tier warhorse could outrun the vast majority of fifth-tier experts. Combined with acceleration magic, even peak fifth-tier Abyss Demons found it difficult to catch one.

As a result, they were highly favored by knights.

'Enmmm... It really is fast. Ordinary Abyss Demons that don't specialize in speed genuinely can't catch up.'

Glancing at the black mass of little subordinates behind her,

Yumo rarely gave the horse beneath her an approving look.

Afterward,

her gaze drifted toward the horizon.

'And that should be Garos Fortress, right?'

At that moment,

a majestic military fortress stood proudly upon the snowy plains ahead, connected to the endless border wall stretching across the land.

To prevent Abyss Demon invasions into the interior, the Snow Night Empire had constructed a magnificent Great Wall along the frontier. Numerous military fortresses had been established at key points throughout the wall, each heavily garrisoned.

Abyss Demons possessed an instinctive tendency to prioritize attacking areas where large numbers of people gathered.

Stationing so many troops inside these fortresses greatly increased defensive capability while simultaneously attracting nearby Abyss Demons.

Even if a few slipped through, the patrols operating around the walls could usually eliminate them.

Using this defensive strategy, Wind Facing City had protected the borders of the Snow Night Empire for hundreds of years.

Of course,

that kind of defense worked well enough against mindless ordinary Abyss Demons.

But against a Demon King?

A Demon King could easily direct hordes through weak points in the defenses and break into the interior before bothering to attack the fortress itself.

Compared to certain infamous defensive lines from Yumo's previous world, it felt equally ineffective.

Strictly speaking,

Yumo was somewhat disappointed by such a defensive system.

Still,

today she intended to let the Abyss Demon horde obediently test those defenses.

According to Saiboke-Baniya, Wind Facing City was currently operating under its highest state of military readiness.

Nearly all regular troops had been dispatched to the various fortresses.

If an attack were launched now,

she should be able to properly assess humanity's current military strength.

After hundreds of years without facing a true Abyss Demon army,

just how much strength did these human regular forces still possess?

Yumo was extremely curious.

She needed to understand the current combat capabilities of humanity's armies.

Only then could she properly determine the scale of future Abyss Demon offensives.

Thus,

after a great deal of inner conflict,

Yumo ultimately chose to silently permit Limo's unauthorized actions.

Of course,

once she returned, she still intended to properly discipline that troublesome girl...

Just as Yumo was thinking this,

another knight carrying two slaves urged his horse up beside Mengxi.

Although fear still lingered on his face, a spark of hope had appeared in his eyes.

"Lady Mengxi! I've successfully sent the distress signal to Lord White Yama!"

"Hm?"

Upon hearing this news, the silver-haired girl finally felt a measure of relief.

"At last."

"What do we do now?"

"We enter Garos Fortress first. Using the fortress defenses, we should be able to hold off the Abyss Demon horde. Once White Yama and the reinforcements from Wind Facing City arrive, this crisis should be resolved..."

Looking back at the enormous tide of Abyss Demons surging after them,

even Mengxi's voice contained noticeably less confidence than usual.

No one knew exactly how many high-tier Abyss Demons were hidden among such a vast horde.

"In any case, activate all acceleration-support scrolls! Get inside Garos Fortress first!"

Mengxi urgently ordered the surrounding knights.

However,

before her words had fully left her mouth, a powerful sense of danger suddenly exploded within her mind.

Her eyes contracted violently.

She stared ahead in disbelief.

?!!!

That...

That's?!

Not good!

"Move! Get out of the way!!"

"Huh?! What?!"

The male knight looked at his captain in confusion.

But before Mengxi could explain,

a blazing fireball descended from the sky.

It struck the bewildered knight directly.

"BOOM!!"

A deafening explosion erupted.

Flames burst outward as scorching magical power exploded across the battlefield.

In an instant,

the knight who had barely escaped the jaws of the Abyss Demons—and the two slaves he carried with him—

were annihilated beneath the fireball.

Their bodies became charred corpses before the pursuing Abyss Demons trampled them into pieces.

Meanwhile,

several nearby knights were caught in the blast and thrown from their horses.

Moments later,

the Abyss Demons swarming from behind tore them apart amid horrifying screams.

Witnessing this scene,

Mengxi clenched her teeth and furiously looked skyward.

'That fireball... military-grade magic?!'

At that moment,

tens of thousands of crimson fireballs and pink energy cannons were pouring from the sky like a devastating storm.

They rained destruction upon the earth, upon the Abyss Demon horde, and upon them alike.

Instantly, countless crimson blossoms exploded throughout the black sea of monsters.

The searing heat swept away the freezing cold of the plains.

While inflicting heavy casualties on the Abyss Demons, it also pushed the Asumos Church knights even deeper into despair.

Firebombardment ahead.

Abyss Demons behind.

And the source of those attacks was unmistakable—

Garos Fortress itself.

Looking toward the fortress that had already activated its military-grade magic arrays,

cold killing intent surged within Mengxi's eyes.

There was no doubt about it.

The other side had abandoned their original agreement.

They were actually bombing her group together with the Abyss Demon horde?!

"Krimde, you bastard..."

The moment she finished speaking,

another gigantic fireball hurtled directly toward her.

Seeing the crimson flames rapidly enlarging in her vision,

Mengxi acted without hesitation.

She pulled the pink-haired girl into her arms and softly whispered beside her ear:

"Hold on to me..."

Pink-haired girl: Huh???

In the next instant,

brilliant silver-white light burst from around Mengxi's body.

It transformed into powerful propulsion and concentrated itself in her legs.

Just before the fireball struck,

Mengxi leapt sideways while carrying the pink-haired girl in her arms.

The two narrowly avoided the explosion.

Meanwhile,

Mengxi's Redhoof Warhorse—

along with a fifth-tier Abyss Demon behind it—

was instantly swallowed by the blazing flames.