Faced with the terrifying pressure of the approaching Abyss Demon horde,

at this life-or-death moment,

everyone within Garos Fortress unleashed their most ferocious attacks without holding back in order to survive.

Under Krimde's command,

dozens of fifth-tier and sixth-tier mages stationed within Garos Fortress,

after empowering themselves with enhancement magic,

jointly cast the high-tier military spell—

Heavenfire Incinerates the City.

An overwhelming rain of blazing meteors descended from the sky, exploding throughout the black tide of Abyss Demons and blooming into countless crimson bursts of flame.

It genuinely slowed the advance of the Abyss Demon army.

Many Abyss Demons instinctively let out miserable cries.

However,

at the same time,

the storm of fireballs and pink energy shells pouring down from the sky also dealt a devastating blow to the Asumos Church knights.

Already forced to contend with the Abyss Demons pursuing them from behind,

they now had to divide their attention and dodge the bombardment coming from the front.

It was truly adding disaster upon disaster.

After wave upon wave of bombardment,

although Mengxi's group had already crossed more than half the plain,

the original nineteen-member Asumos Church knight squad had been reduced to only nine survivors.

Most of the slaves they had rescued had perished alongside the knights in the sea of fire,

or had been swallowed by the Abyss Demon horde.

Before being completely consumed by the terrifying presence of the Abyss Demons,

anger, despair, and helplessness had already devoured the hearts of the surviving knights.

Seeing Abyss Demon claws drawing closer and closer,

and feeling his injured Redhoof Warhorse slowing dramatically,

one blond-haired Asumos Church knight gritted his teeth.

Without the slightest hesitation,

he shoved the two slaves under his protection off the horse.

The next moment,

before the children could even react,

they were swallowed by Abyss Demons amidst unparalleled despair.

With a wet splat—

blood and flesh exploded outward.

Two children who had been alive only seconds earlier were instantly reduced to mangled meat and devoured.

Blood splashed across the knight's cloak and face.

Yet at that moment,

he no longer cared about any so-called knightly honor.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

Survive.

With the weight reduced,

he actually began pulling away from the Abyss Demons.

Once temporarily free from the immediate threat, overwhelming relief flooded his mind.

"I-I-I survived!"

Unfortunately,

his joy lasted only moments.

The accelerating warhorse slammed directly into a descending fireball.

The resulting explosion blasted both horse and rider into the air.

The number of knights in the Asumos Church squad decreased once again.

'Pathetic.'

Watching the distant companion die beneath a fireball,

a trace of disgust surfaced within Mengxi's pale violet eyes.

She understood why he had done it.

If he hadn't, all three of them would have died to the Abyss Demons.

Even so,

Mengxi couldn't help despising his actions.

And just as that contempt appeared in her gaze,

her pupils suddenly contracted.

With a light leap toward the front-right,

she narrowly avoided another pink energy shell.

The magical bombardment from Garos Fortress had indeed slowed the Abyss Demon charge.

Although Mengxi had lost her mount,

her extraordinary agility allowed her to evade the incoming attacks far more effectively.

After fully unleashing her abilities,

she had even widened the distance between herself and the horde.

After springing into the air to dodge another fireball,

Mengxi's eyes inadvertently drifted toward the pink-haired girl in her arms.

At that moment,

the girl's eyes were filled with worry.

Recalling what had happened moments ago,

the pink-haired girl had clearly witnessed the knight abandoning the two children.

After a brief silence,

Mengxi spoke in the most reassuring voice she could manage.

"Don't worry. I promised I'd protect you."

"I won't abandon you."

Hearing those words,

the pink-haired girl widened her sapphire-blue eyes.

After staring at Mengxi's mask for several seconds,

she gently nodded and revealed a relieved smile.

As though she truly believed her.

That caused the silver-haired girl to quietly let out a breath of relief.

Afterward,

she gave the girl an encouraging look.

"You'll be alright."

Encouraged by those words,

the pink-haired girl's face reddened slightly as she slowly curled up within Mengxi's embrace.

—

The relieved smile was, without question, something Miss Yumo had deliberately put on.

But the blushing?

That was absolutely genuine.

After all,

for a grown man—

or at least someone who had once been one—

being carried around in a princess carry by the heroine was embarrassing enough.

Now she was even being comforted like a frightened child by a young girl speaking completely seriously.

Yumo felt as though her self-esteem had taken a critical hit.

Even though she knew perfectly well this was all an act.

'Seriously... she's actually treating me like a kid.'

Still...

'She smells nice...'

Pressed tightly against Mengxi,

Yumo could clearly smell the faint fragrance of jasmine drifting from her body.

It didn't seem like perfume.

Rather,

it appeared to be Mengxi's natural scent.

Strictly speaking,

that fragrance was deeply connected to why Miss Yumo's face had become so red.

Of course,

the worry on Yumo's face was also genuine.

However,

the thing she was worried about was completely different from what Mengxi imagined.

Yumo wasn't worried about being caught by Abyss Demons.

Even if she were dropped directly into the middle of the horde,

what could those little guys possibly do to her?

They'd probably start worshipping her like an ancestor.

Actually...

Strictly speaking,

she was their ancestor.

In any case,

the Abyss Demons would never harm her.

What Yumo was worried about...

was Mengxi's condition.

Although Mengxi appeared composed,

Yumo could clearly sense the rapid depletion of power within her body.

Maintaining such extreme speed through multiple acceleration spells was consuming an enormous amount of holy energy.

And now,

as the Abyss Demon horde rapidly approached,

the frenzied bombardment from Garos Fortress was becoming increasingly intense.

The pressure on the heroine was rising sharply.

If this continued,

something might happen to her.

Damn it!

How could that be allowed?!

'If my heroine gets blown to pieces by you idiots, then what the hell am I supposed to do afterward?!'

'You fortress soldiers are completely insane!'

'Who fights like this?! Just blindly bombarding everything?!'

Yumo couldn't help launching a barrage of furious curses at the defenders of Garos Fortress in her heart.

As she looked toward the mages atop the walls,

the coldness in her eyes deepened.

No matter how you looked at it,

Abyss Demons were supposed to be the world's greatest threat.

Wasn't it a little unreasonable for them to keep getting beaten up without fighting back?

Heh.

A cold smile appeared on her lips.

She quietly glanced at the raging black ocean of Abyss Demons behind her.

The moment the dozens of Abyss Demons closest to Mengxi noticed the chill in Yumo's gaze,

their entire bodies shuddered.

They immediately looked toward their ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) boss with innocent, pitiful eyes.

They had already followed Big Sis's orders and kept their distance from the silver-haired girl!

So why was Boss glaring at them like that?!

What had they done wrong?!

Wuuu...

The confused Abyss Demons could only let out faint whimpers.

Then, acting entirely on instinct,

they slowed down even further.

As a result,

without nearby Abyss Demons threatening her,

Mengxi could devote more attention to dodging the incoming bombardment.

Meanwhile,

Yumo's gaze met that of several peak sixth-tier Abyss Demons in the rear of the horde.

A secret mental conversation immediately began.

Yumo: Hey, you lot.

Abyss Demon A, B, C, D, E: Yes, Big Sis?!

Yumo: See those glowing red targets on the fortress wall ahead?

Abyss Demon A, B, C, D, E: We see them!

Yumo: Blow them up.

Abyss Demon A, B, C, D, E: Yes, Big Sis!!

The next moment,

after receiving Yumo's command,

the five sixth-tier Abyss Demons that had long since grown furious from being bombarded finally raised their monstrous heads.

Waves of Shadow of Silence Power filled with deathly energy rapidly gathered within their mouths.

Long-range attacks?

Of course Abyss Demons had them.

Compressing Shadow of Silence Power inside their mouths and releasing it in a devastating burst—

the Oblivion Cannon—

was a basic skill possessed by every Abyss Demon.

The only reason they hadn't used it until now was because of Yumo's orders.

After all,

if they had begun using long-range attacks from the start,

every single Asumos Church knight—

including the heroine herself—

would probably have already been wiped out.