Cold Gaze

Seeing how suddenly formidable she had become, the magical beasts not far away quickly scented danger. One after another, they moved to her side and exchanged a glance: this woman could not be allowed to live.

The first to strike was a Golden-Clawed Leopard. As its name suggested, it had four gleaming golden claws and a speed that utterly belied its massive build. With a powerful kick from its hind legs, it lunged straight at her. Scarlet fire-element magic gathered over its forepaw, shaping itself into a blazing inferno, the crackling flames snapping in the air like a lethal warning.

Faced with such a fierce assault, she did not so much as flinch. Her eyes darkened, and she swiftly turned the wand in her hand to face forward. At her command, the pale-gold magical elements gathered around her obediently formed a simple barrier before her.

How simple was it, exactly? Well, for one thing, it bore no magic circle or runes, and it was not even fully shaped, merely a small square of protection suspended before her.

From afar, the sneers of fellow beasts and the sharp intakes of breath from the human soldiers could be heard. The Golden-Clawed Leopard bared a cruel smile at her. Woman, you will pay dearly for your joke!

The moment it reached her, the leopard's blazing fire paw was abruptly blocked by the suddenly enlarged pale-gold shield. The beast reflexively tried to pull its claws free, only to discover that they had sunk in as though trapped in swamp mud, impossible to withdraw. The flames on its claws were also forcibly extinguished within the cool, pouch-like shield that wrapped around them, cut off from the air by its formidable sealing power.

Standing exactly as before, she looked at the Golden-Clawed Leopard with open mockery. "You had better be careful. I am serious."

As she spoke, the pale-gold barrier that had only been covering the leopard's claws quickly spread from its foreleg to the rest of its body. The Golden-Clawed Leopard thrashed and rolled in panic, but all of it was in vain. The pale-gold magical elements spread over it like paint, evenly coating its body. Before long, an exquisitely crafted, lifelike golden leopard statue had been completed. Most striking of all, the leopard's terrified expression at the very moment it was fully gilded had been preserved perfectly, fit for future generations to admire.

Looking at her own "perfect work," she gave a contemptuous little laugh toward the magical beasts that had agreed to attack her together a moment ago. Her disdainful glance was a blatant declaration of war: Come at me, you useless trash!

The beasts, born proud, how could they possibly swallow that insult? The Electric Crimson Lion and the Gale Bear, who had teamed up with the Golden-Clawed Leopard earlier, roared furiously at her while circling her again and again, trying to find a flaw in her defenses. The beasts a little farther away also hastened their efforts to finish off the enemies before them, steadily closing in on her, preparing to regroup for a counterattack.

She still stood motionless in place, her expression perfectly calm. Yet the pale-gold magical elements swirling around her were clearly far more vigorous than before, endless as they encircled her.

"Arooo!!"

With that shout, the battle began.

The first to attack was still a leopard-type beast with tremendous impact force: the Iron-Armored War Leopard. Unlike the Golden-Clawed Leopard, whose offense had been so violent, this one was famous for its defenses. The moment her pale-gold magical elements coiled around its body, its innate protective system stripped them away cleanly. Seeing that the attack was making progress, the Iron-Armored War Leopard immediately accelerated, intending to smash through her defensive system in one breath with the force of its charge.

Seeing her barely manage the Iron-Armored War Leopard, the Gale Bear and Electric Crimson Lion would not be outdone; they leapt at her from behind. She could not handle them all at once and had to use her shield to absorb the impact for the time being. The two beasts exchanged a glance, then, with perfect understanding, concentrated their respective magical power at the point of impact, intensifying the damage. Under the combined force of their assault, her shield caved inward in a funnel shape, finally stopping only twenty centimeters from her body.

Clearly, the beasts had no intention of letting her leave alive. They employed the same encirclement strategy the human soldiers had used against them just moments ago. As she simultaneously faced the siege of three beasts, they summoned the humanoid Icewing Bird and the Spined-Neck Fish nearby to join the battle.

Without another word, the Icewing Bird lifted a hand and hurled a massive ice pillar straight toward the unprotected edge of her shield. The pillar looked ordinary, yet in truth it was extraordinary. Meticulously carved, it had been cut into many facets. In those seemingly converged but in fact dispersed icy spikes lay the essence of the Icewing Bird's centuries of magical cultivation. Once those spikes met an obstacle, they would automatically scatter. Anyone touched by them would, at best, suffer frostbite, and at worst have the frigid toxins enter their body and freeze their blood solid.

The Spined-Neck Fish, by contrast, was the very embodiment of sheer, brutal simplicity. Its long, powerful, spiked neck whipped forward, directly adding its force to the Gale Bear's back and lending it strength. Borrowing that outside force, together with the power of wind, the Gale Bear finally managed to rip a small gap in her pale-gold shield through brute force.

The wind from outside rushed violently through the tiny opening to seize the high ground. She noticed the gap in time, frowned, and her wand flashed. The breach immediately began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. On the side, the Electric Crimson Lion let out a roar and dug its claws firmly into the narrow seam that was trying to close. Golden lightning crackled and snapped within her pale-gold elements, determined to turn that tiny opening into the breakthrough that would defeat her.

In the brief moment when the small ice spike had just split itself free, it swayed unsteadily with the airflow and slid close to the crack in her shield. She had seen the blue little spike, yes, but she truly had no way to spare it any attention. She had more important things to do, such as gritting her teeth and holding her shield against the impact of five hulking brutes.

The human soldiers around her and Lance had already been dealt with by the beasts, working together without regard for cost. The soldiers lying on the ground, whether frozen, scorched, or simply no longer whole, were all finished. None of them could fight again. Of all the weapons within reach, there was only one person capable of coming to her aid.

The wind mage who had been watching coldly from the side for so long, Summer Aster.

Comrades, it is almost the end of the month again. I still have not broken my update streak this month, T_T. Why is it that the friends who come to visit are unwilling to gently click "Add to Shelf"? Please support me...