Dawn God's Arm 2/5

Fir Forest.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Dozens of split beams of light streaked across the sky, and a group of magical beasts, who had vaguely sensed something and raised their heads with whimpers, collapsed to the ground with blood splattering all over their bodies before they could make a definite reaction.

"Hmph! Nothing special!"

Ishtar descended from mid-air, gently tossing her long hair as she made her entrance with an elegant and glamorous gesture.

As the stench of blood filled the air, eerie tremors resounded, accompanied by muffled roars of beasts.

"Here it comes again!"

With the keen senses of a feline, the Jaguar Man gazed into the depths of the dense forest. As the leaves rustled down, his fur stood on end, and he muttered as he charged forward.

The swung claws killed the two leading Ugallu, but more monsters spread out like a carpet and swept in densely. The Jaguar Man was completely unable to intercept all the threats.

However, those who came this time were all elites; even Samael, who was at the bottom of the class, was able to fight Leonidas.

Therefore, everyone immediately changed their formation and moved closer together.

Thus, Ishtar and the Jaguar Man acted as the spearhead, Anna and Samael supported them on the flanks, and Merlin provided central support.

With overwhelming force, the team defied the odds, forcefully cutting through the charge of several monsters.

However, just as the group dealt with the remaining magical beasts and took a few steps forward, a tremendous shockwave resounded from all around.

Warcraft is back! And this time there's even more!

Everyone's faces darkened, and they immediately became alert and on guard.

Just as the shadowy figures of monsters began to appear in the dense forest ahead, a strange tremor came from the ground.

In an instant, rocks tear apart, creating deep valleys crisscrossed with ravines; or soil layers rise up, turning into sharp spikes.

The dense formation of the guarding monsters was instantly broken up, and they kept emitting mournful cries as they fell into the deep valley and were pierced by the ground spikes.

Immediately afterwards, red and black spearheads, like thorns, burst forth from the ground.

Those monsters that stopped abruptly were also stabbed through the heart, and could not escape this sudden change.

At the same time, red and black fluorescent light rose from beneath everyone's feet, and tiny specks entered their bodies.

Underworld Protection!

A rhythm originating from the earth, and a surge that awakens life's potential, relaxed Samael's brow.

"Everyone, Ereshkigal is paving the way for us, don't get bogged down in battle!"

"There's already some movement here. We need to end the battle quickly before Kingu react. Let's go!"

At the ancient serpent's roar, the group abandoned their efforts to exterminate the monster and plunged forward into the depths of the dense forest.

Sure enough, the journey was almost entirely unimpeded.

Even if small groups of magical beasts occasionally invade, they are either dealt with by Ereshkigal's ability to modify the terrain, or they are all wiped out by the group.

With the help of many parties, the group advanced forward at a considerable speed.

As they got closer to the Temple of Blood, the surrounding environment became increasingly peculiar.

Large swaths of grassland have withered and died, revealing reddish-black, putrid soil, with the bones of various animals scattered everywhere.

The once lush forest has not only lost its branches and leaves, leaving only bare trunks, but its shape has also become increasingly strange and ferocious, like fingers breaking through the ground.

Even more unusually, the bark of these dead trees showed silver and gold veins resembling human blood vessels.

The further you go, the more complete and clear the shape and texture of the dead tree become.

As the road stretched out to the horizon, almost entirely filled with these kinds of things, a cold, clear voice suddenly roared.

"Etc!"

As everyone subconsciously slowed their movements, Samael used the momentum from the impact to pull out a javelin and swing it forward.

"Puff!"

Amidst a dull, teeth-grinding thud, sawdust flew everywhere.

What's even more chilling is that dark red blood is gushing out from the wound.

These trees are alive!

Everyone's expression changed. Just as the warning signs were about to be raised, a series of cracking and scraping sounds came from all around.

One by one, the withered trees, shaped like giant hands, lit up the magical patterns on their trunks and slammed down on the intruders.

"Ma'anna! Go all out!"

Ishtar, now airborne, raises her hand as if to make a gun gesture and shouts instructions.

The celestial strings were fully drawn, immediately triggering Aether Tide that suddenly unleashed a fierce bombardment upon the ground.

Instantly, sections of the withered tree, shaped like palms, shattered into pieces, spraying red and black blood everywhere. The creaking and screaming were unsettling, as if countless lives were being brutally dismembered.

However, as the smoke and dust filled the air, the surrounding magical reactions instantly intensified.

"When!"

Sensing something was wrong, Merlin immediately slammed down his staff, and petals, both real and illusory, spread out from the soles of everyone's feet.

"Leopard, come back!"

At that moment, Samael instinctively pulled aside the Jaguar Man who was being impulsive and wanted to go out and scout ahead, then raised his round shield and stood in front of Anna and the others.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

In an instant, bursts of silver or golden magic bullets shot out from all directions, bombarding the area where everyone was located.

Samael, who charged forward with his round shield atop it, suffered from numbness in his arms and deep furrows in the ground from the immense impact.

"How dare they ambush a leopard! How despicable! We're the ones who call the shots in this dense forest!"

Seeing that he had almost been caught off guard, the Jaguar Man felt extremely embarrassed. He roared and leaped out from the side, advancing in a zigzag pattern, elusively rushing towards the source of magic.

At that moment, Anna was not to be outdone. She swung her chain, piercing through a dead tree stump as a fixed point, and then pulled it forward.

The two goddesses each brandished their weapons, and amidst screams of agony, they became hardworking lumberjacks.

As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, those palm-shaped withered trees with golden and silver vein patterns on their outer skin were revealed to be holding star-shaped magic cores atop them.

Previously, those magic bullets were fired from within.

However, after the three goddesses wreaked havoc, these creatures, which were somewhere between animals and plants, were felled one by one, and their red and black sap flowed freely.

"The Divine Bracelet of Li Ai! It's actually this thing!"

Ishtar descended, her expression strange.

"You've seen him?"

Samael's expression shifted, and he opened his mouth to ask.

"I've only heard of it."

"Legend has it that they are special beings formed from divine blood."

"Before the birth of humankind, there were frequent wars between the gods, and the land was littered with the corpses and blood of the gods, which is why such things were born."

"How could it still exist now?"

Ishtar, who had some knowledge of the abundance of all things and the growth of the beast, couldn't help but murmur in confusion. The closer she got to the Temple of Blood, the stronger that feeling of being pricked by thorns became.

Nan Yu said that with such a high density of divine wrists appearing, Nan Yu said that what flows underground is all divine blood.

In short, be careful!

Some of the goddesses, feeling a chill run down their spines, earnestly advised the others and then took the initiative to scout ahead, just in case they encountered something even more troublesome.

"All personnel on high alert!"

With a soft shout, Samael rallied the crowd and they quickly traversed the malevolent land strewn with corpses.

Happiness, passing through the area covered by the arm of the god of Li Ai, the Temple of Blood, a Greek-style columned building, is now in sight.

Furthermore, to highlight the exalted status of the Beast Goddess, no filthy monsters roamed nearby.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, made a few adjustments, and then set off for their destination.