Brando's New Team, the Smallest Member

The interwoven flaming tentacles spread across the treetops in an instant, enveloping everyone overhead. But thanks to Brando's warning beforehand, everyone had already prepared themselves. The moment the black net of fire appeared in the sky, they sprinted wildly left or right, escaping the spell's range. The black flames formed from Dark Magic came crashing down, burning through the branches with a rustle and turning the cedar forest into pillars of blazing fire. It was an incredibly spectacular sight—but not a single person was hurt.

Even the weakest guardian knight barely managed to avoid the net of fire.

All of this happened in an instant. But to warriors above Silver Rank, the blink of an eye was already an extremely long time—long enough for their explosive acceleration to reach speeds of over a hundred feet per second.

Qian, Nemesis, and Laurenna were especially astonishing. The air was split apart by their terrifying acceleration, forming tangible cone-shaped shock waves. The shrill sound of arrows tearing through the air pierced the forest. The pale humanoids opened their black, hollow mouths and let out silent screams, as though this were how they communicated with one another. The wraiths turned around, their slender five-fingered hands pointing in unison toward the three girls leading the charge.

But as if they shared one mind, the three figures suddenly shifted direction at the same time. They left long afterimages through the forest, causing every streak of black flame to strike only the tree trunks behind them. The three figures simultaneously traced a long half-arc, moving at almost the same speed—but Laurenna was the first to attack.

When the knight girl landed, the longsword Pride of Avila in her hand was already in an attacking stance. Her lips were tightly pressed together, and her sky-blue eyes were as