Breaking the Stalemate

Seeing that his teammates had finally arrived, Lynn's heart immediately settled a great deal.

When they had closed to within a dozen meters of Rigel, Celine was the first to move, leaping into the air.

Power gathered in her tall, lithe body, making her look like a she-leopard poised to spring, and together with the spear in her hand, she charged in like an arrow.

The spear drove viciously into the bulging tumor on Rigel's shoulder. Using the momentum, she twisted her body, the spear turning like a python. With a sweep of her arm, a pinkish chunk of flesh was ripped free, falling to one side, still slowly writhing.

Lynn looked over instinctively, and something suddenly stirred in his heart.

He blinked, and the primeval-forest-like natural scene beneath the moonlight was suddenly covered by countless fine purple threads, stretching all the way out to dozens of meters away.

That was his [Mana Web].

Lynn controlled the Magic Web with his spiritual power, gathering it toward the writhing chunk of flesh on the ground, just as he had wrapped up those Corrupted Magic Wolves before.

The Magic Web gathered into a cocoon, and within a few breaths, the chunk of flesh withered and shriveled, losing all vitality.

Meanwhile, the magic in the magic pool within Lynn's body clearly rose by a notch.

[Mana Drain]!

The flesh separated from Rigel's body contained abundant magic. Moreover, because it had been fused together from all kinds of creatures to begin with, Rigel could not completely control it. Once it broke away from the main body, it became ownerless!

His eyes lit up, and his tightly furrowed brow relaxed at once. It was just that the battle was tense, and no one noticed what he had done.

"Celine, just like that—dig as much flesh off that monster as you can!" he shouted loudly to his teammates.

Celine was stunned when she heard him, not understanding what Lynn meant, but she did not hesitate. She swung her spear and charged at the enemy again, preparing to act according to Lynn's words.

Lynn turned back to Charlotte with a smile. "Charlotte, I may have found a way to break this deadlock."

Hearing him say that, Charlotte's expression did not ease in the slightest.

He should only be an Apprentice Mage, right? Charlotte thought. After all, she had never seen Lynn cast magic above the second circle.

"No. This kind of battle is far too dangerous for you. That fellow's ability would be troublesome even for a Veteran Professional," Charlotte said solemnly, shaking her head. "Without the domain of the Heart of Nature, we simply don't have the ability to kill it!"

While Rigel was being pinned down by Celine and the other two, she summoned the Giant-Horned White Deer and helped Elaine and the unconscious blond girl down.

"I'll ride this 'Moon Deer' and lure that monster deep into the forest. Take the chance to leave this place."

The Magic Wolf she had ridden earlier had been exchanged by Rigel. Judging that ordinary creatures in the forest might all be used by it, she decided to use this magical creature for transport.

She looked at Elaine. "Elaine, go to the Green Tower in Roan City and find my teacher. Tell him everything that happened here."

Charlotte flipped onto the White Deer, her expression silent. She had not expected matters to develop to this point.

Since she had failed to eradicate Rigel in one fell swoop with the power of the Heart of Nature, the ending had already been decided. That fellow had a mad obsession with her and would pursue her to the ends of the earth. If she continued staying with Elaine and the others, it would only cause innocent casualties.

Charlotte sighed softly. The Vine-Wrapped Staff in her hand unfurled, revealing the incomplete emerald fruit.

She took out the Heart of Nature and handed it to Elaine. "Return it to my teacher for me."

Elaine's green eyes flickered, as if shimmering with water. In the end, she still said nothing, silently accepting the Heart of Nature and placing it into the storage space within the staff.

Lynn, who had been watching the two of them bid farewell like it was their last parting, felt utterly speechless.

He had clearly said he had found a way to break the deadlock, yet he had been completely ignored!

On one side of the battlefield, the fierce fighting was in full swing.

The monster Rigel had transformed into was desperately trying to approach Charlotte's position, but it was stopped again and again.

Ulshi fired a rain of arrows in rapid succession, and thorns grew wildly, piercing through its body.

It let out a wail and tore at them with all its might. In less than a moment, it had ripped those magical plants to shreds.

But in that opening, Celine and Liam had already flown forward, silver light dancing wildly as they cut off several chunks of flesh.

Some of the pieces were close enough that when Rigel reached out and touched them, they flowed like liquid, merging back into its body in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, two pieces had landed a little farther away, and it could not reclaim them for the moment.

Seeing this, Lynn hurriedly stopped Charlotte, who was preparing to leave and act as bait.

Under her puzzled gaze, he gathered the Magic Web, and in an instant, drained the magic from those two lumps of living flesh.

"This is..." Charlotte looked at the two dried-up, lifeless chunks of flesh, then at the monster crashing around wildly.

The wounds on the surface of its body had already healed, but a part of it had truly caved in!

Charlotte's somewhat dim blue eyes instantly shone with light, and she looked at Lynn in disbelief.

"What method did you use to actually extract its life force?"

Life force? I clearly only drained the magic from that part of its body. Could Rigel have already completely turned into some kind of magical creature? Lynn thought pensively.

Elaine had still been wearing a bewildered expression, but when she heard this, she blinked, as if thinking of something, and a trace of pride immediately appeared in her green eyes.

It's the Magic Web. It must be because Lynn activated the power of that miraculous Magic Web! That Magic Web really is endlessly wondrous. And what Charlotte doesn't know is that I'm also a member of the Magic Web!

After a moment of silence, Charlotte made her decision.

"No matter what, thank you, Lynn. You've shown me hope of victory!" Charlotte said with a gentle smile.

A whistle sounded from her lips. The Giant-Horned White Deer lifted one forehoof and scraped the ground, then abruptly charged toward Rigel!

Its branch-like giant antlers were like two sharp blades, stabbing viciously into its body!

The white deer snorted nonstop, its four hooves digging in as it braced hard against Rigel's massive body, then gradually shoved him back until its great antlers pinned him dead against the trunk of a towering tree.

Liam and Celine seized the chance to drive the sharp weapons in their hands into his body, carving out his flesh and blood by every means they had.

After Elaine guessed that Lynn had used the Magic Web to find a way to defeat the enemy, her spirits surged at once. She chanted a spell, casting Longstrider and Shelter Spell on Lynn.

With the magic enhancing him, Lynn moved like the wind, controlling the Frost Ring to maintain the rhythm of the attack while gathering the Magic Web and drawing away the magic from the separated chunks of flesh.

In this way, the situation seemed overwhelmingly favorable, gradually turning from a dead end into a war of attrition.

As long as they could last until before his teammates' stamina ran out and carve Rigel's flesh apart, they could defeat him piece by piece.

Just as Lynn thought victory was in his grasp, the monster suddenly let out a miserable scream. Across the uneven surface of its body, countless fissures began to writhe like whirlpools.

In an instant, blood-red light blazed!

Clumps of black blood filled with a filthy, evil aura surged out from the whirlpools, then shot into the air.

It was that extremely dangerous rain of polluted blood again!

Charlotte, however, seemed to have been prepared long ago. She immediately waved her staff, needing no incantation, and the spell formula completed at high speed.

A radiance shone down from the full moon overhead, enveloping the rain of filthy blood and instantly purifying it completely!

But at the same time, the thing Rigel had transformed into twisted all over, becoming as if it had turned insubstantial.

Lynn's mind instantly hurt as if it were being torn apart!

Relying on his spiritual warning, he shifted position at top speed while looking around, and sure enough, he discovered that the branches overhead had all twisted out of shape.

Roar!

Rigel's enormous figure emerged from midair, then smashed down at Lynn!

This guy is pretty smart. He actually came straight for me!

With the acceleration from Longstrider, Lynn turned and ran, but just then, the weeds beneath his feet seemed to come alive, shooting upward and thickening at high speed, transforming into vines that wrapped around his calves!

At the same time, a dense darkness enveloped him, so thick even the moonlight could not penetrate it.

It's over... Lynn's heart instantly sank to the bottom.