Mutation, Battle, and Death

"Great, the three of them succeeded!"

Not far away, Vinnie, who had watched the entire battle, could not help smiling. She even excitedly waved her hand like a little girl. In her eyes, those three Large Puchis were as good as dead.

Those had been full-power strikes from three peak Formal Professionals. Combined with Oliver's magic enhancing the Flame Slash, the terrifying heat and flames were something Vinnie could feel even from this far away.

How could they possibly fail under such circumstances?

Just then, Mark in the distance suddenly waved in Vinnie's direction. His lips moved as if he were saying something, but Vinnie was too far away to hear him clearly.

Thud!

The ground suddenly shook, and a massive shadow completely enveloped Vinnie's petite body. Three Muscle Puchis had appeared at some point and surrounded her.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The instant they appeared, the three Muscle Puchis attacked without hesitation. Their arms swung at high speed, leaving behind a string of afterimages as six fists the size of human heads completely covered Vinnie's petite body.

"Vinnie!"

"Damn it, why did three Large Puchis suddenly appear?!"

In the distance, Mark saw what was happening to Vinnie. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his greatsword and charged toward her at full speed. At the same time, he frantically recalled the intelligence they had gathered that morning. By all rights, at this time and along this route, a second group of Large Puchis should never have appeared.

Suddenly, Mark thought of something and sharply turned to look toward where Ireland and Oliver were behind him. Three more Large Puchis had appeared and were charging at them madly, their hulking bodies radiating overwhelming pressure.

"What the hell is going on?!"

This sudden development had completely exceeded Mark's expectations. According to his original plan, they should have been ambushing the monsters. Yet now, they looked more like the ones who had fallen into a monster ambush. It was as if the enemy had known their plan all along, lying in wait for the instant they let down their guard.

But how could that be possible?

Flame Burst!

Though he could not understand why the situation had suddenly turned out this way, Mark knew that Oliver and Ireland absolutely could not die here if they wanted to survive. If both the mage and the priest died, he alone would never be able to break through the monsters' encirclement.

What was more, Oliver was a mage from the Magic Guild, while Ireland was a priest from the Church of Radiance. Both had been hired as teammates only after their lord had spent a great deal of money and used his noble status as a guarantee.

If the two of them died in the dungeon and Mark was the only one to escape, then not only Mark, but even the lord to whom he had sworn loyalty would be implicated.

Therefore, Mark did not hesitate in the slightest. He directly abandoned Vinnie, the Drow Elf, and rushed at full speed to support Oliver and Ireland.

Boom!

On the other side, the instant Ireland detected the danger, he, clad in heavy armor, stepped directly in front of Oliver. The spiked warhammer in his hand tore through the air with a shrill howl as it collided with a Large Puchi's fist.

The instant they collided, Ireland realized that his strength was completely inferior to the Large Puchi before him. Yet his vast combat experience as a priest kept him from retreating. Instead, he stepped forward, as though throwing himself into the Large Puchi's embrace.

"Great God of Light, ruler of the blazing sun, grant me the power to judge evil."

A brief, devout prayer rang out. Golden holy light lit up Ireland's spiked warhammer as the veins in both his hands bulged. A crater instantly burst open beneath his feet, and he swung the warhammer with terrifying force.

Bang!

A golden pillar of energy one meter wide shot upward. Its upper body completely shattered and melted, the Large Puchi crashed heavily to the ground. Ireland, who had successfully slain his enemy, dropped to one knee in exhaustion, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

Just as Ireland was exhausted and temporarily unable to fight, the other two Large Puchis close behind launched their attacks without hesitation.

"Well done, Ireland!"

Oliver's voice rang out. Visible elemental light gathered around the wand in his hand, and the ground suddenly began to shake. Sharp stone spikes crazily pierced into the Large Puchis' bodies, while a thick stone wall protected Ireland within it.

But those stone spikes, which could have killed humans, did not do much damage to the Large Puchis at all. Even with their bodies pierced through, they did not pause in the slightest. Their fists pounded madly against the stone wall before them like rock crushers.

They only needed three seconds to shatter the stone wall and pound Ireland hiding beneath it into pulp.

"What kind of monster is this?!"

Oliver bit down hard on his lip and raised his wand again. Just then, Mark arrived in time, blocking the two Large Puchis by himself with a single sword while kicking the exhausted Ireland out of the battlefield.

Seeing that Ireland was out of danger, Oliver no longer had to divide his attention. He gathered all his magic and, working with Mark, killed the remaining two Large Puchis in one stroke.

"Puchi! Puchi!"

Violent roars came from not far away, and the expressions of the three instantly changed. They looked into the distance and saw the three Large Puchis that had just surrounded Vinnie charging toward them like crazed bulls.

The fists of the three Large Puchis were still smeared with red flesh.

"Oliver!"

"Got it!"

Watching the three Large Puchis draw closer and closer, Oliver knew it was time to risk everything. If those three Large Puchis joined the assault, then the three of them would definitely die here today.

With a flick of his hand, several magic scrolls appeared in his palm. A pained look flashed across Oliver's face. These were all his most treasured possessions, each worth dozens of gold coins.

"Damn monsters, I'll fight you to the death!"

He poured magic power into them and threw out all three magic scrolls. In an instant, the magic power around them began to surge wildly, and a Flame Storm dozens of meters high appeared. The three unprepared Large Puchis charged straight into it.

But it was not over yet. Immediately afterward, a purple bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket appeared and struck the three Large Puchis in an instant, forming a chain of lightning.

Boom!

Violent fire and lightning elements intertwined madly, clashing with one another. Amid a thunderous roar and blazing light, the two spells exploded violently. Oliver, who stood closest, was completely wrapped in a Magic Shield that blocked all the damage.

Ireland and Mark, however, were not so fortunate. Without magic scrolls to defend themselves, both were sent flying by the shockwave. Ireland, already exhausted and weakened, slammed headfirst into the wall, spat out a mouthful of blood, and passed out.

"My dear teammates are really reliable. They could still fight back even under those circumstances."

At the same time, beneath a shadow nearly a thousand meters from the battlefield, the supposedly dead Vinnie suddenly turned to look at the flames rising behind her. A charming yet dangerous smile rested on her beautiful face.