The mages moved to the front and began casting spells together.
Active magic power surged beyond the woodland. The lower-ranking mages first laid down a broad, continuous expanse of Grease.
The higher-ranking mages kept chanting, conjuring Fireballs whose flickering light danced across their faces.
The Rotting Slime Monsters had no fixed shape, so they could not slip. Even so, they could only creep slowly across the dense web of grease.
Once all of them had crawled into the area covered by Grease, Fireballs shot out one after another, exploding against the Rotting Slime Monsters' hideous forms. The blasts ignited the grease, trees, and undergrowth, making the two spells far more effective together than either was alone.
The erupting flames instantly lit up the night sky above the woodland.
The Prisoners unleashed a relentless bombardment as the Woodland burned unchecked. Their excited faces, lit by the blaze, made them look like a band of arsonists.
These villains did not care about human lives, much less protecting the Forest and nature. That was something only Druids would do.
The Rotting Slime Monsters were pinned down. No creature of flesh could withstand the flames and heat...
Just as Annan thought the battle was won, the masses of Rotting Slime Monsters—bursting, twisting, and scattering in the firelight—suddenly began to surge toward one another.
A vast black shadow awoke amid the flames. An indescribable stench filled the air beneath the smoke, something like roasted tadpoles.
It was a reek of rot, filth, and disease, foul enough to haunt everyone there for a long time.
The frailer mages began coughing and retching. Realizing the stench was some kind of attack, others cast Purification Spell.
Within the flames, the countless Rotting Slime Monsters had gathered into a behemoth, no longer scattered, feeble individuals. Its enormous, terrifying body,