NOVEL WEB Chapter 221: Nightmare
The strongest among the wizards of the Imperial Wizard Army on the scene immediately sensed the threat, turning to look.
Cedar and the others easily recognized Yisu.
However, the slight changes in her appearance made them uneasy, especially the tone of her skin and the transparent-ish black stripes.
Those only appeared on the fell race's Seres.
But according to their findings, the young Fellkins with potential to be a Seres would already be decided before the age of twenty-two.
Yisu was definitely far past such an age.
'Or was she?' thought the officers of the Zephyr Battalion and Boulder Guards.
'Maybe she just looks like she's in her late thirties but is actually in her early twenties?'
That was the only explanation they could think of, watching Yisu's every move warily.
The female Fellkin, meanwhile, merely scanned the state of the battlefield with her cold gaze, realizing that the humans were about to break through.
This was certainly not good for them.
And so, she clawed at the air, though nothing seemed to have happened.
Cedar and the others were also momentarily confused...
Until they sensed danger.
Lethal danger.
Those with the capability to sense the incoming threat were able to dodge out of the way, knowing by instinct that they couldn't defend against the invisible attack.
Those who didn't, however, could only slide to the ground in three cleanly cut parts.
Invisible Spatial Rend!
Just like Zephyron's Wind Cutters, Yisu was able to make her Spatial Rend unseen.
When Cedar fought her in Parralen Valley, this specific spell of hers was already quite blurry to the eyes and was a bit difficult to dodge.
What the hell happened for her to suddenly manage to jump to the next level?!
Cedar's heart raced, but his face remained stoic.
The middle-aged man's voice was carried by the winds:
"Everyone, keep advancing! I shall hold the fell leader off!"
He spoke his piece with such bravado, but Cedar was uncertain if he could even lock Yisu's attention for long.
'Tch, if it comes down to it, I'll ask Rowan for help…'
His comrades' assistance was much-needed by the Imperial Army Wizards, so Cedar was reluctant to ask for help.
Losing the duel would also slightly chip at everyone's morale…
Unfortunately, his lord, Zephyron, was nowhere to be found, and he had to be the mental pillar of his small army.
He couldn't falter!
But the question was: could he do it?
A drop of sweat trickled down the middle-aged man's temple, streaming down to his neck as he locked gazes with the frigid and ruthless fell eyes across him.
Yisu remembered Cedar, and of course, she knew that he would be her opponent.
But there remained no reaction on her face—just the same old unsettling apathy.
In the next moment, the two leaders disappeared, and intense mana fluctuations occurred high in the night skies.
Hal and the others naturally sensed them, allowing them to know that the battle between the acting leaders had begun.
Strangely, it didn't last for long, leaving Rowan and those from the Zephyr Battalion confused.
They were the ones with the sharpest senses, after all.
But they didn't have to stay confused for long, as, in the next moment, the chilling answer lay itself bare.
Scarlet blood rained down from the heavens, staining the green, hooded robes of the Zephyr Battalion as a severed head fell.
It stared emptily in the distance.
In less than ten seconds, Cedar had been slain.
The sight of his gruesome fate made the hearts of the Imperial Army wizards skip a beat.
Horror and despair then washed over them as the grieving voice of his close friend, Rowan, echoed in the dimly lit darkness:
"CEDAR!!!"
The two of them had known each other for more than two decades.
Unfortunately, death severed their bonds, as his friend had fallen in battle, ruthlessly decapitated by the fell.
"YOU BASTARD!!" Rowan raged, disappearing the next moment.
The hearts of the other two members of the Zephyron Cohort sank, and they, too, disappeared.
Cedar was a bit stronger than Rowan, and even he had been defeated.
How could the latter take on Yisu alone?
They naturally had to come and help.
Meanwhile, Hal and Ennya were petrified, their breathing growing ragged at the gruesome and chilling sight.
Cedar had undeniably been the Thirteenth Regiment's pillar when they got separated from Zephyron, and the former had even grown a bit closer to the middle-aged man.
Now, the guy was dead, killed in a brutal manner right in front of them.
They didn't even know where the other parts of his body were.
Ennya began trembling, evidently having difficulties taking in the bloody and horrifying scene.
"N-No…"
It wasn't only the Magna Prospects.
Their platoon members were equally petrified, finding it difficult to continue doing battle as doom and despair gradually settled in.
The uproarious and triumphant laughter of the surviving Fellkin Warriors only served to shatter their hearts and minds further.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU'RE ALL DEAD!! DEAD!!"
"STOP RESISTING AND ACCEPT YOUR FATE, DOGS OF THE LESSER RACE! KUHAHAHAHA!!" The members of the fell race mocked.
To make matters worse, three more heads fell, landing on the ground with sickening thuds—one hitting a rock with a sharp cracking sound.
The morale of the Imperial Wizard Army had already hit rock bottom at that moment.
Even Hal, who was ferociously fighting his wavering heart and surrendering mind, found himself in the same boat.
He desperately cast the spell [Serene] on himself and Ennya, but it did little to improve their mental states.
As if everything that just happened wasn't enough, heavy, beastly footsteps echoed in the distance—to their right, accompanied by the sound of Fellkin Warhorns.
The enemy reinforcements have arrived!
The despair gave the struggling Fell Beasts time to close the opening the army had struggled hard to create, though their lines were thin.
There was still a chance to break through.
However, their morale was being ruthlessly dragged across the ground, and Yisu had already slaughtered all their leaders, except for Emmanuel of the Boulder Guards.
Hal clenched his fists, and determination flashed in his eyes.
He knew who the source of despair was.
Perhaps if he could take Yisu down…