Chapter 478: Chapter 475 – Eastern Dimensional Rift
Party Unhuman’s horse carriage continued speeding forward at an unmatched high velocity, leaving a long trail of dust behind like the tail of a raging flying dragon. The carriage wheels spun so fast they were almost invisible. Stacia’s spatial magic-modified suspension kept the cabin stable even as they crossed increasingly rough terrain. The gradually warming morning wind brushed against Sylvia’s face as she sat in the front coachman’s seat. Her long black hair fluttered wildly, though part of it was tied in a simple ponytail. Her black coat flapped like wings of darkness, and her red eyes narrowed sharply as they pierced through the horizon.
Inside the carriage, which felt spacious thanks to spatial magic, Alicia and Stacia sat calmly on the soft benches. Alicia gripped her silver staff tightly, her fingers occasionally glowing with faint blue light as she channeled mana to stay ready. Stacia had her novel grimoire open on her lap, the pages turning slowly by themselves while she memorized and refreshed support spells. Sol occasionally moved between Sylvia’s lap and the inside of the carriage, while Qilin stayed beside Alicia. Both pets remained alert, their eyes shining with vigilance.
About 30 minutes after leaving the capital, the scenery ahead changed drastically. The smooth, wide highway turned into a steep, rocky path climbing toward the eastern mountains. Trees grew sparse, replaced by large boulders and withered dry bushes. The air felt heavier and stuffier, filled with a strange fishy stench like rotten blood mixed with sulfur and decaying flesh. The sky above the mountains looked slightly dark and unnatural, as if covered by a thin purple mist that swallowed the morning sunlight and created a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere.
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. Her undead instincts screamed danger. "We’re close. I can already feel the monster’s aura."
Stacia peeked out from the carriage window, her face serious. "The aura ahead is very chaotic. There’s a lot of dark mana leaking from the rift. It feels like a festering wound on the body of this world."
Not long after, the dimensional rift became clearly visible on the steep mountain slope. A large gaping crevice split the granite rock wall, wide enough for an adult dragon to pass through easily. The rift emitted a pulsing dark purple light like a severely ill heart, its pulses growing faster over time. From within, low roars occasionally echoed, shaking the ground and causing small pebbles to tremble while wild birds flew away in fear.
In front of the rift, Party Eternal had already dismounted from their Roc and was engaged in fierce combat against waves of blood monsters continuously pouring out from the dimensional gap. The monsters had horrifying amorphous forms: slimy, dark-reddish creatures that constantly shifted shape, some humanoid with whip-like extending arms, others multi-legged beasts with bloody tentacles. Whenever they were injured, their blood flowed like living streams, and from those blood puddles, new smaller monsters would emerge and attack ferociously.
"Ice Lance Barrage!" Elara Silverwind shouted elegantly as she swung her crystal staff. Dozens of sharp ice spears shot forward like rain, piercing several blood monsters. But their red fluid quickly froze and then exploded with a disgusting splurt, creating dozens of smaller but equally dangerous new monsters.
Sylvia didn’t waste a single second. "Get down! Join the fight now!"
The horse carriage came to a smooth stop beside the battlefield, its wheels leaving deep tracks in the rocky ground. Sylvia leaped down first with light, shadow-like movements, followed by Alicia and Stacia who were ready for battle. Sol and Qilin immediately went into full alert mode. Sol emitted a faint holy golden aura that illuminated the surroundings, while Qilin stood firmly beside Alicia, his horns beginning to glow with holy light.
Without another word, the three of them immediately joined the intensifying battle.
Alicia raised her silver staff high. A soft blue light shone brightly at its tip as the newly added runes sparkled. "Debuff Chain: Heavy Weight, Decay Flesh, Slow Corrosion!" A barrage of debuff spells struck the blood monsters in a wide area. Their previously flexible liquid bodies suddenly became as heavy as lead, their movements slowed dramatically, and their red slime began to rot and dry from within, releasing foul-smelling black smoke.
Stacia quickly opened her grimoire. The book’s pages turned by themselves with magical wind. "Buff Ensemble: Strength Surge, Mana Shield, Elemental Resistance!" Beautiful grayish-purple light enveloped the entire team, including the struggling Party Eternal. Their bodies felt lighter and stronger, muscles enlarged, defense sharply increased, and resistance to poison and dark elements multiplied several times over.
Sylvia advanced forward with steady steps. With a simple flick of her fingers, she summoned her true power. "War Sun Flame."
Holy white flames appeared in her palm, compressed into a small, brilliantly shining orb like a miniature sun. Unlike ordinary fire magic that only burned the surface, this holy white flame directly pierced the life core of the blood monsters. Upon touching one, the flame spread like an unstoppable holy virus, burning the red slime from the inside until it turned into fine white ash with nothing left behind. Blood monsters touched by the white flame didn’t get the chance to regenerate or summon new minions; they all vanished in a gust of wind.
"That fire... is incredible!" Elara Silverwind exclaimed, glancing at Sylvia with unconcealed admiration. Her own attacks became far more effective after being supported by Alicia’s debuffs and Stacia’s buffs. Her ice spears now froze the blood before it could reproduce, while the other mages in Eternal unleashed even deadlier wind and lightning spells.
With the combined strength of the three sisters, the previously endless and threatening waves of blood monsters were quickly wiped out. Hundreds of monsters vanished in a short time, leaving scorched black ground, evaporating blood puddles, and a pungent fishy stench. Sol assisted with precise golden laser beams that pierced through groups of monsters at once, while Qilin released small horn-shaped holy lightning that cleansed spilled blood on the ground, preventing new monsters from forming.
However, the source of the problem was clearly still inside the dimensional rift. Deeper, more ground-shaking roars continued to echo from the purple darkness, and the dark aura grew stronger, making the air feel as if pressed down by a heavy weight.
"We need to temporarily seal this rift," Sylvia said coldly, her firm voice cutting through the dying noise of battle. "Wait for Party Wild Bear first. We can’t go too deep without the full team. The risk is too high."
Elara nodded in agreement, sweat dripping down her forehead despite her tough elven nature. "Correct. Let’s reinforce a temporary seal so it doesn’t widen further."
Stacia and one of Eternal’s members, a space mage named Lirien wearing dark blue robes, stepped forward to the rift. Stacia brought out her grimoire again, its pages glowing. Lirien drew complex runes in the air with her mana-shining fingers.
"Spatial Lockdown: Barrier of Eternal Seal!" both of them shouted almost simultaneously, their voices harmonizing in magical unity.
A thick spatial magic layer formed at the mouth of the rift, like an invisible glass wall shimmering blue-white. The roars from inside became muffled and suppressed, and blood monsters trying to exit crashed hard into it before turning into ash. Although only temporary and requiring large amounts of mana to maintain, it gave them time to breathe and plan their strategy.
While waiting, Sylvia stood at the front with her arms crossed over her chest, her black coat fluttering gently. Her red eyes stared deep into the darkness of the rift, as if she could see what lay beyond. Small white flames still flickered at her fingertips, ready to ignite at any moment. Alicia and Stacia stood beside her, forming a strong and compact defensive formation. Sol and Qilin kept watch around them warily, their ears perked up at every sound.
A few minutes later, the rough rumble of an engine could be heard approaching from afar along the rocky path. Party Wild Bear’s vehicle finally arrived at high speed, stopping abruptly nearby while emitting thick black smoke from its overheating engine and smoking wheels.
Gorn Thunderfist stepped down with a face flushed red from anger and embarrassment, his muscles tense, followed by his party members who looked exhausted and dusty. "You... you cheated! A normal horse carriage can’t possibly move like that! It must be some dirty magic!"
"Save your words for later," Sylvia cut in coldly, her voice like sharp ice. "The monsters have already appeared and the rift is growing more unstable. We need to work together now, or the capital will be in danger."
Gorn wanted to argue further, his jaw clenched, but seeing the piles of blood monster ash still smoking, the violently pulsing rift, and the serious faces of Party Eternal, he finally growled loudly and nodded reluctantly. "Fine... just this once. But after this, we settled our arena business."
The temporary team leader, Elara Silverwind, quickly and efficiently arranged the formation. Party Wild Bear was placed at the front as tanks and physical destroyers. Party Eternal served as support, healers, and long-range attackers. Meanwhile, Party Unhuman was assigned as the main offensive force and finisher, utilizing Sylvia’s white flames which were extremely effective against blood monsters.
Sylvia stared at the increasingly unstable dimensional rift. Its pulses were getting faster and the purple light brighter. Mušmaḫḫū’s aura was already clearly felt from within. The real battle was only just beginning, and this time it was no longer against ordinary waves.
Beneath her calm exterior, Sylvia’s mind raced quickly. Mušmaḫḫū... show me your power. I need this experience to evolve.
