A sound…
A sound in this deaf world.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The holy squad clutched their heads, blood spilling out of their nose, ears and eyes.
Using aura to suppress the injuries, they took a step forward. As if that one step was taken on a loud drum, it rang again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Their bodies were shaking violently, as if their own body was treated as a drum being played by a mysterious force.
But they couldn't stop after coming this far. Raising their defenses, the team marched head.
Boom!
Even when blood flowed out of their nose like it's a broken hose.
Boom!
Even their eyes bled so badly that their vision turned red.
Boom!
Even when the sound directly ringing in their minds was so loud that it was directly injuring their souls.
They reached the proximity of the barrier.
"Woaaaa!"
The hundreds of thousands of blue rocks stood up.
The creatures looking to be a mix of lion and armadillo kicked the ground.
In that one split second, hundreds of thousands of light beams containing the aura of a rank 9 shot up into the sky.
'No sh*t!'
A layer of ice appeared under Varian's feet and he slid forward. Sword Requiem materialized in his hand, emitting a dangerous red glow.
The other three members of the holy squad acted with equal quickness.
Isadora, in the center of the group, waved her hand and a huge wave of darkness, akin to a tsunami manifested and drowned everything.
A field of darkness was created, infiltrating the space-time of the immediate location.
The allies, including Varian, were able to percieve things clearly in the dark. Not just that, darkness clung to them in a protective manner, ready to shield them at the most critical moments.
The enemies, on the other hand, had their senses blinded by the all pervading darkness.
While it did not attack them directly, it breathed on their necks, telling them that they better watch over their shoulders or it would be over.
While hundreds of thousands of rank 9 monsters began to converge toward them at a rapid speed, Isadora's actions single handedly raised their odds.
Even after achieving a rare feat that exquisite control and deep aura reserves, the princess remained calm.
Unable to hide her exhaustion, she kept breathing heavily. But she didn't forget to point to the translucent barrier.
'The goal is not killing all these monsters. It's impossible anyway. The only goal is to breakthrough and reach the otherside.'
The message was felt even though no communication was available.
As the holy squad prepared for a brutal combat, the princess did something that both surprised and scared them.
With a quick movement, she pulled Varian beside her, within the inverse 'V' formation.
Giving no explanation for her choice, she simply gestured for the original holy squad to continue.
Kaa! Kaa! Kaa!
Bright blue dots began to explode veil of darkness cast over the enemies. While they were weak rank 9s individually, there were hundreds of thousands of them.
These monsters' strength fell into a special range.
If they were a step stronger, the holy knights would be killed without resistance. If they were a step weaker, the team could easily blast a way through the horde.
Their strength was just right for the holy squad to have a winning chance if they struggled properly.
Kaa! Kaa! Kaa!
Shockwaves spread across the region, trying to shatter the hands of darkness that stretched everywhere. The monsters bit, tore and slammed the patches of darkness.
Most of them did not succeed. But the few that did were substantial given the huge number present. And these beasts leaped forward, marching towards the holy squad at full speed.
Boo!
Boom!
Kaboom!
A wild blast of red and orange shook the place, instantly killing dozens of monsters. It's like the sun had descended onto earth and exploded.
The corpses of the creatures had melted off, as did the land which now had a deep crater with sizzling lava.
The group jumped over this crater and continued to march on. The old woman of the group pulled back her glowing staff while ignoring the bleeding nose.
Da! aa! Ad!
The leading old man of the holy squad leaped forward and slammed his hammer down.
A lightning from heaven seemed to have struck earth, sent by the gods themselves to punish the evil.
In front of their very eyes, a huge canyon was formed in a blink, with all forty creatures getting crushed to paste.
It was an incredible show of strength.
Even though there was a difference in sub-ranks, it was a difficult feat to achieve. The old man didn't expend more mana than necessary. It was a remarkable skill that even the greatest powerhouses might not posess.
Kaa! Kaa! Kaa!
But it didn't matter for long.
As a lot of creatures already broke the veil of darkness, even more began to succeed.
This time, they were more successful because the darkness had been severely weakened due to the repeated attacks.
Like the falling of a deck of cards, the restraining darkness disappeared in a blink.
Kaa! Kaa! Kaa!
The creatures, now free of all inhibitions and having regained their senses, turned their attention to the targets.
More than a 100,000 pair of rank 9 eyes gazed at them with thick killing intent.
Gulp!
Thankfully, all sound was banned in this place or the holy squad would have realized how scared they got in that moment.
The third member of the holy squad swung his staff and the space in front of them tore open, revealing a fluctuating passage in the middle of the creatures for them to walk into.
The team didn't hesitate and jumped in.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The creatures spat out charged blue spheres at the space channel and without
holding up for even a second, it collapsed. It's a miracle that it didn't collapse immediately and let them get out safely.
The gap between almost a second and instantaneous was too much to neglect.
The space passage took them directly in front of the translucent barrier.
Where they got greeted by a peak rank 9 monster.
Kaa!
