"You should leave quickly and don't get caught again. We need to go help the others deal with those awful people now."
Hermione sniffed as the little Zouwu threw itself into her arms, nuzzling against her to express gratitude for rescuing its parent. She set it on the ground and looked toward the other magical creatures, giving them this instruction.
Hermione didn't want these poor creatures to suffer persecution from dark wizards again.
Just as the little Zouwu was clawing at Hermione's pants leg, unwilling to let her leave, Glenn, who was kneeling on one knee beside Hermione with both hands touching the ground, suddenly spoke.
"Found them."
Glenn was referring to the location where the main force had been attacked. He had just greatly expanded his enhanced perception range by touching the ground, and after searching, he sensed that the disturbances to the northwest were clearly more unusual and irregular than other directions—only humans could typically cause such disturbances.
"West by northwest, about seventy degrees, roughly over a hundred kilometers from my position. Let's go."
Glenn stood up, dusted off his hands, and pointed out the direction for Hermione.
"Alright, I understand."
Hermione looked at Glenn and nodded, then turned her gaze back to the little Zouwu hanging on her pant leg. She smiled gently, lifted it with both hands, held it in front of her, and softly comforted it:
"I know you're worried about us, but don't worry—big sister and big brother are very strong. After we resolve this matter, we'll come find you again, so let's just separate temporarily for now."
"Awooo... awooo!"
After Hermione's repeated persuasion, the little Zouwu reluctantly released its claws while keeping its worried gaze fixed on Hermione.
The girl smiled dashingly, turned away without looking back at the little Zouwu or the other magical creatures, waved her hand behind her, and laughed:
"When this is over, we'll come visit you all again, and you must treat us well then!"
With that, Hermione's figure twisted and disappeared from the space with a crack. Glenn followed close behind.
"Crack!"
Another sharp sound, and Hermione's figure appeared atop the dense forest canopy, standing steadily on the treetop. Glenn's figure appeared on another nearby treetop. The girl raised an eyebrow, looking rather pleased with herself.
"How was that? Did you think what I said just now was pretty cool?"
"Mm, but your performance just now was a bit like what Draco once told me about 'setting death flags.'"
Hermione's smile immediately vanished, her face darkening.
"Glenn has such a way with words—don't say that next time. And what exactly has that guy been teaching you..."
The girl was complaining when suddenly, in the distance where their eyes could see, a black-purple lightning bolt flashed in a valley, striking down from the high heavens directly into the valley. Several seconds later, a tremendous explosion finally reached them.
"Looks like Brother Yu and the others have already broken the anti-magic array over there."
The black-purple lightning was quite distinctive—Glenn and Hermione could tell at a glance that this was Lin Yu's cultivation technique. Being able to cast spells also meant that the influence that had initially prevented them from using their internal magic had been successfully lifted by the young cultivators.
Around the lightning, what had once been lush forest had now become a devastated battlefield.
Black smoke rose in wisps, tall trees had fallen, nearby hills were affected by the battle's aftershocks and had collapsed by nearly half. Among the few remaining verdant trees, brilliant lights flashed—colorful spell lights continuously sparkled, with magical beams occasionally shooting skyward and exploding in the air. Incantations and spellcasting sounds, mixed together due to the great distance, were indistinguishable and merged into a buzzing din.
In the midst of that chaos, one thing could be clearly observed: a massive invisible protective barrier covering the center of the battlefield. Countless spells and magic struck the barrier, only causing slight spiritual ripples without inflicting any damage.
"Rumble!"
Another tremendous roar echoed as more trees in the battlefield began tilting and crashing to the ground, apparently hit by some kind of large-scale powerful attack.
"Hiss!"
Hermione frowned and cast an Eagle-Eye Charm on herself to see the situation clearly. A blood-red crescent-shaped crimson light shot skyward, then shattered in mid-air, transforming into streams of blood-red vapor that disappeared.
Hermione: ...
If she had to use one word to describe this battle, it would be: chaos.
So chaotic that Hermione felt her scalp tingling, not knowing where to begin.
"If you don't know what to do, why don't we first regroup with our main force?"
Seeing Hermione's troubled expression, Glenn extended his hand, pointing toward the protective barrier that stood stubbornly in the center of the battlefield, constantly under magical attack.
"As the attacking force, it's unlikely the dark wizards would use such conservative, fixed defensive measures. This protective barrier is very likely a defensive measure cast jointly by Lin Yu and the others to resist attacks."
Taking Glenn's suggestion, Hermione nodded. They cast layer upon layer of concealment magic on themselves, leaped down from the treetops into the forest, and began racing toward that massive transparent barrier.
As they approached the battlefield, the sounds of combat became increasingly cacophonous. The collisions between spells created much greater disturbances, with spiritual fire exploding among the tree shadows almost everywhere.
"There are... dark wizards ahead! And one of the sisters from our team!"
A situation appeared ahead of them. A cultivator was moving nimbly, treading mysterious steps, holding a sword in hand while chanting incantations. She formed sword techniques with one hand, wielding her sword to unleash waves of deep blue sword light that attacked her opponent.
The dark wizard wielded excellent blade techniques. Seeing the sword light approaching his face swift as thunder, he simply thrust his cleaver into the ground, his hand gripping the handle glowing with eerie green light, channeling power through the blade into the earth.
Terrifying shrieks came from beneath the soil as one after another, ghastly green indescribable creatures burst from the ground—fanged and clawed, using their talons to slash at the blue sword light, shattering the sword beams at the cost of their broken claws.
But the expressions on both combatants' faces were completely opposite to what Hermione had imagined.
The cleaver-wielding dark wizard's face was pale green, cold sweat streaming down his face, teeth clenched, gasping for breath.
And the young cultivator with excellent swordsmanship?
She was also gasping for breath, but her face wore a somewhat fanatical smile, continuously muttering words Hermione couldn't quite understand.
"Another achievement—this trip was definitely worth it, haha!"
Hermione: ?
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