"How much longer did they say we need to hold out?"
Rin's arms were covered by two green crystal shields; this was the ability granted by the 'Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise'.
Relying on this ability, Rin temporarily became the team's defender, resisting the charge of these magical beasts to extend the durability of the Barrier here for as long as possible.
"I heard they're already on the way. Just hold on a little longer," Medea replied.
A feeling of palpitations had been lingering around her, but using the appraisal device provided during the mission—calibrated to the same standards as Jean's—it clearly indicated that the strange birds in front of them only possessed a 'Berserk-Mid' level of power.
Of course, given her 'Quasi-God' level evaluation, eliminating these would normally be effortless, but unfortunately, the ones in front of them all possessed extremely high Magic Resistance.
It wasn't a coincidence; those without Magic Resistance had already been knocked down to the bottom of the valley. After three or four rounds, these guys with strong Magic Resistance had flown up.
Not only Medea, but Rin and Sakura's main methods were also magic-driven, which were naturally countered by Magic Resistance, forcing them back into the stronghold.
"If it weren't for this damn Magic Resistance, I would've already poked a few holes in these stupid birds!" Sakura stomped her feet in anger.
Originally, even if she couldn't fly, she had some ranged methods. Now that those were ineffective and the opponents wouldn't come down—while also frantically throwing feather energy projectiles and such—she could only watch helplessly from beneath the Barrier.
"Perhaps if you went out, you'd fall right into a trap. There's something hiding down there that even makes me feel palpitations," Medea said, manipulating her magic as she searched for the source of this unease.
Suddenly, her familiar transmitted an image of a giant golden eye from the pitch-black depths before it was destroyed.
However, Medea managed to see its entirety in the final instant. Judging by the size of the familiar, its pupil was larger than an average truck, and its entire body was covered in scales like obsidian. Although she couldn't see its whole body, it was undoubtedly a massive serpent.
[Target Evaluation]
Name: Abyss Rock King Serpent
Rating: God - Lower Rank
Description: The king of this region. It was sealed underground during the planning phase due to a riot, but this species possesses the characteristic of absorbing power and growing stronger while underground; thus, its power not only failed to wane but actually broke through its limits.
"What on earth is this thing? Compared to it, Hydra looks as cute as a pet."
"What should we do?" Rin looked at FrostNova. Although FrostNova wasn't the strongest among them, she was the most reliable. Even without an election or appointment, her years of combat experience and squad command experience had made her the de facto leader.
"Jean is coming," FrostNova said with certainty. "But we can't just wait here for her to save us."
Having remained silent while gathering power for a while, she was now glowing with an icy blue light, and a visible, massive amount of power was converging upon her.
She took a step forward, holding a pair of amulets in her hand, and smiled.
"This is my full power right now: [Frost Disaster · Frozen Tundra]."
As the technique was unleashed, frost began to cover everything within a one-kilometer radius centered on FrostNova. At the same time, this frost gradually seeped into the bodies of these magical beasts like a toxin.
It passed through scales when it met them, invaded skin when it met skin, froze muscles when it met them, and solidified blood when it met it.
Simultaneously, intense pain was inflicted upon these magical beasts, bit by bit, inch by inch, using the frost to alter their internal structures and continuously infect and kill them.
It was just like oripathy.
Yes, this was the result of recreating the wounds, pain, death, and disasters within FrostNova's heart under the power of the Ice Dragon, and bestowing them upon the enemy. The result was this 'Frost Disaster' that resembled oripathy.
She had specifically kept the casting range away from the inside of the Barrier, so Rin and the others were unaffected. They only listened to the overwhelming wails and muttered, "How amazing."
---
A large number of low-level magical beasts died instantly, while the powerful ones suffered significant injuries and were recovering in place.
But there were still quite a few magical beasts with cold resistance attacking the Barrier.
Fortunately, those strange birds had been completely frozen and fell into the rift, shattering into pieces.
After all, it's common knowledge that Ice counters Flying.
At this moment, FrostNova was unable to continue fighting due to overexertion, but the magical beasts gathering again did not possess the exaggerated Magic Resistance of the previous ones.
Medea displayed her prowess once again, and Sakura was not to be outdone; magic bullets and shadow spears were unleashed together, and with a new round of screams, these magical beasts fell into the bottom of the valley one after another.
Many that lacked flight capabilities and were climbing down from the top of the cliff began to hesitate.
For a time, the combat pressure greatly decreased, as if victory were imminent, but the more this happened, the more intense Medea's palpitations became.
She had completely stopped fighting and was preparing to activate a group teleportation spell she had never successfully used before. Although it could only teleport to the location of her familiars, fortunately, she had already sent one familiar running toward the outside, and it was currently stopped at the maximum distance she could control it.
Medea's premonition was absolutely correct. Just after a brief pause, the earth suddenly shook violently.
Then, a giant black shadow soared upward. It was a black serpent of unimaginable size; just by raising its upper body, it already exceeded the depth of the rift, and its writhing body seemed to widen the entire rift even further.
After its massive head swayed around, its eyes landed on the location of the stronghold's Barrier. The golden snake pupils stared at this spot for a moment before it retracted its head.
But this was not a retreat; it was pulling back to build up power. Then, it opened its blood-stained giant maw and bit down toward this side.
Facing such a scene, even Medea couldn't help but feel panicked, praying that the Barrier would hold until her group teleportation magic was completed.
Only FrostNova smiled, holding the pair of amulets in her hand, feeling the other one drawing closer and closer, her heart filled with trust and joy.
Just as FrostNova had hoped, a pale blue starlight descended from the sky, slamming directly onto the giant serpent's head, and maintaining that momentum, pressed it back down to the bottom of the valley.
"Get lost, you damn snake!!!" Jean's shout then shook the entire rift.
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