“Hold formation! Do not panic! Do not panic!” Amid the chaos, Robert’s commanding voice gave the terrified soldiers a measure of calm.

Robert’s armor was torn, his hair disheveled, and blood stained his body. He grabbed one of his men, shoved him hard, and shouted, “Form ranks! Protect the master! Withdraw in formation! No one runs!”

Griffin after griffin dived from the sky with ringing cries. Those cries truly held a dizzying power. Several Rowling guards felt their heads buzz and their bodies sway; they could scarcely hold their swords.

Robert snatched a bow from an archer lying on the ground and fired rapidly at a diving griffin. The arrow, infused with battle aura, became a streak of light—but the ordinary military bow could not withstand a knight’s battle aura. The instant the arrow reached the air, it burst into light.

Fortunately, the griffin appeared startled as well. Robert hurried back and barely managed to organize a dozen men into a circle, raising swords and spears to defend themselves.

More griffins descended. People were wounded again and again by their talons and sharp beaks. Screams sounded everywhere. Some men were seized and thrown into the air; several griffins immediately flew up after them and tore them apart midair with beaks and claws.

The gruesome spectacle chilled everyone to the bone.

Knight Span’s sword was reduced to half a blade. A griffin had attacked him, and he escaped only by rolling aside, but blood streamed from his thigh. He could barely stand.

Both Span and Robert felt not only terror but profound shock.

How could a flock of such ferocious magical beasts as griffins suddenly appear in the Empire’s southern heartland?

At Robert’s cry of “Protect the master,” more and more Rowling cavalrymen gathered around Du Wei.

Yet the griffins in the sky remained dreadful killers. Every dive brought a scream; every attack took a soldier’s life.

The ground was already covered in blood and terrible, mangled bodies. Many had died so horribly that no whole corpse remained.

Du Wei had just seen a griffin dive at him. After Roline threw him down, a ringing cry sounded behind him. Though pressed to the ground, he seemed to see a yellow ring of light flash before his eyes...

“Master, get up! We must leave at once!” Roline called anxiously. She hauled Du Wei to his feet and pulled him toward a large tree.

Many Rowling guards had already closed around them, and Robert rushed over. The Rowling guards possessed immense family pride and loyalty. Even in such a crisis, they had not forgotten their duty. No one fled. Though every one of them was afraid, they still bravely carried weapons toward their master.

“Sorskya! Sorskya!” Du Wei shouted furiously.

“I am here.” A voice answered from the ground nearby. Sorskya climbed up in disarray, his robe already filthy and his face covered with dust. During the first griffin attack, he had been the first to throw himself into the grass.

“What the hell are you doing?” Du Wei lunged over and seized the mage by the collar, his face twisted with rage. “My people are bleeding! Why are you not using magic? Hurry! If you want to live, attack with magic!”

Du Wei shook the mage so hard that his hat fell off. Sorskya hurriedly nodded and fired several fireballs into the sky. There was no alternative: his ability was limited, and the lowest-level fireball spell was his only direct attack magic. Spells such as slowing spells would have little effect against a flock of griffins.

The griffins were driving Span’s local-garrison soldiers into a rout, but the Rowling soldiers showed their superior quality at this moment. They gradually closed ranks and formed a respectable fighting force. Griffins continued attacking, but every dive met rows of swords and spears. The griffins did not dare crash directly into them, instead circling the edge and striking suddenly with a claw or two. Still, these magical beasts were formidable, and the Rowling soldiers were rapidly suffering casualties. Nearly every griffin attack took a life.

The formation retreated slowly. Sorskya’s fireball spells caused some obstruction and alarm, but more and more griffins gathered around them. They had already dealt with Span’s men completely. Corpses lay everywhere, and even Knight Span lay motionless in the distance, dead or alive unknown.

Robert’s face was ghastly. His grip on his sword was so tight that his knuckles had turned white. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Master, today, I fear...” He shook his head hard, then pulled Roline close and spoke quietly. “In a moment, I will lead men in a charge. You take the master and run down the mountain at once. Fast! You must be fast! I will do what I can to draw their attention. The master... is in your hands.”

Roline's expression changed. “You're going to sacrifice yourself?”

Robert’s voice was harsh. “I know these creatures. They love to hunt. We are their prey. The road down the mountain is too far; we cannot retreat in our present state. We can only disrupt the situation and let the master slip away.”

“But...”

“But what, Miss Roline? Do not forget that you are a knight!” Robert suddenly flared up, glaring at her. “You are not the little mercenary you used to be! If you still cannot understand the spirit of a knight, then you do not deserve to be one! I am wounded and cannot run quickly. Otherwise, I would not ask you to escort the master away! Do you want to become a real knight, Roline? Then prove it to me!”

Roline shuddered and stared at Robert. In that moment, emotion surged in her eyes. She raised her slender sword forcefully and cried, “I will prove it!”

Robert laughed loudly, then turned to look at his master.

Du Wei, however, kept his eyes narrowed at the griffins circling and seeking chances to attack the formation. He was so absorbed that he seemed to have forgotten everything around him. It was as though he had not heard Robert and Roline’s conversation at all. No one knew what was in the boy’s mind.

The turmoil vanished from Roline's face, replaced by a strange calm.

Then, before Robert’s astonished eyes, the female knight gripped the blade of her sword with one hand and pulled hard...

The sharp edge sliced open her palm at once, and blood poured out!

“What are you doing?” Robert demanded. Roline did not answer. She walked forward slowly and gently parted the Rowling guards before her.

Roline stood at the very front of the formation. A griffin swooped toward her, but the female knight suddenly spread her arms and formed a strange hand seal. A yellow ring of light flashed around her body!

Within that ring, blood sprayed from her wounded palm and dissipated rapidly in the light. Then a vast beam of light shot from before her! The diving griffin was enveloped in it. It did not even have time to cry before its body—bang!—vanished within the beam.

Its body dissolved into countless motes of light. The griffin had vanished completely.

Everyone was stunned. Not only the Rowling guards, but Robert and Sorskya too. Only Du Wei, still lost in thought, seemed unaffected.

This female knight... Had she used magic? Was she a female mage?!

After making a griffin vanish with that strange art, Roline swayed. Then she began chanting a strange, harsh, incomprehensible passage. The yellow ring surrounding her grew wider and wider... while the blood flowing from her hand grew ever faster.

As the yellow ring gradually enveloped everyone, the surrounding griffins cried out and seemed afraid to approach it. With the ring’s protection, the Rowling people were finally safe. But the female knight’s body went limp, and she nearly collapsed.

Of all the stunned people, Robert recovered first. He rushed forward, caught the weakened knight, and shouted, “She is hurt! Who has medicine? She needs the bleeding stopped!”

Looking at Roline’s wounded hand, Robert was horrified.

What kind of wound was this? The cut had opened to nearly twice its original size, and the flesh around it had turned white. It clearly showed severe blood loss! But how could such a small cut bleed so much? Even now, Roline’s blood was still pouring out at frightening speed.

“No! Do not stop it.” Roline bit her lip hard and spoke quietly. “My art needs my blood to continue. Quickly... retreat while we can.”

Though he did not know what this art was, Robert understood that this was no time for questions. He immediately shouted, “Everyone fall back! We are leaving!”

“Tell everyone not to let any part of their bodies extend beyond the ring,” Roline added.

But while everyone retreated, Du Wei alone did not move. Robert frowned and pulled at his absorbed young master, thinking the boy might have been frightened senseless.

“Master, we are leaving! Quickly!”

“No.” Du Wei did not move. His thoughtful eyes remained fixed on the griffins before him.

Robert grew impatient. “If we do not leave now, we will all die!”

“No.” Du Wei shook his head again, seemingly still not returned to himself.

Robert could not contain his anger.

His soldiers were bleeding. The female knight beside them was using her own blood to sustain this art. If her bleeding was not stopped soon, she might die!

Yet what was this immature young master doing at a time like this?!

Then Du Wei finally smiled...

Damn it! The boy could still smile!

Du Wei looked at Roline and said, “Roline, dismiss your art. The Moon people’s Spellbreaking Field may be the bane of all magic, but it is paid for with blood. I thank you for your courage, but... it seems someone has been playing us for fools.”

Robert froze. Had this young master lost his mind? Why could he not understand a word the boy was saying?

“Robert! Stop our lady knight’s bleeding at once. Do you want to watch her bleed to death?” Du Wei shouted. This command was much clearer. Robert hesitated, but Du Wei had already grabbed Roline’s hand, shoved Robert, and barked, “What are you waiting for?”

Then Du Wei looked at Roline and said softly, “Thank you. Your courage today deserves respect.”

With that, Du Wei suddenly parted the guards before him and laughed loudly at the griffins outside. “Come, then! Let me see what other tricks you have!”

Amid everyone’s cries of alarm, Du Wei suddenly ran several steps forward! Robert was terrified and rushed to catch his master, but a griffin that had been anxiously circling outside the yellow ring immediately saw Du Wei run out and dived at him!

Robert tried to save Du Wei, but the griffin crashed into him. He had time only to block once with his sword before he was knocked away. Before everyone’s horrified eyes, the griffin’s talons easily pierced Du Wei’s thin body as though it were paper!

!

Every Rowling guard felt the world go dark. Robert nearly fainted, and the weakened female knight cried out before collapsing.

They watched Du Wei tossed aside like a leaf by the griffin, his body sailing through the air before striking the ground. Their hearts plunged to the bottom.

It was over! It was over!

Their young master had died here. They were all finished! Even if they survived and returned, allowing the master entrusted to their protection to die would mean execution by the family!

Robert sat stunned on the ground, unaware that his sword had fallen from his hand. In that moment, the knight had lost all hope...

“Heh heh...”

A strange laugh sounded. Then Du Wei’s “corpse” swayed and climbed to its feet!

The sight nearly made everyone’s eyes pop out.

Du Wei’s body was a blur of blood and flesh. A huge bloody hole in his chest had nearly pierced straight through him. Blood ran continuously, yet Du Wei only frowned, lowered his head to inspect the wound, then smiled. “That really hurts. Heh... just like it is real!”

He touched the blood from the wound, raised it before his eyes, and sniffed it. Muttering to himself, he said, “Yes, it is very convincing. Even the blood seems real...”