“Hiyaaaaaa!!!” The guards all yelled, activating their respective Martial Arts.


    With a choreographed performance, the six created arge wave of blue energy.


    It was a horizontal strike, curving beautifully to form an arc.


    >SWIIISH!!!<


    The energy-infused attack neared the monster at a seemingly intense speed.


    >BOOOOOMMMM!!!<


    The destructive capability of a joint Martial Arts move was by no means little—especially since veteran guards were the ones who activated them.


    With proud looks of slight relief, the guards silently rejoiced… and prayed that this was enough to slow their opponent down—even a tiny bit.


    Unfortunately, they were wrong!


    “Guruuu…”


    Theirbined moves hadn’t as much as scratched the creature.


    “EEEEEKKK!!” Their skins jumped, watching the monster near them even more.


    Sweat dripped from their faces as they gulped in fright. Even if they had made up their minds to sacrifice themselves rather than be punished as traitors, it wasn’t as though they wanted that oue.


    Still, they had to keep going!


    They infused their Mana once again andunched yet another attack.


    Null!


    They used another specialbo.


    Futile!


    The guards tried their bestbined assault


    Not a scratch!


    Now huffing and puffing, the men realized just how weak they were. Compared to one monster, they were nothing but insects!


    Upon realizing their limits and impending doom, the guards could only heave out in exhaustion. Their hands trembled as they struggled to keep a grip on their des.


    Swallowing their saliva, they red at the approaching monster.


    They had long given up on putting up a decent fight. Only one path to salvation remained open.


    ‘Backup! When will backupe?!’


    Their thoughts were muddled, but if help arrived soon, then perhaps… perhaps they could live!


    “Guarrrdssss!!!” A loud voice boomed, causing all the men to look above them.


    Sure enough, there were a dozen Mages who were on floating boards.


    ‘Backup is here!!!’


    They all had their cloaks and special wands activated. Each Mage also had hats and special outfits thatplimented them perfectly.


    They were the Guard-Mage division, the first line of defense against any assault on the Capital.


    The reason they werete was most likely because of the time it took them to equip their gear before charging into battle.


    Since it was a bother to always water Magic tools, even these Mages cked off in their guard duties and usually left them hanging around.


    Upon seeing the threat from afar, they frantically put on their outfits and charged to the gate.


    Fortunately, nothing major had urred… yet!


    “This is an unidentified Magical Beast. We’ll take it from you!” The Mages told the Guards.


    Their tone sounded awfully condescending forters, but the soldiers could notin.


    In fact, they were relieved.


    It was no secret that Martial Artists were the lowest on the food chain, and they were considered inferior to Magic Users.


    And so, even though the guards had been risking everything to keep the monster at bay, it probably wouldn’t take much from the Mages to finish the thing off.


    That meant only one thing to the desperate men.


    ‘We’re… we’re saved!”


    They leaped for joy while retreating—happy that they didn’t have to go through any more terrifyingbat.


    ‘They’ll handle it! The Mages will protect us!’


    With this in mind, the guards were able to quickly evacuate to the Capital’s interior.


    No matter what, the Capital wasn’t going to fall because of a mere monster!


    **************************


    The twelve backup Mages looked at the fiery monster with caution.


    They were certified, -grounded individuals, who had fought monsters and Magic Beasts quite a number of times.


    However, none of them had seen something as peculiar and dangerous as the one in front of them.


    Its surroundings burned just by the terrible creature’s presence, and the evil aura emanating from it was not something they were familiar with.


    “We’ll hit it withbined Advanced Magic!” The leader of the Mage Squad told his subordinates.


    They all agreed without hesitation, preparing a water-based Spell that was bound to be the most effective against such an evil being.


    However, before they couldplete their chant…


    “GRUAAAAAA!!!”


    … The monster moved!


    >WHOOOOSSHHHH!!!<


    With such speed that defied its huge stature, the fuming creature closed its distance between the Mages in an instant, leaping high into the sky with a single thrust.


    The earth shattered apart as it lunged upward, causing all the Magic Users to shriek in shock.


    They immediately ceased their chants and shrouded themselves in defensive Magic.


    >BOOOOOMMMM!!!<


    The Monster shed head-on with their defensiveyer of Mana.


    “GURKK!!” The humans felt recoil as their barrier cracked.


    Fortunately, their opponent had not built up enough momentum, so their efforts trumped it.


    Once the beast began descending to the ground, leaving itself wide open, the Mages took the opportunity to begin their assault


    “Strike!”


    Refusing to waste time on a joint chant, all the Mages simplyunched respective Water Magic Spells that would yield the best results in the shortest time.


    Hails and bullets of chilly liquid descended on the falling creature, causing harsh clouds of steam to rise and fill the atmosphere.


    >SHUUUUUUUUUUHHH<


    The hiss of heated water pervaded the atmosphere, causing the entire vicinity to be shrouded in white fog.


    Even if the regr vision of the Mages had been hindered, they still had their sensory abilities.


    With their eyes enhanced with Mana, and all their bodily functions equally augmented, they could perceive all that urred around them


    The Mages felt as the hideous monster crashed to the ground, creating another reverberating tremor.


    However, the moment the monster’s impact was felt, another terrifying thing happened.


    >BOOOOMMMM!!!<


    It bounced back up!


    This time, with an insurmountable pressure that caused the Mages to flinch in their high estate.


    “Fortify the barrier!”


    Before they could conclude their endeavor, the monster emerged from the thick fog, shrouded in even more mes.


    >KRRRRAAAAKKKK!!!<


    With a deafening roar, it broke through their defenses, causing the seasoned experts to scatter as a result of the explosion.


    Their floating boards were destroyed, causing them to crash to the ground in an instant.


    [Perfect Flight] was a Spell that required immense concentration; which was why Mages who were morebat-oriented preferred using Floating Boards to fly.


    The disadvantage of that was the fragile nature of such a tool.


    >THUD!<


    The twelve Magesnded on the ground, each wincing as their enhanced bodies were met with the impact of the cold floor.


    Thanks to Magic, they suffered no serious injury, but… that didn’t bring them relief in the slightest.


    “GURRUUUUUU…”


    Standing before them was the cause of their cmity—


    An unstoppable monster!