Chapter 185: With Our Flesh and Souls, We Offer...

"What if she's the Fairy Queen? She's just one woman!"

"There are fifty of us! Charge!"

"Heaven's Wheel·Circle Sword!" Sixteen swords reappeared behind Erza, rotating around her as the white blade lights formed a glowing ring, sweeping in all directions.

"Ahh!"

The robed men, whether they charged head-on or attempted a sneak attack, screamed as they were blasted away.

"Heaven's Wheel·Trinity Sword!"

Erza swung her dual swords, a triangular slash striking down, and the few unlucky ones who managed to get close had their chests burst open, blood spurting as they fell.

"So... this is the Fairy Queen!"

"Don't just stand there! Attack now!"

The robed men at the back raised their staffs, but more than ten of them suddenly felt pain in their legs, sinking halfway into the ground: "What's this?!"

"Watch out below! There's an earth mage!"

"Ahh! Wolves!"

"Why are wolves attacking us... Die, you beasts!"

A few tried to attack the shadow wolves but were suddenly splattered with purple venom, clutching their faces in pain and collapsing.

"What is this?! Ahh..."

"Poison, it's poison!"

"Damn it..." Shadow Ghost watched Erza charge into the group, slashing and hacking, while beasts attacked their ranks. His anger boiled over.

"Disperse flesh, shatter marrow—this is the desire of a dark magic follower... Die! Bone Crush!"

A dark, ominous light, like a black mist, shot from Shadow Ghost's staff toward Erza, striking... a shadow wolf that had leapt toward Erza.

"Awooo~"

The shadow wolf let out a sad howl. Its flesh and bones seemed to melt away, and the entire wolf fell limply like a deflated ball.

The wild creatures on the battlefield had been given the primary command to guard Erza against sneak attacks.

"You annoying thing... Bone Crush!"

This time, two mini stone beetles bit into Shadow Ghost's calves, causing his spell to hit one of his own men.

Erza slashed down two more robed men on either side, and three blue sigils suddenly appeared around her.

At the same time, a four- to five-meter-tall small giant came thundering down the mountainside—it was the Azure Sigil Golem.

"Is this the 'Crown of Insight' that Rhodes mentioned?" Erza felt her magic power recovering rapidly inside her. "If that's the case... I can end this in one go!"

Knives, spears, swords, halberds... Nearly a hundred different weapons appeared at the same time, hovering densely in midair behind Erza.

With Erza's fierce expression, it looked like the stance of a single warrior capable of facing millions.

The scene even made Rhodes' shadow wolves a bit afraid, unsure whether they should exit the battlefield.

The weapons adjusted their aim according to Erza's intent, with every standing black-robed man getting at least three weapons aimed at them.

The robed men were overwhelmed with fear, mouths open in shock, barely able to hold their own weapons.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Various weapons flew down with a whistling sound. Even if someone dodged the first weapon, they couldn't avoid the second or third that followed.

Erza's strength lay in the fact that even with nearly a hundred weapons, she could precisely control where each would land.

The weapons fell like raindrops, slamming into the ground with the force of cannon fire, pinning or blasting away the robed men. Meanwhile, the shadow wolves and stone beetles moved among them, unharmed.

Shadow Ghost, as their leader, had the distinction of receiving six swords of the Heaven's Wheel. Four of them pinned his limbs, while two crossed at his neck.

The golem, which Rhodes had specifically summoned for help, came thundering up beside Erza, only to find that the battle had already ended.

It scratched its head with a bulky arm, unsure of what to do next.

Erza looked at it and thought the big fellow was rather cute. "Your magic? It was a great help."

"Haha, hahaha! You can't stop it! You can't stop Lord Carnibro from descending!" Shadow Ghost suddenly laughed, his face twisted in rage. "With our flesh and souls, we offer—"

Boom! A fist the size of a sandbag slammed into Shadow Ghost, driving him deep into the ground, with cracks spreading out on the surrounding surface.

The Heaven's Wheel swords originally pinned into him were shaken loose, and Erza promptly retrieved them.

The one who struck was, of course, the golem. Rhodes had given it clear instructions: if anyone lying on the ground acted strangely or spoke strange words, punch them first and ask questions later.

After Shadow Ghost was silenced, another robed man immediately tried: "With our flesh and souls..."

Boom! "With our—"

Boom! The golem rushed around, embedding every person who dared speak nonsense into the ground.

The valley finally quieted down as the golem disappeared.

Rhodes arrived on the Canyon Swift Crab, directing the stone beetles to give each of the fallen robed men a stomp to ensure they stayed unconscious.

"How are you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Erza answered, returning to her normal attire. "What about the children?"

"They're sheltered from the wind behind the mountain. I left Vorm and the Beak Birds with them to keep them warm," Rhodes said. "But we need to hurry back. The children have been cold and hungry these past few days, and they might develop fevers."

"These bastards!"

Erza cursed, then began helping Rhodes handle the aftermath.

The leader, Shadow Ghost, had to be taken back. The others were tied up, their mouths gagged, and dragged to a spot farther from the altar, waiting for the Council to take them away.

As for their wounds, there was no time to treat them. If they died, it was their luck.

On the way back, the children were again carried by the Beak Birds, which spread their wings over them to help keep them warm.

Rhodes and Erza had to endure a more difficult journey, taking Shadow Ghost on the river crabs.

"Will your magic hold up?" Erza remembered how the golem consumed a lot of magic.

"I'm alright. Earlier, I used the Crown of Insight on myself too. I should make it back to town."

Compared to the S-Class exam last month, Rhodes had made a tiny bit of progress.

The most obvious improvement was that after summoning the golem, he didn't immediately unsummon it but dared to let it fight for a while longer.

If he pushed himself, he could even summon the Treant for a bit of fresh air.

The idea of giving Erza both red and blue buffs wasn't just wishful thinking—it was his trump card.

Soon enough, these two highly practical wild creatures could become part of his regular arsenal.

When that time came, it would almost be time to research the next target.

Logically, the next should be the Canyon Vanguard, but what Rhodes saw through the mist looked like an insect.

That made him hesitate to act rashly.