-1552- Flush out

"Screech...!"

With a sharp sound of something slicing through the air, several streaks of light shot upwards, reaching the sky just below the dusk-colored barrier.

Under normal circumstances, someone flying up into the sky like this would definitely attract the attention of many Sky Wizard representatives, and they would be bombarded by concentrated cannon fire from all directions.

However, at this moment, none of the Sky Wizards launched any attacks on these figures soaring into the sky.

The reason was simple.

"—!"

"—!"

Amid beast-like roars, gray creatures surged from all directions into the forest of the Ninth Artificial Sky Island, searching for the Sky Wizards from various teams. Upon encountering them, they mercilessly launched attacks without hesitation.

"What... what are these monsters...?!"

"Damn it...!"

"Stay... stay away...!"

"My mana...!"

"Ahhhhh...!"

The screams of the Sky Wizards echoed faintly from all sides, revealing what they were facing.

Because of this, many Sky Wizards, terrified, fled towards the sky, breaking the implicit rule of the ground-bound competition on this night.

They all chose to escape, not wanting to meet their demise at the hands of these gray monsters.

Unfortunately, all these Sky Wizards were stopped by the dusk-colored barrier. No matter how much they attacked it, they couldn't shatter it and escape.

Before long, many Sky Wizards who had flown into the air were struck down by the arm blades of pursuing Asmod creatures, falling into the sea of trees, vanishing from sight, their fate unknown.

Similar scenes unfolded in every corner of the Ninth Artificial Sky Island.

In this forest, now turned into a cage, a massacre was taking place.

Rozen and his group, who had also taken to the skies, encountered an attack from the Asmod creatures.

"Haah!"

Mena, carrying overwhelming force, swung her magic battle axe, which crackled with lightning, bringing it down on an approaching Asmod.

The Asmod raised its arm blade, seemingly intending to block the axe with its tough hide.

However, against an axe renowned for its barrier-breaking power, how could the Asmod's tough hide stand a chance?

"Splurt!"

Mena's magic battle axe severed the Asmod's arm blade, causing blood to spray into the air.

The Asmod immediately retreated.

However, with a disturbing squirming of muscles, the severed arm soon regenerated.

"This regenerative ability is too strong...!"

Mena growled in frustration.

The same situation had occurred multiple times already.

Not just Mena, but even Yuri had pierced through several Asmod creatures, yet due to their powerful regenerative abilities, it ultimately proved futile.

What's worse, the Asmods could absorb their opponent's mana upon contact.

As a result, Mena and Yuri were experiencing significant energy depletion.

In response, Kanata and Chloe sprang into action.

"Mena! Fall back for now!"

"Let us handle this!"

Kanata raised his magic cannon sword, with its cylinder-like compressed mana reactor whirring with metallic sounds, refining compressed mana and channeling it into the sword.

Chloe likewise raised her magic cannon staff. Though it didn't refine compressed mana, it still gathered a considerable amount of mana at its tip.

"Magic Cannon Sword Battle Skill — Concentrated Magic Cannon!"

"Magic Cannon Staff Battle Skill — Flame Disintegrating Cannon!"

Two powerful blasts surged forth, transforming into torrents of mana that engulfed the approaching Asmod creatures.

Under the immense power of the blasts, the Asmods were vaporized on the spot, not even a trace of their skin remaining.

No matter how strong their regenerative abilities, being entirely vaporized left no possibility of recovery.

However, despite eliminating one group of Asmod creatures, more continued to swarm from all directions like a plague of locusts.

"Damn it!"

"There are too many of them!"

"How can there be so many of these monsters?"

"They're like an army of undead!"

Kanata, Chloe, Mena, and Yuri shouted in frustration as they fought separately, with the communication crystals non-functional, fending off the relentless attacks of the Asmods.

In truth, Asmods were already incredibly troublesome opponents. Not only could they absorb mana, but they also possessed rapid regenerative abilities. In one-on-one combat, they might not have been a serious threat, but when surrounded by multiple Asmods, even warriors like Kanata and the others could only handle a limited number at once.

Moreover, with their mana and stamina draining, being shot down was only a matter of time.

Still, the reason they dared to fly into the sky under such circumstances was due to Rozen's command.

Rozen hovered at the highest point, looking down on the battlefield below, observing Chloe and the others, who were struggling to fend off the Asmods. Using his Heaven's Eye, he could clearly detect the position and number of all the attacking Asmod creatures.

Thus...

"—————."

Rozen suddenly chanted a spell.

It was the Indra's Thunder Law.

"Boom!"

Around Rozen, countless bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere, like golden spears, striking down in all directions.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

The golden spears of lightning accurately hit the Asmods, causing them to convulse violently under the electrical current, their bodies charred before suddenly exploding into pieces, disintegrating entirely.

With just one strike, all the attacking Asmod creatures were wiped out.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

The group finally escaped their pursuers and gathered around Rozen, panting heavily.

"How is it?" Kanata asked Rozen. "Can we break this barrier?"

Rozen's response was without hesitation.

"Of course we can," Rozen said. "Even without using high-grade mana, I have a way to shatter this collapse force barrier."

As long as Rozen summoned a Beast Vassal, the barrier would become incredibly fragile.

At that point, the human Sky Wizards on the Ninth Artificial Sky Island would be saved, and reinforcements from outside could enter.

The problem was...

"I've already checked. This barrier is regenerative. Even if it's shattered, it will quickly restore itself."

Rozen explained.

"It's likely that the barrier's generator inside the Ninth Artificial Sky Island is still operating. As long as it keeps running, the barrier will keep reappearing."

In this case, Rozen could only ensure the escape of his special unit, S128.

As for the other Sky Wizards on the island, Rozen would either have to escort them out one by one or find the generator and destroy it to save them.

Of course, Rozen could also simply obliterate the entire Ninth Artificial Sky Island with one attack, ending everything at once.

However, that would also mean the end for everyone here.

"So, what do we do?" Mena asked. "We can't just leave everyone to die, can we?"

Because they needed to save people, Rozen's options were significantly limited.

Otherwise, how could a mere barrier be an issue for him?

Still, Rozen already had a plan.

"I've used Spirit Vision to check. The collapse force mainly comes from several directions. Those should be the locations of the barrier generators."

Rozen relayed the coordinates to everyone.

"You guys head to those locations and destroy the generators."

Rozen gave the order.

"What about you, Senpai?"

Yuri quickly asked.

"What are you planning?"

Chloe seemed to have a guess.

Rozen smiled slightly.

"I'm going to flush out the person behind all of this."

That was Rozen's true objective.