CHAPTER 443: Enchantments Of Weakness

The Brut Merchant Alliance's Tarrag Canyon is a restricted area. An ordinary man could only dream of entering such a place. Much like the Dark Forest in the Lancelot Empire, only the most daring of adventurers would venture into its depths.

Due to the abnormal behaviour of the magical beasts in Tarrag Canyon some time ago, many eager travellers were driven away. With the addition of serious warnings from the Sacred Magus Reynold Dila of the Brut Merchant Alliance, everyone kept their distance from Tarrag Canyon.

The followers of the Dark Mantle under Cecilia, led by Cecilia and Han Shuo, ventured into Tarrag Canyon. They discovered no trace of a single soul who had ever set foot there. The canyon was eerily quiet.

The hills of Tarrag Canyon were far more uneven than the Dark Forest of the Lancelot Empire, with a swamp in every crevice.

"In recent days, countless armies have sent their people to catch a glimpse of the activity within the Tarrag Canyon. But the magical beasts that dwell there seem to have gone mad, and with their violence, causing countless deaths and driving many more away from the canyon," Cecilia groaned in annoyance, her voice almost trembling as she dragged herself along.

Behind her were twelve members of the Dark Mantle, under her direct control. She usually took these twelve members of the Dark Mantle with her wherever she went. They included mages, swordsmen, knights, bandits and archers. Together they formed a complete team.

These twelve worthy subordinates were carefully chosen by Cecilia herself. Over the years of working together, they forged a certain harmony that only the most synchronised of teams could emulate, and even through the worst of times, they emerged victorious. And with the addition of the formidable Han Shuo, there was no denying the power this team possessed.

"My Lady, why has there been no sign of human intervention all the way here?" Ticaru the bandit asked solemnly and cautiously as he examined the area.

Throughout the journey, Ticaru's sole focus had been to scour the area, not unlike a monkey as he scouted in every direction, providing the party with timely information. Despite having travelled deep into the canyon for half a day, they hadn't met a single party of adventurers, or anyone else who had entered the Tarrag Canyon for that matter. The situation was confusing.

According to the scouts of the Dark Mantle, several adventurers had entered Tarrag Canyon in the past few days. It would have made sense that they would have encountered at least a few of them.

"I have no idea. Maybe they ventured deeper into the canyon. Perhaps we should pick up the pace," Cecilia replied without much thought. Her gaze, intentionally or not, landed on Han Shuo who was walking behind them.

Since they had entered the Tarragon Canyon, Han Shuo had been silent. He had just been following closely behind them, studying a huge magic book from time to time. He didn't seem to be the least bit concerned about the dangerous undertaking of descending into the Tarragon Canyon.

And indeed, he was.

Just as Cecilia had awakened him in his secret room, Han Shuo had begun to delve into the mysteries of the Boundary of Weakness, and was perplexed by certain difficulties of magic. He kept pulling out magic tomes from his space ring, studying and pondering over the subject.

Ssssss... A creature approached from the distance.

Ticaru the Bandit knitted his brows and jumped from a large tree straight to another. He grabbed the branch of a slender willow tree and headed towards the source of the noise to find out what was happening.

"It looks like some magical beasts are coming. We must be careful, large hordes of magical creatures are difficult to handle. Hopefully we won't be so unlucky this time!" Cecilia said to her subordinates as she pulled out a staff specially made for priests.

Han Shuo, who was deep in thought about how the Boundary of Weakness caused enemies to become mentally and physically weak, had actually heard the 'sssss' sound approaching long before the others. Without mystical demons scattering in every direction, Han Shuo was able to detect several hundred magical beasts approaching with his consciousness. These hundred or so approaching magical beasts were of various ranks, mostly ranks three or four. The most powerful of them were only three first-class magical beasts. There were no super-ranked magical creatures in the wave, so Han Shuo felt no need to worry.

The bandit who had earlier swung past the willows had just leapt from a branch into the air and landed firmly in front of Cecilia. "The beasts are approaching by the hundreds. They seem to be coming for us!" Ticaru reported in a low voice.

"Prepare for battle. These magical beasts shouldn't be too hard to handle!" Cecilia ordered determinedly. Soon they had begun to set up the trap boundaries. The archers, mages and swordsmen took up their positions, with the mages and archers in the centre, drawing their weapons and defending the area.

Sitting in the centre, Han Shuo furrowed his brows and temporarily put down his monstrous book. He looked at Cecilia, who was instructing her subordinates to set up the defences, and asked with a faint grin, "Do you need any help?"

"Thanks, but we can handle it for now!" Cecilia replied, confident that she could handle this group of magical beasts.

Han Shuo nodded his head and, without speaking, continued to study the magic book entitled 'Necromancy Magic' in his hand, trying to make sense of the marvels and the use of the Boundary of Weakness.

The Boundary of Weakness could not only make those who entered it feel weak and tired, it could also have a paralysing and incapacitating effect on the soul. This is because the Boundary of Weakness is composed of two segments of incantation - one targeting the physical body of the enemy, and the other targeting their soul.

However, to fully unleash the true wrath of the Boundary of Weakness, one must master a perfect balance of power against both flesh and soul. Failure in either flesh or soul is failure altogether. Han Shuo had practised for a long time, but he had yet to grasp it. He was unable to perfectly combine the two incantations, and therefore unable to deliver a true Boundary of Weakness.

As Han Shuo read the book, he realised that the core of every living being was its soul. To maim one's soul would be to maim one's body. If one felt spiritually weak and weak, one's body would reflect this and begin to lack strength. From this Han Shuo concluded that the point of attack was to cripple the soul. Once the soul felt weak, the physical body would also become weak. Han Shuo knew then that he was on the right track, but he needed a moment to digest all the information and really master it. He racked his brain, hoping to see the light.

As Han Shuo slowly wrapped his head around it all, hundreds of magical beasts from the Tarrag Canyon rushed out. They seemed to be able to detect the scent of humans. Their pupils were scarlet red as they roared violently and charged directly at Cecilia and her people.

"These beasts are mad!" Cecilia shouted softly. The magic staff she waved shot out silvery light, which fell on the five swordsmen at the front, giving them strength and increasing their power.

Several incantations rang out beside Cecilia as the Fire, Lightning and Water Mages joined in. Fire snakes slithered away with a vengeance, flashes of lightning bombarded the sky, and tree roots shot up from the ground like pointed stakes, all aimed at the pack of magical beasts rushing towards them.

As the spells fell, the herd of beasts was devastated. Many of the lower-ranked creatures lost their ability to fight as soon as they were hit by the wave of magic. Only a few first, second and third class magical beasts were able to withstand the wave of magical attacks due to their resilient bodies, and continued to charge forward.

Two archers unleashed streams of arrows with admirable composure. One after the other, the arrows soared through the sky, landing cleanly in the beasts and killing each and every one of them. Not a single miss.

A third of the magical creatures had collapsed for good under the double barrelled attack of the mages and archers before they could even get close. Some of the more powerful magical creatures closest to the area were able to release magic and poisonous fluid. Creatures such as the Frost Eagles and Medusa began to spew frost and venom.

Cecilia ceaselessly cast all manner of support spells on her comrades, while the three mages set up boundaries to block incoming attacks. The traps that had been set were also used, and one by one the magical beasts fell into a pool of blood.

It had to be said that Cecilia and the members of the Dark Mantle beside her had a great rapport and coordination with each other. Over the past ten days, the team's cooperation had allowed the vast majority of the magical beasts to be killed with spells or arrows before they could get anywhere near them. And if any of these creatures had managed to get close, they would have been met by five unwavering swordsmen defending the front, ready to deflect any approaching enemy at a moment's notice. It looked like this battle really wasn't going to be a problem for Cecilia and her team.

At that moment, Han Shuo looked at the magical beasts that were still charging fiercely, unafraid of death. Han Shuo seemed to have had some kind of epiphany and urgently chanted an incantation. The chilling element of death that had been hovering in the air suddenly converged, forming a ring around the herd of magical beasts.

Suddenly, the high-ranking magical creatures that had been charging forward became strangely sluggish. It was as if they had all been hit by a powerful anaesthetic, slowing them down to half their normal speed.

"I did it!" Han Shuo gasped in pride and astonishment. He was shocked to see the magical creatures within the Boundary of Weakness become so lethargic.

Suddenly, Han Shuo felt an enormously powerful presence creeping towards them. He narrowed his eyes to spy on it.