"The illusionary beast Redina resembles a spider in shape. Its body hardness, strength, speed, and other physical attributes far exceed those of other illusionary beasts. In raw physical fitness alone, it is on par with formidable monster beasts, and it also excels at mental attacks.
"It has two weaknesses. First, once removed from the environment of the Void Space, it struggles to survive in the outside world.
"Second, its active life span is very short. Although its overall life span can match that of a normal human, the first third of its life is spent as an egg, and the final third is spent laying eggs."
After Aisli finished introducing Redina, Ventura asked, "Then their numbers must be very rare, right? How are they willing to spend so much on this?"
There were still ten squads remaining, meaning ten Redinas were about to be deployed.
Aisli replied, "Redinas have no distinction between male and female; all of them can lay eggs, and on average, a single Redina can produce ten eggs. So their numbers are not actually scarce."
Bart remarked, "A third as an egg and a third laying eggs—isn't that just like humans?"
Blanche chimed in, "Indeed. Humans spend their youth until adulthood studying, and after passing middle age, they usually spend the rest of their lives laboring for the sake of future generations."
Karen smiled faintly and said, "That's because your families are well-off."
Bart and Blanche looked at Karen. They did not truly grasp what their captain meant by that, but neither sought to argue.
Karen enjoyed reading in his daily life, and quite a few authors had expressed concern in their writings over the thinning of familial bonds in modern society, especially in urban areas. In a metropolis like York City, this phenomenon was particularly pronounced.
Parents and adult children often did not live together, interacting like strangers with sharply defined boundaries.
Yet in the colonies of the Wien Empire, this phenomenon was celebrated by local literati, who regarded such detached relationships between parents and children as entirely natural, proper, and progressive.
It was just like how Wien cuisine, despite tasting terrible, still managed to become popular throughout the colonies.
In reality, the genuine upper-class families of Wien had always placed great importance on familial relationships and the inheritance of their family culture. Growing up in such an environment from childhood, Bart and Blanche naturally assumed all families were supposed to be like that.
The appearance of the dark clouds signified that the countdown had begun.
Under Karen's tactical arrangements, the entire squad mobilized.
Ventura still stood beneath the dark clouds, but this time Bart was not positioned behind him. Instead, he took up a position off to another flank. Karen anticipated that since Redina possessed physical capabilities typical illusionary beasts lacked, it would most likely be difficult to be "captured" like the previous two immediately upon landing, so the interception angles could no longer rely on a single line.
Blanche stood at the vertex of the inverted triangle.
Mars activated the Kendos Threefold Defensive Array. The defensive formation, with its three layered screens of light, provided an immense sense of security from its visual presence alone.
"Mars, continue setting up the Mental Bridge Array, but keep an eye on the situation outside."
"Yes, Captain, understood."
Karen looked at Aisli, who stood beside him. She voluntarily held out both arms again, leaving them open for Karen's selection.
"Aisli, can you tell me which monster beast among these is the strongest?"
"The strongest?" Aisli lowered her head and began searching.
"You need to think about it?" Karen was somewhat surprised.
"Um, because my parents inscribed everything they could obtain on me, whether useful or useless."
Hearing this explanation, Karen grew worried that Aisli's next answer would be: *Actually, they're all pretty weak.*
Fortunately, Aisli pointed with her left finger to a wolf totem on her right arm.
"Storm Wolf—Mombas! This one is powerful—the strongest monster beast my parents have ever handled. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"It's just that my dad never expected Mombas would actually agree to leave a mark on me."
"Hm? Wasn't there a favor owed?"
"There was a favor. My dad performed an operation on it."
"Then what's the issue?"
"A neutering surgery."
Karen fell silent.
"For one thing, summoning a phantom of Mombas places too heavy a burden on my soul. For another, before I left home, my dad specifically reminded me never to summon Mombas unless it's an absolute emergency. He was worried that the only reason Mombas agreed to leave a mark on me was to find an opportunity for revenge against our family."
"Then why did your dad still let you tattoo it on?"
"Whatever could be tattooed definitely had to be. Mainly, my dad said that in the direst crisis, when summoning Mombas, I could make a promise to it—no, swear an oath in our family's name—that if it helps me, my dad will get a vasectomy himself once we get back."
"Aisli, your father truly loves you."
"Yes, I know."
"Stay inside the array and rest."
"Captain, the summon just now didn't drain me that much..."
"I understand. If needed, I will come over and help you summon the Storm Wolf together. Until then, remain here. As you said yourself, Mombas is formidable, so I need you in peak condition."
"Yes, Captain."
Karen stepped out of the array's boundary and walked over to Blanche.
"Blanche, while I am beside you, concentrate fully on buffing the two of them. If trouble arises up front and I move forward, retreat into the array immediately."
"Yes, Captain!"
With Redina possessing high physical capabilities, it was very likely to employ a divide-and-conquer strategy.
Finally, the rift within the dark clouds split open once more. A massive white spider edged its body out from the tear, but in the next instant, it did not plummet straight down. Instead, its limbs stroked rapidly through the air, each contact rippling outward in spreading patterns as its body shifted swiftly across midair. This meant Ventura and Bart's first line of defense had been bypassed entirely.
Moving with terrifying speed, Redina appeared directly above Karen and Blanche, then plummeted swiftly.
It was exceptionally intelligent, knowing to target the support first.
Had Karen not chosen to stand beside Blanche, she would have had to face Redina's initial onslaught all on her own.
"Fall back!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The spells Karen had committed to memory flashed rapidly through his mind. At present, his cultivation realm placed very little restriction on his spellcasting. Under normal circumstances, which spells one could use at a given realm was not a rigid rule, but rather a general measure based on the common strength of practitioners at that stage.
In truth, Karen's official realm was that of an Inquisitor, but in terms of combat power, he had long surpassed what any Inquisitor could match.
Even so, he was still unaccustomed to using the spells he had studied over meals in actual combat, simply because the Dark Moon Blade and the Sea God's Armor were far too practical—one offered extreme offense, the other extreme defense, stripping away all unnecessary clutter in battle to resolve conflicts with maximum efficiency.
Yet now, an adjustment had to be made.
Karen crouched down and slapped one hand onto the ground.
Instantly, the floor trembled, and black flames darted out from the seams between the flagstones. Just as Redina completed half its descent, Karen rose to his feet, and a pillar of black fire erupted around him.
Seeing this, Redina detached one of its legs and shot it forward like a projectile while accelerating its main body in midair. Not only did it evade the blast, but it also traced an arc straight toward the path where Blanche was retreating toward the array.
It still insisted on attacking Blanche!
Karen's left eye took on a profound, shadowy black hue as his power of Order surged. As he thrust his hand toward Redina, the surging pillar of black flame beside him shifted course, curling toward the beast.
Redina's eyes darted rapidly. Between suffering an injury and striking its target, it quickly made its choice—it would still attack Blanche!
Blanche sensed the danger closing in behind her. Having followed her captain's orders to immediately withdraw toward the array, she, as a priest with relatively weak physical conditioning and no aptitude for close combat, had already lost any chance to mount a resistance.
When one chose to turn their back to the enemy, it meant forfeiting every opportunity for self-defense—unless one had someone to rely on!
Blanche could only bet that the captain would intercept it in time!
Karen raised his left hand.
*Boom!*
A sharp, black cone rose from the flagstones, extending straight toward Redina's body.
Seeing this, Redina hesitated for a fraction of a second, but it immediately severed another leg, gaining another burst of speed and trajectory adjustment to swerve past the massive black cone, continuing its pounce toward Blanche.
Its objective was crystal clear: eliminate one opponent first!
Redina's intelligence was plainly far superior to that of Maika and Zogai before it.
Karen even wondered whether the organizers had intentionally ramped up the difficulty, arranging a higher-grade Redina for his side as payback for his earlier trick of peeking at the exam questions.
After all, among ten Redinas, there were bound to be discrepancies in quality—a gray area fully within the organizers' control.
Yet there was no way to petition for a review or lodge a complaint. Just as nothing after passing security was considered cheating, whatever underhanded manipulation the organizers pulled behind the rift would not count as a violation either.
Though its momentum had been checked briefly by the cone, Redina descended toward Blanche once more.
The Eye of Order in Karen's left eye grew even more vacant, and he spread his right hand open.
At the same time, the black pillar of fire burst apart, and a gigantic hand extended from within.
Karen did not take the risk of trying to seize it, for the beast might dodge again, or if caught, it might not be incinerated immediately and could break free once more.
Therefore, Karen opted for the safest approach.
Bringing his right fingertips together, he swung his arm to the side.
The massive hand of black flame mirrored Karen's motion precisely.
*Smack!*
With a sharp crack, Redina was swatted through the air.
From the moment Redina emerged from the rift until now, only a brief instant had passed. Yet Karen's strike had finally bought the squad precious time. Ventura and Bart reacquired its position and formed their initial defensive line once more. This time, they would not overlook the possibility of Redina traveling through the air; it would be far harder for the beast to bypass their obstruction again.
Soon, the two sides fell into an entangled skirmish.
Karen rubbed his wrist. The back of his hand was flushed red, stinging with a burning ache.
"Really... so inconvenient."
If he could freely utilize the powers of the Dark Moon Blade and the Sea God's Armor, in that earlier situation he would have charged straight up, smashed Redina down, and chased it down with a barrage of blows.
Having returned to the array, Blanche turned immediately to observe the battlefield. Since Karen had not given her the next command, she was momentarily unsure whether she ought to step back out. After all, casting spells from inside the array would significantly dull their effectiveness.
Ventura's body enlarged once more, his arms raising two guardian walls in an attempt to pin Redina in place. But Redina slipped past Ventura's pincer grip. When Bart cut in diagonally to launch an assault from its flank, a beam of red light shot from Redina's eyes.
Bart swerved to avoid the beam, dodging a direct hit, but the red light exploded beside him, unraveling into threads that blanketed his body. Bart's eyes instantly began to flush red, clearly suffering from mental disruption.
Karen materialized and cast six successive Order Purifications onto Bart. Though each purification shattered quickly, they bought Bart intermittent moments of clarity, enabling him to successfully break free from the area of effect.
"Captain, you rest!"
Bart looked at Karen, his gaze completely devoid of reckless bravado.
Immediately after, Bart closed his eyes. Black runes began to surface across his face and neck—a manifestation of the carvings on his bones overflowing outward.
"Bart, this isn't the final battle. Stop!"
Bart opened his eyes. He had just been channeling his specialized secret technique, attempting to stimulate the runic power within his body so he could temporarily block out mental interference, which would also grant him far greater combat prowess.
Yet when Karen called for him to halt, Bart immediately aborted the process.
Karen had no desire to see Bart collapse into a comatose heap after burning through his secret technique. After dealing with Redina, there was still Puxien, and after Puxien, there might even be a divine artifact.
If Bart blew his strength now for a brief rush, he would become nothing more than dead weight to the team.
Since this was squad combat, they naturally had to adopt the most balanced, cost-effective tactics.
Only Karen could rein Bart in without sparking his temper. Had anyone else been captain, Bart would never have stopped just now; an agitated youth was always the hardest to dissuade.
Ventura was still contending with Redina, but before the highly agile beast, Ventura was as clumsy as an elephant swatting at a fly. Though each of his swings carried tremendous momentum, he could never touch Redina's footing. Instead, Redina attempted two counter-rushes against him; Ventura dodged one, but the other left three bleeding claw marks across his back.
Had his body not been petrified, that single strike would have left him severely wounded and incapacitated.
Even so, Ventura had also grown hot-headed. Letting out an enraged roar, his body actually began to take on a reddish tint as he sought to grapple with Redina in a fight to the death.
Karen appeared before Ventura, blocking his charge.
"Fall back and purify yourself! You, of all people, cannot afford to be contaminated!"
The contamination within Ventura's body had only been suppressed and brought into a dynamic equilibrium through his grandfather's preparations and his own efforts. Under this balance, he could use the contamination to aid himself.
Yet that did not mean someone who was already contaminated could ignore further taint. In fact, once a new source of contamination invaded, the original balance within his body would shatter, resulting in far worse backlash.
Ventura raised his arms as though to express discontent at Karen stopping him, but his eyes cleared in an instant. Lowering his arms slowly, he backed away and began casting Order Purification on himself.
Bart felt fear toward Karen, but Ventura held a layer of reverence beyond that fear.
When Karen stood before Redina once again, the beast dared not launch another assault. It could sense that this man was the strongest among them all, and faintly, it had an intuition that he was holding back and had not used his full strength.
However, while it dared not assault Karen directly, that did not mean it stayed motionless. As the other two fell back to stabilize their condition, Redina attempted to open up distance while harassing Karen from afar.
Beams of red light fired incessantly toward Karen.
Karen had to stay on Redina's tail to prevent it from striking at Bart and Ventura in their vulnerable state, so he was inevitably brushed by the beams along the way.
Mental attacks truly had little effect on Karen. His eyes merely flushed with a faint trace of red before the Eye of Order suppressed it entirely.
Yet that brief contact allowed Karen to detect an anomaly: though Redina's mental assault was potent, it was remarkably erratic.
When one attacked another with spiritual power, one also exposed one's mental state to the target.
Why was it like this?
When it ambushed Blanche earlier, it had seemed so decisive and composed. Why was its mental state so chaotic now?
It was not panic... then what was it?
Karen drew his fingertips across his eyes, conjuring a prism of Order before his gaze. This was a low-tier investigative spell. The result of the scan showed that Redina's overall condition was thoroughly disordered across the board.
"Aisli, examine Redina's condition!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Standing inside the array, Aisli pressed an index finger between her eyes, and a clear, bright luster began to circulate within them. This was a specialized spell used to assess the state of monster beasts. In the research institute, she had to help her parents compile physiological condition reports on the monster beasts they bred every day, so she was naturally proficient in it.
"Captain, both its vital energy and mental state are abnormal. I suspect..."
Before Aisli could finish, Karen immediately commanded Ventura and Bart, "Disengage! Fall back into the array!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Ventura and Bart immediately withdrew. Karen backed away as well. Seeing this, Redina attempted to press the advantage to harass them further, but because Karen was in the rearguard covering their retreat, and because he deliberately raised his right palm, he forcefully deterred Redina from giving chase.
Once everyone was safely inside the array, Redina launched repeated impacts against the barrier. Yet the Kendos Threefold Defensive Array set up by Mars had one undeniable virtue—its baseline defensive strength was immense. The formation merely rippled with a few layers of waves, remaining entirely solid and stable as a whole.
Karen glanced toward the neighboring squads. Within some barriers, the Redinas were already bound; clearly, the squads in those enclosures had been eliminated. Other squads were being thoroughly suppressed by the beasts, their elimination merely a matter of time.
Meanwhile, Squad 1 and Squad 7 were locked in fierce, grinding battles against their respective Redinas.
At present, the quietest enclosure belonged to Squad 3, protected by their sturdy defensive array.
This was an advantage others envied but could hardly replicate. First, one had to afford an array master sufficient time and energy to establish the formation in full; second... the squad needed a professional array master to begin with.
Bart asked, "Captain, we're not attacking?"
Karen nodded. "No attacking. We wait until the drug wears off."
"The drug?" Bart and Ventura looked completely bewildered.
With his left hand concealed in his sleeve, Karen summoned the Key to the Rubik's Cube to help Mars reinforce and maintain the array, while his eyes watched Redina prowling outside for an opening.
"Can you believe... they actually pumped every single Redina full of stimulants?"
Chapter 320