Seven or eight members of the warrior group managed to bypass the large Angel of Light and quickly ran towards Enri, a desperate determination in their eyes.
Seeing Enri's expression, which still looked confused and slightly dazed after the brief but brutal fight, Kael couldn't help but frown. He immediately shouted at her from afar, "Enri! Hold on! They're coming for you!"
"Ah? Yes!" When Enri heard Kael's voice calling her urgently, she immediately snapped out of her shock at having injured Gazef so easily and responded in a panic, her eyes widening in fear as she saw the soldiers running towards her.
Through her special mental connection with the Angel of Light, Enri quickly commanded her protective angel to return immediately and shield her from the approaching threat. However, at this moment, the Angel of Light was surrounded by several angry members of the Warrior Corps who were trying to harm it.
Having seen Enri's sudden movement, some of the soldiers immediately understood her intention to recall her protective angel. The two who reacted fastest tried to intercept the angel at the first moment, attempting to bring it down before it could return to Enri's side. Even Gazef had to use all his martial arts skills just to barely withstand the angel's attacks, so how could these two ordinary soldiers possibly stop such a powerful being?
Whoosh! The massive lightsaber was swung down with full force by the Angel of Light. One of the soldiers desperately raised his heavy iron sword to try and block it, but the weapon was instantly split in two upon contact with the hot and sharp energy blade. The energy blade then easily sliced through the soldier's leather armor, leaving a horrifyingly wide gash extending from his left shoulder down through his right ribs. The bones beneath the torn flesh were clearly visible, and a large amount of blood gushed out from the gruesome wound.
"Ah!" The severely injured soldier fell to the ground with a roar of excruciating pain, clutching his gaping wound. In the next second, his comrade followed suit. He tried to attack the Angel of Light from the side, but the angel quickly turned and swung its sword, cleaving the soldier's abdomen open, causing his entrails to spill out.
In the face of the powerful being summoned from another dimension, the members of the warrior group were completely outmatched. Four of them fell in the blink of an eye, leaving a terrifying scene on the battlefield. But on the other hand, the seven people led by the soldiers who attacked first had already rushed closer, now less than five meters away from the frightened-looking Enri.
"Little girl! Stop your summoning right now! You'll regret this!" shouted the soldier at the forefront angrily. He was furious at the severe injury inflicted on their warrior leader, and his expression was slightly ferocious, his eyes radiating anger and desperation.
At that moment, seeing the 'ferocious' and angry faces of the approaching soldiers, Enri's consciousness seemed to be pulled back to two days ago, when the knights who had invaded the village showed the same expressions before mercilessly slaughtering the villagers. She vividly remembered how they had knocked down her father with their cruel armored hands and then pierced his body with their cold swords.
It was human nature to feel fear and then choose to flee when one lacked the power to resist a terrifying threat. But if someone still dared to fight even though they knew they might die, that was true courage. If she didn't want such a terrible tragedy as that massacre to happen again, then she had to fight against the fear that gripped her heart and force herself to be brave.
Don't be afraid, Enri. Use all your power to destroy them! Enri clearly recalled the encouraging words Kael had spoken to her not long ago. The girl's eyes, which had been uneasy and fearful, gradually turned into blazing determination, and the doubts that had haunted her suddenly vanished like smoke in the wind.
Fly! Golden magical light ignited around Enri's body. The soldiers who had gathered and tried to capture or control Enri were shocked to see the girl suddenly rise and fly directly into the air, moving out of their reach.
"Fourth-Tier: Shower of Light Arrows!" Enri shouted in a voice more steady than before. She raised the magic staff in her hand high, a stubborn expression clearly visible on her face, and her brow furrowed slightly in concentration. The holy light that had gathered above her head quickly condensed and formed hundreds of glittering energy arrows.
Although she had managed to reach level 41 in a short time thanks to Kael's help, Enri had not actually fully mastered all the professional skills of a magic caster. Instead, she prioritized practicing a few basic skills at Kael's request, especially those related to defense and area attacks. The [Shower of Light Arrows] she released at this moment was the only large-scale attack magic she had mastered among them all. The sixth-tier magic [Lance of Punishment] she had used before had almost killed Gazef, so Enri was unsure of the consequences of using that more powerful magic now.
But... this is a test from the Lord. The merciful gods have given me this power so that I can protect everyone in this village and prevent such terrible things as that massacre from happening again. I can no longer be the weak and helpless Enri. This is my responsibility! At that moment, Enri seemed to have made a firm decision. She swung her magic staff downwards with a steady motion, and instantly, countless arrows of light poured down from the sky like a deadly meteor shower, raining down on the soldiers below without mercy.
The soldiers who were within the range of the vast area-of-effect magic had nowhere to hide or evade. They wailed in agony under the barrage of light arrows, and bloody holes appeared in their bodies one after another with small popping sounds.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of heavy objects falling into the dust rang out one after another, followed by a deathly silence. The atmosphere in the open space was completely still, leaving only the faint groans of a few surviving soldiers. The soldiers whose fates were unknown lay on the ground in disarrayed positions, their bodies riddled with gaping wounds. The blood flowing from their bodies gradually stained the ground a deep crimson. Enri, who was still hovering in the air, stared at the horrifying scene with dazed eyes, not fully regaining her senses for a long time.
The people of the new world were almost accustomed to the harsh realities of life and death. Carne Village had even just experienced a terrible massacre two days ago. So Enri wasn't too shocked by the sight of death before her, but she had never expected that she would have the ability to control the life and death of others with her magical power. This reality made her feel a little uneasy and unfamiliar for a while. Unlike the previous battles where summoned creatures were used to gain experience, monsters summoned with items would usually turn into fragments of light and disappear after death. However, the members of the Warrior Corps were humans with independent lives. After death, they would leave fresh corpses at the scene, which had a much greater and more terrifying visual impact on Enri.
"Thank you for your hard work, Enri," said a gentle voice from behind her. Enri's shoulders slumped slightly, and her body stiffened for a moment in surprise. She turned around and saw that Kael had come to her side without her noticing when.
"My Lord... Lord..." Enri murmured in a low voice, still a little shaken by what had just happened.
"Battles are sometimes very cruel, Enri. If you don't kill your enemies, then your enemies will kill you. In such situations, there is no right or wrong, only survival," Kael said in a calm tone, without any clear emotion in his voice. However, Enri still felt the Lord's concern for her through his words, and a warm feeling slowly arose in her heart, calming her unease.
So she nodded gently to Kael and said in a steadier voice, "I understand, Lord. I will try to better understand and accept this reality in the future."
Kael's gaze shifted slightly, and as it fell on Enri, a faint but gentle smile appeared at the corner of his lips. Only if Enri could overcome this psychological barrier and accept the harsh reality of battle could she grow faster and become stronger. If she continued to hesitate and fear, he might have to consider training someone else as her replacement, Kael thought inwardly.
"Then you must work even harder, Enri," Kael said in an encouraging tone. After saying those few words, Kael noticed a hesitant expression slowly returning to Enri's face, and he vaguely guessed what the girl was thinking. However, Kael chose not to say anything. He would wait for Enri to pluck up the courage to speak for herself.
One... two... three... When Kael counted to three in his mind, Enri finally mustered the courage to open her mouth and said in a slightly pleading tone, "My Lord... can I... save these soldiers? Actually... they are all good people... they were just following orders..."
"If that's what you wish, then do it, Enri. Today is a day to rejoice and honor the gods, and I do not desire unnecessary death if there is another way," Kael replied in a wise tone, cutting Enri off before she finished expressing her wish. He then took out several magic wands from his inventory and handed them to Enri. "You will take care of the rest. By the way, tell all the villagers that I will perform a professional transformation ceremony for them tonight. Those who believe in destiny are no longer ordinary people."
After saying those words, Kael's figure slowly disappeared from Enri's sight, leaving only a faint echo of his voice carried away by the wind. Enri clenched the magic wands in her hand tightly, her face filled with deep gratitude. She bowed deeply in the direction where Kael had vanished, showing her respect and loyalty.
"Thank you for your boundless kindness, Lord!" Enri whispered sincerely.
…
The space around the forest fluctuated for a moment, and Kael's figure suddenly reappeared outside the village boundary with a slight surprise on his face. "I never expected things to turn out like this," he murmured softly.
Initially, he had only asked Enri to invite Gazef and the Royal Knights to participate in the festival with the primary goal of demonstrating his ability to transform followers and enhance his reputation in the eyes of the kingdom's rulers. From the information he had gathered from the original storyline, the appearance of a powerful magic caster in a border village was not something that the foolish nobles of the Re-Estize Kingdom would care too much about.
However, the nobles would definitely pay more attention to a magic caster who not only possessed great magical power but could also quickly transform ordinary people into professionals and easily revive many dead people. At that time, whether they wanted to cooperate with Kael for mutual benefit or recruit Kael to strengthen their forces, they would definitely take the initiative to come to him.
Although there were some unexpected events during this festival, such as Enri, as a former border village girl, managing to defeat the Royal Knights including Gazef relatively easily, the overall effect was similar to Kael's initial expectations, and perhaps even better than he had imagined.
"How many big fish will enter my net this time? It's quite interesting to see," Kael said with a sly smile playing on his lips, imagining the various possibilities that would arise after this demonstration of his undeniable power.
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