Chapter 70

As they returned with great momentum, the three brothers shouted in unison.

"Trouble!"

"Big trouble!"

"Serious trouble!"

Tall, who had relaxed his cheeks slightly at their report that provided no new information, sharply directed his gaze at the height of the waves crashing against the riverbank. Yuril, sensing something as well, nodded quickly to Tall with a glance.

The twins, who had also sensed the anomaly, grimaced and whispered.

"Most likely, Rishi has sent a rampaging hippopotamus or something."

"What a foolish move. Were they cornered to this extent?"

With sorrow in their eyes, Tapa and Tari continued.

"Please take the young ones and run quickly."

"We will settle this matter, even if it costs us our lives."

"Not so fast. This is no longer just your problem, but ours as well. Besides, it would leave a bad taste to abandon the bridge and run."

"Mr. Tapa, Mr. Tari, it's already wet. Don't hesitate to ask for help. Helping each other is a given, you know."

"Muu can help a little too!"

"That's right. I'll do my best too, so let's prioritize protecting the bridge first."

The twins, who had widened their narrow eyes at Tall's words, bowed their heads quietly.

With the opinions aligned, Tall addressed the woman, his trump card.

"Can you do it, Yuril?"

"Yes, I think it will work. Sora, where is my luggage? It's a long, thin package."

"Um, where was it? Oh, is this it?"

"Oh, that's it. Thank you."

When she opened the package, a short staff made of a strange dark material emerged. At its tip was a large, angular, translucent gray stone.

Holding the staff, Yuril calmly advanced to the riverside where a light drizzle was falling. Large waves were already reaching there, and the sound of a ground-shaking rumble was approaching.

The trio, who had become genuinely anxious, were still waving their arms around in the middle of the riverside. They themselves seemed unsure of what to do.

Seeing this, Yuril's face showed a slight look of concern.

"Excuse me, I'm going to use magic there, so could you please clear the area?"

However, it seemed the frantic trio didn't hear her. They were arguing loudly and occasionally hitting each other in the face.

"Excuse me, over there, it's dangerous!"

Realizing they weren't listening, Yuril started making gestures. While calling out, she waved the staff she held in her hand large and repeatedly toward the embankment.

Suddenly, the youngest of the trio turned his head toward Tall and the others. His eyes, darting left and right, were fixed intently on the silver-haired beauty's body.

Noticing their brother's suspicious behavior, the older brothers also turned their faces in the same direction and stopped moving.

Seeing the trio staring intently at Yuril in this situation, Tall muttered in exasperation.

"Yuril, I think it's fine to involve them now."

"No, please run to the embankment."

"The embankment, the embankment. Over there."

Sora also joined in, waving his arms, but it seemed to only make them stop more.

Tapa, noticing the trio's elongated noses, sighed and lightly nocked an arrow.

The trio finally seemed to regain their senses when the arrow pierced the ground at their feet. They dodged the arrows that followed and ran up the embankment as fast as they could.

With the riverside finally empty, Yuril nodded in relief and spoke to Tall without turning around.

"I will bring the monsters out of the river and stop them on the riverside. However, using this staff will have a significant effect but will also consume a lot of magic power..."

"In that case, I'll immediately use <Restoration>."

"No, if there are five monsters, I will use up all the available uses anyway. Please save it to finish them off."

"Understood. Don't overexert yourself."

"Yes, I will enjoy it thoroughly."

Though Tall couldn't see her face, he imagined that Yuril's beautiful face, as she spoke her last words, bore an icy smile.

Pointing the staff at the riverside, the beauty began to chant her prayer aloud.

"Flower of vengeance, bloom—<Frost Blossom Array>"

Snowflake-like patterns briefly appeared on the ground but quickly melted away.

Yuril repeated this five times in quick succession, then slightly shook her shoulders but returned to her original straight posture as if nothing had happened.

Perhaps the time had run out, as the red water that had overflowed was already covering the riverside.

The approaching presence of something massive was clearly indicated by the large waves on the surface.

The sound of the water being violently disturbed reached its peak—

Monsters appeared from around the bend.

The monsters, with a look of madness in their eyes, opened their mouths to the maximum, revealing their thick fangs, and roared while violently churning up the riverbed.

Facing their overwhelming presence, the slender woman remained completely calm, not moving a muscle.

In the trembling air, Yuril, slightly shaking her long ears, elegantly raised her staff again.

"Freeze—<Frost Chill Mist>"

A moment after her prayer, a white mist appeared around the rampaging hippos on the river surface.

The cold vortex that froze the air instantly stopped the red waves.

Simultaneously, the red mucus covering the monsters' skin lost its moisture and turned white.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the hippos let out angry roars and flapped their side fins to escape the freezing mist, striking the water surface with all their might.

"Oh my, they can fly."

Yuril, slightly surprised by the massive bodies effortlessly soaring through the air, showed no hint of panic at the monsters that had easily escaped her deadly magic.

One after another, the monsters landed on the riverside with a ground-shaking impact.

If their massive bodies had all rushed forward at once, Yuril's slender frame would have been instantly crushed.

But that didn't happen.

The moment the hippos took a step, white ice pillars sprang up from the ground beneath their feet.

They froze the monsters' bodies and instantly covered them from head to toe.

Faced with the massive ice flowers blooming with the frozen monsters at their centers, everyone was speechless and lost for words.