Chapter 444 Mutated Monster


    ??After everyone had activated their mana skins to protect themselves from themiasma, King Richard and the representatives from the other nations took the first step into themiasma, encouraging everyone to follow suit.


    ''Damn it all! What the hell is going on with thiselderly man?Why would he want to join themiasmawhenthere areso many powerful monsters hidden beneath it?!''Holy Son Auther clinched his teeth in disgust as he followed King Richard and his other ambassadors.


    ''Because I must keep my face and the prestige of the Holy Churchas well asthe Empire, I have no choice but to follow everyone wherever they go; I despise it all!'' He screamed inwardly in fury and considered turning around.


    However, he was terrified that if he turned around,his status as the holy son would bejeopardized; The Pop would choose another Holy Son who was more capable than him,andhe wouldlose all authority and power oncehis title was stolenfrom him.


    He cannot allow that to happen, even if it means fighting formidable monsters and possibly losing a few limbsin the process; with a powerful healing potion,his lost limbs could be returned, but not his title as the Holy Son.


    The Holy Knights that apanied him followed closely behind, surrounding him on all sides; yet, their features were grim behind their helmets, and they sweated from the presence of terrible beasts.


    One of the Holy Knights nced at Aurther with a concerned expressionon his faceand said, "Holy Son, do not go off by yourself; we detect the presence ofvery dangerousmonsters nearby. We can''t secure your safety unless you''re by our side."


    "These monsters have a malevolent auraand arefar stronger than previous encounters."


    "W-We must be very cautious of our surroundings; with such dense miasma, spotting them would be impossible."


    The other Holy Knights also shared their thoughts on the topic; after all, keeping the Holy Son safe is their top concern, and failure to do so would result in their deaths.


    Crown Prince Daniel gazed at Holy Son Aurther and grinned inside, amused, before entering themiasmawith a fearless expressionon hisface,as if he was going to conquer it.


    Seeing this, Yuan and his wives are amused, and Anna smiles at Yuan. "Don''t you think the ''Holy Son'' is rather silent these days? Is he plotting something against us?"


    "Given his scheming personality, that is not inconceivable.After all, everyone knows that he became the holy son by deception,andheis also well-known for his cunning personality."General Valeria interjected and said, causing Yuan to re at Aurther for a minute.


    "If he tries to conspire against us, I will not hesitate to make his grave in here," Yuan said, his face severe and his voice cold,ced with infinite murderous intent.


    Valeria, Mireya, and Sylvia swalloweduneasilywhen they sensed his murderous intent, which sent shivers down their spines even if itwasn''t directedat them.


    Suddenly, Aurther and the holy knights with him sensed a terrifying atmosphere that made their entire bodies rigid and their expressions pallid, as if they had seen a ghost for the first timein their lives.


    ''W-What happened just now?! What type of feeling was that? I''ve never felt this way before!!'' Aurther ced his palm on his chest, above the armor, and yelled inwardly in frustration.


    For a brief minute, he felt as if his soul had been cut into thousands of pieces by a sword and then repeated the process several times.


    Not only did he have the same experience, but so did the holy knights who apanied him.Their backs were bathedin sweat, and they felt as if they had witnessed death directly.


    Yuan''s wives couldn''t stopughing after seeing their terrified expressions.


    A few secondster,everyone was inside themiasma, and the sight astounded them beyond belief.


    Everything inside the miasma was odd, including the trees and grass;the miasmacaused everything inside the miasma to mutate, and the trees appeared mucrgerand creepier with their unusual forms and sizes; nothing wasnormal.


    Even the grass looked frightening; it was all bright crimson as if someone had painted it in blood, and they had be corruptedas a result ofthemiasma, asthe Corrupted aura could be inly detectedin the grass.


    "Aaaghhh! Help! Please save me!"


    Someone cried for aid, and the sound echoed throughout the miasma, prompting everyone to gaze at the victim.


    "What the hell is that thing?!"


    One of the Hunters yelled as he saw apowerfulvine pulling the man into the densemiasma, and he immediately used his sword to cut the vine, but the vine was toostrong, and he only made a scratch.


    "What?!" Hewas taken abackwhen he saw this and appearedto be in shock.


    "Save me!"


    Another individual''s cries for help rang out, and this person was being dragged into the thickmiasmaby a vein.


    "Everyone! Use your fire magic to burn those damn veins to ashes!" An experienced Hunter eximed.


    A few great fire mages stepped forward and unleashed some of their most powerful magic spells,unching numorus attracts at the veinsthat weredragging individuals.


    Shiiirrerkkkkk!


    Acreepy andveryterrifying monster growl resounded, and a powerful aura descended upon everyone; the surrounding miasmainstantlycleared, showing what was catching and drawing the individuals into themiasma.


    It was acarnivorousnt-type monster that stood several feet tall.


    Due to themiasma, it mutated and became far more powerful and terrifying thannormalSS-rank carnivorous nts found deep within the forest.


    "W-Wh-What type of scary monster is that? I''ve never seen anything so strange!"


    One of the soldiers shouted frantically, as if in amazement and disbelief.


    GHYAAAA! The creature shouted at them, abruptly stretching and swinging its powerful veins in their direction.


    "Mages! Deploy the magic barrier." Crown Prince Daniel yelled and poured his mana into his sword before unleashing astrongsword arc to deflect the powerful veins.


    Baam!Thesword arcwaseasilyshatteredby the monster''s veins, which surprised everyone.


    "N-No way! Has His Highness''s attack been destroyed?!"


    "T-this is impossible!"


    "How is this possible?!"


    Everyone stumbled backward as the veins neared themat a quick speed, terrorobviouson their features.


    Then, in an instant, a tremendous barrier engulfed everyone, and people began to settle down.


    Bang! Bang!


    The monster''s veins collided with the barrier, causing ahugeshockwave with a loud noise that blew away the dust.


    Crack! Suddenly, fractures appeared on the barrier, stunning everyone. Their faces grew pallid as additional cracks appeared due to the monster nt''s unrelenting onught.


    Whoosh! sh!


    Suddenly, arge azure sword arcs, effortlessly shing the head of the mutated monster nt, and the area cools as an icy aura explodes around the monster''s body, transforming it into a giant block of ice.


    "What a nasty beast! So disgusting!" Lily muttered as she nced at the creature, then snapped her finger, shattering the ice block into numerous pieces.


    "Such a weak monster and it dared to cross paths with us! How entertaining!"A broad grin went across Lily''s face as he looked at thelocation where the monster was, and she noticed a small green-colored crystal lying on the ground.


    "U-Unbelievable… What the hell just happened?" Crown Prince mumbled in a confused voice, full of amazement and disbelief.


    How could such a formidable and rare creature have beendefeated so easily? Furthermore, by a woman?


    Everyone was astounded to witness such a powerful monster defeated by ady soeffortlessly;thatthey couldn''t believe it.


    Soon, surprised murmurs flooded the air, but they swiftly hushed their mouths when they sensed Lilu''s murderous aura.


    "You bunch of weaklings, you only know how to use your mouth instead of your weapons; how disappointing!" Lily red at everyone and approached the mana crystal dropped by the monster nt, picking it up.


    "Is that...?" Yuan furrowed his brow at the mana crystal in Lily''s fingers as she approached him with a soft smile.


    "This object remained after I destroyed the monster''s body; it was an SS-grade mana crystal with a market worth of more than a million gold pieces," Lily said, exining the crystal in her hand.


    "Let me see! I''ve never seen such a big mana crystal before!" Sylvia said passionately, her eyes shining.


    "Here, you can keep it." Lily presents Sylvia with the mana crystal with a sweet grin, which surprises Sylvia, Mireya, and Valeria.


    "What?! I can''t take it; it''s too valuable." Sylvia declined to ept the mana crystal, knowingthat itmight easily fetch millions of gold coins at an auction house.


    "We have no use for that crystal, and because you are now our sister, you are free to keep it or sell it to someone," Lily responded calmly as if the mana crystal had no worth in her eyes and was just a piece of garbage.