Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Halla was stunned. He took a closer look ahead and immediately his face went pale!

"We are screwed, they've noticed us! But… how is this possible, the wind is clearly blowing in the opposite direction!" Halla cried out.

Mo Fan followed their gazes, and noticed more Lesser Medusae were falling and rolling down to the ground. The mountain began to collapse as it transformed into countless twisting and wriggling figures. Most terrifyingly, they were rapidly heading towards the convoy...

The scales of Lesser Medusae were reflective, so their scales glimmered like the surface of a lake while they were moving. Unfortunately, it was far from a beautiful sight!

"What's going on? Didn't you already choose a safe route? We stayed on the Camel Beasts as you requested!" the leader of the mercenaries grunted when he noticed the ghastly sight.

"I don't know, they shouldn't have noticed us here..."

"They are coming right at us!"

"I know, I can see that!" Halla suddenly thought of something. He glared at Ferrero and said, "It's you, the perfume that you gave them! It's attracting the female Lesser Medusae, and the male Lesser Medusae are following them too!"

"My Magical Dew is supposed to drive demon creatures away, why would it attract them!?" Ferrero was enraged. He did not understand why he had to take the blame!

"Your Magical Dew is most likely mixed with an ingredient with a scent similar to realgar, used in our Chinese medicine. I believe the Lesser Medusae have captured its scent..." Mu Bai said.

"Mu Bai, could you please tell us vital information like that sooner?" Zhao Manyan said.

"I didn't know these Lesser Medusae would be so aggressive toward the scent!" Mu Bai protested.

"Are you seriously worried about that now? Didn't you realize we are as good as dead now?" the leader of the mercenaries, whose name was Chad, snarled coldly.

The merchant had a hopeless look too. He had lived here for many years. How could he not know the consequences of being targeted by a Snake Mountain? Even if Cairo sent an army to protect them, it was still unlikely that the army could escort them into the city safely!

The worst thing was, they could not just run for their lives!

As soon as they touched the ground, the Gorgons nearby would rush toward them like a tide, leaving them with no chance to escape. They also had no hope of outrunning the fast Lesser Medusae with the Camel Beasts' speed. It was the reason Chad said that they were as good as dead!

"Don't dismount from the Camel Beasts, no matter what happens!" Halla quickly yelled when he saw a few women about to jump off the Camel Beasts and flee for their lives.

"Are we going to wait here and die then? These Camel Beasts are so slow!" a few men said.

The old mercenary immediately got the situation under control with just a single sentence.

Mo Fan felt like he should learn from the mercenary, too. Protecting others was a very difficult job, especially in a dangerous situation like this. Even if they told people not to separate from the group, people would still run aimlessly when they were overwhelmed by fear, and those people would most likely end up dead. Demon creatures enjoyed chasing after those people first, so not only would Chad's threats guarantee their safety, it would also maintain the formation of the group, which would greatly increase their chances of surviving!

The people gave up on the thought of dismounting from the Camel Beasts. Chad was a very experienced mercenary. He glanced at Ferrero and said in an unfriendly tone, "Do you still have the perfume?"

"I do," Ferrero replied.

"Give it to me!" Chad said.

"To you?"

"Cut the crap, just give it to me now!" Chad demanded impatiently.

Ferrero's eyes flickered angrily. He did not understand why an unimpressive Mage like the mercenary dared to order him around.

"Ferrero, give it to him," Vani said.

Ferrero did not disobey his mentor's order. He gave the rest of the Magical Dew to Chad.

Chad drew a lunar-white Star Pattern. After it was completed, a Steel-Armored Beast appeared in front of the group.

The Steel-Armored Beast stood beside Chad. It slowly lowered its head. Chad reached out his hand and gently fondled its horns.

"I'm sorry, old pal," Chad closed his eyes while bowing his head, too. His face was twitching slightly.

While the others were confused about what Chad was up to, he quickly poured the Magical Dew on different parts of the Steel-Armored Beast. He even let the Steel-Armored Beast drink a few bottles of it...

"Captain, what are you doing!?" a member of the squad blurted out when he saw the unusual behavior from his captain.

Chad ignored his teammate's question. He fondled the Steel-Armored Beast's horns again as if he was bidding farewell to it.

"Captain!"

The others finally realized what was going on. They all knew how close their leader was to his Contracted Beast. They did not expect their captain to make such a sacrifice.

The Steel-Armored Beast roared and sprinted in the opposite direction. The special scent of the perfume spread rapidly as it ran into the distance. They could still smell it even when the beast was some distance away.

When it reached a kilometer away, the group noticed that the Lesser Medusae that were initially heading toward them were going after the Steel-Armored Beast instead!

More Lesser Medusae started chasing after the Steel-Armored Beast. They were indeed sensitive to the smell of the Magical Dew. They seemed to be infuriated by the strong perfume that had been poured all over the Steel-Armored Beast...

The Steel-Armored Beast was not as quick as everyone had imagined, and the Lesser Medusae were very good at hunting their prey. They split into different groups; some of them sealed off the directions that their prey could escape into, while the others would slowly surround their prey, leaving it with no escape!

The Camel Beasts slowly moved ahead. The passengers lowered their heads, not daring to watch the miserable death of the loyal Steel-Armored Beast.

It was unlikely the Steel-Armored Beast would survive. Chad had already bid farewell to it after Summoning his Contracted Beast. Mo Fan wondered if he should describe Chad as heartless or wise when he saw the Lesser Medusae distracted by the bait.

"Captain, you are still the reliable one when it matters," the merchant smiled.

Using the Magical Dew to lure the Lesser Medusae away! The merchant was very impressed by the captain's ability to adapt to the situation. The Lesser Medusae had such overwhelming numbers. Even if the students of the European University Institute could handle them, they would struggle to protect everyone and their belongings, so avoiding the Lesser Medusae was the better choice.

"I will include its loss in the cost," Chad said coldly.

"Not a problem! I will compensate you for the sacrifice you have made," the merchant said.

Chad was not happy at all. He did not even dare to look back.

"I think it's too early to celebrate now," Mu Bai spoke up.

The Lesser Medusae were not fond of the Steel-Armored Beast's meat, so when they realized it was only a Steel-Armored Beast with a strange smell, they would probably turn around and chase after the group instead. After all, the smell of the perfume was mixed with the scent of living humans!

---

Mu Bai was absolutely right. Around five minutes later, they could see the Lesser Medusae chasing after them!

"Quick, hurry up, we should be able to make it to the city in time!" Halla shouted.

"Don't tell us that, tell these goddamned Camel Beasts to hurry up!" Zhao Manyan cursed.

The Camel Beasts were well aware of the approaching danger. They were moving their splayed hooves as quickly as possible...

"I'll solidify the sand!" Sofia said.

"That's right!"

"I'll speed us up with wind!"

"Use everything you have!" Halla yelled.

The Camel Beasts moved a lot more quickly after the wet sand was dried and the extra speed boost from the Wind Magic came through, buying more time before the Lesser Medusae caught up.

The Lesser Medusae's numbers were insane. The ghastly sight of them wriggling and moving along the ground grew ever more terrifying as they came closer. Their red tongues that kept flicking out, the triangular yellow eyes, and their massive figures formed black, brown, and red carpets of serpentine beings rolling forward like waves!

"It's right ahead, we are almost there!" Halla yelled.

The terrain started to slide. They would be entering Cairo's vicinity after crossing the ravine. The army would be waiting on the other side of the ravine.

The Camel Beasts rushed into the ravine and desperately climbed their way up. The Lesser Medusae had already reached the bottom of the hill. They leapt and tore at the Camel Beasts of the travelers at the back of the convoy.

"Look out!" Zoey yelled.

Heidi turned around. Her eyes emitted a brilliant blue flicker followed by an invisible energy moving across the air. The demon creatures that were pouncing at the Camel Beasts suddenly froze in mid-air as if time had stopped. A few seconds later, they fell back into the ravine lifelessly.

"Space Element!" Vani looked at Heidi in astonishment.

Heidi did not respond. She turned around once again and saw the Lesser Medusae pursuing them relentlessly. Their numbers were absolutely shocking. Meanwhile, the army that was guarding Cairo's border was being utterly cold-hearted. They were strictly obeying their instructions to protect the people within the safe zone, but they would not bother lending those that were outside of the safe zone a hand, even if they were only fifty meters away!