"Squeak!"
The two-headed giant mouse roared, its sharp claws blanketed in yellow light, and instantly tore a massive gash across Beni's chest. However, as a member of the Treant race, there were no vital points or flesh to speak of, so naturally there was no scene of blood gushing forth.
On the contrary, not a trace of pain appeared on Beni's face. Instead, a ring of green light radiated outward from his chest.
Immediately, Beni's chest began to heal, even fusing the giant claws into the healing flesh, drawing an angry roar from the giant mouse opposite him.
"Entangle!"
A ring of vine tendrils bearing green leaves, like the most terrifying chains of law, sprouted from Beni's arm and wrapped around the giant mouse's body.
"Remarkable regeneration, and this kind of close-combat ability… Could they be the primordial Treant race from the old legends?"
Belinda watched the two monsters tangled together, gritted her teeth, and immediately seized this hard-won opportunity to withdraw from the battlefield.
At the same time, the mystery surrounding Leilin grew even deeper in her heart.
Boom! Boom!
Terrifying earthquakes ravaged the area around Crescent Lake, kicking up vast clouds of dust. Through the haze, two enormous figures could vaguely be seen locked in combat.
Periodically, tree-arms and vine tendrils were sent flying, accompanied by horrifying gnawing sounds.
Comparatively speaking, the Treant Beni was clearly no match for the giant mouse, but due to his unique characteristics he managed to keep the creature firmly entangled, buying Belinda plenty of time to escape.
In the end, the giant mouse won, but it could only roar in fury at a ground full of wood shavings.
And in the shadows, others were also watching the battlefield.
"Damn it! Get me a guard battalion over here — I'm going to kill that thing!"
Agnes glared hatefully at the two-headed giant mouse by Crescent Lake, her eyes burning with intense resentment, while the guards behind her could only nod meekly.
"But at least Belinda is safe!" Agnes patted her chest, a hint of amusement still lingering in her eyes.
She naturally hadn't been comfortable with Belinda going on a mission alone and had secretly followed behind. Just now, if the Treant hadn't appeared, Agnes might not have been able to hold herself back from intervening.
"That Nick — quite interesting too! That kind of trump card… is it an otherworldly summoning technique?"
In the Purgatory World, while shamans and beast souls were the mainstream, other power systems also circulated. Even the path of the Wizard had considerable legacy here. So when she saw Leilin's summoned Treant appear, Agnes wasn't particularly surprised — at most she assumed Leilin had inherited some obscure method.
"But! A casually summoned Treant that can entangle a fifth-rank Gluttony beast for a time…"
Agnes stroked her chin. "Go warn my brother. Tell him to temporarily halt his current plans and focus all efforts on investigating this Nick's background. I have a feeling his identity might be far from ordinary — one that will truly shock us!"
Little did Agnes know, when Leilin's true identity was eventually revealed, what she would feel wouldn't be surprise — but shock.
"Yes, ma'am!" One guard immediately saluted and withdrew.
"Now then — you disgusting little mouse. You dared to hurt my precious Belinda. I'm going to tear out your bones and eat your brains dipped in oil!"
With that domineering declaration, a vast and terrifying three-headed serpent suddenly materialized and lunged at the two-headed giant mouse.
The remaining guards exchanged helpless glances, then gritted their teeth and charged after their leader.
A great battle erupted in an instant…
Because Leilin had revealed a sliver of his true strength, it thoroughly aroused Agnes's wariness, causing Thomas's retaliatory plans to stall — giving him precious time.
However, in the broader context of the war, the conflict was only intensifying, reaching even more brutal stages.
To suppress the Gluttony beast tide, the Holy City organized several major battles in succession. Even the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents descended in avatar form multiple times to fight, but against the terrifying Gluttony beast army with Beilusababu as its backbone, all efforts proved largely futile — even the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' avatars were destroyed several times.
Bloody attrition continued unabated, plunging the entire Holy City into a state of precarious turmoil.
And after several months, the beast tide — having survived multiple bloody engagements — once again pushed the front line to the outskirts of the Holy City.
The Triumphal Arch and walls, once suffused with holy light, had now become the serpent people's last line of defense.
Moreover, unlike the previous spread of Gluttony power, this time the Gluttony army had Beilusababu presiding over it. Even the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents could not deal with it easily.
It could be said that the entire Holy City had entered a critical moment of life and death.
Many residents inside the Holy City now had to fall asleep to the roars of Gluttony beasts, and even had to contribute their part to the city's defense.
"I've told you many times! This is the Stewart family's property, and I am Young Master Thomas's guest. Unless you have his authorization, you have no right to requisition anything here! Get lost!"
Leilin drove away a patrol squad with a harsh and imposing manner.
Even with the Stewart name to back him up, Leilin still had to take the risk of using a touch of mental suggestion before the patrol would obediently leave.