Moon Owl and the Third District Guardian were among the first group to reach the First District. Moon Owl had set out relatively late, yet she still arrived first. That was the marvel of spatial magic.

“So this is the Mud King? Seeing it in person is enough to make my hair stand on end.”

Moon Owl and the Third District Guardian hovered in the sky, silently watching the Mud King. A special force had locked its movements in place.

Bound by that power, the Mud King struggled desperately like a beast trapped in a cage.

Its body was made of thick sludge. Now, that sludge seemed to boil, constantly churning and surging as twisted ripples formed across its surface.

The sludge covering the Mud King’s entire body transformed into a massive mouth. A roar of rage and unwillingness erupted from within, as if it meant to swallow everything around it.

Its body twisted and warped nonstop, trying to break free. Yet the special force was like an invisible net, trapping it firmly in place.

That creature’s roar actually affected Moon Owl’s mind for a moment. Its life level had already touched the Ultimate, so it was only natural that it could influence her.

“This thing’s much stronger than it was in the video.”

Feeling the aura radiating from the Mud King, the Third District Guardian forced a smile.

The Mud King in the video hadn’t exuded such overwhelming pressure. If she fought it alone, the winner would certainly be the Mud King.

Night Frost arrived at the outskirts of the First District somewhat late.

During the flight, she and the Zone Fifteen Guardian sensed an extremely powerful pressure. Its owner wasn’t restraining it in the slightest. In fact, the pressure was growing stronger by the moment.

It was practically announcing, “I’m right here.”

The owner of that pressure was unbelievably arrogant. She was so arrogant that she seemed to regard nothing in the world as worthy of notice.

She seemed like the true ruler of this world.

Like its god.

Who possessed such terrifying power?

Night Frost didn’t know. But her instincts told her to avoid that person, and reason told her the same.

Now wasn’t the time to provoke her.

So Night Frost took a longer route. By the time she arrived, all the Guardians had gathered.

After the Guardian of the Seventh District gave the order, they began surrounding and attacking the Mud King.

That commander appeared to be the same person Night Frost had encountered on the way. The pressure she gave off had been terrifying.

But Night Frost’s focus wasn’t on her.

It was on Moon Owl.

Their primary objective was to protect Moon Owl.

The loss of any one member of 【Chapter Three】 would be an unbearably heavy blow to the Twelfth District.

The Magic Maidens lifted their restrictions one after another.

Their dazzling Magic Armor bloomed in the air like flowers, radiating brilliant light. Mana of every color intertwined and spiraled above the First District like ribbons.

The Mud King stood in the center of the ground like a colossal tower made of sludge.

Its body churned and surged nonstop. Every twist sent sludge splashing outward and made the earth tremble.

It sensed their hostility.

Just as it had more than a decade ago, those human-shaped creatures had sealed it away for years.

And now, they wanted to kill it!

The Mud King swung chains formed from sludge.

The Magic Maidens present retreated one after another, easily dodging the insignificant attack.

After confirming that the Mud King’s combat strength remained at the 【Chapter Three】 level, they knew the former president hadn’t been exaggerating.

The Guardians spontaneously formed teams and began their counterattack.

The Magic Maidens began chanting their Magic Spells.

The Mud King knew that once those strange incantations were complete, they would slice away its body.

So it began to split apart.

Clumps of smaller Mud Kings rose from the sludge. They were identical to the original, except for their smaller size.

The bodies of these smaller Mud Kings suddenly transformed into countless tentacles. Like black giant serpents, they twisted and stretched through the air before lunging at the Magic Maidens.

The girls stopped chanting and instead released dazzling light from their Magic Armor, forming layer after layer of sturdy defensive barriers.

Suddenly, a blinding beam descended from the heavens and struck the Mud King directly in the head.

It was an attack from the Guardian of the Seventh District.

She wielded a pair of scissors, and every swing could cut apart the Mud King’s body.

The Mud King roared furiously. The sludge across its surface began to boil.

It wanted nothing more than to pounce on the Magic Maiden above its head and tear her apart.

Unfortunately, it couldn’t.

At the same time, the other Magic Maidens weren’t idle.

Some swung their Wands and released magic. Others summoned various magical creatures to aid them.

Still others darted across the battlefield at incredible speed, searching for the Mud King’s weaknesses.

For a moment, the entire battlefield was covered in multicolored Mana. Magic attacks fell upon the Mud King like rain.

One smaller Mud King after another was blasted apart. They turned back into sludge and melted into the Mud King’s body.

Under the assault of more than a dozen 【Chapter Three】 Magic Maidens, the Mud King fell into a disadvantage after only a few exchanges.

Lying in the dirt and watching everything unfold, Night Frost couldn’t help but sigh.

As expected of the pinnacle of the Magic Maidens.

Any one of them would possess extraordinary strength on her own. Under their combined assault, the Mud King had almost no room to fight back.

This battle should have been effortless for them.

But why did Night Frost still feel so uneasy?

Moon Owl and the Third District Guardian stood on the same battle line.

Moon Owl gripped her dagger and tore open the void. In an instant, she arrived above the Mud King.

The Mud King sensed an insect above its head and swung a fist formed from sludge.

Moon Owl made a light slash.

The void before her shattered. The enormous fist sank into the darkness.

Then Moon Owl waved her hand, and the void before her closed again, trapping part of the Mud King within her spatial power.

“It worked!”

Moon Owl prepared to tear away another piece.

But at that moment, the Mud King changed its attack pattern.

The sludge that had been soft as silk transformed into incredibly hard metal spikes the instant it left the Mud King’s body.

The change caught everyone off guard.

The iron spikes flashed with cold light beneath the sun. Like arrows from an age of cold weapons, they shot outward with deadly force.

The Third District Guardian reacted at once.

She rapidly drew upon her Mana and fired several Magic Cannons, attempting to intercept the spikes.

However, the metal spikes moved far too quickly.

Although the Magic Cannons struck several of them, they only altered their trajectories slightly. The remaining spikes continued shooting toward Moon Owl.

Moon Owl’s expression turned solemn.

She quickly raised a shield. When the metal spikes slammed into it, they unleashed a deafening roar.

The force of the impact made Moon Owl’s body tremble slightly. She could feel how hard and sharp those spikes were.

They seemed capable of piercing anything.

“Watch out!”

Moon Owl didn’t particularly like the Magic Maidens behind her. But at this moment, they stood on the same side.

Everyone had witnessed the Mud King’s sudden change in battle tactics.

Moon Owl had only recently advanced to 【Chapter Three】, but she had been appointed Guardian of the Twelfth District. She clearly possessed a certain level of strength.

Yet she had abandoned every offensive method and devoted herself entirely to defense.

The Third District Guardian was the president, and her strength was no weaker.

Even the Magic Cannons she casually fired could only slightly alter the iron spikes’ paths.

If one struck its target, combined with the Mud King’s ability to turn into sludge, which it had displayed more than a decade ago, the consequences would be disastrous.

Everyone present became fully alert.

“It’s only sludge and metal. Watch me freeze it solid!”

The Nineteenth District Guardian pulled a trident from behind her.

She gripped its shaft with both hands. Powerful ice Mana surged from her body.

Blue ice crystals began gathering at the trident’s tip, as if they meant to freeze the air itself.

The Nineteenth District Guardian took aim at the Mud King and swung the trident violently.

A massive ice spear shot from its tip and flew straight toward the Mud King.

The spear traced a cold path through the air. Wherever it passed, even the air seemed to freeze.

The Mud King clearly sensed the threat of the ice Mana.

It roared and swung its body, which had taken the shape of a metal tower, trying to block the spear.

However, the moment the ice spear touched the Mud King, it exploded into a storm of blue ice crystals.

The crystals touched the Mud King’s surface and began spreading outward. A vast region was soon covered in a layer of extreme frost.

Five Guardians stood side by side below.

The Guardian of the Seventh District hovered above them.

Six streams of Mana began to merge.

They planned to combine their Mana and unleash power far beyond their current level.

Cracks spread across the surface of the ice created by the Nineteenth District Guardian, forming a web like a spider’s web.

The Mud King, completely sealed within the ice, began to roar dully. Its voice seemed to rise from the depths of the earth, making the surrounding air tremble.

As the roar grew louder, the cracks across the ice rapidly spread.

It was as if a tremendous force were striking the ice shell from within, trying to break free.

The Nineteenth District Guardian’s expression grew increasingly solemn. She knew the Mud King was struggling with all its might to escape the ice.

“Saturation… bombardment!”

At that moment, the Guardian of the Seventh District threw out the sphere of light in her hand.

The orb raced toward the Mud King’s enormous body.

Why search for the Mud King’s magic core?

As long as its entire body was pulverized, the core would naturally perish with it!

Just then, the ice suddenly exploded.

Fragments flew in every direction as the Mud King’s massive body broke free from the shards.

Some remaining ice crystals still covered its surface, but they could no longer restrain it.

Yet the Magic Cannon was faster!

“BOOOOM!”

The enormous roar resounded across heaven and earth.

The Magic Cannon’s radiance tore across the sky and slammed directly into the colossal Mud King.

The pillar of light created by the impact between the cannon and the ground erased the Mud King’s enormous body.

Even the scattered sludge was devoured by the lingering Mana.

Every Magic Maiden, including Moon Owl, shifted all her Mana toward defense.

The power unleashed by this Magic Cannon had already surpassed the limits of 【Chapter Three】.

The Magic Maidens in the rear barely managed to withstand the shockwave.

But the five 【Chapter Three】 Magic Maidens in the front weren’t so lucky.

Aside from the Guardian of the Seventh District, the other five were blasted backward.

Their Magic Layers shattered, and blood flowed down their bodies.

As the light gradually faded, the dust cloud dispersed.

Every Magic Maiden’s gaze fell into the bottomless crater.

They could no longer sense the Mud King’s presence.

Nor could they see any remains of it.

“We won!”

Someone shouted.

The other Magic Maidens began cheering as well.