Roy and Celine entered the mountainous region.
Ahead, towering peaks stretched endlessly. The cold weather had left the vegetation sparse, and the rugged slopes made running difficult.
Even Yanila couldn't help but start complaining.
Atedia glanced at her disdainfully, then, to Yanila's wide-eyed shock, began climbing the steep slope ahead.
Roy had finally forged the floating horseshoes for her to use.
However, Atedia didn't possess the mental strength of a Warlock Apprentice, so this equipment was relatively low-level—a basic Enchanted Item that couldn't be controlled in any way.
It only had a slight levitating effect, equivalent to reducing her own weight.
To forge a truly functional floating horseshoe, it would need to include automatic posture correction...
That would require a deep understanding of centaurs.
Yanila wasn't foolish and immediately understood what was going on. "It's an Enchanted Item! Ugh, why are you so smug about it?"
"Yanila, they've all gone up. Aren't you coming?" Celine looked at her.
"What can I do? This slope is so steep, and it's not convenient for me to bend over and grab anything. How about you give me a push from behind?" Yanila fumed helplessly.
Celine was puzzled. "You have the strength and physique of a Grand Knight. Can't you just jump up?"
"Of course I can, but I might end up knocking down the trees ahead!
And what if there's a hole or a slope up there? I could break my legs!
I'm not as agile as you!"
Celine sighed, her breath slightly heavy, and wrapped her arms around Yanila's waist.
"What... what are you doing?"
Yanila exclaimed in shock.
Celine didn't say much. Silently, she lifted Yanila entirely, turning her face up and hooves toward the sky.
"This posture is just too ridiculous!"
Yanila couldn't help but scream in panic.
"Stop struggling. I'll take you up."
With the physique and strength of a Grand Knight, Celine leaped several times and quickly ascended.
...
Roy also noticed what was happening behind them and couldn't help but let out an awkward chuckle.
However, he soon turned his attention forward, his expression growing serious.
"These branches and grass have been broken!"
"It seems they did linger around here, but these traces...
They're just too chaotic!"
Atedia also noticed.
After advancing a bit further, she stopped.
"Not good. The trail ahead is broken. Could this be a deliberate attempt to cover up other traces?"
Roy nodded slightly. "Not only that, but they've also set traps around here!"
His mental strength was formidable, allowing him to vaguely sense a hint of danger.
Without hesitation, he began chanting a spell.
"..."
The Wizardry Energy of the Animation Art erupted, and a white glow enveloped the surroundings. The dead branches, leaves, and vines rustled and began to move.
A section of vine, as thick as a human arm and long detached from its main body, slithered like a snake and quickly entered the perimeter he had sensed.
Instantly, several beams of white light, condensed into spell energy, shot like arrows and tore it into shards.
Roy's mental strength surged, instantly forming a dense network of fine needles that pierced toward the hidden presences in the grass.
The enemies' concealment skills were exceptional. Even with his mental strength, he had almost failed to detect them.
However, it still couldn't compare to Ivent's Wood Elf Bloodline. Moreover, Roy was no longer the same as before, and he managed to detect some subtle anomalies.
Several of the enemies were instantly stunned. Even though Roy's Mental Strength pierced directly into their minds, it still carried considerable power, churning violently within their heads, causing them to lose focus and become dizzy in an instant.
One of the figures was even lifted directly into the air, suspended upside down, and appeared before him.
"So it's the Orcs from the Osis Plane!"
Netherlands belonged to the "Osis Plane."
In fact, it was also known as the Orc Plane, with the Orc World Osis being the largest planet within it, essentially the main world!
The concept of a plane was parallel to that of the Astral Realm and the Star Sea.
Netherlands was located within the star region of the Osis Plane, making travel between the two relatively easy.
As a Low-Magic World, Netherlands had experienced a catastrophic civilizational collapse (due to the Wizard invasion) and had almost forgotten the existence of this world.
However, the world where the Orcs resided was relatively more developed, possessing a mid-magic level, and even had the existence of an Orc God.
They knew about Netherlands.
"Warriors of the Orc race, why are you here?"
Suddenly, Roy spoke, asking a question in the Wizard language.
It was unclear whether the other party didn't understand or simply chose not to respond, as they roared, igniting their battle spirit.
Waves of Life Energy, similar to Combat Aura but more primal and Berserk, erupted.
5 degrees, 6 degrees, 6 degrees...
The strength of advanced knights was displayed.
The leading few, each soldier, possessed the power of an advanced knight.
And behind them, several Elite warriors with energy levels around 10 degrees appeared one after another.
This was a crucial threshold for mortal beings.
"Hmph!"
Roy's body remained motionless, but between his fingers, a hook and chain shot out.
As the chain spear flew, the Radiant Gold spearhead instantly pierced through several bodies.
Immediately after, the iron chain tightened and swung toward another direction.
There, a group of ambushing centaurs charged out.
One of the centaurs straightened its body, enduring the immense pain of the spearhead piercing its chest, and fiercely threw the axe in its hand.
But in an instant, it was blocked by an invisible Mental Strength.
Atedia's iron bow was drawn, and arrows were fired in rapid succession.
In no time, only three Orc warriors remained.
They exchanged glances and let out a roar to the sky.
The most burly and imposing Orc leader among them burst into raging flames.
The Life Energy, originally around 10 degrees, suddenly surged, reaching over 15 degrees, comparable to Chief Kairon from before.
Roy was slightly surprised: "Is this Berserk mode?"
With this level of strength, even an ordinary newly promoted Wizard could potentially be threatened.
The opponent charged forward at an astonishing speed, swinging his axe without hesitation.
He seemed to have experience dealing with Spellcasters, and Roy barely managed to kill two Orc warriors before nearly being struck by the axe.
However, as the axe approached the Silver Battle Armor, an invisible force enveloped it.
A faint white light, like an insurmountable chasm, blocked all attacks.
But that wasn't the Silver Battle Armor's own shield; it was the power of the Aegis Stone!
Roy pulled back with a flick of his hand, and the chain spear reversed, binding the Orc leader.
The chains were like red-hot branding irons, sizzling and burning the flesh chunks on his body.
Amidst the agonizing wails, his Life Energy not only didn't decrease but instead surged, reaching a peak close to 20 degrees!
The Orc's face turned crimson, his features twisted in a ferocious expression, as if his very life was burning fiercely.
Roy had no choice but to fully activate the chain spear, and the amplification from the Source of Magic was also mobilized, concentrating an astonishing force of several tens of degrees onto the chains.
Thud!
The spearhead pierced through the Combat Aura and plunged into the body, infusing the Blackening Potion.
The Orc warrior's heart stopped abruptly, and his entire body even began to dissolve completely, revealing a massive hole from the inside out.