"How about the Fairy Queen? She's just a woman after all!"
"We have fifty people! Charge!"
"Celestial Wheel: Sword of the Cycle!" Sixteen swords appeared behind Erza, rotating around her.
The white sword light formed a wheel of light, creating a circular slash that flew around without dead angles under her control.
"Waaah!"
Whether they were rushing head-on or trying to attack from the side, the black-robed figures screamed as they were sent flying.
"Celestial Wheel: Sword of the Three!"
Erza swung the dual swords in her hands, and the triangular slash cut through, leaving only a few lucky ones who got close to him with blood sprays exploding from their chests as they fell.
"This is... the Fairy Queen!"
"Don't just stand there, attack now!"
The black-robed figures raised their magic staffs from the rear, but more than a dozen felt pain in their legs and sank halfway into the ground:
"What's that!"
"Be careful underground, there's an Earth Mage!"
"Aaaah! There are wolves!"
"Why are the wolves attacking us... Die, you beasts!"
A few tried to attack the Shadow Wolves but suddenly had purple venom smeared all over their faces, clutching their faces painfully as they kneeled to the ground.
"What's this? Aaaah..."
"Poison, it's poison!"
"Bastard..." Ghost Shadow saw Erza charging into the crowd, slashing left and right, and with a group of wild beasts attacking their team, he was furious to the extreme.
"Dissolve flesh, crush marrow, this is the wish of the Black Magic Believers... Die! Bonecrusher!"
A sinister black glow flew from Ghost Shadow's magic staff towards Erza, striking... a Shadow Wolf leaping at Erza.
"Awooo~"
The Shadow Wolf howled mournfully, its flesh and bones melting away as it fell to the ground limply like a deflated balloon.
The wild creatures on the battlefield were given the primary order to help Erza fend off sneak attacks.
"Those meddlesome things... Bonecrusher!"
This time, two Mini Stone Beetles bit Ghost Shadow's calf, causing his spell to veer off and hit his own people.
Erza cut down two more people left and right, and three blue light patterns suddenly appeared around her.
At the same time, a four or five meter tall small giant came tumbling down the mountain, it was the Cyan Engraved Golem.
"Is this the 'Crown of Insight' Rhode mentioned?" Erza felt the magic power quickly recovering in her body, "In that case... I'll take them out in one go!"
Knives, spears, swords, halberds... nearly a hundred different weapons appeared almost simultaneously, densely hovering in mid-air behind Erza.
Combined with Erza's murderous expression, it was as if she alone could stand against an army of a million.
The scene even made Rhode's Shadow Wolves a bit fearful, unsure if they should retreat from the battlefield.
The weapons adjusted direction according to Erza's will, with the remaining black-robed figures on average facing at least three each.
The black-robed figures were overjoyed, their mouths agape, almost dropping their own weapons.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The various weapons shot downward with breaking wind sounds, and even if someone dodged the first attack, they couldn't escape the second or third that followed.
Erza's strength lay in her ability to precisely control the landing point of each of the nearly hundred weapons.
The weapons fell like raindrops, crashing down with the impact of a bombardment, pinning some black-robed figures to the ground or sending them flying.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Wolves and Stone Beetles weren't harmed at all.
As the leader, Ghost Shadow had a bit more presence, getting six Celestial Wheel Swords to himself, four pinning him by the limbs and two crossing near his neck.
The Golem, specifically called by Rhode for assistance, rumbled to Erza's side but found the battle already over.
It lifted its thick arm to scratch its head, unsure of what to do next.
Erza glanced at it and thought it was quite cute considering its size, "Is this your magic? It helped a lot."
"Haha, hahaha! You can't stop it, you'll never stop Lord Canopus from descending!" Ghost Shadow suddenly laughed, his expression twisted, "With... our flesh, souls, I offer to..."
Bang!
A fist the size of a sandbag landed on Ghost Shadow, smashing him into the ground, with cracks spreading across the surrounding ground.
The Celestial Wheel Swords embedded in him were knocked over and were promptly retrieved by Erza.
Naturally, it was the Golem that acted, following Rhode's instruction: if someone lying on the ground does something strange or says something odd, don't hesitate to punch them first.
Just as Ghost Shadow went silent, another black-robed figure immediately opened his mouth: "With... our flesh, souls..."
Boom!
"With our..."
Boom!
The Golem bustled back and forth, embedding every mouthy person into the ground.
The valley finally quieted down as the Golem's silhouette disappeared.
Rhode arrived riding the Gorge Swift Crab, directing the Stone Beetles to give a supplementary kick to the heads of the fallen black-robed figures for good measure to ensure quality sleep.
"How are you? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." Erza returned to her usual attire, "What about the children?"
"They're sheltered from the wind behind the mountain, I left Warm and the Beaked Birds to keep them warm," Rhode said, "But we should hurry back, the kids are cold and hungry and might get a fever."
"These scumbags!"
Erza cursed and joined Rhode in addressing the aftermath.
The leader called Ghost Shadow definitely had to be taken back, while the others got their hands and feet tied, their mouths gagged, and were pulled to a spot farther from the altar to wait for the Advisory Council to take them.
As for the wounds, there was no time to treat them; if they died, it was their luck.
On the way back, naturally, the Beaked Birds carried the children, using their wings to cover them for warmth.
Rhode and Erza had to endure a bit more hardship, taking Ghost Shadow with them on the River Crab.
"Your magic power, can you handle it?" Erza remembered that such Golems consumed a lot of magic power.
"It's okay, I had a Crown of Insight cast on myself before, getting to the town shouldn't be a problem."
Compared to last month's S-Class exam, Rhode had made some modest progress.
Most notably, after summoning the Golem, he didn't immediately send it back, but dared to let it fight a bit longer.
If he gritted his teeth, he might even summon the Tree Monster to stretch its legs, which wasn't impossible.
Giving Erza a red-blue double buff at once wasn't a fantasy, but a hidden technique.
It wouldn't be long before these two highly practical monsters could become a regular combat force.
Then, they could start pondering the next target.
Logically, the next should be the Canyon Vanguard, but the silhouette Rhode saw through the mist seemed more like a bug.
This made him hesitate to act rashly for the time being.