"Not bad at all." Roland waved towards the black shadow which had deftly entered into the drapes.

A smiling face emerged from the darkness as if to acknowledge his encouragement. This would have been a frightening sight if he had not known that it was a witch hiding inside.

"Your Majesty, enemies are within the hall. I can sense that their magic powers are nearly as strong as hybrid demonic beasts." Faldi cautioned.

"Can you handle them?"

"Don't worry. Ling and I won't have any problems as long as they aren't like Senior Demons." Phyllis replied.

"Then let's act according to plan."

As Roland pa.s.sed through the long porch, he discovered that the villa's windows were all covered up with boards and tape. There were only a few lights within, making the hall seem rather dim. Due to the weak air-conditioning, he felt as though he had just entered from early autumn into winter. Furthermore, the rancid and putrid smell which filled the air caused him to feel nauseous.

A man dressed in a suit stood motionless in the center of the hall - he was clearly this trip's target. The instant Roland stepped into the hall, he felt a warmth begin to swell inside his body with an intensity several times stronger than when he first saw the fake man.

From the looks of it, Faldi had snagged a big fish.

However, what distressed Roland was a sculpture of a huge monster hung on the two-story mural wall which the man was facing. He could not tell if it was made of wood or seasoned leather. It had a human face and a pair of wings, while its brawny hind legs and slender front paws were curled up in front of its body - a completely mismatching appearance. It was close to four meters in length, while the carvings of feathers and veins on its body were highly lifelike, thus marking out its high value.

"The grotesque taste of rich people," Roland muttered to himself. Judging from the craftsmans.h.i.+p, it was worth at least a million gold royals.

"Time to act." He looked away from it and placed his attention on the target.

"Yes."

Making use of the matte curtains to sneak two meters behind the enemy, Phyllis initiated the first attack.

A claw protruded from her back and lashed with lightning speed toward the suited man. The interference of magic caused the curtains to ripple. At this time, the target seemed to sense something and turned his head sharply. However, at this distance, even an Extraordinary would have no time to dodge. The claw slit through the man's neck and out from his lower back, thereby cutting him diagonally into two.

The enemy's eyes stared wide in disbelief as he collapsed on to the floor, and dark red blood spattered all over.

From the looks of it, even if the natural core of a Fallen Evil was not stripped away, it would not be able to survive if its body was heavily damaged.

"That's all?" Ling peered out from the shadow beside the sofa.

"The plundering we now have to do is the main point," Roland answered while covering his nose. The putrid smell in the air had intensified once more, though he was not sure if it was his own false perception. "Do you still remember what I taught you?"

"Gold ornaments, red paper, and chests with orbs!" Ling raised her hand. "Coins are worthless, and leave the gemstones!"

"That's right. In particular, the more red paper, the better." From his experience of plundering the Holy City of Hermes, he knew that the price of gemstones fluctuated too greatly, and hence it was difficult to sell them off at a suitable price. Gold was certainly far more stable. Of course, the best of all was cash notes. He mused to himself, "Hope this fella isn't too fond of online shopping."

As Roland bent his body and intended to convert the Force of Nature which was mounted on the belly of the man, Faldi suddenly frowned and remarked, "Hold on, why do I still sense the presence of magic reaction?"

"What?" The other three people startled at once.

"The source of magic power isn't gone. Instead, it's growing bigger!" She lifted her head and looked around the hall in search of something. Her eyes fell on the sculpture. "d.a.m.n it, that monster is alive!"

Just as she finished speaking, the sculpture abruptly opened its mouth and revealed a frog-like tongue which thrust directly at Roland.

"Careful, Your Majesty!"

With no hesitation, Phyllis s.h.i.+elded in front of Roland and used her claws to obstruct the path of the incoming tongue.

But Roland was much improved from his former self. He antic.i.p.ated the monster's attack, before catching hold of Phyllis' waist and rolling toward one side in order to avoid the tongue which was as sharp as an arrow.

The tongue thrust into the half-section of the corpse lying on the floor. It entwined the natural core and jerked away violently. With that, the crimson core flew in the direction of the sculpture's mouth.

Roland noticed that the Force of Nature, which had entered into a solid state, began to rotate once again upon the monster's touch.

The monster's movements caused a large swarm of insects to fly out from its back and panickedly flee in all directions. They had obviously been attracted by the monster's magic power, but because Roland could not share what he saw with Faldi, she was not able to discern that there were two different sources of magic reaction in the hall!

"Hah... what do I see, a bunch of martialists delivering themselves to me?" The sculpture swallowed the core and began to speak. "Thieves like you have no place in this sacred territory. Go to h.e.l.l!"

It raised its neck as if to inhale a deep breath, and then blew a gush of bloodred air at the people in the hall.

It was magic power in its purest form!

In a flash, the furniture in the room was ripped into smithereens. As the matte curtains were struck, Duncan and Faldi, who were hiding within, suffered several wounds on their bodies and fell heavily on the floor. Fortunately for them, they got away from the central and most powerful region of the magical attack by a hair's breadth, or they would have suffered the same fate as the furniture.

On the other hand, Roland was in much better shape. As the magical attack came upon him, the warmth inside him spread all over his body and protected his vital organs like a piece of armor.

"What form of attack is this?" Roland was disconcerted that its ability was completely different from that of witches. He had never seen magic power directly turn into a potent energy before. Ever since he acquired the strange force, he was able to better understand how magic power worked. The monster's attack was certainly not something a Fallen Evil was able to perform.

The expressions on the witches' faces were also that of extraordinary surprise. It was clear that the monster's understanding of magic power was a level above theirs.

"Its magic reaction... is close to the Senior Demons'!" Faldi bit her teeth. "How's this possible?"

"Demons? Is that what you call my ancestors?" The monster grinned and laughed wickedly. It easily snapped off the rivets which fixed its wings to the wall, then leapt onto the floor and stooped like a gargoyle in front of the party. "You try to take energy from the Divine Domain without permission, and now call the Chasers 'demons'? Sheer stupidity!"

"Divine Domain? Chasers?" Roland began to frown involuntarily. "What's it referring to?"

Suddenly, a beam of black light sprung from the shadows behind the monster and flew against its cheeks. It was Ling's shadow! A crisp clicking sound was heard as she stuck a dagger into its eyes and out from the back of its head. Without pausing to contemplate her success, she escaped back into the shadows. The entire surprise attack was as smooth as flowing water.

"Beautiful!" Phyllis clenched her fists and commended.

"Beautiful?" The monster did not collapse like the Fallen Evil did. A crack appeared on its wooden-like face, and it now spoke in a shrivelled voice which sounded cold and indifferent. "You think this piece of common metal and tiny amount of magic power can harm me? You have no idea what the Divine Domain's all about! Now, I shall let you witness the true might of the Lord!"

Before it finished talking, a series of rupturing sounds broke out. The crack on its face extended to its entire body, and subsequently, its pitch-black sh.e.l.l split into fragments and peeled off. The now-revealed interior emitted a dark red glow, as though it was flowing with burning blood.

When all of its true body was revealed, Roland gaped in shock and horror.

Underneath the sh.e.l.l had been a body which was purely formed by magic power. Small cl.u.s.ters of star jades glistened inside its body, and gradually converged into a huge star ring at its chest.

It was what you could call a magical creature.