Ch.273273. Suddenly, at That Moment! (3)

The creature that broke through the wall could be simply described as a lion with a human face—a sphinx.

Unlike the manticore, a monstrous beast commonly associated with human-faced lions, the aura surrounding this creature was on an entirely different level—sacred and steadfast, unlike that of such grotesque beings.

The human male face was protected by a brass mask molded in the exact shape of the face.

Its design resembled the mask of Tutankhamun, a pharaoh from another world, giving it a distinctly exotic atmosphere that was quite unfamiliar to people of the Eastern continent.

Additionally, a pair of what appeared to be eagle wings grew from the lion’s back, and it was adorned with ancient Egyptian-style decorations throughout, proving this creature was not a mere beast but a being possessing intelligence.

Add to this its enormous size—large enough to fill an entire wall of the conference room with space to spare—and the blazing heat and residual warmth naturally enveloping its body.

Moreover, the magical power and unique aura emanating from its body was undoubtedly beyond intermediate level, reaching the advanced tier.

As people stood completely overwhelmed or dazed, blankly observing the creature, this intelligent beast roared and glared at them.

[—■■■■■!!!!]

The magical power responding to the beast’s roar resonated instantly, then surged upward like flames shooting into the sky, forming a rotating firestorm engulfed in flames.

[Water Art!]

[O seas, O rivers!]

Of course, just before the firestorm could sweep over them and reduce them to ashes, the approximately thirty ninjas who had urgently regained their senses managed to mitigate it through Water Art, the ninja technique of manipulating water.

If someone with relevant knowledge had witnessed this, they might have exclaimed, “Such Water Art without a water source!” Though they succeeded in somehow reducing and defending against the firestorm sent by the sphinx…

Unfortunately, this was merely the beginning.

“Disperse! Scatter!”

At the command of Elder Seo, their leader, the thirty mid-level ninjas gathered there swiftly scattered in all directions.

And even afterward, facing an overwhelming power of advanced level, they refused to retreat and were determined to fight against the superior opponent.

Of course, this wasn’t born from any sense of nobility or virtue, but rather from their confidence that they wouldn’t die.

During the reorganization of the Ryu branch family into the organization called Yeongga, they restored ninja cultivation methods by contracting with an outer god named “The Infinite Librarian.”

Naturally, cultivation methods provided by an outer god couldn’t be normal—the true nature of this “cultivation method” was preserving and inheriting the souls of ninjas who formed Yeongga during the restoration and those who were once members of the Ryu branch family.

They would scout candidates whose bodies were compatible with preserved ninja souls (Ninja-Souls) using evil sorcery, then erase the body’s original personality and overlay the soul, instantly creating an experienced veteran of intermediate level.

Of course, the human lives sacrificed during this process of preserving and overlaying souls easily numbered in the dozens or hundreds, but considering the military power of veteran intermediate-level ninjas, such human losses were easily dismissed as consumables.

Anyway, these intermediate-level ninjas who had been resurrected in new bodies were now confronting the sphinx before them, each wielding their own weapons.

Some stood at the front lines with Japanese swords or easily obtainable military sabers, while others naturally moved to the rear, taking out scrolls or magical tools to prepare support.

[Fire Art!]

[Blaze forth!]

[O wind, rage around us!]

Of course, even during this, they didn’t forget to keep the enemy in check using magic.

The magic used by ninjas is fundamentally based on that used by Taoist sorcerers, characterized by its ability to manipulate the principles of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements to achieve various effects.

The principle of Yin-Yang harmonizes or allows coexistence between the Yang attribute’s existence energy and the Yin attribute’s non-existence energy, creating ninja techniques (ninja arts) that generate forms such as doppelgangers or illusions.

Meanwhile, the Five Elements—Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth—are the elements from the mystical perspective commonly spoken of in the Eastern continent, which are harmoniously manipulated to control various powers derived from this process, similar to elemental magic.

And now, these ninjas were attempting to cast a cooperative spell of vast range by manipulating wind and flame.

The magic used by ninjas, who are essentially magical scouts, inevitably falls short in level unless magic (ninja arts) is their specialty, and this tendency is particularly reinforced by the fact that ninjas are not inherently magic users.

In the end, their specialty is close-quarters combat, making ninja arts more of a supplementary technique.

However… even so, the magic they cast is still that of intermediate-level magic users.

Though its power may be relatively inferior to that of proper magic users, how could the power of magic cast by more than thirty people working together be weak?

Thus formed was a massive fiery beast amplified by wind magic. The monster with dozens of beast heads and limbs lunged at the sphinx, flicking its greedy tongue, but…

Unfortunately, the sphinx’s fur ignored the fiery beast.

Contrary to the ninjas’ assumption that there must be a limit to its fire resistance, the sphinx went beyond ignoring the beast’s attack and actually absorbed it.

“Wh-what…!”

The sight of it greedily sucking in the flames with its human-like maw and skin, as if devouring a delicacy, was shocking.

The ninjas showed expressions as if they had witnessed something indescribable, realizing that their attack, which they had invested considerable effort in, had instead strengthened their opponent.

Of course, regardless of how the ninjas reacted, the sphinx simply flapped its wings and leaped among them.

—KWAAANG!!

The floor collapsed under the impact of its front paws, and one unfortunate ninja who failed to dodge the paw strike was crushed, ending his life.

As the ninjas belatedly realized this and hurriedly tried to distance themselves, the sphinx’s hidden tail part flew toward them.

The sphinx’s tail was that of a snake. More precisely, a snake’s head and body growing from where the tail should be, moving like an independent organism.

Unlike a chimera’s tail, this tail didn’t possess deadly poison or an independent consciousness, but instead, it was insanely long—and moved with trajectories similar to a snake.

And that snake head snatched one ninja and, like an anaconda, tightly constricted and crushed his entire body.

Though the ninjas expressed disgust at this all too futile series of events, they still took up their weapons to prevent their base from being destroyed by this sphinx.

The ninjas threw kunai—tools that could be wrapped in aura to fly like bullets—which could be considered their standard ranged attack.

Using metal-manipulating ninja arts, they processed the metal structures and trade goods from this factory where trade goods were stored, creating kunai with unbelievably powerful effects for thrown daggers.

Thanks to the aura wrapped around their surface, they could easily penetrate thick iron plates, and since they could be extracted wherever metal was available, there was virtually no consumption even when thrown recklessly.

In this situation, Elder Seo, the leader of the ninjas and the organization, armed himself with his personal weapon and showed his intention to step forward personally.

The ninjas, convinced that he, straddling the boundary between advanced and intermediate levels, could certainly end the life of that advanced magical beast, showed hopeful expressions on their faces while continuing to keep the beast in check from all directions.

Though they hadn’t landed a single effective hit yet… they continued throwing kunai wrapped in aura, which seemed to have some restraining effect.

They also cast various long-range ninja arts for magical ranged attacks and used their own secret techniques.

Dozens of faint doppelgangers appeared in mid-air, trying to disrupt the sphinx’s nerves, while elaborate illusions appeared to distort or confuse its vision.

Finally, Elder Seo, who had completed his preparations and received all the enhancement spells they could cast, drew his enchanted premium Japanese sword, “Moonlight,” and approached with wind-like movements.

They had only one chance left. Realizing that their entire future depended on this, they cheered him on with all their hearts as Elder Seo leaped into the air to deliver his ultimate sword strike—

—CRUNCH!

Immediately after. The sphinx approached Elder Seo with lightning-like movement and simply extended its mouth to bite and chew him up.

It was, without a doubt, a perfect instant death.