Silabain flew into a rage, spinning around to shout: "I told you to hurry—can’t you understand? Stop dragging your feet and get—"

  The word "moving" caught in his throat. His eyes widened to their full extent in an instant.

  Staring at his subordinate who had fallen stiffly to the ground, a cold chill shot up Silabain’s spine.

  The other two subordinates were also stunned by the sudden scene, staring panic-stricken at their companion’s prone body.

  "B-boss, he—"

  Before he could finish speaking, this subordinate also closed his eyes and collapsed rigidly.

  Thud—!

  As the second dull sound echoed, the entire room fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

  Thud—!

  The third subordinate suddenly fell too, without even managing a word.

  "......"

  Silabain watched the scene. After two seconds, his gaze turned as cold as ice. Without hesitation, he drew the dagger at his waist and stabbed it fiercely into his thigh.

  "Ughhhh——!!!"

  ......

  Thud—! Thud—! Thud......

  The same sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed throughout the underground. Because the Dragon Sleep Incense had spread unevenly, the poison took effect at different times for each person. This meant some could still move when they saw others fall.

  However, they made a fatal miscalculation. Such a large-scale poisoning, combined with no abnormal news from outside, made them instinctively think they were under a large-scale siege—and that the outer perimeter had been wiped out. Instead of running out to surrender, they gathered toward the center of the base, hoping to rally around their boss and put up further resistance.

  As chaos erupted underground, the sentinels above ground also sensed something was wrong.

  "What’s going on...... Why do I smell blood?"

  The sentinels stirred restlessly, a vague sense of dread creeping over them—something was very wrong!

  Meanwhile, inside the Warehouse Building, Hulim had already taken care of the last sentinel. The sentinels inside the building had been among the first to be poisoned, so they fell the earliest. Hulim had dealt with them effortlessly, without making a single sound.

  But the scent of blood and the eerie silence still alerted the men who had long lived on the edge of a knife.

  "Something’s off!"

  One sentinel jumped out of his hiding spot—an act that would have earned him severe punishment on any normal day, but he didn’t care now.

  "Stop hiding! Come out quickly! Something’s happened inside—it’s too quiet!"

  Hearing his words, the other sentinels didn’t stay to watch him get punished later. Instead, they all emerged from their posts.

  "Did you feel it too?"

  "Yeah! The smell of blood—I can smell it!"

  "Me too!"

  "Enough talk! Let’s check inside immediately!"

  The first sentinel proposed, then raced toward the Warehouse Building. The others followed closely behind. In the pitch-black night, the twelve figures scattered across the area quickly converged on the warehouse.

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  Just as the man in the lead was about to reach the warehouse, he suddenly stopped, tensing up all over. His hand rested on the weapon at his waist.

  The other eleven stopped almost simultaneously, their gazes locking onto the same spot.

  Shring—!

  "Who are you——!?"

  Drawing his sword, the man pointed the tip at the figure lurking in the shadows, shouting sharply.

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh......

  The sound of wind rushed behind them as all the sentinels gathered there in seconds, their weapons drawn.

  "This guy...... That’s right—he smells like blood!"

  Detecting the faint scent of blood on the figure, the sentinels tensed to the breaking point.

  "Damn it, an intruder......"

  "Where the hell did they come from!?"

  "Could they have snuck in with the slaves?"

  "What’s happening underground? How did no one notice this!?"

  "......"

  As the sentinels wondered what was going on inside, the figure in the shadows spoke.

  "You’re quite sharp...... But this is convenient—I don’t have to hunt you down one by one."

  Shring~ Shring~ Shring......

  The sound of sword tips scraping against the ground drew closer as the figure slowly stepped forward.

  When the figure got near enough, the sentinels finally caught a clear glimpse of their appearance.

  "What!?"

  "A kid!!?"

  The sentinels were stunned speechless.

  "Damn it, you little brat!"

  Shock quickly turned to fury.

  Hulim paid no mind to their anger.

  She held her Mithril Sword in her right hand, a wand slung over her back, and stared calmly at the group in front of her.

  "Time’s almost up."

  "Huh? Time for wha——"

  Thud—!

  A dull sound rang out in the crowd. In an instant, all noise fell silent. The remaining men stared in disbelief at their companion, who had collapsed stiffly to the ground.

  "D-did you do this!?"

  "I did."

  Hulim nodded slightly.

  "And your turn is almost here too."

  "What!?(#%——"

  Thud—!

  Another man fell mid-sentence, collapsing rigidly.

  "......"

  The crowd fell silent again.

  "......Kill her!"

  "Kill!"

  The remaining sentinels charged at Hulim without hesitation.

  Hulim reached behind her with her left hand and grabbed her wand.

  "Fortify!"

  "Swiftness!"

  "Shield!"

  "Battle Cry!"

  Watching the glowing auras flickering around Hulim, the sentinels realized something was terribly wrong.

  "Stop her—Fortify!"

  "Fireball!"

  "Wind Slash!"

  In an instant, a flurry of spells and hidden weapons hurtled toward Hulim.

  Hulim moved swiftly on her feet, dodging all the attacks while continuing to cast buff spells without slowing down.

  Thud—!

  Another sentinel fell. Because he had been running when the poison took effect, his body slid forward face-down for a short distance after hitting the ground.

  The sight sent a chill through the others. They realized now—they had all been poisoned, and the poison was acting fast!

  They had no doubt that once the poison fully took effect on everyone, none of them would live to see the next day. Their only chance of survival was to kill this person immediately.

  But the figure in front of them was far too agile. They couldn’t even land a hit, let alone catch up!

  "Damn it—those with Non-Attribute Magic! Where are your buffs? Hurry up and pin her down——!!!"

  "We already used them! Damn it, why is she so fast—"

  Thud—!

  Another figure fell.

  "......"

  The remaining sentinels fell silent, their eyes growing more ferocious than ever. They unleashed spells and hidden weapons desperately, targeting Hulim’s vital points.

  Thud—!

  "Wind Barrier!"

  A sudden barrier blocked the onslaught of hidden weapons. The remaining spells were easy to dodge.

  Thud—!

  "——It’s Swiftness! This is a Dual-Attribute Mage! Stop chasing—we can’t catch her! Everyone use long-range attacks! Area-of-effect spells!"

  Thud—!

  The sentinels stopped their pursuit. The mages halted their attacks and began chanting long-range area spells.

  "Earth Grasp!"

  The ground churned, forming a giant stone palm that blocked all the area-of-effect attacks.

  "What——!?(# This is——Triple-Attribute!? "

  Thud—!

  "No good!"

  The giant palm came crashing down on the group.

  Boom——!

  After a violent tremor, the ground was in chaos......