Boom——!!!

From afar, Hilia and the others could hear the sound coming from inside the cave.

It was the sound of a battle.

The four of them exchanged a glance, then accelerated towards the cave.

"We didn’t encounter any demons along the way, just some magic crystals and basic materials scattered on the ground, indicating it was recently cleared out but not yet replenished."

"In the middle of the night, only that fool Doris would run out of the camp; these demons must’ve been cleared by her."

"She might be battling the mysterious demon in the cave right now."

"Prepare for support!"

"..."

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the cave and peered into its depths.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t see inside. It wasn’t just dark; the cave also had a bend.

From the corner, faint red and white lights occasionally flickered.

Without hesitation, the four rushed into the cave, turning the corner to reach the deepest part.

Before they could take a closer look at the situation in the depths, a figure came flying out.

As the group was momentarily stunned, Hilia suddenly felt she couldn’t control her body. Then she saw her body speeding up and catching the figure before it hit the ground.

She saw her hand clapping on the figure’s back, a holy light emanating from it.

Then, she found she could control her body again.

She knew what was going on.

It was Rose.

She also knew who the figure was.

It was Doris.

She also knew what Rose had just done.

He used magic to stabilize Doris’s internal injuries, transferring a substantial amount of pollution into his own body to prevent Doris from dying due to pollution erosion.

Hilia quickly threw Doris to the ground, shouting at Benovia and the others, "Hold them off for now, I’ll clean up the pollution."

"Let me handle it."

A gentle voice sounded, and Phil had already reached their side, placing her hands on each of their foreheads.

Hilia immediately felt a portion of the pollution within her being purified, the rest passing through Phil’s palm into her body.

"Phil, you..."

"It’s okay." Phil smiled faintly.

After Phil’s purification and absorption, the pollution was mostly cleared, and Hilia stood up, looking forward.

Benovia and Encore had already rushed over to fend off the unknown demon.

Rose’s voice rang out:

"This is the Sea Witch Terksey, who can lull people to sleep with her song. If encountered at sea, her voice would make everyone on the ship sleep until it drifts into the deep sea."

"However, this Sea Witch has been thoroughly corrupted by pollution, turning into a mindless demon, her beautiful voice eroded, leaving only some simple spiritual attacks."

"Fighting such a mindless demon requires no skill, just attack directly, be cautious of its frenzy."

Hilia glanced at Doris and found her struggling to open her eyes to look at her, snorting, "You ran into the ruins to die just to avoid giving me the materials? If you don’t want to give them, just say so."

Doris angrily retorted, "You’re the one who doesn’t want to give the materials! If I lose the bet, I won’t go back on my word! I’ll have my family send them tomorrow, you don’t... cough, cough, cough..."

Phil gave Hilia a stern look. "Hilia, don’t provoke her. She’s got serious internal injuries, and her magic power is unstable; she needs treatment."

Hilia pursed her lips, stepping over Doris, and headed towards the battlefield.

"Alright, get some rest. You thought you could take down the boss demon alone? Dream on, we’ll steal your glory."

With that, Hilia joined the battlefield.

This polluted and corrupted Sea Witch Terksey was strong; as soon as Hilia joined, she felt immense pressure.

Terksey’s attack methods weren’t complex, apart from the ranged spiritual attack with the scream, there were tail sweeps, charges, water sprays, and summoning demons from magic eggs.

But if one were hit by its physical attacks, the magic puppet would surely be sent flying and take damage.

The demons hatching from the magic eggs seemed to have intelligence, not bothering with the magic puppet or the three of them but charging towards Phil and Doris, forcing the three back to defend.

Fortunately, magic puppets allow the mage to battle with divided attention, requiring no focused control—focused control might even prevent the magic puppet from reaching 100% combat effectiveness.

"I’ve seen this demon in some ancient texts, it’s a type of Sea Witch called Terksey, said to have Tier Five to Six power; this one, being polluted and corrupted, and further restricted by the ruins, isn’t that strong but may have nearly Tier Four power."

Hilia relayed Rose’s words, "Its attack methods are limited, but even its collisions can injure the magic puppet, best not to be touched, and watch out for its rampage when low on health."

Under everyone’s assault, Terksey unleashed a screech, an invisible sound wave spreading from its center.

Everyone felt a sharp pain in their heads, instinctively clutching them.

Even Doris, who had closed her eyes, frowned in pain.

"Use your Mage’s Hand, strangle its neck." Rose’s voice entered Hilia’s mind, clearing her consciousness.

She quickly reverted the Mage’s Hand to its original form, extending it beside Terksey, she opened the hand and fiercely choked Terksey’s neck.

The screech stopped abruptly.

With Terksey controlled, Benovia and Encore resumed their assault, directing the magic puppets for even more ferocious attacks.

Various lights flashed continuously in the dark cavern, more wounds appearing on the corrupted Terksey.

Even its tail was severed by Hilia’s Ice Blade, expelling putrid, foul-smelling blood.

Luckily, this blood wasn’t corrosive, though it did carry potent pollution.

Pollution had little effect on magic puppets.

Of course, that hideous blood was something neither Hilia nor the other Holy Daughters-in-Candidacy wanted to touch.

Phil cast a holy light, slightly illuminating the cave, providing vision for the fighters, setting Doris down with a cloth as a cushion.

Then she turned towards the battle as well, directing her magic puppet, first retrieving Doris’s magic puppet before joining the fray.

"This demon is strong; without Doris, we can’t encircle and kill it like today, are we forced into a war of attrition?" Phil asked Hilia softly.

Hilia nodded, "We lack a way to kill it in one strike; Tier Three magic might not deliver a fatal blow, we’ll have to whittle it down until all its blood is drained."

Rose said, "After we get back, I’ll teach you a growth-type Ice Magic, it can be used as a trump card against strong foes."

"Alright!" Hilia immediately agreed.

Watching the battlefield, Rose noticed Terksey’s weakening aura and warned, "Be careful, Terksey is about to rage."

As he finished speaking, Terksey erupted with another fierce screech, dispersing Hilia’s Mage’s Hand, invading everyone’s mind.

The massive spiritual impact left everyone in a stunned state.

Terksey seized Hilia’s magic puppet, about to rip it apart.

Rose couldn’t help but shake his head.

"Looks like it’s up to me again."