Aside from the human side’s awkward situation of falling into chaos due to the potions’ side effects, the Vampire Army at the other end of the battlefield was feeling an unprecedented level of pressure and eeriness.
The ones bearing the brunt of it were Bart and Chise, the two Blood Pillars.
They could feel, more directly than anyone, that the buff provided by the [Blood Moon]—summoned by Chise’s ability—was rapidly weakening.
Furthermore, that crimson lunar orb hanging in the sky seemed to be filtered by an invisible barrier.
Not only did it lose its strengthening effect on the Low-level Vampires, but it also began to emit a faint, debilitating aura that made the Blood Race feel incredibly uncomfortable.
For the Low-level Vampires who relied on the energy of darkness and the [Blood Moon], this was almost a fatal blow.
What left the two Blood Pillars even more stunned was the change in the Human Garrison.
The soldiers, who were once weak and insignificant in the vampires’ eyes, were now filled with a frenzied fighting spirit, their battle intent soaring to the heavens as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
What drew the most attention were the various “prominent” and logic-defying physical mutations appearing on their bodies…
Bulging muscles, enlarged limbs, and even massive heads… The entire look of the human army had become exceptionally grotesque and bizarre.
“These humans… have they all mutated collectively?”
Bart swung his fist, crushing a cluster of incoming Wind Blades. His rugged face was filled with disbelief, and the corners of his mouth twitched as he spoke.
The tide of battle turned in an instant. The Vampire Army, which had originally attacked like a surging tide, began to show signs of collapse now that they had lost the [Blood Moon] buff and were facing a group of “mutated” humans.
Bart and Chise exchanged a glance. With unspoken coordination, they both exerted their power.
After a few flashes of their silhouettes, they retreated behind the Vampire Army’s front lines, which were already starting to fall into chaos.
“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?”
Chise’s eyes swept across the strangely shaped human soldiers on the battlefield, her delicate face displaying undisguised disgust.
The appearance of these humans left her without even the slightest desire to extract their blood.
She even felt a lingering worry that drinking their blood might cause some unfortunate changes in her own body.
She gave Bart a disgruntled look, her tone full of dissatisfaction.
“It’s your fault for refusing to use [Blood Awakening] to end this quickly. If you had gotten serious earlier, how could this battle have dragged on until now?”
Hearing this, Bart let out a dull, cold snort.
“Hmph! It wasn’t easy finding a toy that was actually interesting; naturally, I wanted to play with him a bit longer.”
“Who uses their full strength right from the start against a weak race like humans? Where’s the fun in that?”
His crimson gaze crossed the battlefield, locking onto the black-haired youth on the city wall who was continuously releasing low-level magic.
“It’s not too late to use [Blood Awakening] now! I’ll go crush that slippery brat right now!”
“Enough, Bart!”
Chise’s voice suddenly turned cold. She pointed toward the sky, where a faint white glow was already appearing in the east.
“Dawn is coming. Once the sun rises, the combat power of these Low-level Vampires won’t even be one-tenth of what it is now. They’ll be no different from fools.”
Her gaze swept over the “mutated” humans again, a trace of wariness flashing in her eyes.
“Besides, the state of these humans is clearly wrong. Heaven knows if they’re still hiding even more bizarre ‘trump cards.'”
“Master Cass aims to establish a Blood Race Empire. If these tens of thousands of vampires gathered here are lost, will you take the responsibility, or will I?”
At the mention of “Master Cass” and the grand vision of creating an Empire, Bart’s surging aura immediately withered.
Though he was bloodthirsty and loved combat, he understood the gravity of the situation.
He gave Yize one last fierce glare from the city wall. Suppressing the urge to activate [Blood Awakening] and charge upward, Bart growled unwillingly, “Retreat!”
As he gave the order to withdraw, Bart gathered his strength and let out a thunderous roar toward the city wall.
“You brat! Listen well! Consider yourself lucky today. I’ll let you keep your pathetic life!”
“Next time I come, I will definitely use my true power! I hope you can still bring me some new entertainment then, just like you did today!”
On the city wall, Yize’s mouth could not help but twitch slightly as he heard this declaration of “special attention.” He felt utterly speechless.
‘It’s one thing to be targeted by a female vampire, but now even a male one is obsessed with me?’
What was even happening?
……
Meanwhile, at the rear of the human lines, Sara was suppressing the strange sensations in her body while searching for Emma.
Eventually, she found Emma in a relatively quiet corner of the battlefield. Emma was still desperately waving her staff, continuously releasing large-scale [Buff Magic].
“Emma! That’s enough, stop! The Vampire Army has already begun to retreat!”
Sara hurried forward. She was also using her arm to awkwardly cover her chest, her cheeks flushed crimson as she shouted to Emma.
She could feel that under the continuous radiance of Emma’s overly “abundant” [Buff Magic], a certain part of her own body was still undergoing a slow transformation.
As she shouted, Sara was also filled with shock.
The amount of Mana and the delicate control over it that Emma was currently displaying were simply horrifying.
That unending [Healing Radiance] and the buffs covering nearly half the battlefield—the duration and range were far beyond her imagination.
How was this the Junior Sister she knew, who was good at [Pharmacy] but only had mediocre Mana?
If one didn’t know better, they would think Emma had also obtained a weakened version of Yize’s [Massive Mana] and [Rapid Casting] talents.
“Senior Sister Laura! I… I can’t stop!”
Emma heard the voice and turned around. Her face was also a deep shade of embarrassed red, and she looked so anxious she was nearly in tears.
“If I stop and don’t keep consuming this overflowing Mana… it will just keep… getting bigger!”
Sara naturally understood what Emma meant by “getting bigger.” Feeling the same swelling ache in her own body, she blushed, her tone carrying a hint of helpless resonance.
“But… if you don’t stop, my… my side is also constantly… getting bigger…”
Emma took a quick glance at Sara’s condition and said with a sob in her voice, “Senior Sister, yours is still okay… look at me! I really can’t get any bigger!”
In her desperation, she subconsciously tugged at the collar of her magic robe, which had already been stretched taut, trying to relieve the suffocating pressure.
At this moment, Sara’s mental strength had been temporarily enhanced by the dual effects of the potion and the magic, making her perception exceptionally keen. She clearly saw the changes in Emma’s body.
Although she herself had exceeded her normal proportions, it was still within the realm of “over-development” that could be understood.
But Emma’s situation made her gasp in cold blood.
That scale had completely defied common sense, and it was still growing at a slow pace!
“What exactly is going on?” Sara forced herself to calm down and asked for the source of the problem.
Finding an outlet for her frustration, Emma explained at lightning speed.
“It’s just… all the [Mana Recovery Potions] I was carrying were used up. Luke said he had some and brought me a few bottles.”
“He… he poured three bottles down my throat all at once! And then I immediately felt something was wrong…”
Recalling the scene, her face was full of lingering fear.
“The recovery effect of that [Potion] was staggering! It filled my depleted Mana in just a dozen seconds, and the Mana just kept surging out!”
“When I found that the Mana was starting to overflow uncontrollably, my body… my body started to undergo this change!”
“I could only desperately release [Magic] to guide the excess Mana out. That was the only way to barely slow down the rate of growth, but I can’t stop it completely…”
Sara immediately caught the key point and analyzed it.
“So, the change will only stop once the continuous recovery effect of the [Potion] wears off, or once you’ve completely consumed all the extra overflowing Mana?”
Emma nodded vigorously and confirmed, “That’s most likely it! And the buffs and healing spells I cast seem to have passed part of this… ‘growth’ effect to the targets, though it’s not as exaggerated or persistent as it is for me…”
Hearing this, Sara frowned tightly. Feeling the still-surging Mana in her body and the subtle changes in her physique, she whispered to herself, “I wonder how much longer the [Potion]’s effect will last.”
She made up her mind that she would find Luke later and demand a clear explanation of where those mysterious “Magic Potions” he gave her and Emma came from!
“Senior Sisters! Are you two all right?”
Speak of the devil. Luke’s concerned voice happened to come from behind them.
Sara spun around, about to question him, but the sight before her was so shocking she swallowed her words.
Luke was running toward them with a look of concern, his head now more than two sizes larger than usual.
That massive head paired with his already tall stature looked exceptionally abrupt and… hilarious.
Although Sara and Emma were doing their best to hide themselves with their magic robes, the overly prominent curves still instantly caught Luke’s gaze.
His eyes swept over the two of them, lingering for a moment on Emma’s staggering curves that even the baggy mage robe couldn’t fully conceal. His eyes widened into circles.
He subconsciously blurted out, “So… so big…”
“I’ll give you big!”
Filled with a mix of shame and anger, Sara didn’t even think before slapping him without hesitation.
Slap!
A crisp sound rang out. The force was so great that Luke’s massive head took his body with it, spinning like a red top several times before he stopped, dizzy and seeing stars.
“Immediately! Go wait at the entrance of our temporary residence!”
Sara suppressed her anger and embarrassment, dropping those words before grabbing Emma—who was still struggling to maintain her magic output.
They hurried toward the Inner City residence, almost as if they were fleeing the scene.
In their current state, they really weren’t fit to stay on a battlefield filled with people.
As they hurried past a section of the city wall to go down, they unexpectedly saw Swan crouching in the corner of a battlement, with Yize standing next to him looking somewhat at a loss.
Yize heard the footsteps and saw Sara and Emma approaching.
Having super-high [Constitution], he had already fully perceived the changes in Sara and Emma from the very first moment.
To avoid an awkward atmosphere, he very tactfully and quickly turned his body around to face the outside of the city, leaving them with only his back.
Seeing Yize’s considerate gesture, Sara and Emma felt their favorable impression of him increase a bit more.
“We’re heading back to our residence first. The… situation is a bit complicated right now,” Sara said to Yize, trying to keep her voice steady.
“In a while, you and Luke… come find us at the entrance of the residence.”
She placed special emphasis on “entrance.”
With that, she prepared to pull Emma away.
“Wait!”
Yize seemed to remember something suddenly. Still keeping his back to them, his tone carried a hint of urgent suggestion.
“Take Swan with you too!”
Sara was stunned. She stopped and looked back at Swan, who was crouching on the ground.
Earlier, her attention had been on Yize and her own embarrassment, so she hadn’t looked closely. Now, at Yize’s reminder, she studied Swan for a few moments.
Swan’s arms were wrapped tightly around his chest, his head buried deep between his knees.
The tips of his ears were so red they looked as if they might drip blood.
His entire body was trembling slightly, his face full of bashfulness and suppressed agony.
Sara’s gaze sharply caught the unnatural tightness and the arching curves at the chest of the magic robe that even Swan’s crossed arms couldn’t fully hide.
A startling thought surfaced in her mind.
She asked tentatively, in a soft, uncertain voice, “Junior Swan… could it be that you… were also hit by it?”
Swan’s body, still crouching on the ground, jolted violently. He buried his face even deeper and did not answer, but that silent reaction said everything.
Sara: “…”