The group stopped after advancing for only a short while.
What unfolded before them was a vast area marked by intense battle scars—trees toppled, roots exposed, churned earth, scorch marks, and the pervasive smell of burning.
All these proclaimed that a fierce battle had taken place here not long ago.
Anna walked up to a mangled Magic Beast corpse on the ground, reached out, and touched it.
The body flickered with a purple glow, and a wisp of Magic Power gathered at her fingertip.
Anna frowned.
“This Magic Power… is a bit strange.”
“Judging from the feedback, this Magic Beast died only about half an hour ago. The Magic Power is still fresh, not yet dissipated, but there’s something mixed into the Magic Power lingering around the wounds.”
She turned to look at the Mages who were using Magic Detection.
“Everyone, can you see any traces of the Magic Beast’s departure?”
The Mages exchanged glances and shook their heads.
“There are traces of destruction everywhere. It’s hard to determine the direction the Magic Beast left.”
“Second-tier Magic Detection can only sense general situations within a 200-meter straight line. Anything further is impossible.”
“I don’t see anything. At least, there’s no sign of Magic Beasts in range.”
Anna nodded, saying nothing more.
Beside her, Isaac was as silent as a puppet.
Krexia also stood in the center of the warriors’ protective formation, but she didn’t cast any detection magic.
From the moment she entered the Mageling Forest, she had already sensed the presence of Mutant Magic Beasts in that direction.
Ever since she received Coutia’s divine infusion last night, her sensitivity to all kinds of energy, including witchcraft, had greatly increased.
Not only Mutant Magic Beasts, even ordinary Magic Beasts couldn’t escape her perception.
This feeling was similar to being under the Oath of Focus—perhaps even stronger.
“Then let’s follow the freshest battle traces and head toward the nearest Magic Power Gathering Point.”
“These Mutant Magic Beasts devour Magic Crystals and other magical materials from the bodies of Magic Beasts they kill. It’s clear their need for Magic Power has increased drastically.”
“Getting closer to a Magic Power Gathering Point gives us a higher chance of encountering them.”
Krexia suddenly spoke.
The others voiced their agreement—not just because they trusted her deduction, but also because she was the only one in the squad who had killed Mutant Magic Beasts.
In fact, she had killed two.
“Alright. Let’s do that for now.”
The team moved on.
Where was the nearest Magic Power Gathering Point?
The Mithril Mine.
Yesterday, after rescuing Fana’s squad at their request location, she had marked the spot of the Gathering Point.
After clearing out the Slimes clustered around the point, she had returned. Such gathering points needed to be handled by personnel from the Mage Guild with relevant specialization.
But with the current state of the Mageling Forest, the matter had been put on hold.
At that moment, Krexia felt that sense of being watched again, even stronger than before.
She snapped her head toward the source, but still found nothing out of the ordinary.
“What’s wrong, Miss Krecia?”
A Mage standing beside her noticed her strange state and asked.
“No, it’s nothing. Probably just my imagination.”
It was definitely not her imagination.
Krexia was sure.
Just in case, she drew both her staff and gunblade, and hung two homemade grenades at her waist.
As the squad advanced, they occasionally encountered Magic Beasts that had survived the Mutant Magic Beasts’ rampage, but Isaac dealt with each one swiftly.
Any Magic Beasts attempting to attack from the sides or rear were detected in advance by the Mages, restrained by the vanguard, and then finished off by Magic.
Compared to the difficult and cautious way mercenaries usually hunted in groups, Isaac was like a war god—Second and Third-Tier Magic Beasts were as fragile as paper before him.
The massive, heavy broadsword in his hand swung as easily as a stick, slicing through even large Third-Tier Treants in a single stroke.
The White Sanctuary was clearly expecting Magic Beasts of Tier Five or higher here; otherwise, they wouldn’t have assigned such powerful combatants.
All the way, Krexia’s grip on her staff tightened.
The constant sense of being watched from behind made her uneasy.
With such strength in the squad, she should have felt safe.
If Anna could come with Isaac, it meant Anna’s strength wasn’t lacking either—after all, Priestesses of the White Sanctuary weren’t just healers.
As the team continued, a Mage reacted.
“Found them.”
“There are strong Magic Power readings inside the Mithril Mine. Two sources. Both Tier Four.”
Tension spread through the squad at those words.
Two Tier Four Magic Beasts—such a force was formidable, especially when specialized for offense.
Even these seasoned Adventurers, who had hunted here for years, had rarely faced Tier Four Magic Beasts—and each encounter had been a dance with death.
If not for the strong backup from the White Sanctuary and the promise of high rewards and a polished record, none of them would have come.
As they drew nearer, only a few dozen meters remained to the Mithril Mine entrance, and the mining site came into view.
The area was deserted—the miners had long since evacuated. The ground was still pitted and scorched from yesterday’s battle with Fire Slimes.
At that moment, Anna stepped forward from the crowd and gestured for everyone to stay back.
“I’ll draw those two out. There are too many of us. Fighting in the narrow mine tunnels would be a disadvantage.”
She took a deep purple crystal from a ring on her hand.
Krexia saw it and sighed inwardly.
“As expected of the White Sanctuary. Wealthy as ever.”
High-purity Magicite—a Magicite Ore rich in Magic Power produced from a Magicite vein. Similar to Magic Crystals dropped by Magic Beasts, but with greater purity and difficulty of acquisition, though its Magic Power content is less than high-tier Magic Crystals.
It’s widely used in alchemy, magic tools, equipment crafting, and enchanting—and is always expensive.
The Magicite Anna had just produced contained enough Magic Power to match a Tier Four Magic Crystal.
Because of its purity and Magic Power content, Magicite could easily attract Magic Beasts that had lost their rationality.
As Anna infused a trace of Holy Light into it, the Magicite began to emit a deep purple glow.
Dense Magic Power radiated from within.
Inside the Mithril Mine, something stirred.