The five priests soon finished their inspections of the front and middle armies, and finally, it was the flank army's turn.
The soldiers had already lined up neatly, waiting for the priests' arrival.
Borne stood among the crowd, his heartbeat quickening as he focused on the slowly approaching priests, particularly the figure of Father Raphael.
His comrades were also filled with anticipation, quietly discussing the legendary presence of the priest.
As they waited, the sky suddenly changed.
What had been a clear night sky was now rapidly obscured by thick clouds, and the moonlight vanished completely.
The sky darkened in an instant, as if an invisible hand had abruptly drawn a heavy curtain across the heavens, covering every star and the moon itself.
Black clouds surged from the distant horizon like a tide.
A suffocating sense of pressure followed, and an oppressive aura blanketed the sky above the flank army.
In the clouds, streaks of purple lightning flashed, darting through the darkness like wild electric serpents, tearing through the night and illuminating the soldiers' terrified faces.
Thunder followed in quick succession, as if the heavens themselves were roaring, deep and deafening.
The ground began to tremble slightly, the vibrations moving from afar toward them, one after another, as if some massive beast deep within the earth was awakening.
The soldiers could feel the unsettling tremor beneath their feet, and an indescribable fear began to rise in their hearts.
"My god... what is that?" one soldier muttered, his voice trembling.
Borne felt his heart pounding violently, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
His mind flashed to the stories he had heard of the magic beasts that dwelled deep in the Celestoria Mountains—those terrifying creatures seemed ready to appear before them at any moment.
"It's the presence of a magic beast!"
An older soldier spoke nervously, his voice filled with disbelief and fear.
At that moment, the ground trembled as if something deep beneath it was awakening, accompanied by a thunderous roar.
"Maintain formation! Don't panic!"
The officers began shouting loudly, trying to calm the soldiers and order them to hold their ranks.
Borne's heart pounded harder, his gaze instinctively falling on Father Raphael.
Father Raphael stood at the front of the formation, his expression calm, as if the sudden changes had not shaken him at all.
His eyes were fixed on the swirling black clouds above, a deep glimmer flashing in his gaze.
While he remained composed, the priests around him began to show signs of unease.
"Prepare yourselves," Father Raphael said softly to Father Phillips beside him.
At that moment, the ground tremors grew more intense, the vibrations passing through everyone's feet as if the earth itself was letting out a deep growl.
The next instant, a bolt of purple lightning suddenly struck down from the sky, slamming into the ground a short distance away.
As the lightning hit, the earth shook violently, and a deep crack split open the ground, sending dust and debris flying as though the land itself had been torn apart.
The soldiers stood frozen in shock, their terror reaching a peak as chaos rippled through the air.
"Draw them away! We cannot fight here,"
Father Raphael commanded the other four priests.
Without hesitation, the four priests nodded quickly.
Father Carsey remained in place, lifting his hands, and the air around them became turbulent.
In an instant, a fierce wind rose, the power of the wind element gathering at his fingertips, howling through the night and stirring up violent gusts.
"Come, wind!"
With a sharp cry, Father Carsey unleashed his wind magic.
A powerful whirlwind formed beneath the feet of the five priests, gently lifting them as if an invisible hand had wrapped around them.
The whirlwind spun faster and faster, lifting the five priests high into the air and swiftly carrying them away from the army camp.
The five priests flew through the sky at high speed, the wind howling in their ears as the whirlwind propelled them further and further from the military encampment.
Borne and the other soldiers looked up, watching the five priests' figures turn into faint shadows, quickly disappearing into the distant horizon.
Sure enough, three enormous figures appeared in the sky, chasing after Father Raphael and the others at an incredible speed.
One of the figures was a gigantic vulture, its wings spreading wide enough to block out the sky.
Its jet-black feathers gleamed coldly under the moonlight, and with each beat of its wings, a fierce gust of wind surged forth. Its piercing screeches, like the howls of a creature from hell, assaulted the soldiers' ears.
On the ground, two even larger figures were barreling forward, shaking the earth with every step.
Leading the charge was a black panther, its body marked with red patterns that pulsed as if blood flowed across its fur.
The panther moved with incredible speed, each leap leaving deep imprints in the ground.
Beside it was a massive black bear, its body towering like a mountain.
Though its form was bulky, it radiated an overwhelming force that suffocated everything around it.
Its body was covered in glowing purple patterns, and each of its steps made the earth tremble as if it might crack open at any moment.
The vulture's screeches pierced the air like blades, cutting through the atmosphere and stabbing into the soldiers' ears.
Many soldiers collapsed instantly, clutching their ears and groaning in pain, while some fell to the ground unconscious, their eyes rolling back into their heads.
Borne felt a sharp, tearing pain in his ears, as though an invisible force was crushing his skull.
He gritted his teeth, desperately pressing his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the screeching.
His eyes were bloodshot from the strain.
Looking up at the sky, he saw the enormous vulture soaring overhead, its wings casting a dark shadow over the earth, like the black wings of death spreading across the night.
"This... is our enemy?"
Borne's heart was filled with shock—he had never encountered such terrifying magic beasts before.
The three beasts moved as fast as lightning.
The vulture in the sky suddenly spread its wings wide, and from between its wings, countless razor-sharp black feathers shot toward Father Raphael and the others like a storm of deadly blades.
The feathers transformed into black shadows in the air, whistling sharply as they sliced through the sky.
At the critical moment, Father Weiss raised his arm, and the earth rumbled with a deep vibration. Cracks spread rapidly across the ground.
Boom!
The earth split open, and from the crevice emerged a colossal fire serpent, its body wreathed in flames and flowing magma.
The fire serpent's form seemed to be forged from molten rock, with fiery magma occasionally dripping from its body.
Its presence filled the entire space with intense heat.
With a deafening hiss, the fire serpent opened its massive fiery maw and rushed to meet the falling feathers.
As the feathers collided with the fire serpent, they were instantly reduced to scorching ash, consumed by the serpent's blazing flames.
The fire serpent swayed its immense body, radiating brilliant heat, rapidly raising the surrounding temperature to unbearable levels.
The air around it was nearly scorched dry.
The five priests hovered in midair, sustained by Father Carsey's wind magic, which kept them steadily afloat.
Below them stretched the vast, endless ground, with the fiery serpent coiled beneath their feet.
In the distance loomed the faint outline of the Celestoria Mountain Range, while the wind howled incessantly around them.
Father Raphael narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the three magic beasts speeding toward them.
His white robe fluttered gently in the wind, and his brown eyes gleamed with a profound, calm light.
His expression was composed and solemn.
Weiss, Carsey, Phillips, and Thomas all stared intently ahead, their once relaxed expressions now replaced with heavy seriousness as they prepared for the imminent confrontation.