Mo Han, upon hearing Liu Qingyuan speak, voiced his appreciation: "This Liu Qingyuan is indeed a man of integrity and selflessness. His words, once heard, will surely spare many unnecessary casualties; he has done a good deed."

With that said, Mo Han and Dali, along with the others, followed the crowd into the valley. Not long after entering, a deep, monstrous roar echoed from ahead. Everyone immediately became cautious, moving forward slowly. When they reached the front, they could already hear the sounds of fierce combat.

When Mo Han and his group drew nearer, they saw a crowd surrounding and attacking a beast perhaps only a meter tall. Mo Han took a closer look at the creature and gasped internally. Isn't this a panda from Earth? My own country’s national treasure—how could it be here? The beast was enveloped in a curtain of white light, tightly shielding itself. Mo Han was even more astonished; this was clearly a scaled-down version of the Level 10 Light-elemental Guardian Magic, the Holy Light Barrier, that he and Shui Ling’er had unleashed previously.

Every spell and burst of battle aura launched at the beast was reflected back by the white barrier. Many attackers had already been wounded by their own rebounding attacks, while the beast spat out dark, bubble-like orbs of light at an astonishing speed. Anyone struck by these black spheres instantly turned completely black, collapsing to the ground and screaming incessantly before quickly expiring.

Mo Han was startled, recognizing that the effect strongly resembled what his master, Mo Xiuyi, had described regarding Dark Magic. He marveled inwardly, Who knew this panda was a monster skilled in both Light and Dark elementals? He grew even more wary and cautious.

He turned to Dali and the others. "We should probably keep our distance for now. This beast looks tricky to handle. Getting hit by those black orbs from its mouth would be disastrous."

Everyone nodded in agreement, stopping at an open area about two hundred meters from the beast. Standing near Mo Han were several other individuals, and upon closer inspection, Mo Han realized that Henderson, the leader of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group he had met yesterday, was among them, accompanied by a dozen or so people who were presumably his members.

Henderson also noticed Mo Han’s party and glanced over. When he saw Mo Han looking his way, Mo Han offered a friendly smile. To his surprise, Henderson’s eyes flashed with momentary astonishment, which quickly morphed into contempt. Ignoring Mo Han’s smile, he turned away, dismissing them entirely.

Mo Han’s smile froze on his face, leaving him quite embarrassed. He thought wryly, It seems Henderson assumes I’m here again to buy the beast’s magic crystal to complete some task. It’s impossible to explain myself.

Mo Han stopped overthinking and focused intently on the beast in the fray, hoping to spot a weakness.

But Mo Han was disappointed. The beast seemed to possess inexhaustible magical energy. Given the cultivation level of a Human Saint Magister, the protective barrier should have been depleted after such prolonged and intense bombardment, yet the beast showed no sign of strain; the barrier remained perfectly stable.

At this point, the members of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group near Mo Han began to move. The mages cast Haste on every member, and remarkably, their team included a young priest whose insignia indicated he was a Mid-level Priest. This priest then cast the Blessing spell on all Iron Blood members, a ‘Sacred Might’ intended to mitigate incoming damage.

However, in Mo Han’s assessment, these measures would do little against a beast adept at high-level Dark Magic; it was merely better than nothing.

Seeing the Iron Blood group engage, Latin, standing nearby, anxiously asked, "Boss, the Iron Blood crew has moved in. Should we join the fight too?" Mo Han smiled and replied, "No rush. In my view, this monster hasn't shown its full strength yet. It’s safer if we wait a little longer."

With the Iron Blood Mercenary Group joining the fray, the pressure on the beast increased significantly. Their fierce coordinated attack actually made the monster’s protective barrier flicker violently. At this moment, the beast seemed enraged by their persistence. It suddenly let out a furious roar, and the speed of the orbs ejected from its mouth instantly more than doubled.

The black spheres erupted like machine-gun fire, spraying wildly around. Instantly, the unprepared crowd was struck down in large numbers. Among the Iron Blood Mercenary Group, only the leading Henderson and another High-level Swordsman managed to narrowly dodge the onslaught. All the lower-ranking Swordsmen and Warriors who had been swarming the beast were hit, collapsing onto the ground, moaning incessantly.

The mages and priests positioned further out were largely spared, as the frontal warriors had absorbed most of the light orbs. They narrowly escaped disaster, but their faces were bloodless with terror. Soon, the ground was littered with figures struck down by the black spheres, and the valley echoed with their wails.

The beast stood triumphantly, staring at the fallen, ceasing its offensive, seemingly savoring the destruction it had wrought.

Most of the remaining people retreated further away, terrified. This beast’s displayed power suggested it was at least at the level of a Saint Beast; no one dared to advance further.

Seeing the ground strewn with the wounded, Dali and Anna were filled with distress. Dali spoke up, "Mo Han, since you recognized that the beast’s magic is Dark-elemental, can't you do something to save these people?" In truth, Mo Han would have acted even without Dali’s urging. He was not a cruel man, and he knew he could not stand by and watch so many perish before him.

Mo Han nodded, quickly approaching the battlefield. Henderson, who was attending to his wounded comrades near his position, saw Mo Han draw near and couldn't help but call out, "What are you doing coming so close? Get back! It's too dangerous here."

This only increased Mo Han’s good impression of Henderson.

However, Mo Han ignored him, instead beginning to chant under his breath while forming precise hand gestures. Mo Han was preparing to cast Holy Light Illumination, a high-level, group-healing Light Magic spell—an 8th-level spell capable of healing wounds and dispelling most negative magical effects. Casting this spell with his current strength required considerable effort, necessitating the drawing of magical patterns in the air to accelerate the casting speed.

If he delayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to save anyone.

He leaped toward...