"Having three apprentices succeed on their first awakening already exceeds expectations."
Elsa wasn't disappointed. Three geniuses were more than enough for her.
Carlos recalled the various mission characters from Ember City in his past life, his gaze falling on the last person.
The final candidate was none other than the noble girl Heidi. The tension on her face was obvious, fine sweat beading on her pale forehead. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she stepped onto the altar.
Moments later, the pure white flames on the altar flared up once again. After a few breaths, they died down, and the noble girl walked down with an excited expression.
"Another successful awakening!"
The seven Psionic guards were amazed. The number of first-time awakeners in this batch was the highest in decades.
"Grace, Carlos, Kathy, Heidi—congratulations on your successful awakenings and becoming Psionics who protect humanity."
Elsa stood before everyone, expressing praise for the four successful candidates. The apprentices who hadn't awakened showed envious looks while appearing downcast, with many losing their fighting spirit.
Elsa noticed this. Her sharp gaze swept over the group below, and the teenagers didn't dare meet her eyes.
"First-time successful awakenings are always rare. Most people will succeed in their second awakening..."
"...Now put away your disappointment. If you want to succeed in your second awakening, train yourselves to the limit in the coming days!"
"Yes!"
This speech helped those who'd failed their first awakening start to recover. Elsa nodded subconsciously, seeming satisfied with everyone's reaction.
"So practiced—how many times has she given this speech?"
Carlos glanced at the people around him getting pumped up and his mouth twitched.
Seeing that it was about time, Elsa crossed her arms and announced:
"I now declare this awakening ceremony successfully completed!"
Just then, Elsa suddenly felt a wave of scorching heat from above. Looking up, her pupils contracted as she cried out:
"Oh no! Enemy attack!"
Several pitch-black flames appeared out of nowhere in the sky, plummeting straight down toward the apprentices in the valley.
"Seven-fold Ice Arrows!"
Elsa didn't have time to say anything else. An ice-crystal bow appeared in her hands, energy gathering in her body as seven arrows radiating bone-chilling cold shot skyward!
"BOOM!"
The black flames were successfully intercepted, smoke billowing everywhere.
Elsa's expression turned grave. Her six companions instantly vanished, reappearing around the apprentices to protect them.
Though the apprentices didn't know who was attacking, they all sensed the tense atmosphere and didn't dare move.
Carlos stared with interest at the valley entrance, vaguely sensing a powerful presence approaching.
"Finally here?"
"Hahaha, little Sasha! Long time no see—you're still the same old you, no progress at all!"
Seductive laughter echoed from far to near. At the canyon entrance, a tall figure slowly appeared.
She had a bizarre, alluring appearance, wearing crimson leather armor that showed off her smoking hot figure, making many innocent apprentices afraid to look directly at her.
But where her hands should be were two crimson pythons, hissing with forked tongues.
On her beautiful, delicate face, a pair of vertical golden snake pupils radiated chilling coldness.
"It's you! Blood Snake Princess!"
Elsa gritted her teeth, drawing her bow and firing a flame arrow.
"BOOM!"
The crimson python on Blood Snake Princess's right hand suddenly enlarged, opening its massive maw to swallow the powerful flame arrow in one gulp.
"Elsa, old friend—is this how you greet me when we meet?"
Blood Snake Princess wasn't hurried at all, her eyes full of amusement. A terrifying aura spread out, making the apprentices' bodies stiffen. Tangible killing intent pressed down on them, and they didn't dare move an inch. The scene instantly fell silent.
Seeing Blood Snake Princess so casually block the flame arrow, Elsa and her seven companions felt things weren't looking good.
In the crowd, Carlos recalled the Blood Snake Princess intel he'd learned in school:
"Blood Snake Princess, one of the human geniuses from twenty years ago. She had terrifying talent in the Jungle pathway, especially shapeshifting, with transformation skills that had evolved multiple times.
For unknown reasons, after successfully subjugating dark mist monsters once, she suddenly betrayed humanity and turned to darkness, killing six companions. Only one barely survived and was rescued.
Her strength is at least that of a peak mid-tier Psionic with Spirituality 29!"
That was the public version. Having intimate knowledge of "The Dark Era," Carlos naturally knew what really happened.
Rather than betrayal, it was more like possession. In that battle against dark mist monsters, the monsters weren't actually eliminated—instead, one secretly possessed Blood Snake Princess's body, controlling her and causing all the tragedy.
"Wow, there are so many of you. Too bad, I've got plenty too."
The python on Blood Snake Princess's right arm suddenly spat out a pitch-black stone. Then the left python bit it, crushing it into smoke that quickly spread in all directions. Immediately, dense chittering sounds filled the air!
In the distant darkness, one massive shadow after another kept approaching. The faces of Elsa's seven-person team looked incredibly grim.
"Damn it, how are insect swarm monsters from the Withered Lands here!"
Those shadowy figures making eerie sounds were actually gigantic beetles. Most were black and red all over, with twelve thick, powerful legs covered in sharp spikes that made your skin crawl.
Most chilling of all were their compound eyes with intricate patterns—bloodthirsty and frenzied, containing not a trace of rationality.
Information about the monsters surfaced in Carlos's mind:
[Black Beetle, Spirituality 1]
[Black Beetle, Spirituality 2]
...
These were the lowest-level monsters from the Withered Lands. Elsa and the other Psionics weren't afraid of them individually.
But there were too many of them, and each one was more than any unawakened apprentice could handle. If their protection slipped even slightly, this new generation would suffer devastating losses.
"Damn it, where's the garrison? Weren't they supposed to be hiding nearby!"
Elsa's face was extremely grim. The situation had taken an unexpected turn.
"You guys quickly get the apprentices out of here. I'll hold her off!
Especially those four awakened apprentices—they must be safely escorted back to Ember City!"
Elsa was exactly the lone survivor from Blood Snake Princess's team twenty years ago. She knew Blood Snake Princess's power better than anyone.
Although she'd trained desperately over the years, driven by hatred, and her strength had improved by leaps and bounds—even reaching mid-tier herself—Blood Snake Princess's power definitely hadn't stagnated. She was surely even more terrifying now.
"Seven-fold Ice Arrows!"
"Twin Snake Strike!"
Elsa blocked Blood Snake Princess's path, and the two clashed.
"Captain..."
The six team members looked at each other.
"Let's quickly get the apprentices to safety, then immediately return to help the captain!"
Everyone nodded, then immediately gave orders:
"Don't panic! Stay close behind us!"
The apprentices knew that in this situation, they had to obediently follow the Guardians' instructions.