The battlefield shook.
Smoke rolled across the northern plains.
Broken crystal covered the ground.
The first wave of monsters had been stopped.
But the battle...
Was far from over.
---
The Emerald Guardian roared.
Its emerald antlers blazed with ancient mana.
CRAAAAAAACK!
The sky above the battlefield darkened.
Hundreds of emerald crystals formed in the air.
Inside his mind...
Rex spoke.
Commander...
Enemy Skill detected.
Emerald Rain.
Estimated impact...
Catastrophic.
Sam looked toward the walls.
If that attack landed...
Hundreds would die.
His eyes sharpened.
"Not happening."
---
He disappeared.
Shadow Step!
The world blurred.
Sam appeared directly above the Emerald Guardian.
Soul Reaver ignited with black mana.
"Soul Slash!"
A massive crescent of death mana crashed downward.
BOOOOOOM!
The Emerald Guardian crossed its crystal antlers.
The attack exploded against its defense.
A shockwave rippled across the battlefield.
The monster slid backward...
But remained standing.
---
The Guardian's eyes glowed.
The crystals suspended above the battlefield suddenly descended.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
"HERE THEY COME!"
Ben shouted.
---
"Shield Wall!"
One thousand Vanguard soldiers locked their shields together.
Blue mana spread across the formation.
The Goblin Warlord King slammed its massive axe into the earth.
It roared.
The Goblin Warriors reinforced the human shield wall.
CRASH!
Thousands of crystal spears slammed into the defensive line.
The walls of shields trembled.
But they held.
Not a single formation broke.
---
Behind them...
Zora raised the Staff of Arcane Flow.
"Mage Corps!"
"Barrier Formation!"
Three hundred mages extended their staffs.
Blue mana merged into a massive dome.
The Goblin Mage floated into the center.
Its crystal staff shone brilliantly.
"Crystal Prison!"
Crystal pillars erupted upward...
Not to trap enemies.
But to reinforce weak sections of the barrier.
The emerald crystals struck.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Explosions echoed endlessly.
Yet the barrier endured.
---
The monster horde surged again.
"Archers!"
Runa drew the Windpiercer Bow.
"Storm Volley!"
Hundreds of arrows split into thousands.
The sky became a storm of steel and wind.
Crystal Wolves fell by the dozens.
Mana Serpents were pinned to the earth.
Stone Apes staggered beneath relentless fire.
---
The right flank suddenly shook.
A massive Crystal Boar broke through.
Then another.
Then five more.
Kael grinned.
"My turn."
The Frost King's Spear erupted with icy mana.
"Frozen Dominion!"
The ground instantly froze.
The charging boars lost their footing.
"Spear Corps!"
"ADVANCE!"
Two hundred spearmen moved as one.
THRUST!
Every spear struck simultaneously.
The first line of boars collapsed.
Kael leaped high into the air.
"Frost Breaker!"
His spear slammed into the ground.
A wave of frozen mana erupted outward.
Everything within thirty meters froze solid.
The Crystal Boars shattered into glittering fragments.
---
Far behind the lines...
One wounded soldier collapsed.
Before panic could spread...
Mira arrived.
"Heal!"
Golden light flowed from her hands.
The soldier's wounds closed instantly.
Another healer rushed to assist.
"Commander Mira!"
"Left flank!"
She turned immediately.
"Medical Team Three!"
"With me!"
Dozens of healers moved together.
No injured soldier was left behind.
---
Hidden within the forest...
Leon crouched atop a tree branch.
His sharp eyes never left the battlefield.
A Shadow Scout appeared beside him.
"Captain."
"Report."
"New contacts."
"Where?"
The scout pointed deeper into the forest.
"They aren't monsters."
Leon frowned.
"How many?"
"...Unknown."
"They're hiding."
Inside his mind...
His System confirmed the report.
Unknown observers.
High concealment.
Leon disappeared.
The Shadow Scouts followed.
Whatever was watching this battle...
He intended to find it.
---
Meanwhile...
Sam and the Emerald Guardian continued exchanging devastating attacks.
The beast charged.
The ground exploded beneath its hooves.
"Shadow Step!"
Sam vanished.
The Guardian's antlers carved a trench through the earth.
Sam reappeared above it.
"Death Wave!"
Soul Reaver released a tide of black mana.
The wave slammed into the Guardian.
CRAAAAACK!
Large sections of emerald crystal shattered.
The monster stumbled.
But instead of weakening...
Its wounds began repairing themselves.
Green mana flowed through every crack.
Inside his mind...
Rex spoke urgently.
Commander...
Analysis complete.
The Emerald Guardian is absorbing ambient mana.
Unless its mana core is destroyed...
It will continue regenerating.
Sam smiled.
"So..."
"We stop aiming for the armor."
His eyes locked onto the glowing emerald crystal buried deep within the creature's chest.
"We destroy the heart."
The Emerald Guardian roared.
The emerald light surrounding its body intensified.
Far away...
Deep within the Emerald Wildlands...
A voice older than kingdoms...
Older than the System...
Echoed through forgotten ruins.
"So..."
"The little king has potential."
Ancient emerald eyes slowly narrowed.
"Let us see..."
"...whether humanity is worthy."
The Regional Lord...
Had begun watching Sam personally.