The battlefield burned.
Smoke drifted across the shattered plains north of Base 101.
Crystal shards glittered beneath the morning sun like broken stars.
The second monster wave continued to crash against the defenders.
Yet...
For the first time since the battle began...
The horde had stopped advancing.
---
High above the battlefield...
Sam hovered in midair.
His black cloak fluttered behind him.
Soul Reaver hummed with dark mana.
Across from him...
The Emerald Guardian lowered its crystal antlers.
Its glowing chest pulsed brighter than before.
Deep within the cracks...
A brilliant emerald core beat like a living heart.
Inside his mind...
Rex spoke.
Commander...
Mana Core confirmed.
Destroying the core will terminate the Guardian's regeneration.
Sam smiled.
"So that's your weakness."
The Guardian answered with a deafening roar.
RRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!
Ancient mana exploded from its body.
The earth split beneath its hooves.
Then...
It charged.
---
"Shadow Step."
Sam vanished.
BOOM!!
The Guardian crashed through the place where he had stood.
Its antlers carved a trench hundreds of meters long across the battlefield.
Sam reappeared above its back.
"Soul Slash!"
A blade of black mana crashed downward.
CRAAAAACK!!
The Guardian twisted just enough.
The attack shattered its shoulder instead of its chest.
Green crystal scattered across the battlefield.
But...
The glowing core remained untouched.
---
Below...
Ben saw the opening.
"VANGUARD!"
"PRESS FORWARD!"
Over one thousand soldiers advanced together.
"Iron Formation!"
Blue mana connected every shield.
The Goblin Warlord King lifted its massive axe.
Its blue soul flames blazed.
Then...
It released a roar unlike any before.
"GRAAAAAAAAH!!"
A crimson aura burst outward.
Every Goblin Warrior froze.
Their eyes ignited.
Their muscles swelled.
Weapons glowed with scarlet mana.
Inside Sam's mind...
Rex immediately responded.
New Skill Detected.
Goblin Warlord King.
Warlord's Command.
All nearby Goblin units receive increased strength, defense, morale, and combat coordination.
Sam grinned.
"You've been holding out on me."
The Goblin Warlord King slammed its axe into the ground.
The Goblin Army charged as one.
For the first time...
The monsters were forced backward.
---
The Crystal Giant took one enormous step.
Its crystal fists clenched.
A Stone Ape leaped toward Ben's formation.
The Giant caught it in one hand.
Then...
CRASH!!
It slammed the monster into the ground.
The shockwave knocked dozens of Crystal Wolves off their feet.
Citizens watching from the walls erupted into cheers.
"Our Guardian!"
---
Behind the Vanguard...
Zora stood beside the Goblin Mage.
Both watched the battlefield.
"The Guardian's core..."
"It's exposed only for a moment."
The Goblin Mage nodded.
Its crystal staff glowed brighter than ever.
Mana surged wildly around its body.
The surrounding mages looked at one another.
"...Commander?"
Zora's eyes widened.
"No..."
"It's forcing more mana through its core."
The Goblin Mage raised its staff.
"Mana Convergence."
Every mage nearby instinctively answered.
Blue streams of mana flowed into the Goblin Mage.
Its crystal staff began to crack beneath the pressure.
---
Meanwhile...
Leon appeared beside Sam atop a shattered crystal outcrop.
"They're gone."
Sam glanced toward him.
"The observers?"
Leon nodded.
"They escaped."
He held up the broken emerald crystal he had recovered.
"But they left this."
Rex immediately analyzed it.
Unknown material.
Not produced by any known kingdom within Eastern Aetherra.
Sam looked at the fragment for only a moment.
"Later."
"The Guardian comes first."
Leon disappeared once more.
Without another word.
---
The Emerald Guardian suddenly reared onto its hind legs.
Its chest opened.
The glowing mana core was completely exposed.
Rex's voice echoed urgently.
Commander!
Target vulnerable!
Sam's eyes flashed.
"This ends now."
Black mana erupted around Soul Reaver.
Death itself seemed to gather along the blade.
Far below...
Every member of Base 101 looked upward.
Ben.
Zora.
Leon.
Runa.
Kael.
Mira.
George.
Master Doran.
The Crystal Giant.
Even the Goblin Warlord King.
Every one of them knew...
Their Commander had found the opening.
Sam disappeared.
"Shadow Step."
He appeared directly before the exposed core.
"Soul Reaver..."
The runes along the sword ignited.
"...Soul Pierce!"
The blade surged forward like a bolt of black lightning.
The Emerald Guardian's eyes widened.
For the very first time...
Fear appeared within them.
The tip of Soul Reaver struck the glowing emerald core.
CRAAAAAAACK!!
A web of fractures spread across it.
The Guardian screamed.
The sound echoed across all of Base 101.
But the core...
Did not shatter.
Sam's eyes narrowed.
"...Almost."
Then—
DING!
A brilliant golden light erupted behind the front lines.
Everyone instinctively turned.
The Goblin Mage floated into the sky.
Mana spiraled around its body in enormous torrents.
Its staff shattered.
Then reformed into something grander.
Ancient runes ignited around it.
Inside Rex's voice, for the first time since the battle began...
There was unmistakable excitement.
Commander...
Evolution conditions fulfilled.
The Goblin Mage is evolving...