Groob and two rebels formed the ragtag group of fighter’s head. They stood out slightly, baring the brunt of the beasts’ attack.

Since only rank one and some scattered rank two beasts had arrived yet, the three master warriors could calmly deal with a huge number of opponents.

Grobb swung his great sword around, focusing on using just the right amount of strength. Everyone could tell that this fight would take a long time, so preserving stamina was their foremost goal.

Slime, blood, and flesh piled up after the first encounter. Groob’s sword brutally cleaved multiple beasts apart with every swing.

Next to him the rebels proved their competence as well. One rebel’s sleeves ripped apart, revealing dense vines wrapped around his arms. He held his hands before his body as runes formed one after another. The master mage didn’t need much time to form a simple spell.

Lilly was amazed as she felt the ‘life’-mana released by the rebel. Huge amounts of it shot into his vines. Suddenly a vine rapidly grew as it stabbed forward. Proving surprisingly hard, it stabbed right into a Bisera’s head. Another vine immediately followed after it, getting rid of two other beasts with a powerful sweep.

As a bookworm, Lilly had already read about this possible usage of ‘life’-mana but overserving it in real life amazed her.

Meanwhile the other master rank warrior didn’t look as flashy, but his intelligence was shown off clearly. The man only formed small balls of water. Obviously, this was a simple trick for the experienced fighter.

Through either his mana control or knowledge of corresponding runes the water ball stayed in liquid form as it sailed through the air. Only after it hit a rank two Bisera did it suddenly freeze.

The beast’s body turned stiff while its terrified thoughts churned wildly. But it couldn’t do anything about the incoming sword which precisely pierced its head. Some surrounding rank one beasts tried to attack the master warrior, but with a sword strike too fast for Iain to see they died before they knew it.

Since the master warriors stabilized the situation, the experts didn’t have too much pressure either. Next to Forgoz fought five rebels. Everyone calmly dealt with the incoming beasts with their own means. Lilly could tell from behind, that Forgoz wasn’t using his highest speed yet. Obviously, the expert warriors still had strength to spare.

While calmly analyzing the situation, Lilly couldn’t stop herself from focusing her eyes on Iain. She balled her fists as she saw two rank one beasts advancing towards the young man.

Iain gripped his hammer tightly. A strong resolve supported his mind as he observed two beasts approaching him. He drew a deep breath. A loud roar suddenly escaped his mouth.

It served to bolster his own fighting spirit, while unsettling his opponents. The Biseras’ kept their crazy look though. They ignored Iain’s shout. Only bloodlust could be felt from them.

Iain wasn’t discouraged. Just as the Biseras entered his attack range, he instantly brought his hammer down. His goal was do reduce his enemies’ numbers on his first strike.

His heavy hammer fell through the air. Iain’s two hands grabbed it as far back as possible. Gravity aided him. A weighty pressure appeared above the Biseras’ heads. The beasts growled.

Naturally they wouldn’t wait for death. The targeted Bisera hastily made use of its superior agility as it jumped to the side.

Iain noticed the beast’s movement. He instantly proved his talents as a fighter. From last time he knew that the Bisera were agile beasts. Thus, he already kept some strength back for further movements.

His leg muscles strained. He pushed his right foot backward as his upper body tensed up. With another loud shout he forcefully rotated his body. The hammer’s trajectory changed.

Terrified eyes focused on the incoming hammerhead. The low-leveled Bisera couldn’t react. A tremor ran through its body. Its hastily crossed stinger didn’t offer much help. The impact swept the beast away. It crashed into a wall, stopping all movements.

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Meanwhile the second beast didn’t care for its companion. It used the perfect opportunity to attack Iain.

Under Lilly’s horrified gaze the beast reached Iain’s back. It raised its stingers, ready to end a life. The young woman already panicked.

Suddenly a blast of lightning shot over. The beast couldn’t react fast enough. Its sides were instantly seared. Its body spasmed a few times before it ceased all movements.

Lilly let out a relieved sigh.

Iain had never forgot about the second beast, although he didn’t have a concrete plan to deal with it. Just when he instinctively wanted to punch out behind him, he heard the characteristic crackling of lightning.

The young man turned towards Voro as he nodded in thanks. However, the lightning mage didn’t think he had done anything big. He was already concentrated on his task.

Explosions rang out once in a while. Voro was busy triggering the traps they set beforehand. Angry beast roars could be heard from the surrounding mines.

Meanwhile all kinds of ranged combatants did their jobs from behind the frontline. A surprising number of apprentices were mixed in, led by five experts.

Lilly was especially interested in an expert archer. She noticed that his deadly arrows kept gathering mana as they approached their targets.

Shortly before piercing into flesh, the archer made sudden hand gestures. While the beasts already thought they avoided serious injuries, the arrows mysteriously changed trajectory. The unsuspecting beasts were instantly skewered.

At other times the arrows didn’t change trajectory. Especially when they targeted rank two beasts. The crazed beast didn’t feel endangered from those arrows and advanced while simply taking injuries into account.

Suddenly its senses told it to be careful. At this point it was too late to escape, however. Lilly couldn’t tell what happened as the arrow strangely dealt way more damage than it should.

Only the archer and his companions knew that the arrow abruptly gained an immense weight at the last second. The massive impact was too much for the Bisera to bear. It went to the ground before others trampled it to death.

It was amazing to see how everyone could work together seamlessly. They formed a tight wall, not letting the Biseras gained any advantage. Occasional injuries were quickly healed by Lilly or the rebel next to her.

The rebels and mercenaries stably dealt with the incoming Biseras, but their attack didn’t stop. Angry roars still sounded in the distant. Soon some rank three beasts mixed into the crowd. The master warriors did their best to deal with them before they caused damage among the experts.

Soon the melee combatants were bathed in slime and blood. Searing pain assaulted their senses. The Bisera slime proved its toxicity as it burned under their skin. Yet they could only grit their teeth and continue. The rebel’s healer knew a spell to temporarily offset the poison’s effects, soon leading her to be the busiest fighter.

After only a few minutes the first signs of exhaustion appeared among the weaker fighters. Iain also felt his overstrained mussels, but he grit his teeth and carried on. His armor was already teared in a few placed and some wounds decorated his skin. The young man had to receive help multiple times.

He suppressed all those facts and the pain deep in his mind. One beast after another received his focus. His fighting capabilities grew in real time. He learned how much strength to put into each strike.

The low-leveled beasts soon thinned out under everyone’s efforts. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a reason for celebration. Everyone’s faces grew wary as the first rank four beast appeared.

Instantly the ranged combatants focused their attacks on it. Its stingers stroke out madly as it destroyed the incoming ice, lighting, and metal. Some attacks managed to slip through its defense tearing its skin. However, the beast was equivalent to a weaker master warrior. How could it be stopped by a bunch of experts?

Showing off its outstanding agility, it quickly appeared before the fighters. Groob and the vine-using rebel hastily intercepted it.

Under the siege of two masters the beast didn’t hold on for too long. Unfortunately, it bought a lot of time. More rank three beasts managed to attack the experts. Injuries accumulated quickly. Iain had to fall back completely. Lilly’s weaker heals didn’t help much. Only the master warriors were able to stabilize the situation.

Luckily the rank four beast also fell. The situation seemed to turn for the better. The warriors already saw light at the end of darkness. Some minds had already succumbed to exhaustion. They robotically performed the movements ingrained in their bones.

Only some rank three and rank one beasts remained. Lilly observed everyone’s faces. She had a grave expression as she observed all those beast corpses. This time the siblings received a small taste of what a war could be like. Strangely, Lilly wasn’t disgusted. The scene seemed almost… natural.

The young woman frowned lightly. She shook her head to dispel such thoughts. Her eyes wandered around until she focused on the master warriors. She watched them effortlessly dispatch of some rank three beats. However, a bad feeling spread in her stomach. The masters’ faces were solemn, as if waiting for a big enemy.

Lilly’s observation proved to be correct a few seconds later.

The rebel leader’s voice made everyone shudder:

“This isn’t over yet!”

His foreboding words were answered by three threatening growls.