A dangerous aura engulfed everyone. Fear lastly appeared on many faces. While still keeping a few weaker beasts at bay, everyone focused on the incoming threat.

Loud steps were accompanied by cracks. Three Biseras approached through the already destroyed forest of spikes. With indifference they trampled on their subordinate’s corpses. About a hundred carcasses adorned their way.

A disgusting smell spread in the air, but no one had time to focus on this. Some brave ranged combatants fired their spells, but most were close to using up all their mana now.

The rebel leader observed the incoming Biseras. A solemn expression appeared on his face. For some reason his eyes also darted towards their surroundings.

Iain’s expression also turned grave. He bravely took a step forward, ready to give it his all. The hunger radiating from the high-ranking beasts’ eyes wasn’t enough to break his mind.

The agile beasts approached slowly, almost savoring the human’s horrified faces.

All beasts would grow more intelligent with increasing strength. Thus, it wasn’t impossible that the Biseras before them knew how to apply psychological pressure.

Underneath the rebel leader’s golden mask hid a handsome face. Right now, it revealed a struggling expression. A few seconds later he seemingly came to a decision, as he relayed his orders:

“I will take on the rank 5. You two hold back the rank fours! The rest clean up any low-leveled beasts. Don’t give up. We will all get out of here alive!”

Some magical power seemed to be infused into the rebel’s voice. A warm feeling spread among the fighters. Their minds stabilized.

Lilly noticed in surprise how everyone felt empowered by those words. Her own weakness caused by her empty mana storage was also slightly elevated. The young woman concentrated on recovering mana while her eyes focused on the master warriors.

Those decisively took a few steps forward. Groob cursed the situation, but he didn’t dodge the fight. The warriors were ready to fight the beasts.

The Biseras’ welcomed the provocation. They realized that only the three masters stood between them and a sumptuous meal. With so much food they might even advance in rank, climbing up in the Biseras’ hierarchy.

Such thoughts left the beasts excited. Suddenly they advanced together. They approached the master warrior’s at insane speeds.

The rank five beast had just vanished when it already was in attack range. The rebel leader let out a loud shout, attracting its attention. A waterball once again left his hand. The Bisera dodged this slow attack easily. Just as it stepped towards the side a sharp sword appeared in its path.

A disgusting stinger met the sword. The rank five beast was bigger and stronger than its weaker counterparts. Its face was eye-to-eye with the rebel leader’s.

An emotionless golden mask confronted a disgusting, slimy grimace. The Bisera reacted promptly. Its head shot forward, its horns threatening to pierce into its opponent’s eyes.

The rebel acted calmly. He jumped backwards, avoiding the blow. Seemingly the Bisera expected this move. It followed up, gaining the initiative. Unfortunately, it hadn’t noticed the rebel leader’s trick. A puddle of water had appeared on the ground out of nowhere.

It could be seen that the golden masked man was extremely well versed in mana control. He only used a minimal amount of environmental mana, and mostly formed a spell from his own mana. Normally this was considered a wastage of mana, but it served to hide the spell in situations like these.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The Bisera clearly wasn’t used to fighting such ingenious enemies. It stepped into the puddle. Its right leg suddenly froze over. It slightly stumbled in its movements. Shock appeared in its eyes.

Not missing his chance, the rebel leader’s sword swept towards the beast’s frozen leg. Naturally this bit of ice couldn’t keep the beast. Its muscles trembled, as cracks spread through the ice. A moment later its leg was free again. It pulled back but pain spread through its leg. A deep sword wound could be seen.

Now the rebel leader held the advantage. Sharp and fast stabs shot out one after another. The beast had to step back constantly. It wanted to dodge but the well-placed swords didn’t grant it any room to do so.

Relief and excitement appeared on everyone’s faces as they watched the rebel leader slightly overwhelming his opponent. Their eyes turned towards the other master warriors.

Groob was in a difficult spot. The Biseras weren’t the best matchup for him. His great sword was too slow. He managed to keep the beast at range, but it wouldn’t be enough to kill.

After a few exchanges both opponents had figured out the other’s rhythm. A glint appeared in the beast’s eyes. Just as it wanted to dash forward, a small tremor distracted it.

Groob finally proved that he deserved his rank. He revealed his own prowess in magic. A stele of stone suddenly shot up under the beasts’ abdomen. The Bisera growled angrily.

Unfortunately, the attack was a bit too slow. Throwing its whole weight into a backwards jump, the beast managed to escape the impact.

The bald mercenary wasn’t discouraged. Small holes of earth formed where the beast landed. Its leg slipped but the beast instantly stabilized. Before Groob could close the hole as planned, the beast had already dashed to the side.

While the adventurer also gained the upper hand in his fight, the last rebel appeared to be in a stalemate. His face was stern as vines stabbed at the Bisera. The beast stayed a few meters away, but its sharp stingers ripped apart all attacks.

Although the situation looked to be in balance, the rebel was quickly using up his mana in reality. Everyone knew that something had to change. Otherwise, he could only drag on until the rebel leader killed his opponent.

With a solemn expression beneath the golden mask the plant mage retreated step for step. His attacks grew slower as he tried to safe mana. While the beast leisurely followed it suddenly noticed something. A small metallic tool had dropped from the mage.

The Bisera sneered. It wouldn’t fall for such an obvious trick. Compared to the rebel leader’s unconventional spell this trap wasn’t secretive at all.

Staying out of range for a second the beast almost mocked its opponent. It growled loudly. A rank one beast to its side received an order. It dashed forward and approached the metal tool. Under the restraint of a strong hierarchy the rank one Bisera didn’t care for its life. It would remove the trap for its superior.

However, the plant mage’s runes suddenly changed. He put his hands together as a massive amount of mana gathered. His opponent watched in horror. It realized that it gave the mage enough time to form a stronger spell.

Suddenly a movement appeared among the many corpses on the ground. The unsuspecting adventurer looked on in horror as the dead rank four beast stood up again. Uramant had to look elsewhere to suppress his gag reflex.

Only Lilly looked on in awe. She was fascinated by the runes formed by the master mage. Her eyes closed as she felt the massive amount of mana rushing into the beast’s corpse. A small amount of ‘life’-mana mixed with another sort as they controlled the body. With Lilly’s knowledge she suspected the other mana to be of the ‘body’- attribute, but she couldn’t be sure.

The young mage was amazed by all the ingenious mages she saw today. Knowing that the ‘body’- attribute was normally used to buff physical capabilities Lilly admired this mage who knew such uncommon spells.

An inconspicuous rebel stood next to Lilly. As an apprentice she couldn’t change much in the fight, but strangely the group seemed to protect her especially. She observed the ongoing fight with a worried expression below her mask. Her tiny fists balled, praying for everyone to survive.

A plethora of emotions rippled through the fighters. Meanwhile the dead rank four beast managed to stand up. Its lifeless eyes focused on the mage’s opponent. Suddenly a loud rumble sounded out.

The rank one beast had thrown its body into the trap. An explosion sounded, but it didn’t influence the fight. The beast died for nothing.

Not even its superior cared. Even as a beast it found the sight before it eerie. It quickly focused its mind though. It understood that the walking dead didn’t matter if it could eliminate the mage.

Regaining its clarity, it focused its eyes back on the plant mage. It didn’t hesitate anymore. A small tremor sounded as it jumped forward. Unfortunately, it didn’t understand that mana boosted the dead body’s capabilities.

With a blur the dead body managed to obstruct the living Bisera. Suddenly a strange fight began between two beasts.

The onlookers watched with bated breath. No other beast still survived. Everything depended on the master warriors. A few seconds later everyone’s eyes lit up. A positive fact quickly became apparent:

The dead beast didn’t care about receiving injuries.