The battle deep within Old Ashvarn had reached a critical turning point.
And for the first ti since the monsters’ siege began,
the hunters of the First Squad and everyone fighting beside them
were finally able to breathe again.
Thanks to a newly arrived group tearing through the monster formation from behind,
the pressure weighing down Gustav, Moon, and the others eased considerably,
allowing them to catch their breath and reorganize themselves.
They couldn’t clearly see what was happening at the rear because of the dense smoke created by the flas.
Even so, they could still make out monsters being hurled left and right
as though soone were launching them from a catapult.
"What the hell is happening back there?!
Who’s doing that?!"
One of the First Squad mbers shouted in disbelief,
especially after seeing gigantic monsters weighing several tons
being tossed around like ragdolls.
"It doesn’t matter who’s doing it!"
Taking advantage of the opportunity,
Gustav Heart swung his colossal greatsword
and pushed deeper into the monster ranks.
His Aura Armor surged around him,
a resolute look carved across his face.
"I don’t know what’s happening either,
but whoever’s fighting back there just gave us room to breathe."
Gustav understood perfectly well
that if things had continued the way they were before,
their annihilation would have been almost guaranteed.
If not for the incredibly powerful mage among them—
a mage capable of unleashing wide-range destructive spells nonstop—
they would have died long ago.
"Co with !
Let’s break through them and make use of this chance!"
Charging forward alongside the First Squad,
Moon Heart,
and several of the strongest knights from the other squads,
Gustav led a savage assault straight through the monster formation.
Among them all,
Gustav himself and Moon dealt the greatest amount of damage.
As he glanced toward the girl shrouded in Phoenix flas,
Gustav couldn’t help but feel grateful toward her...
and regretful for ignoring her the night before.
’Moon Heart and I are powerful...
but our strength shines in one-on-one battles,
not large-scale warfare.’
’All we can really do
is swing our swords with everything we have
to kill whatever stands before us.
That’s why I’m grateful to that mage.
She’s the only one capable of inflicting destruction on this scale.’
In terms of individual strength,
Gustav and Moon truly stood above everyone else there.
But theirs was the kind of power
that excelled against singular opponents—
bosses and elite enemies.
When it ca to endless hordes of monsters, however,
their effectiveness dropped sharply.
Mages, on the other hand...
shined brightest on battlefields like these.
Moon Heart was capable of using magic as well,
but not anywhere near Luna’s level in that regard.
Nor did she possess a Blessing
that continuously replenished her mana reserves,
forcing her to conserve her spells carefully.
And speaking of Luna—
The mont the pressure on their formation eased slightly,
she imdiately stopped casting mid-tier fire spells
and began preparing sothing far stronger instead.
A high-tier fire spell.
Casting sothing of that level at her current rank
was imnsely difficult
and required a long preparation ti.
The nearby mages guarding her grew visibly nervous because of it,
using what little mana they had left to defend her.
"Is it really wise for her to stop casting
just because the monsters slowed down a little?
What if they attack even harder than before...?"
One of the mages complained anxiously,
clearly pessimistic about Luna Heart’s decision.
But Luna was extrely decisive.
The mont she saw monster corpses flying through the air from afar,
she recognized an opportunity...
and bet everything on it without hesitation.
"We don’t have a choice except to trust her...
and whoever’s fighting the monsters on the other side."
Another mage responded while remaining alert,
his own expression filled with worry.
At the sa ti,
a chaotic battle had erupted at the rear of the monster formation.
Ethan’s group launched a direct assault imdiately,
without complicated plans
and without wasting a single second.
With Jackson leading the charge at the front,
the giant barreled forward, trampling everything in his path.
The others followed closely behind him,
using his enormous body as cover
while killing any monsters that survived his rampage.
Their breakthrough was supported from above
by the archer Chai Heart,
alongside two mages—Schierke among them.
The three fought from the rooftops,
taking advantage of the higher ground
after Ethan used his grappling hook
to pull them onto the buildings earlier.
Given the lack of ti,
this was the best plan Ethan had been able to co up with.
"So you’re using as a human shield now, boy?!
How rude of you!!"
Maintaining that eerie smile of his,
his serpent-like eyes glowing ominously,
Jackson shattered the skulls of mutated monsters
with every punch he threw.
But the monsters were simply too nurous.
Punching them all was impossible,
so Jackson started crushing them with his body instead.
Every ti he slamd into one of those creatures at full speed,
the impact sent them flying away regardless of the difference
in size or weight between them and him.
That continued for a while
before Jackson’s montum finally slowed.
The sheer number of monsters ahead of him
forced even him to proceed more carefully.
As he tore through the horde with overwhelming brutality,
pushing deeper into the flas and dense smoke,
he found himself genuinely surprised.
"I didn’t expect much from this generation’s hunting squads...
but surviving against a flood of monsters like this...
that’s impressive."
"I told you already, didn’t I?
This generation has talents
that won’t lose to yours no matter what!"
Ethan replied while staying close beside Jackson,
fighting only at the bare minimum
to preserve the little mana he still had left.
His human hand wielded the Great Executioner Sword,
while his chanical Legion Arm dragged behind it
a gigantic greatsword over two and a half ters long—
the heaviest and largest weapon in Ethan’s arsenal.
Yet wielding it remained easy for him
thanks to the Legion Arm
and his absurdly high Strength stat.
Third Squad mbers Raiden and Alicia followed closely behind him,
completely covering his back.
Both possessed enough strength
to kill the monsters surrounding them.
anwhile, arrows and offensive spells rained down from above,
sniping any creature attempting to ambush them.
Even though everyone was fulfilling their roles perfectly,
Jackson remained the cornerstone of the entire operation.
Their breakthrough strategy depended on him completely.
If that giant man fell...
their deaths would be guaranteed.
But Ethan wasn’t worried about that in the slightest.
Because the serpent-eyed giant...
was still holding back.
Activating the Sage Crow’s Insight,
Ethan cast a glance toward Jackson,
attempting to read his stats.
And what he saw...
was anything but ordinary.
...
Jackson Heart.
Level: 66 (King Rank)
Class: Knight.
Blessing: Heart of the Rampaging Giant.
...
Jackson’s combat stats were monstrously high,
especially his Strength and Endurance.
He also possessed an incredibly powerful Blessing,
one that amplified his physical power
to terrifying levels.
Ethan recognized it imdiately.
It wasn’t unfamiliar to him at all.
’Heart of the Rampaging Giant...
A Blessing that forces the heart
to pump overwhelming power into every muscle in the body,
making them many tis stronger than normal.’
It was an impressive Blessing.
But what truly made it terrifying...
was Jackson himself.
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