Bia's figure soared across the sky, quickly maneuvering through the swarm of bats to approach the border. Alec followed closely behind, cursing under his breath when a monster tried to bite his leg. He kicked it back into the forest with an exhausted expression.
His eyes traveled toward the large bat, watching them with its crystal-like eyes from a distance. A vein bulged on his forehead as he noticed the mirth dancing in the bat's eyes.
"Haha... is it mocking me?"
Alec rolled up his sleeves, ready to dive towards the monster lord once again. But his actions halted when Kyle appeared a short distance away. Alec's gaze met the silver-haired man, who grabbed his shoulder and pulled him towards the border.
"Come with me! We have a lot of work to do!"
"Huh?"
Despite his confusion, Alec quickly followed. Just like him, Kyle called Carcel, Regius, Sinon, Sia, and a few other strong figures he knew. He pointed towards the land.
"Guys, I want you all to focus on the area in front of the border. Kill as many monsters as possible and clear the space. Also, if possible, get everyone away from the forest entrance quickly."
The eyes staring at him looked a bit confused, but with a quick nod, everyone dove toward the ground and started slaying as many monsters as they could. Amidst the chaos, they shouted orders for everyone in front of the forest entrance to slowly retreat towards the border.
Kyle took a glance at the surroundings and closed his eyes for a moment. If everything went as planned, they would soon defeat the monster lord. He snapped his eyes open and focused on Alec, who was taking down some bats in the distance.
'Alec, you have a powerful wind skill, right?'
His voice echoed inside Alec's head, who killed the bats and appeared beside him.
"I do have one. Do you need me to do something?"
"Just get ready to unleash your strongest wind skill. You need to blow the flames and make them spread faster."
Alec nodded, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"Wait... what?"
He blinked and stared at Kyle, who floated towards the border, and in the next second, Mia appeared in front of Kyle.
"What are they up to?"
Alec massaged his temples and hurriedly made his way towards the silver-haired man.
Kyle took a deep breath, and suddenly the mana around him trembled violently. A faint round symbol appeared in the air, growing wider and brighter until it encompassed the entire sky.
Elder Han and the others who were still drawing symbols on the border paused as their symbols began to float in the air. The old man gasped in shock and snapped his head toward Kyle. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The kid had already learned so much about arrays, what else would he teach him now?
'Wait, I can teach him about potions!'
Retric and King Cedric both looked up in astonishment, their eyes fixed on the sky filled with countless symbols gathering in a circle.
The symbols glowed brightly, and with a gust of wind, the surrounding mana flared up and moved toward the symbols. The crowd stood in awe, witnessing the spectacle in the sky, but they couldn't fully appreciate its beauty as they had to focus on defeating the many monsters in front of them.
Kyle narrowed his eyes, staring at a faraway place where he sensed a sharp gaze. It seems the monster lord became alert because of his actions, but who cares? The arrogant bat's eyes told him it was only mildly amused, not enough to come and fight mere humans and soldiers trying to stay alive.
'Huh, let's see how long you can watch.'
Kyle smirked, glancing at the symbols that dimmed with each passing second. He let out a sigh.
'I want compensation for the resources I'm going to waste!'
He clicked his tongue, and suddenly thousands of mana stones appeared around him, but the moment they appeared, they were sucked up by the symbols.
'More?'
Kyle massaged his temples and soothed his aching heart before a pulsating flower appeared in his hand. The flower petals shimmered constantly, shifting colors with a soft light.
In an instant, many monsters turned their heads towards the flower, as if sensing something otherworldly. Not only the monsters but even the humans were drawn to the flower. However, before anyone could understand the reason, Kyle tossed the flower up towards the symbol.
Alec's mouth hung open as he watched how the symbols effortlessly devoured the flowers. Instantly, his hand grew sweaty, and he glanced at Kyle with a blank expression.
"Please tell me you had no idea that the flower was a divine grade one?"
Kyle stared at him and blinked. He did know it was a divine-
grade one, considering he had stolen it right under the nose of the dark race leader.
"I do know, but I just didn't want to waste more mana stones."
Alec let out a laugh, unsure of where to direct his regret. He knew that flower wasn't his, but it was a divine rank herb! He paused as the glowing symbols in the sky suddenly brightened like the sun, and the air around him fell silent.
A crackling voice echoed in the air as Kyle moved closer to the symbols and called out Mia's name softly. In an instant, a beam of light shot out from the symbols and zoomed under the stunned eyes of the crowd, heading straight for the woman with blue hair.
Mia's body trembled as the light descended on her shoulders. It was as painful, but she patiently allowed the mana to seep into her veins. Only after a few seconds, her body was filled to the brim because her mana skyrocketed to almost triple her original capacity. Mia shook her head as her vision got a bit blurry from the overwhelming mana flowing through her.
Kyle controlled the array and gestured toward Alec, who raised his sword and unleashed one of his most powerful moves to push the countless flying monsters further away from the border.
As soon as Alec finished, the light on Mia's shoulders vanished. She clenched her teeth and utilized all her mana to swiftly create a massive shimmering shield. The air trembled as the shield descended in front of the forest entrance with a resounding bang. Dust and debris scattered everywhere as the area between the forest and the border became separated by the shield.
The crowd and monsters, all of them, gasped in shock. The shield was tall and wide enough to cover a large space in front of them. The countless monsters pouring out from the forest halted in their tracks and immediately started pounding the shield with all their might.
Mia started sweating, knowing she couldn't maintain the shield for long with the relentless pounding of monsters. She clenched her fists, pouring all her strength into preserving the shield as long as possible.
Kyle glanced at Mia and called out Jian and Yue's names. Two familiar beams of light shot toward the duo as they stood by Mia's side.
In just a few seconds, the sky turned crimson with flames as Yue and Jian unleashed their strongest fire skills towards the forest. The flames spread with lightning speed, igniting the tall trees and eliciting cries from the countless monsters.
The pressure on Mia intensified as the flames descended behind the shield she had created, separating them from the forest. She shook her head and dug her nails into her palms.
'Now, if the shield crumbles, countless lives will be lost... I won't let it happen!'
The monsters in the forest wanted to jump out, but the shield forced them to retreat deeper. The monster lord, who had been watching from a distance moved. It flapped its huge wings and closed in toward the border with panicked eyes.
Kyle grinned and glanced at Alec, who finally understood which flames he needed to blow with his wind skill.
Alec let out a dry laugh, wiped his forehead, and nodded at Kyle. A beam of light descended on his shoulders, and he moved forward to unleash his strongest wind skill.
Instantly, the surging flames shot backward with frightening speed. The monster lord froze as it watched the flames consume the monsters and trees. It quickly moved back when the flames approached.
Countless pained cries filled the air as it grew hotter by the second. The mages, soldiers, fighters, and academy students watched with bated breaths as the few youngsters floating mid-air unleashed such devastation in just a minute.
Kyle glanced at the array above him. He thought it would require more resources, but after using the divine flower, he didn't need any more.
'It's good.'
Alec, Carcel, and Yue, along with everyone around him, looked panicked when they saw Mia grabbing her knee with a pale expression. They knew she wouldn't last long, and it would be devastating if they didn't stop the flames before the shield crumbled!
Kyle furrowed his brow.
"Just a few more seconds..."
