The distance between them and the target kept shrinking with every passing mont. With each step forward, the pressure increased.
There were no more ordinary guards. The Awakened appearing in their path had heavier, more controlled, and more dangerous auras.
Their movents were precise, with no wasted energy, and it was clear that this place... was not an ordinary point.
Every enemy guard that appeared in front of them was at least A-rank. Thanks to the Fallen Ones, this wasn’t really a problem, and they could deal with these guards without much difficulty.
But this alone made it obvious, they were heading toward sothing important.
Not sothing that could completely change the course of the war if destroyed...
But definitely sothing significant enough to deal a major blow to the enemy. Big enough that the enemy would actually feel it.
"Don’t slow down." Lana’s voice spread through the ntal link.
No one stopped. But the clashes beca more intense.
One of the Fallen Ones leaped forward, trying to open a path, but this ti, the opponent didn’t step back. An Awakened in dark armor blocked the strike and, with a counterattack, sent the creature flying backward.
Several others imdiately joined in, and the fight turned into a real battle.
This was no longer a one-sided slaughter. This place... was prepared for defense.
It wasn’t just about the forces. There were arrays and automated weapons behind them, firing continuously without even a mont of pause.
A few seconds later, they saw it.
At the center of the area stood a massive structure.
A large circle of interwoven arrays, lines of light flowing across the ground and through the air, and pillars of mana rising toward the sky. Energy flowed constantly, like a heart that never stopped beating.
"...A battlefield support array." Lana narrowed her eyes slightly. She didn’t have much knowledge about these things.
But one look was enough to understand what was in front of her.
And whatever it was, it was extrely powerful, high-level, possibly one of the best of its kind.
But the question was... how did the Goblin Guild get sothing like this? Was this really sothing a guild in a third-rate country could obtain?
Her father’s and Daniel’s reasoning made even more sense now. It was very possible that a hidden hand was supporting these bastards.
"...Yeah. It’s distributing mana. Their forces are being strengthened from here... even that AoE attack might be supported from here." Elira’s voice imdiately confird it.
So this was the secret.
That’s why the enemy’s mana never ran out. That’s why the pressure of the war had beco so one-sided.
But this array wasn’t just distributing mana—it had a source that was producing it.
Items that could generate mana in such an endless and massive quantity... she had never heard of sothing like that.
Could such an item even exist?
But that wasn’t a question she had ti to think about right now. They had a more important objective.
"Then we destroy it." Lana said without hesitation.
But before she could finish her sentence, a heavy presence spread through the area. A few steps ahead, a man appeared.
Tall, muscular, and with an aura clearly stronger than the others. Mana flowed around him in an abnormal way, as if he himself was part of the array.
Several mbers of the legion unconsciously paused.
"...High A." one of them muttered.
"You made it this far? Not bad." The man smiled. Calm, but full of confidence.
"But you’re not going any further." His eyes locked onto Lana.
A mont later, more auras appeared, at least hundreds of them. Without pause, they engaged the Fallen Ones and the entire legion.
There was no hesitation. They attacked with full force, clearly aiming to kill every single one of them.
They couldn’t allow enemies who had advanced this far to leave alive. They had to kill them—only then could they protect this array.
Lana stepped forward.
And in the next mont, a violent clash erupted between them.
The man moved first, rushing forward at high speed. His fist was covered in condensed mana, aid straight at Lana. The ground beneath them cracked.
But Lana didn’t step back.
She raised her blade. A heavy collision ford, and a wave of energy shook the surroundings.
But this was only the beginning.
The man continued without stopping, launching consecutive strikes, each faster and heavier than the last. His body moved like a war machine, without the slightest hesitation.
But Lana stood her ground. Her movents were minimal, precise, without any extra motion.
One step to the side. One quick strike. A clean defense. Several clashes in rapid succession. The air filled with the sound of tal and mana.
"...Not bad." The man narrowed his eyes slightly.
He knew Lana. In fact, very few people in this country didn’t know her. After all, she was one of the top geniuses.
But it had been a while since there was any news about her. There were even rumors that she had stopped climbing the Tower and was focusing more on guild administration.
That was why people thought she had weakened, that she had lost her forr glory.
But it seed all those rumors were false.
She looked even stronger than before.
At that mont, Lana increased her speed. For an instant, her movent vanished.
And in the next mont, she appeared behind him. Her blade moved silently.
A line of blood appeared.
The man froze for a mont.
Then his body split in half.
There was no chance to react. No words. He didn’t even understand what had just happened.
Just a mont ago, he had been planning his next attacks.
And before he could even realize it... he was dead.
A brief silence fell over the battlefield.
"Move." Lana didn’t even look at him. All forces advanced toward the array.
This ti, no one stopped them. The Fallen Ones flooded into the structure like a wave, the Awakened attacked at the sa ti, and a surge of energy was fired toward the core.
There was no holding back. They attacked with everything they had. The ground trembled, and the lines of the array began breaking one after another.
The lights went out.
Then a massive explosion occurred.
A wave of mana spread in all directions, like a storm erupting from within. The released energy twisted through the air, and for a mont, the entire enemy system was disrupted.
At that exact mont, Elira’s voice ca through.
"Confird! The pressure on the main line has dropped! Their communications are disrupted!"
The plan had worked.
They had managed to weaken the endless mana distribution to the Goblin Guild’s Awakened.
Of course, according to the data, it hadn’t completely stopped. It seed the Goblin Guild had anticipated this and had already spread multiple centers.
Even so, this attack had dealt significant damage.
"...No." Lana frowned.
"This isn’t the only one."
"What?" one of them asked.
"There are more of these." Lana raised her gaze as she answered. She had realized it too.
"...Yeah. There are several other points, but—" Elira confird.
"This one... was the main one."
That was why it had been exposed. That was why it was releasing so much mana.
But that also ant the enemy had already been prepared.
There was nothing they could do about the other centers for now.
They were likely scattered across the capital. Attacking them could be considered an invasion of territories controlled by other top guilds, and that would cause serious trouble.
Sothing they didn’t want right now.
"We’re retreating." Lana said without hesitation.
So wanted to object, but she continued:
"We’re done here. We’ll co back later."
Staying any longer would be too dangerous. They could retreat, rest, reorganize their strategy, and return stronger.
Everyone began moving.
But at that mont, several auras appeared in the space ahead.
Everyone stopped.
A few steps forward, several Awakened appeared.
Their presence... was completely different.
And among them, one person stepped forward.
For the first ti in this operation, Lana’s eyes locked onto him, and a deep frown ford on her face.
Because she realized... they were in serious trouble.
"...Jason."
And the path of retreat... no longer seed so simple.
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