As the words fell, the wind around them spread from the surface of the staff.

It gathered once more above the battlefield.

Wind surged up from the ground, sweeping countless Monsters into the air. Along both sides, the circling currents turned into sharp sickle Blades. One by one, they tore open the bellies of the Monsters they had caught.

The Elves’ Blessing, the scroll of 【Chapter Three】, and the Elven Magic Spell.

The three forces stacked together, granting Lurie strength no weaker than Night Frost’s.

Though it was only temporary.

The true overlap of the three powers lasted for a very short time. But those few dozen seconds of raging wind had already killed countless Monsters.

The battlefield’s losing momentum was greatly reduced.

The scales of victory had returned to the alliance of the three races.

After using the Magic Spell, Lurie was terribly weak. She collapsed to the ground, and Night Frost helped her up.

A cool breeze gently curled around Night Frost’s palm. It seemed to be expressing its gratitude.

Because of Night Frost, he could be buried.

And because of her, he could see Lurie once again.

He remained in this world because of an obsession.

But now, that obsession was about to fade.

Before it vanished, he could still do one thing for Night Frost, no matter how insignificant it was.

The wind condensed in the void, forming a bright green crystal.

This crystal could also be considered a blessing. Though only a trace remained, it was enough to speed up Night Frost’s learning and help her adapt to the Elves’ ways.

Night Frost accepted the crystal and prepared to help Lurie back to the fortress.

But the battlefield gave her no chance to relax.

A blood-soaked Monster crawled out of the pit drenched in Blood.

Its murky, gloomy gaze swept across the surrounding living beings with intense hostility.

Everyone nearby felt the pressure radiating from the Monster and took two steps back.

Any Monster capable of surviving Lurie’s attack was no ordinary creature.

The three leaders understood this clearly.

The Monster before them was beyond what they could handle.

And the truth was exactly that.

If one ranked strength by realm, the three leaders were all at 【Cantata Two】.

But the flat Monster mixed among the others and advancing toward the fortress with them was a true 【Cantata Three】.

Even so, the three leaders had no intention of retreating.

So what if it was 【Cantata Three】?

It wasn’t as if they had never killed one before!

After the Elves and the Halfbeasts arrived at the human fortress, they trained day and night to resist their external enemies.

At last, on one particular battlefield, the three of them fought through a sea of Blood.

Together, the three races killed a 【Cantata Three】 Monster.

So what if they were mortals?

They could even kill a god and show you how it was done!

The three Blood-covered warriors raised their weapons once more. Roaring, they charged the Monster before them.

Today, they would make that miracle of the past happen again.

Today, their names would once more spread through the streets and taverns.

Just as the three were about to point their swords at the Monster, it suddenly opened its mouth.

A mass of black mist poured out and enveloped them.

The mist was as thick as ink. It corroded their bodies and filled them with unbearable pain.

They struggled desperately to break free, but they couldn’t escape its grip.

“There’s poison in the mist…”

The three leaders endured as best they could.

The Elf spread open her scroll, and healing magic descended upon them. Their twisted expressions eased considerably.

Then the Elf spoke to the other two in the common language:

“The poison is powerful. This magic won’t last long.”

Holding the scroll in one hand, the Elf wrote in the air with the other.

She was a master of writing Magic Spells among the Elves. She had once served as the royal librarian of the Elven court.

To preserve the Elves’ ancient history and profound Magic Spells, she had used a forbidden spell.

When the tsunami arrived, she lifted the entire grand library from beneath the earth.

Forbidden books leaked Abyssal Aura.

The Abyssal Aura surged from the books at once, corroding her body.

Originally, those forbidden books were not powerful. Even a slightly weaker Elf could easily hold one and read it.

But because of an unknown disaster, the books released an enormous amount of Abyssal Aura all at once.

The sudden assault caught her completely off guard.

She wanted to resist it.

She had the strength to resist it.

She only needed to give everything she had.

But beneath her feet was an endless tsunami.

If she resisted, the Elves’ history and mysteries would be swallowed by the sea.

She refused to let that happen.

She would not abandon history and secrets simply to keep herself alive.

Thus, she endured the pain and moved the books to the plains.

She buried the library beneath the earth, then used the last of her Mana to seal the books away.

Her strength had fallen again and again, leaving her as she was now.

But she was still the fastest Elf at writing Magic Spells, and the one capable of sustaining the longest single chant.

Don’t assume a little poison could bring her down!

The only regrettable thing was that if her strength hadn’t been damaged, she could have dealt with this monster alone.

She wouldn’t even have needed to exert herself.

“Destroy it before we can’t hold out any longer!”

The Elf leader began chanting a Magic Spell.

The Blessing behind her suddenly split apart and fell upon the other two.

After receiving the Elven Blessing, their speed increased noticeably.

The Halfbeast raised his enormous axe and brought it down.

The sharp axe cleaved through the flat Monster’s flesh.

Black liquid sprayed into the air, and the black mist suddenly grew denser.

Was this really a living creature?

These were clearly the roots and stalks of a plant!

After being reinforced by Abyssal Aura, they had become as tough as wood.

Without a doubt, this thing was a tree demon!

That was what the Halfbeast thought.

His instincts couldn’t be wrong.

Born in a land of bitter cold, he searched for wood and chopped it every day to prepare for the extreme cold that arrived at the end of every year.

Even with their powerful bodies and thick fur, they could barely survive a slightly harsher winter.

A rusted axe descended.

The tree stump split in two.

Colorless sap welled from the roots. The freezing air and falling snow soon froze the liquid solid.

Layer after layer of snow settled over the divided stump.

“No, no, no. Olaf, that’s not how you do it… (Orc Common Tongue)”

His father had been the chieftain of their people.

The Halfbeasts lived separately according to race and tribe, and strength was everything.

His father had been the strongest Halfbeast in the region.

He was even called the Halfbeasts’ greatest pillar.

His limbs were thick and powerful. He could supposedly split mountains and sever seas with ease.

Of course, that was only a description.

Olaf had never seen it himself.

Olaf’s father seized both his arms and forcefully guided them downward.

Following the grain, the stump was easily chopped apart.

“Everything in this world has a grain. Follow that grain, and even the hardest thing to cut can be cleaved apart with enough strength and skill! (Orc Common Tongue)”

Olaf silently engraved his father’s words into his heart.

He brushed away the snow on the stump with his palm.

Two axe marks appeared on its surface.

One was slanted and crooked, carved out by Olaf’s brute force.

The other was smooth and flawless.

That one was his father’s work.

As Olaf caressed the smooth surface, he silently remembered his father’s words.

If he found this creature’s grain, he could wound even a 【Cantata Three】 Monster!

The sharp axe was coated in thick Blood energy.

Olaf had comprehended it while fighting other Halfbeasts on the battlefield.

It was the essence of the Halfbeasts, the ultimate height of the martial arts they yearned for.

He raised the axe high.

The Blood energy faintly dispersed the poisonous mist around him.

Following the grain of the air, the grain of the Monster, and the flow of its Blood…

Olaf swung the axe wrapped in Blood energy.

It easily split open the Monster’s skull.

Inside was a brain no larger than a walnut.

Beneath that walnut-sized brain was its Magic Stone.

Olaf took a deep breath and roared toward the human behind him:

“Finn!”

Finn wore armor covered in Array Patterns.

Upon hearing Olaf’s call, the two slender swords in his hands merged into one.

All the Array Patterns resonated together, erupting with astonishing Mana.

Finn had once been an ordinary man.

A worthless, ordinary man.

Aside from being fairly good at fighting, his only wish had been to farm and live an ordinary life with his family.

But reality had other plans.

Disaster after disaster struck.

The human army dwindled again and again until they had no choice but to conscript civilians.

Finn was among them.

The forcibly recruited civilians had their peaceful lives brought to an end.

They joined the army, never knowing when death would come.

Finn wanted to run.

But when he saw the land trampled by Monsters and the lives upon it, he suddenly no longer wanted to flee.

For the first time, he gripped a weapon.

He didn’t know how to use it properly. But it was no different from a hoe or a sickle.

As long as it could kill enemies, it was a good weapon!

That was the first Monster he ever killed.

He heard the cheers and thanks of the people behind him.

Then he looked at the land and lives that had escaped being trampled.

At that moment, he decided to devote his life to the army.

He trained day and night.

He asked the Elves about Array Patterns and the Halfbeasts about techniques for exerting strength.

He studied the wisdom of those who came before him.

After several years, he created a suit of armor covered in coordinated Array Patterns.

As long as he wore it, he could obtain tremendous power.

Even though he was still an ordinary man beneath the armor.

Who said ordinary people were inferior to the strong?

Inferior to Sorceresses?

Inferior to Halfbeasts?

Inferior to Elves?

Inferior to powerful Monsters?

At this moment, he stood here as a mortal.

And he was about to slay a Monster far stronger than himself.

“Coordinated Array Patterns. Mana output— (Elven Language)”

Array Patterns surfaced across the armor one by one.

Magic particles peeled away from the air and flowed into the armor’s hardened interior.

After absorbing the Mana, the Array Patterns grew increasingly bright and radiant.

The sword in Finn’s palm shone with dazzling light.

Following the grain of life, he slashed upward from below.

The Magic Stone before him shattered with ease.

The Array Patterns on the armor faded away.

Finn slowly rose to his feet.

This time, they had won again.

Once more, they had protected the land behind them with their lives.

The poisonous mist gradually dispersed.

The Array Patterns in the Elf’s hands were exhausted and withered.

Olaf raised his axe and declared victory.

Finn lifted his sword and launched a counterattack.

Victory was right before them.

“These three are incredible,” Night Frost said.

“They’re clearly far apart in strength. One is an ordinary man, one is an Elf whose power has fallen, and one is a genius Halfbeast.”

“And yet, together, they killed a 【Cantata Three】 Monster.”

“But this Monster… seems to still be alive.”

Night Frost activated her Eagle Eye.

A thorn-covered vine burrowed into the ground.

The scattered shards of the Magic Stone were dragged underground, where they became nourishment for the vine.

This vine looked somewhat similar to those in the forest.

It was probably of the same origin.

“It’s coming!”

The earth began to tremble slightly.

A shrill wail mixed into the shaking.

Countless black vines burst through the soil.

Black poisonous mist erupted from their thorns.