Stay Alive!

"Agral!"

Calil, standing next to Niara, instantly pointed up at the sky. Above those fifty terrifying Risen in the distance, everyone spotted a small golden light, like a flash of lightning.

That was a Summoner from the same tribe as Calil's, which is why he recognized the blessing and the guy's Bloodline.

"He was supposed to be in the third row... why is he...?" Calil muttered.

The figure in the sky realized he'd been spotted, so he didn't bother hiding anymore. He dropped the crackling lightning energy around him and vanished without hesitation, eyes shining with ruthless intent.

The Risen kept moving forward. Suddenly, a huge wall of earth rose in their path. But to those Risen, it might as well have been paper — they tore through it instantly.

"Lady Saimph! She's holding them off alone?!" Ronan shouted, shocked as she recognized the other figure — someone from her own tribe.

Everyone saw a woman falling back fast in the distance. Saimph was with her partner, who looked like a brown snake. The creature glowed and made the earth shake, raising wall after wall of dirt — but they were smashed just as quickly.

Still, it worked. The mindless Risen locked onto them and charged. Saimph kept retreating, creating more barriers over and over.

At the same time, Niara sensed three other figures lurking behind the horde of Risen, far from anyone's view.

She growled, her killing intent spiking.

"It's those two bastards. I can feel it in my Bloodline. The other one must be that pervert from the rookie elite back in the trial..."

She meant the couple with dragon blood, and the guy she'd given milk to during the test.

Darian took a deep breath. Those two who'd just been identified were ring-holders from the third row.

That area was packed with Spiritual Guardians with one or two rings. The ones with just one ring weren't rookies — it could take years to earn a second ring. They were seasoned fighters, and their Summoners used C-rank martial arts.

Unlike fresh recruits, they had serious survival skills. Even against the stronger Risen, they could escape or fight back — especially since the Risen lacked intelligence.

If those two had joined forces with the three traitors... then yeah, they were traitors too.

Now it all made sense. That powerful Risen wasn't a third-row mistake — it was a setup to wipe out everyone behind them. And since that didn't work, they sent a second wave — this time overwhelming.

It only took a few seconds before Saimph used a movement martial art to escape. With no target in front of them, the Risen roared and charged toward the rookies in the back.

Everyone who just seconds ago thought they were safe was now frozen in panic. Over fifty Risen were coming. No matter how strong Niara and Darian were, there was no way they could take them all on alone.

"Fucking bastards..." Niara muttered, clenching her fists in pure rage.

Darian snorted. "Doesn't matter where they're hiding... we'll kill them. But first, we need to deal with this."

They were a few hundred meters away — a minute or so until impact. He thought fast, then turned to the three people frozen next to him.

"You have to help me, or everyone's dead," he said. The three swallowed hard and turned to face the slug. "Do you trust me and her? If even a bit of doubt gets in, this won't work..."

"We'll do whatever you say," Zibia answered quickly, her face pale but eyes full of determination.

"Good. Ronan and Tarn — lead the rest here. Keep everyone in a tight defensive formation. You're gonna have to fight with everything you've got, and hold out as long as possible."

Darian said it seriously, knowing full well he was asking for nearly the impossible. "Zibia, Calil, and your partners... come with me. We're handling them together."

Everyone's eyes went wide — especially the two Summoners. *Handle them*? All of them?

Niara opened her wings and gave them a sharp, serious look. Zibia and Calil gulped, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Stay alive!"

She roared at the others, then flapped her wings and shot toward the enemies already closing in fast.

The other two cursed under their breath and ran after her.

The rookies felt a crushing pressure fall over them. They knew this fight wasn't just about surviving the nest — if they won, this could change everything about their future.

Niara landed just a few meters away from the Risen. The ones in front locked on to her instantly — compared to them, she looked like an ant.

'We going all in?' she asked mentally.

'No. That'd be a waste of power. You could kill a bunch, but they'd wipe out everyone else and you wouldn't be able to stop it.' Darian replied without hesitation.

The two and their partners got close from behind, and the slug turned to them.

"You two can create fire and lightning elements with your powers, right?"

They nodded. Both of their blessings, at the first stage, converted ring power into fire or lightning. After that, they'd shape those elements into the Magical Flame Prison and the Crushing Lightning Spears.

"Good. Stay right where you are and generate as much of those elements as you possibly can — don't hold anything back. Niara will protect you."

He said that and moved up Niara's neck, slipping into her clothes.

The two behind were sweating bullets. Normally, when using their blessings, they'd only convert up to 5% of the ring's power — and even that had to be done carefully. To do what he asked, they'd have to go all in… and the risk of those elements going out of control and killing them both was huge.

Doing that in front of all those Risen, who could crush them with one hit?

Niara clenched her fists and activated her martial art. She turned to them, and they exchanged glances for just a second.

"Big sis, we trust you," Zibia said, closing her eyes and doing exactly what the slug had told them to. Her partner let out a heavy sigh and focused as well, saying nothing.

Calil and his partner took a deep breath and did the same in silence. Niara nodded and turned back.

'Ready?' Darian murmured in her mind.

The fifty Risen were now less than twenty meters away.

"Born ready."

She punched forward, fast.

*BOOM!*

Her strike exploded against a huge Risen. Darian had pointed out the weak spot on the weakest one. A rain of blood followed.

*ROAR!*

More than five Risen right behind launched a combined attack. They came from every direction — no way to run… but there was no need.

She took advantage of one of the strikes and punched. That one had solid defense and only staggered. Then she dodged a piercing horn. But a tail and a fist came at her from behind and below.

"LOOK OUT!"

All the rookies behind screamed, eyes wide, watching the clash unfold.

*BANG!*

Niara was hit and slammed into the ground, cracking it wide open.

In the middle of the dust cloud, she stood up fast, her amber eyes glowing fiercely. She was covered in blood and most of her scales were shattered. But a warm white aura instantly began healing her.

Darian let out a breath of relief. Even if those Risen hit her with two strikes at once, they still didn't have the raw power to kill her on the spot thanks to her natural defenses.

And he had consumed a lot over time, so he could heal her without worrying about running dry.

"FUCK THIS!"

Niara roared, jumping up and punching again.

She was surrounded immediately, but not all the Risen focused on her. Some ran past, heading straight for the two who still had their eyes shut farther back.

At that moment, the two were standing still with their partners on their shoulders. Around them, a big aura of flame — and another of lightning — was slowly building.

Darian took a deep breath, and his body started to glow.

It was a new ability from his calamity-level body, something he was learning to control better and better.

The fire and lightning around the two began to stir. The whole area turned chaotic; from the ground, tiny lights rose up and flowed toward Niara and Darian.

They were the five natural elements, drawn from the planet itself.

This planet had been taken over by the nest and its corruption. Almost all life was wiped out, but the planet still held traces of those elements deep within. They were low-level — but even so, easily pulled in.

Immediately, the Risen froze. Then they turned toward Niara, like they were feeling an irresistible pull...

That was the downside of a high-level body. The enemies sensed the rare delicacy the Dragoness held inside. Soon, a frenzy took over.

But only the dumb ones — those acted purely on instinct and couldn't resist it.

'Shit…' Darian muttered grimly.

Among the enemy horde, there was one that was smart. In the test to become a Spiritual Guardian, he had faced a bunch of those before.

That one was observing everything and had already seen that Niara was tough to bring down. Attacking her directly made no sense — he'd let the others weaken her first. So…

"GET READY!"

Ronan shouted from the middle of the rookies.

Everyone gripped their weapons, sweating cold.

The smart one did the obvious: he turned toward the easiest prey — the ones farther back.