Zane and the others had no intention of paying attention to the man who was appointed as leader. It wasn’t that they disliked the man or wanted to be disrespectful. The reason they weren’t paying attention to him was because they didn’t need to.

During the battle strategy meeting everyone discussed what would most likely happen during the Upheaval. It was already discussed that most people would prioritize defending their own lives or focus on gaining a higher ranking on the Upheaval Ranking list. It didn’t make sense to try to turn all the adventurers into an organized army. Instead, a loose set of rules were created that protected everyone’s lives, encouraged people to work together and would increase the chances of completing the quest.

First, it was decided that communication was key to success. Each group in the attacking and defending groups were given a leader that would communicate with the assigned leader for an Inn. The assigned leader for each of the six inns would be able to communicate with Bruce.

Leaders assigned to the attacking and defending groups where only in charge of overseeing the battle and they couldn’t command anyone. The overall leader of the inn would tell the leader of each group when they would switch with another leader. The defending leader would tell the current group of defenders to go down from the wall while another group came up onto the wall. The attacking leader would tell the current group of attackers to head inside the wall and call the other attacking group out. However, not all attackers would want to go in and not all defenders would want to come down.

People like Zane and the others would be able to fight longer than others. Zane and the others planned to head directly for the tier one mana creature. They would only consider heading back into the walls once all the tier one mana creatures were killed. However, they might not have to hide and recover inside the walls because of the way the mana creatures would attack the inns.

Each inn would have to face approximately three thousand mana creatures out of the total twenty thousand. The Messenger didn’t explain why the mana creatures would attack in such an organized manner and neither did the system. However, Zane and most likely everyone else assumed that the system wanted to give the people guarding each inn a chance to gain points.

Less than a minute after the leader for Zane attacking group announced his position multiple roars resounded from the forest. A few moments later the ground began to tremble, and the speed of Zane’s heartbeat increased. The Upheaval had begun.

Having a commander has boosted the performance of all adventurers fighting against the Upheaval.

Commander’s Support

Buff: 10% increase in defense

Time limit: Until the end of the first attack of the Upheaval

As the ground began to rumble Zane saw the training ground in the distance start to become transparent. Eventually, it became invisible, and Zane watched as several mana creatures charge through where it previously was. As the horde of mana creatures came closer Zane was able to distinguish the differences between them. He could see that there were bears, wolves, panthers, spiders, and many more mana creatures.

“Jason, Whitney, and Frank the three of you will be creating a path,” Sophie said.

“No problem,” Jason responded. Whitney and Frank also confirmed that they understood their task.

“Zane and Shane, the two of you will be the shields at the side.”

“Got it,” they both replied.

Zane took out a wooden shield that was brown with a few shades of grey. He drew his reddish copper colored sword from his left side. Before the mana creatures approached the wall Zane felt a little worried and some fear toward the Upheaval. However, now that the mana creatures were in sight and getting closer, Zane’s fear went away. The only feeling that remained was excitement for the upcoming battle.

“Everyone should remember to stay together. If you feel like were going too fast, then say something. Old Saber and Brad have agreed to protect our rear. If the buffs I gave you run out, then let me know immediately. Also don’t forget to ask to be healed if your wounded. And don’t forget your health potions either. Keep an eye on your stamina and-”

“Relax,” Old Saber said.

“He’s right,” Zane added. “The Upheaval is definitely something we can handle. Remember the system said the dens were extremely dangerous, but we had very little trouble destroying them. The Upheaval will be the same. Even if it does cause us trouble that trouble won’t reach a level capable of threatening our lives.”

Sophie started speaking faster and sounded more nervous with each word. After taking a few deep breaths she thanked Old Saber and nodded toward Zane. The next second, they heard the attacking group leader tell everyone to charge forward. Not seeing a reason to hesitate Zane and the others charged forward.

Hundreds of meters were passed before Zane’s group reached the attacking horde of mana creatures. Once they were close Jason, Whitney and Frank Immediately began annihilating the mana creatures with magic power. They used the earth and water to slow down the mana creature. They relied on wind and fire to rip them apart.

Quickly Zane’s group managed to dig a hole through the sea of tier zero mana creatures. Zane stood a few meters behind and to the right of Jason and the others. Occasionally a few mana creatures would surge forward to attack, and he would push them away with his shield or cut off their heads with his sword. Other than that, Zane only had to follow behind Jason and the others path of destruction

Mana creatures didn’t hesitate to attack them, but they were impaled on spikes of earth and ice for their foolishness. Sometimes Jason and the others turned the ground into mud and trapped the mana creatures. Next, they would unleash blades of wind to cut apart the flesh of the mana creatures. Any mana creatures that survived the lethal blades of wind were burned to death by the stream of flames that came after.

Jason and the others magic devastated the landscape. However, they made sure their magic didn’t affect the group’s ability to continue moving forward. Eventually, after slaughtering numerous tier zero mana creatures the group met a tier one mana creature. Unlike the tier zero mana creatures they killed before meeting it, the tier one mana creature managed to survive a few seconds longer under the barrage of spell from the three mages.

Once the tier one mana creature died Sophie and Shawn immediately took action. Shawn sat down and begun mumbling some words as he radiated mana into his surroundings. A few seconds later, multiple pieces of wood began to shoot out of the ground. The pieces of wood began to twist, twirl and curl like snakes. Slowly the individual pieces of wood were coming together to form a wooden wall of thorns.

While Shawn was manipulating the pieces of wood Sophie was not idle. The moment Shawn sat down Sophie had created a green mana barrier that formed a dome allowing more than a dozen meters of space within. The barrier was something Sophie was able to learn because of her unique class. The barrier could defend against physical attacks, magical attacks or both.

Sophie set the barrier to focus on physical attacks because that was what most mana creatures used. Only a few mana creatures in the forest outside the village used magical attack and most of those magical attacks only dealt damage to things a few meters away from the mana creature’s body. If a mana creature that used magical attacks appeared Sophie was confident in being able to change or add the magical defense to her barrier in time.

Using a barrier that only blocked physical damage had two important benefits. One important benefit is that it lowered the amount of mana that Sophie had to use to keep the barrier active. The second important benefit was it allowed her allies to attack through the barrier.

As a combination of tier one and tier Zero mana creatures attacked the barrier, Jason and the others released spells through Sophie’s barrier. In addition to being harmed by spells, the mana creatures also experienced a backlash when they attacked Sophie’s barrier. As time passed Jason and the others released less spells while the pieces of wood Shawn manipulated slowly spread out around Sophie’s barrier.

Eventually, Shawn had completely surrounded Sophie’s barrier. Sophie’s barrier became a thorny bush without any leaves. There were a few gaps that everyone could use to observe the horde of beast. The group saw that the mana creatures slowly stopped recklessly charging at Shawn’s thorns and Sophie’s barrier. As less mana creatures attacked the barrier Sophie and Shawn were able to relax.

“How is it?” Zane asked. “Can you manage?”

“No problem.” Sophie replied with a bright smile on her face. “When I first created the barrier, it felt like I would only last ten minutes. Then Jason and the others started helping out with their spell and I felt like we could last thirty minutes. Now that Shawn finished creating his wooden barrier, I’m sure we could last an hour. Plus, I didn’t even factor in mana potions.”

“I get it,” Zane interrupted. “You guys will have no problem managing the barrier.”

Zane smiled as he saw Sophie’s change in attitude. She had regained her confidence and overcame her fears created by stories they heard about the Upheaval in their youth. He was happy to see that she was no longer worried, but excited for the Upheaval.

“Yup,” Sophie said. “There will be no problems. In fact, everyone can take a few minutes to rest if they feel tired.”

“No need,” Shane said. “I’m ready to go.” He emphasized his statement by hitting his shield with his sword.

“As far as I’m concerned the party has just begun,” Brad added.

“Speak for yourself,” Jason said.

Jason was sitting on the ground next to Whitney and Frank. All three of them were covered in sweat. The only difference was that Jason was sitting in a slumped position while Whitney and Frank were laying down with their hands on their head.

“This is why training is important,” Jason told Frank and Whitney. “Sometimes the best thing a mage can do is cast multiple spells in a short period of time at whatever is in their way. If it wasn’t for the training we did, the two of you would probably be unconscious right now.” In response to Jason’s words Whitney and Frank simply let out a moan of pain.

“You guys can rest here,” Britney said. “I’m ready to kill some monsters.”

“I feel the same way,” Old Saber added,

Zane and the others felt the same way. They made their final check as they looked over their equipment. Once they were ready Shawn and Sophie created an opening for them to leave through. It was time for the nine of them to hunt.