Old Saber was the first to distance himself from the barrier. Old Saber charged toward the multiple mana creatures with his saber raised. Zane and Diana left a few seconds after Old Saber. Zane charged forward with his shield and Diana followed after him.

Before leaving, Zane watched Shane and the others gather into a loose formation. Sam and Lana stood in the center of the formation while the rest were on the outside. Shane and Brad stood on opposite sides of each other while Luna and Britney also stood opposite of each other.

Light started to shine from Brad’s body and flowed into the ground. A circle of light was created on the ground. The light was created by Brad’s new skill Blest Ground. The circle of light was centered on Sam and the edges spread a few meters away from the others. The skill increased the strength of Brad and his allies while weakening his enemies. The increase and decrease would vary based in the size of the circle.

Sam and the others had agreed to work together once they left Sophie’s barrier. Although Shane would have trouble fighting on his own, Luna and Lana would be fine. The reason they stayed behind was because of the Upheaval Ranking. By working in a group, they would be able to kill mana creatures faster and earn points.

Zane left because he felt that he would earn less points by working in a group. At least. if he was to work in a group, the group would have to have less people in it. Zane thought that Brad and the others would be able to easily kill mana creatures by working together. If he joined the group, it would make it harder for them and himself to gain points.

Diana’s reason for leaving was because she wanted to fight with Zane. She followed behind Zane as he pushed through the horde of mana creatures. Occasionally Diana would use her knives to cut down the mana creatures that would attack from the sides.

Mana creatures focused on charging toward the Inns. Most mana creatures would only attack whatever got in their way, while others would attack anyone or anything that caught their attention. This made it easier for Zane and the others to kill mana creatures, but it made it harder for them to move around.

Without Shawn and the others clearing the way with their magic, charging through the horde of mana creatures was almost impossible. When Zane charged after Old Saber, he was actually moving forward very slowly. As Zane slowly walked forward, he killed or pushed away any mana creatures that were in his way.

Zane could have avoided most of the mana creatures by using his dexterity to dodge them or simply jumped over them. However, he was being mindful of Diana following him and he wasn’t in a rush to reach the area with tier one mana creatures. Plus, he was able to earn points toward the Upheaval Ranking list.

Eventually Zane reached an area that was filled with tier one mana creatures. These mana creatures were spaced apart and were behaving much more calmly compared to the tier zero mana creatures. Also, they were at a higher level than the occasional tier one mana creatures Zane saw on his way toward this area. A bear mana creature started to approach Zane and he didn’t hesitate to use analyze on it.

Dire Bear Lvl 60

Health: 100%

Stamina: 98%

Mana: 100%

Attack: (300) 420

Defense: (310) 434

Looking at the dire bears information made Zane pause. He was forced to admit that Daughter was correct. The forty percent increase in attack and defense didn’t pose much of a problem.

The large increase in attack might seem scary, but it didn’t matter if people were able to avoid the attacks of the mana creatures. The mana creatures defense may have increased, but there were still ways to break them down. Zane believed that both above average and average people would find ways to deal with the forty percent increase in strength that the mana creatures received.

For Zane, he already knew how he would deal with the mana creatures. All he had to do was rely on the weapons in his hands to kill them one by one. As the dire bear came closer Zane activated Charge.

Slamming into the dire bear caused Zane’s body to tremble, but he stood firm in the end. On the other hand, the dire bear stumbled back a few steps and looked dazed. Without hesitation Zane placed his sword into his ring and summoned his axe. Next, he brought his axe down onto the right side of the bears neck while activating Cleave.

Blood gushed out of the dire bear’s neck as lightning surged in. The bear roared as it trembled in pain. On the other side Diana appeared and used her two knives to deliver several quick slashes to the bear’s neck. Quickly she created a deep cut which caused more blood to gush out of the bear’s body.

While Diana attacked the dire bear, Zane removed his axe and slammed it back into the wound he created. It dug deeper into the dire bears neck and Zane heard a crack. The bear roared in pain and started retreating. Zane and Diana didn’t bother to follow it. Instead, they turned and started moving toward a dire wolf. A few seconds after they started walking away the dire bear dies and they both received a message about gaining experience.

Dire Wolf Lvl 59

Health: 100%

Stamina: 99%

Mana: 100%

Attack: (320) 448

Defense: (280) 392

As they approached the dire wolf growled at them and got into a crouch. Zane switched his axe for his sword and slowed down his approach. Once they were a few meters away the wolf lunged at them. Not believing he could match the dire wolf’s speed Zane raised his shield to defend himself and activated Martial Weapon Durability.

Zane easily withstood the wolfs attack and deactivated his skill. Immediately after he swung his sword upward and used Slash. Zane smelt burning flesh as his word cut into the wolf’s upper leg and he saw a small amount of blood flow from the wound. The wolf yelped in pain as it backed up and Zane pursued.

Multiple quick slashes added injuries to the dire wolf and forced it back. The wolf soon crashed into a panther behind it and the panther attacked it in anger. The wolf was sent stumbling back in Zane’s direction and he prepared to deliver a fatal blow.

“Left!” Diana shouted.

Immediately Zane jumped to his left and another dire wolf soared passed the space he just occupied. The uninjured dire wolf crashed into the injured dire wolf and they both tumbled toward the panther. Seeing them approach the panther lashed out in anger. Its attack left it open and Old Saber took advantage of that opening to cut off its head.

Old Saber flashed Zane a grin before moving on to another mana creature. Zane returned the grin before moving to finish off the two dire wolves with Diana. Once they were done Zane and Diana moved on to their next target.

Dozens of minutes passed as Zane and Dianna killed multiple tier one mana creatures. During their killing spree Zane and Diana never came close to running out of energy. By working together both of them were able to use less energy to kill more mana creatures than they would have killed fighting on their own.

Killing multiple tier one mana creatures gave them the experience they needed to level up. The experience they received from each kill was decreased due to them being in a party, but they still managed to gain more than one level. They were able to restore their energies with each level they gained. Therefore, they battled continuously without rest or the use of any potions.

Eventually, all of the tier one mana creatures were killed. Once Zane realized all the tier one mana creatures were killed, he turned his attention to the rest of the mana creatures. The first thing he noticed was that Sophie and Shawn had taken down the defenses they created.

At first, Zane thought something had gone wrong, but he quickly calmed himself down. If something had gone wrong someone would have mentioned, it through mental communication. Using mental communication Zane asked what happened. Sophie explained how her, and the others decided to go on the offensive once the majority of mana creatures passed them.

Zane nodded to himself after he heard Sophie’s explanation. Despite not having a lot of destructive skills, Sophie and Shawn were more than capable of killing multiple tier one mana creatures. Jason, Whitney and Frank had already displayed the destruction that their spells could bring. They would be fine fighting without the defenses that Sophie and Shawn created. Also, Zane and the others didn’t use the defenses like the group originally planned.

Initially, the group planned to use the defenses that Sophie and Shawn created when they felt tired. However, other than the groups three mages needing to rest after the initial charge forward nobody else stopped to rest inside the defenses that were created. Therefore, for Sophie and Shawn, maintaining the defenses was a waste of time and energy.

Before Zane could say anything else through the mental communication, he heard a call for retreat. This wasn’t the first time Zane and the other had heard the call for retreat. Instead of ignoring it like they usually do, the group decided to discuss this call for retreat.

“Should we head back? Whitney asked.

The group spoke through mental communication. They were currently separated, and they only started moving toward each other once they realized all the tier one mana creatures were killed. No one felt like shouting at each other from the distance. Plus, it would be hard to hear what was shouted due to the roars of the mana creatures.

“I can continue,” Sam said.

“It would be a shame to leave when there are so many points to gain,” Shane said.

Luna vigorously nodded her head in response to what Shane said. Zane could see the excitement in her eyes from a distance. Also, he could sense the excitement of the rest of the group. It was clear that nobody was ready to go back.

“Before we do anything we need information,” Sophie said. “Lana, can you tell us what is happening at the wall.”

Without hesitation Lana leapt into the air and landed on Luna’s shoulders. Zane and the others were a bit surprised by her actions, but Luna was not. After a few seconds Lana began telling the group what she saw.

Defenders were sending arrows and spell onto the horde of mana creatures while a group of attackers on the ground retreated behind the wall. As one group of attackers went in another came out. Once the new group of attackers were ready the defenders on the wall stopped attacking. The mana creatures never came near the wall.

“It seems like everything is fine by the wall,” Sophie said. “The mana creatures aren’t turning around to attack us, so I think will be fine if we stay here. Does anyone feel like we should head back?” Sophie’s question was met with silence. “Alright then, let’s continue attacking but everyone should be alert. We don’t know if a large amount of mana creature will suddenly turn their attention toward us.”

Everyone smiled once Sophie gave her seal of approval. Immediately they charge toward the horde of mana creatures. The group acted like wolves attacking a helpless flock of sheep. The group smiled as they unleashed their attacks on the horde of mana creatures’ defenseless rear end.