The hundreds of drow spread themselves out but still moved in small groups. Shen mingled with them as they advanced, trying to make his squad less eye-catching.

The swamp trolls were more like the spawn of devils and spiders than any mythological representation he had seen on Earth. They were vaguely humanoid, small and thin, and had six elongated twig-thick limbs that doubled up as legs or arms depending on how they wanted to use them. Their heads were rocks with malformed sculpted faces, and they wore latex-looking dark green suits from neck to toe.

They hid in the tall vegetation and were hard to spot unless they moved. Shen also had some trouble, but the whispers of the wind allowed him to locate them.

They could also use a weird form of teleportation that had to do with merging with one of the thick trees and leaving on another. He could feel the mana moving around but had to admit it was only thanks to his training. It completely hid from his senses and barely produced any ripple in the ambient mana, which was what he could detect.

The Maiden had been adamant about how such abilities were the best assassination techniques at D-rank and that she would personally revive him if he died to it. Then, she would Annihilate him to ensure he was dead for good. Lastly, she would kill herself. By doing all that, she would rid the multiverse of a pathetic warrior and an incompetent teacher.

Shen was confident she couldn't revive him, but he wasn't taking any chances.

His armor's mind interface revealed a new function as the swamp devils came into detection range. Every drow could inform where they thought an enemy was, but he could tell which data came from his squad and which was external.

His squad's scouts couldn't locate the trolls at all, and most others weren't any better, but one specific drow was good at it. Shen couldn't tell who they were, but they covered a much wider area than he could and only missed about one in five.

Shen helped fill in the missing information where he could and sent everyone a verbal warning about how sneaky the enemy was. He also revealed his detection range and told everyone beyond it to be extra careful. If they didn't know any good defensive techniques, they should get closer to him or just leave.

"They'll likely use guerilla tactics," he gave a last warning. "Do not walk alone under any circumstances."

All that happened very fast as they invaded the forest.

In the next instant, combat erupted everywhere.

As expected, the swamp trolls didn't face any drow head-on. Instead, they ran away or merged with trees as soon as they noticed their position had been compromised. They probe-attacked small groups or appeared in the middle of the drow, trying to sow chaos and fear.

The drow reaction pleased Shen. They had already been moving in groups from the start and got into larger ones after his warning. They kept calm and advanced only when they had more than double the number of spotted enemies. When their group numbers' were lacking, other drow quickly came to provide support.

Only a few trolls died on the way. They were agile creatures that specialized in escaping, and Shen hadn't ordered his troops to fight, either.

Shen's squad quickly reached the teleportation circle. Unlike the thunderlords' circles, the swamp trolls' wasn't in a clearing. Instead, vegetation looked the thickest there.

He gave his team the obvious order, "Burn down everything within two miles." He wouldn't let a teleporting enemy come out of a tree when he was about to conquer the circle. Then, he commanded the other drow. "Go create chaos in the other two zones."

Soon, a fire consumed the vegetation. The swamp trolls didn't try to save it but released primal roars of fear, rage, and pain.

Shen silently watched the enormous trees, likely older than any on Earth, be consumed by the flames of war.

Thirty seconds into conquering that teleportation circle, Shen received a report.

"The thunderlords left the neighboring zone but are defending the second one."

Shen had heard the sound of battle, but it was distant and muted. That explained it; it had happened very far from him.

"All drow, spread around the empty zone and occupy it, including its circle," he ordered. "Stay far from the borders. Leave at any sign of enemy reaction. Don't die."

Another thirty seconds later, he left the now conquered zone, ordered any straggler drow to leave it once, and headed to the empty zone.

His legion had started subduing the teleportation circle under his orders. It was over another twenty seconds later.

"All drow, return to Zone A-B-44," he commanded them for the last time. "Thank you for your assistance. Squad, let's wait for them to leave before our last attack."

The thunderlords had quickly cleared a five-mile stretch of land between their last zone and the one they had abandoned. Over five hundred of them—many more than Shen's estimates—stood on their last zone's border, forming a defensive wall. The message was clear: we'll only protect ourselves for now, but if you dare to attack, we'll erase you all.

Shen sighed as he saw his hundreds of troops leave. Commanding them had been a dream come true. They obeyed without question and were numerous enough to give him a numeric advantage against the swamp trolls. They were also strong and well-trained. He had never been in such a situation.

Was that how the mighty races felt when they faced annoying ants in their way?

Was that how the newly arrived twenty thunderlords in white armor felt as they approached his squad?

The hundreds of thunderlords in blue armor gave way to the twenty. They stepped outside their zone's boundaries and stopped half a mile away from Shen.

"Human Rising Star, leave," their apparent leader bellowed. "This is not your puny race's war. The drow and high elves have colluded to destroy order in the Alliance and killed a Titled B-rank. You're on the wrong side."

Shen had waited to hear what they would say because he thought it might be something useful, but this was just posturing. He would give them a chance to live, then stop wasting his time.

"I'm human but also drow," he replied. His armor wasn't enchanted to block sound, but it was thick and well-built enough to do so. He had to force the air outside to vibrate to send his words. "Give me this last zone, and I'll leave. Most of my troops have already left. You and I can just swap zones. You can come first if you want. I'll give you ten seconds. No one has to die."

He hadn't been ordered to kill anyone or to accomplish his mission exclusively through militaristic means.

"Impossible," the thunderlord replied. "We were ordered to hold this position. If you insist on coming, you will need to die."

Shen didn't waste time replying. The thunderlod had just informed him the reinforcements were on the way; that was the most likely reason to hold that position no matter what.

"Shieldy, Icy, focus on protecting the squad," he ordered his squad. "Soundy, Swordy, feel free to do as much damage as you think you can without risking too much. Everyone, give it your all."

They obeyed at once.

Soundy released a dual-element control zone, vibration and something invisible that Shen didn't recognize; he only knew it was there because he felt the elemental mana. Shieldy's zone had halberds and strong wind. And surprisingly, Swordy showed three elements: swords, fire, and ice. He was really an all-rounder.

Shen also didn't waste any time. He rushed straight at the enemy.

An aura soon enveloped him and suppressed the control zones, which couldn't invade the aura's range at all.

Shen didn't try to hide his power. Reinforcements were already coming and only one mission objective was left for him. Now was the time to give everything he had.

He also released his aura and kept advancing—at full speed.

His willpower was stronger but didn't directly crush the thunderlord's. The enemy's aura only swiftly shrunk. It did surprise the foe, though.

"Impossible!" the leader—who was also the aura user—conveniently yelled, revealing that they hadn't been deployed to deal with an aura user. Shen now knew that either his trick had kept his ability hidden or the orcs hadn't told the thunderlods.

The fool had an obvious flaw: he didn't know how to conceal information at all.

Shen felt grateful as he plotted how to kill him.

Magic of all kinds came at the cultivator, but his aura destroyed it all. They then deployed their own control zones, but only two could overlap and get a bit further into his aura before getting dissipated. Those zones weren't enough to harm Shen at all.

The twenty white-armored thunderlords produced metal maces from nowhere. Each was big and thick, and electric arcs moved on their spikes.

Shen swung his spear at the leader. The enemy raised their mace to block.

Shen surrounded his weapon with qi and instantly removed his aura. The thunderlord was still trying to deploy his own control zone to overwhelm Shen's aura. Without Shen's aura preventing it, his qi touched the enemy's mana.

Shen had expected a different mental battlefield, but the thunderlord hadn't. They had been losing an aura-willpower battle, then it disappeared and was replaced with the much more direct and dangerous energy-willpower combat. Shen simultaneously redeployed his aura and hit the thunderlord with the full power of his mind on two unexpected fronts.

The leader was strong enough not to fall unconscious, but he became dazed for a moment. That was enough for Shen's aura to overwhelm the thunderlord's, which retracted into his body.

Then, Shen started the true attack.

His aura covered every thunderlord around, and he removed all air from the inside, just as he had done against Yinhu Lanfen. At the same time, he used his Path to cut down and explode all enemies in range. Lastly, he attacked in close-range.

Yinhu Lanfen's Law-born lightning weakened when forced to exist in a vacuum. According to the Maiden, when it came to elemental existences, it was a dice-throw whether their existence depended on the surroundings on any level.

The thunderlords, unfortunately, were unfazed.

Shen focused on the enemy leader. The aura user hadn't fallen on the ground despite his mind shutting down for a few moments. Some elementals were like that, only capable of existing in one form. These thunderlords seemingly required contact with something, and their lightning existence was always perpendicular to it.

Taking them from the ground would harm them, but Shen knew better than to attempt it. Such beings could only be subverted by using Laws.

So, Shen thrust his spear instead.

Thunderlors were constant lightning bolts with phantom limbs covered by metal plate armor. Shen used one of the many openings to trespass the leader from one side to the other, going through the lightning the thunderlord was made of.

The enemy's elemental existence innately tried to shock him to death, but his spear was his Path, and everything was inside his aura. He forced arc circuit faults and used the ensuing explosions against the lightning bolts.

His spear pierced and cut the bolts as if severing a spine, and the arc blasts from his arc flashes exploded what remained.

The leader died a pathetic death in an instant, dissipating into nothingness, their armor falling uselessly to the ground.

Shen turned to the others.

He understood the greatest thing the drow wanted to teach him on this trip: he was too strong. In great part, that was thanks to his training. He knew how, why, and when to attack. He had every advantage, from C- equipment to experience to an aura.

And yet, the Maiden had said he might die in the Summit.

This was not his battlefield—and just like he could easily kill these D-ranks, so could other D-ranks likely do the same to him.

| WARNING!

| Planet Seventeen's rank range (D to C) has been violated!

| A B-Rank Guardian of the United Front for Justice has involved this world!

Or maybe, a B-rank would do that first.