Niara instantly covered her body with scales, while the little slug crawled inside her clothes.
*BANG!*
She leapt forward and landed a devastating punch. The shockwave exploded outward, obliterating a Risen on the spot.
The weaker Summoners stepped back, scared for their lives.
And it was obvious why: none of them were even close to being ready for this. Most hadn't even learned how to properly use their Blessings yet. Faced with terrifying and powerful enemies—could they grow strong enough before they died?
But the other nine elite rookies, chosen to make up the front line, roared and charged in. They were fired up—unlike the others, they could fight and kill these enemies with ease.
For them, this wasn't about survival. This was a full-on power farm. With every Risen killed, their partners earned points they could use later to create another ring. It was an opportunity they had to squeeze dry.
The couple with Dragon blood were among the nine. Technically, they weren't exactly "elite"—just above average. But they were placed there because of their test scores and individual strengths.
When a Spiritual Guardian first learned their Blessing, the power gap between them wasn't huge yet. At the start, the biggest difference came from the Summoner's abilities. But Dragon blood was overwhelmingly powerful compared to the others.
Luckily, among all the rookies, only three had Dragon blood. And the fact that all three were in the top 10 said it all.
Everyone else was a Mannaz with Enfield bloodline. The reason there were so few with Dragon blood was simple: their reproduction rate was insanely low.
They were way fewer than other Mannaz, and because of that, the few that did exist were tightly united, under the command of a Dragon King.
Back in the battle, Darian was watching everything from the rear.
The rookie Summoners were still trying to fight, but their Spiritual Guardians were clearly shaken and afraid.
'Wait... they didn't kill a single Risen during the test?'
The answer was obvious. Fight? Why would they?
During the test to become a Spiritual Guardian, Darian spent fifteen days fighting and killing non-stop. At first, he was a total idiot, but he learned not to suck so much in the middle of it all. The others? They just ran and hid, trying to pass the test as fast as possible.
None of them had real training. They came from a peaceful universe and had never faced anything this wild. Only the lucky and fast ones made it through.
Niara was fighting a two-meter-tall Risen that looked like a bull beast. It was oozing angry black miasma, and every move made the ground shake.
But she was super experienced, and didn't even need to use her martial arts or spend energy. Despite their insane attack power, the Risen didn't have brains. As long as you could block their hits head-on, one strike from a blind spot was enough to kill them. One clean, precise blow, and that was it.
When the enemy showed an opening, she'd channel a bit of Darian's energy and strike with a simple, lethal hit.
The first few minutes passed... until...
Behind them, a bunch of rookies started dying. In no time, over twenty were turned into bloody paste.
'Those bastards are moving way too fast—they're already getting close to the third row,' Darian said coldly. 'They only care about getting as many kills as possible. They're not protecting the weaker ones or keeping the backline steady.'
Niara snorted dryly. Those nine thought they had everything under control, so they didn't give a damn about anyone else. People that arrogant die early.
'Partner...' she muttered, her voice low.
Darian let out a short breath. Everyone thought Niara was crazy and bloodthirsty, but the truth was very different.
She carried massive guilt and pain for the lives she'd taken—directly or not. That's why she didn't want these people to die for nothing. Her life goal was clear: save her universe and protect as many lives as possible.
Feeling the deaths behind her, a sharp pain tore through her chest.
'If you want to help them, I'm with you. But... you can't protect them forever,' Darian said gently.
He felt a wave of joy rise in her, so he sighed and added, 'Let's give them a chance to fight. Whether they survive or not... that's on them.'
Niara nodded and, with a flap of her wings, pulled back.
In the middle of all the chaos, 131 rookie Summoners and their partners were scattered everywhere. Each one was struggling to fight a humanoid Risen, barely holding on.
The Mannaz were giving it everything they had, using their martial arts, but they were getting hurt and slowly corrupted. They couldn't stop to heal with pills, so every second brought them closer to death.
Even though their partners could use the ring's power, only about a third of them were able to use the blessing during battle.
Still, that was nowhere near enough. The Spiritual Guardians were extremely inexperienced and couldn't fight effectively, wasting tons of energy for nothing. Meanwhile, every time one Risen went down, two more popped up right after.
The blessing was their main power — without it, killing a Risen was insanely hard. The Summoners' martial arts were made to help defend themselves and support their partners in small ways, not to be the main force in combat.
The Summoners' eyes were wide open, full of overwhelming desperation. It was obvious — they'd all be dead in a few minutes.
Suddenly...
*BOOM!*
An explosion shook the ground and sent up a cloud of dust, temporarily blinding everyone with the Risen's miasma.
"QUICK! IF YOU WANNA LIVE, RUN TO ME!" — a female voice shouted from inside the dust.
Almost all of the Summoners, already in complete panic, heard those words and didn't even think twice. Any sliver of hope was a miracle to them.
When the dust settled, nearly a hundred of them were gathered around Niara. The rest kept fighting on their own. They either felt nothing good could come from that, or were just too proud to accept help.
The little slug crawled out from inside her clothes, climbing up to her shoulder.
He turned to the group and spoke quickly:
"My partner's a bit emotional, she can't stand watching you die so pathetically. Anyway, I'm giving you all a shot here, but you're gonna have to put in some work."
Everyone was covered in blood, with black corruption lines all over their bodies. They stared at the slug and nodded right away, no hesitation.
"Listen up. You'll follow my orders, and I won't put up with anyone doing their own thing or breaking my trust. We're gonna fight as a group. Got it?"
He asked quickly as they all felt the Risen closing in on them.
Everyone swallowed hard. A white-furred Mannaz girl with cat ears struggled to speak:
"I'll listen... my partner still needs time to learn how to fight..."
After she spoke, the others quickly said similar things.
"Good," Darian nodded. "You were all thrown in here with no proper training. The Elders weren't idiots — they knew that. That's why they organized things this way. You were supposed to get some initial protection, time to get used to fighting... but the idiots who were supposed to give you that don't care about anyone but themselves."
Everyone took a deep breath. Those nine elites weren't even in sight anymore. Then, cold sweat ran down their backs — death was just meters away.
Darian continued: "Those who are in bad shape and need to heal or take pills, get in the center. The rest of you, split into six groups and form a six-pointed star around them."
They moved fast, no hesitation at all.
Some had thoughtful expressions. Niara noticed right away, but Darian held her back.
She flapped her wings and rose a few meters above the center of the group.
Everyone was tense and confused — what were they planning to do? Dozens of Risen were closing in from every direction.
"Fight without fear and stay in formation. The ones recovering in the back are counting on your protection. The ones beside you need your support. If you can defend, do it. If you can attack, wait for an opening and strike. Just do what you can — but no matter what, don't break formation," Darian finished coldly.
Everyone listened, still not fully understanding. That's when the Risen attacked mercilessly.
The bravest ones stepped up to block or dodge. They had agreed to follow orders, so they put all their trust into the plan.
But... some of the more cunning ones noticed something.
They used the others as cover and slipped through the Risen, breaking off and running to a safer place further away.
Since there were so many and most were injured, nearly all the Risen were drawn to the big cluster. Another factor was that the little calamity-level slug gave off an irresistible pull to mindless Risen.
Soon, those few who ran off found themselves in a much safer and calmer spot.
Stay in a group? How would that help? Now, they'd have time to fight properly...
*Flap! Flap! Flap!*
The sound of wings echoed in the sky.
*Bang! Bang!*
The sound of the ground being torn apart and blood spraying echoed again and again.
Everyone in the group turned toward the noise... and swallowed hard.
A Dragoness, covered in green scales and blood, flew through the sky, attacking violently.
Her targets? The ones who ran.
"There's no forgiveness for traitors," Darian's voice echoed. "Fight. I've said this before, but I'll say it again: if you disobey me on purpose and betray everyone by running, we'll kill you ourselves."