With full courage, Agares pressed the agree option. Instantly, another system panel appeared in front of his face, listing several objectives for this trial.

[Trial Objective:]

[1. Protect 50% of the town's population]

[2. Guard the Light Pillar]

[3. Prevent any participants from dying]

'These orders are pretty clear to me,' Agares thought.

In the blink of an eye, the peaceful city landscape shifted into one of destruction. Houses were burning. Many townspeople were being murdered, raped, and tortured.

People ran in fear, trying to escape the invaders. The attackers moved in groups, wearing the traditional outfits of a certain tribe and riding horses fast.

"This feels like a simulation."

In this simulation, Agares had to rescue the townspeople and set up safe evacuation zones. It wasn't just about fighting—he had to quickly come up with the right strategy to pass this trial.

Aoi stood outside the trial dome, unable to go in with him. Agares smiled, trying to assure her that he could handle this.

He drew his longsword to the side. A purple light shone brightly from its blade.

With a sideways swing, he launched a slashing shadow attack forward. It hit a group of enemy soldiers directly, exploding on impact and throwing them far into the air.

Some townspeople saw the attack drive off the invaders. They rushed over and took shelter behind the knight.

"Please help us, Saber Knight," one of them pleaded.

Even if this was just an invasion simulation, Agares could still feel everything. He could sense their sadness, hatred, and anger.

He could also feel the heat from the fires burning down the homes, smell the scent of burning wood, and feel the touch of the townsfolk like it was real.

"Tell me, where are the rest of the townspeople?" Agares asked.

"I don't know."

"They scattered to different places. I can't be sure where they went."

"I see," said Agares.

He stabbed his sword, Shadepiercer, into the ground, channeling dark energy through it to activate one of his signature skills for finding people.

"Saber Skill: Shadow Clone!"

From his body, dark energy split into three. Out of the purple-black energy, three clones of Agares took form, thanks to his upgraded saber skill.

Lucky! Agares had leveled the skill up enough to summon three clones at once.

All three appeared and looked at him, waiting for orders. The townsfolk behind Agares looked stunned. The Saber Knight could clone himself.

"Spread out and find the other townspeople. Try not to engage with the invaders."

"Meet me at the Light Pillar," Agares ordered firmly.

"Understood."

The three clones flew high into the sky, leaving the main road to focus on locating people hiding in certain places.

"Do any of you know where the Light Pillar is?"

"The Light Pillar? Do you mean our church?" one asked. Agares nodded.

They said they knew. It was a bit far, and they were afraid of running into invaders along the way.

Even though they were scared, Agares assured them that he would protect them—even if it cost him his life.

Seeing his confidence gave them strength. One man stepped forward to guide Agares to their church. Agares followed behind.

He and many townsfolk ran down the city's main road, ducking into alleys when they ran into invader patrols, forcing Agares to fight them.

His priority was the safety of the townspeople. They had to be escorted safely to the church.

Agares summoned two black wings from his back and took to the air, fighting enemy soldiers as he flew. Occasionally, he used Shadow Cleave to crush their forces.

Once the threat was dealt with, Agares flew up to the rooftops and saw the townsfolk running toward a church near the center of the city.

"Damn it!" Agares growled.

He spotted a cavalry unit—hundreds of enemy riders holding spears—charging in.

They surrounded the townspeople, making it almost impossible for them to escape.

Their lives were in danger. Agares had to act.

He landed hard in front of the group. The sudden landing startled them, and they quickly crowded around him.

"Saber Skill: Abyssal Ward!"

Agares stabbed his sword into the ground and summoned a projection of a dark god, shielding everyone with a barrier shaped like two layers of black bat wings.

With this skill, Agares could buy time to come up with a plan.

"What should we do?" one townsperson asked.

"We can't just stay here. This skill reflects power back at attackers, but it's not enough to defeat them," Agares said sharply.

"Then what?"

Agares closed his eyes. He reached out mentally to his three clones, asking them to delay their rescue missions and help him instead.

There were far more civilians with him than with any of the clones.

The telepathic message reached them. They obeyed, flying away from their current spots to head toward the city center.

From above, they saw Agares surrounded by hundreds of enemy cavalry. Still airborne, the clones attacked using sword techniques—they couldn't use saber skills.

Through their eyes, Agares watched them fight the cavalry. He told them to concentrate their attacks on breaking a path for him toward the Church of Light.

COUGH!

Agares coughed up blood as one of the three clones was killed. His HP dropped—but that wasn't the biggest problem.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and told the townspeople behind him to get ready.

Faintly, he saw a small gap open in the cavalry's formation.

Agares focused his power into Shadepiercer, pulled it free from the ground, and slashed forward.

A purple crescent shadow shot forward and slammed into the cavalry, causing chain explosions as Agares kept firing the skill to clear the way.

Success! He broke their formation and led the townspeople out. They sprinted toward the church to take shelter.

Agares and the two remaining clones flew away. Their tired faces showed the clones didn't have much time left.

He had to think of another plan—the invaders weren't going to stop before the countdown ended.

"Go back to your first mission. I'll handle the rest."

"Yes, sir!" the two clones replied.

They flew up again, returning to help evacuate the remaining civilians. Agares stopped, hovering in front of the Church of Light—the place he had to protect.

He raised his sword and poured power into the blade.

Agares aimed Shadepiercer straight ahead, toward the hundreds of incoming enemy troops.

"Saber Skill: Eclipse Execution!"

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