With both of his black wings spread wide behind his back, Agares hovered in the air, his body and blade wrapped in dark energy. He floated directly in front of the Church of Light in the city on the 91st floor.

A projection of the red moon and the god of darkness appeared behind him, right as he raised his sword to shoulder height, its tip pointing downward—aimed at the thousands of invading cavalry soldiers.

He began manipulating the dark energy. He compressed the energy of the god of darkness into thousands of swords, each with a shape and size identical to his own, the Shadepiercer.

The invading soldiers could do nothing but stare, mouths open in disbelief at the terrifying power before them.

"Die," Agares said firmly.

He fired the thousands of condensed dark-energy swords downward, raining them upon the enemy troops. Their bodies were pierced all over by the falling blades.

Many were killed instantly. Some ran backward in fear, trying to save themselves. Agares blinked in surprise—they had enough intelligence to fear him and try to escape.

Still, Agares wasn't finished. He shattered the red moon projection and launched a second wave of attacks.

Hundreds of dark meteors dropped from the sky, killing even more and demolishing buildings across the city.

The power was devastating. The destruction was enormous. At the very least, the Church of Light would be safe for a little while longer—just enough time for his two clones to finish rescuing the rest of the townspeople.

The bodies of the invaders lay on the ground, only to disappear moments later into sparkling particles of magic. They weren't real people—they were magical projections created for this simulation.

'They won't stop,' Agares thought.

'There will be another wave coming. I'm sure it'll be even stronger than this one.'

Even so, for now, the area around the city center was safe. The citizens hiding in the church cheered joyfully, praising Agares for his strength and how easily he had destroyed the invading soldiers.

He descended from the sky and let the black bat-like wings vanish from his back. Agares turned and stepped inside the church to check on the civilians he had already saved, making sure they were safe and uninjured.

"How many people are in the city altogether?" Agares asked.

"About 2,500," one of the citizens replied.

'I need to save at least 1,250 to pass this trial,' Agares reminded himself.

He glanced at the current number of rescued people—340. That meant he still had to save 910 more, and he had no idea where they were hiding.

"What's wrong, Sir Saber Knight?" the same man asked.

"Do you know where the rest of them are hiding?" Agares asked. The man shook his head.

"No. Everyone ran in different directions when the attack started. We don't know where anyone went," the man said with a tired sigh.

If even the citizens didn't know where the others were, then Agares had no choice but to go and find them himself.

The 91st floor city was large, and there was a good chance that many were hiding inside their homes, waiting for someone to rescue them.

'The invading knights are easy to defeat, even without saber skills, Agares thought. So the real challenge isn't the battle.'

'It's the evacuation.'

He turned around and opened the church door again.

That's right. The enemies he fought were too weak to be the focus of the trial. The true difficulty lay in finding and saving the people and protecting the Church of Light.

He had to use his remaining time wisely. Only five hours left.

'Is five hours enough for me to save 910 more people?' he wondered.

'I need to search for them. But at the same time, I have to stay here and guard the ones I've already saved,' he realized.

Agares closed his eyes, focusing his awareness and vision through his two clones, who were still searching for more citizens.

So far, the two clones had rescued 213 people. But until they reached the church, that number couldn't be counted as confirmed.

'You two! Head back to the Church of Light now. Stop searching for a moment,' Agares ordered telepathically.

The two clones received the command from their original and responded immediately. They walked through the main city road, heading straight for the church where the other citizens had gathered for safety.

Within ten minutes, the 213 people arrived safely at the church. Agares stood tall in front of his clones.

"Saber Skill: Shadow Clone!"

He activated his shadow clone ability and summoned another clone, separated from his main body. He could now control the maximum number—three clones.

"What are your orders?" asked one of them.

Agares instructed the three clones to head in three different directions—north, east, and south. He himself would remain in the center of the city to prepare for what was coming next, and to make sure the clones could operate safely.

"Understood," the clone replied.

All three clones summoned black wings and took off in the directions they had been given. Agares followed, also taking to the skies, holding Shadepiercer tightly in his hand.

"Attention, all invading soldiers!" Agares shouted. His voice echoed across the entire city.

"I've already saved every last citizen. If you want to kill them, come and fight me!"

Agares openly challenged every enemy soldier. They heard his voice and looked up, seeing him floating above the city.

One by one, the invaders stopped searching houses and began heading toward the city center, answering his call.

A thin smile appeared on Agares's face as he watched thousands of enemy soldiers approach from all directions.

He landed roughly in the middle of the city, sending up clouds of dust and smoke as his feet hit the ground.

The soldiers reminded Agares of brainless barbarians, crazed and eager for violence. They surrounded him without hesitation.

Agares glanced at their distance from the Church of Light. They were too close. He worried that they might break down the doors and slaughter everyone inside. He couldn't let that happen.

With a powerful leap, Agares jumped from the center of the city to the front of the church. He began fighting the invading soldiers using his saber techniques, fast and precise.

Every trial from the 81st to the 85th floor had sharpened his mind, heart, and body. He knew exactly what to do—what attacks to use, what moves would end the fight quickly.

His experiences in the dungeon had greatly improved his skills.

Although the invading soldiers were weak individually, their overwhelming numbers made the fight difficult.

This was a true test of Agares's concentration.

With every attack, slashes and stabs took down more enemies. The bodies of the invaders dissolved into magical particles that floated into the sky. Agares wasn't distracted.

He didn't need to chase them. He let them come to him so that he wouldn't be forced to leave the Church of Light unprotected. That made his job much easier.

One by one, they fell—quickly and accurately. Not a single one managed to land a direct hit on Agares.

Meanwhile, from the directions of his three clones, they had arrived on the main roads and were calling out to the remaining citizens to come out. They promised safety from the invaders.

The other townspeople began opening their doors, stepping out from hiding. When they saw that the people calling them weren't enemy soldiers, they were relieved.

A solid group of yet-unrescued citizens began forming. The three clones had gathered 890 more people.

While still fighting off the enemy in the city center, Agares gave a strict command to his clones.

'Gather them in the south. That's the fastest route to the city center!'

The clones in the north and east agreed. They led the citizens down alternate streets to reach the south, avoiding the battlefield.

Every now and then, Agares used his saber skills to destroy large groups of enemies at once. Many more were eliminated that way.

Fatigue started creeping into his body. Fighting alone against thousands of weak soldiers was exhausting. But it was still the best plan.

Killing them one by one reduced the number of respawns. That would help his clones avoid danger while escorting the people.

The citizens inside the Church of Light could only stare in shock, eyes wide, watching Agares—the Saber Knight—fighting thousands of enemies alone.

It was a sight full of admiration… and fear.

Agares had no idea exactly how many enemies he had killed, but their numbers were definitely much smaller now.

Once the situation became more stable, he ordered the three clones to bring the citizens to the church.

They nodded. After regrouping in the south, they ran toward the center of the city, guiding the people to safety.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Church of Light. The clones stood guard while the citizens entered the sanctuary.

Agares's plan had worked. He had saved more than half of the city's population. He could finally breathe easier.

He leapt backward with force and landed near the three clones who had just returned.

"You go finish the fight," he said.

"I'll protect the church."

"Yes, sir," the three clones replied.

They flew ahead and attacked the remaining invaders, not allowing a single one to come near the Church of Light.

Agares dropped to one knee, exhausted, breathing heavily with his eyes locked forward. His three clones had successfully pushed the enemy forces back.

"A-Are you alright, sir?" one of the citizens asked.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

He looked at the mission timer. Two hours remained until the simulation would end. But since the trial's objectives were already complete, Agares's task had now become simple.

All he had to do was protect the Church of Light until the test duration ended.

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