"Lord! That's it! That's the place!" a man riding a bat-like beast shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing ahead.

In front of them lay a massive mound spanning nearly 10 hectares. Thin trails of smoke curled upward from near a tall, solitary tree at the top, unmistakably exposing the location of Leo and his group.

Nord, seated atop a Skyrend Eagle, heard the shout and his smile deepened.

"Good," he said with satisfaction. "This place is indeed perfect. I'll get every bit of money's worth from those girls."

He was referring to the steep fare he had paid to the Skyrend Eagle's Master. He was moving with only a total of 11 people; otherwise, he would have brought more if not for his credit limit.

For 80 km and 10 people, the total fare had cost nearly 5000 AC, leaving out the man riding the bat-like beast. That left Nord with a balance of just over 8000 AC—barely enough to keep his group running. Still, 10 people were more than sufficient to deal with 4 weaklings.

They landed nearly 2 kilometres away from the mound, so the targets wouldn't sense their approach and flee. The moment they touched the ground, all 10 subordinates summoned their strongest beasts—massive forms ranging from 4-meter-tall bears to 2-meter-long boars.

Nord himself summoned his beast.

A towering 6-meter humanoid rock beast emerged, its body formed of jagged stone plates grinding against each other with a deep, rumbling sound.

"Whoa! Lord's beast is so strong!"

"Yeah! We can easily capture their territory!"

Their voices were filled with excitement as they advanced. Soon, they reached the base where the mound began to rise and gathered together, speaking in hushed tones.

"5 of you," Nord ordered quietly, "circle around the mound and reach the other side. Block their escape route if they try to run."

Not long after, Nord received a confirmation message indicating the other group had taken position. He typed a quick response, ordering them to move forward and declare occupation halfway through the ascent.

As they stepped deeper into the territory, Nord's phone vibrated.

Ting!

>You have stepped into a territory without its ruler's permission.

>Notify the territory leader about your arrival / Declare the part of the territory as occupied.

One wouldn't be informed of the territory leader's identity through the phone. If someone planned an attack, they had to gather information beforehand—usually from Aurelius Hall, which listed all territories along with their leaders.

Similarly, the territory leader wouldn't be informed of an infiltration unless the intruders revealed themselves through one of the options. If one entered secretly as a spy or assassin, the message could simply be ignored.

But Leo had already been informed of their arrival.

Howl could feel everything that stepped on him.

Nord and his entourage advanced cautiously, unaware that their positions were already completely exposed. When they were just shy of reaching the plateau above—

"Alright!" Nord shouted loudly. "Declare the territory occupied!"

His voice echoed across the slope, deliberately triggering chaos as notifications bombarded the territory members' phones—11 messages in rapid succession.

The moment Leo and his group heard Nord's voice, their phones rang simultaneously.

Ting!

>A part of the territory has been declared occupied by Nord Birel. Drive them away within a day or lose the claimed land permanently.

>A part of the territory has been declared occupied by A…

>A part of the territory has been declared occupied by G…

Since the attackers didn't possess an official territory of their own or a designated leader, each of them individually occupied a portion of the land.

By then, Leo and the others had already repositioned themselves to intercept the attackers. Meanwhile, Bigfoot remained hidden inside his cave, the Fluxsoil Heart, Titanbreath Lotus, Blueleaf, and other magical plants clearly visible behind him.

His sole task was protection.

Leo grinned.

"Howl," he commanded calmly, "use [Golem Construct]."

Suddenly, the entire plateau surged with dense earthen mana. The ground trembled as chunks of rock, soil, and stone tore themselves free, rapidly assembling into towering figures.

But—

"So shit…" Leo muttered under his breath.

Rock Golem (High 1-star) – Magical Construct

Still, nearly 40 of them formed as Leo repeated the skill that he had. He quickly commanded 20 golems to intercept each attacking group, then relaxed slightly, inspecting one of the constructs to see if it could be modified.

There was no need for him to act personally.

Once Lily learned that Nord was the one attacking the territory, she went straight toward his group herself. At the same time, Leon accompanied Miho to eliminate the other team.

Soon, the area was filled with curses, panicked shouts, and terrified screams as Leo's phone rang repeatedly—notifications confirming that the occupied territory was being reclaimed one section at a time.

"W-what is this?!" Nord muttered in horror.

His eyes were wide as he stared at the battlefield. The entire region was suddenly swarming with 2-meter-tall rock golems. While they were easy to destroy for his own rock beast, the same couldn't be said for his followers.

They were completely bamboozled.

3 or 4 golems would gang up on a single beast, suppressing it before swiftly incapacitating the beast master. Anyone who tried to flee was yanked back by thick vines that wrapped around their legs, lifting them off the ground before slamming them down like ragdolls.

The golems weren't the real problem.

It was the vines.

They were absurdly strong—refusing to snap even when a follower hacked at them with all his might.

One by one, Nord's subordinates vanished from the battlefield, crushed into unconsciousness along with their beasts being sent back to temple.

"G-golek! Retreat!" Nord shouted desperately. "Leave them! Carry me and run!"

His rock beast smashed another golem apart with a single punch. As a Peak 2-star beast, destroying High 1-star golems with fragile, loosely bound rock bodies was effortless.

Then Nord saw a golem reaching for him.

Panic surged through his chest. He hurriedly pulled out his oriental dagger from his spatial ring and summoned another humanoid rock beast similar to the first. This one, however, was far weaker—barely stronger than the golems themselves.

Together, they managed to destroy the approaching construct.

"Golek! Come back!" Nord screamed.

But Golek was being overwhelmed, battered by relentless waves of suicidal golems hurling themselves at it.

Suddenly, a vine lashed out and wrapped tightly around Nord's wrist.

Thwip!

The dagger slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

Then a soft, sweet voice drifted through the chaos—gentle, yet chilling enough to freeze Nord's blood.

"Is that the dagger you used to hurt Miho?"

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