The area around Ashford didn't stay silent for long. Orbs of white light flared atop the metal walls and pierced the coming darkness.

A wailing sound, triggered by the base's primitive alarm system, began to echo through the area.

Reidar was on the ridge, watching the base. Below, the Zealots and Elite Guards moved around, getting into position. They drew their weapons and scanned the treeline to see if there were intruders while their glowing armor pierced the coming darkness as defensive spells activated.

"They know," Lena said. She tightened her grip on her daggers. "Are you sure Viren didn't see the Foragers? Or where they came from?"

"He sensed them and killed one," Reidar said. "Even though he didn't see it, he must have realized it wasn't just a random animal."

Reidar had miscalculated. The Forager had been spotted—or at least sensed—and now Viren had locked down the entire base because of it. One ant. One mistake.

Lena looked down at the base, watching the guards shift. "He put the base on lockdown because of a single ant," she said. "While Aaron would have laughed it off, this guy is smart."

"And careful," Jake said as he crouched beside them, studying the patrol. "What do we do? We can't sneak in now."

"We attack," Lena said. "Since we lost the element of surprise, we must use brute force to break the door down before they can set up better defenses."

Reidar nodded, accepting that while it wasn't the plan he wanted, they didn't have a choice. "I'll handle Viren," he said. "He's Level 335, which means he'll kill our summons fast once he joins the battle, so I need to keep him busy while you deal with the magic circle."

"We'll take the guards, then," Lena said, glancing at Jake. "They are only Level 150 to 200. They won't be a problem."

Jake nodded and reached for his weapon. He was at Level 289 now. He could kill everyone down there easily. But killing monsters and killing people were different things. He fought Aaron but didn't kill him. That honor went to Lena, and even when he joined her to destroy the War Hound patrols, he didn't often claim lives.

It wasn't that he couldn't do it, but that made him feel uneasy, and Lena didn't want him to start thinking that killing people was the easy way to erase problems.

"I'm staying with you," Lena said to him.

Jake frowned. "I can handle them alone. You know I can."

"I know," Lena said. "But you're not doing it alone. We destroy the circle, and then we help Reidar finish Viren. That's the play."

Jake didn't argue. He knew she didn't want him killing that many people by himself.

Reidar stood up. "Get ready."

He checked his mana. He had plenty of it thanks to his high level and perks, so he wasn't worried. The same could be said for Jake and Lena.

Lena raised a hand, and a Shadow Operative Team appeared. They weren't an army, but they dealt high damage.

Then Jake stepped forward and summoned the War Mastiffs. Thousands of them.

They filled the area, as there were at least Five thousand beasts waiting for his command. It was a high number for someone like him, who didn't exactly focus on summoning, but Jake's trait allowed him to bypass normal limits.

Reidar looked at the boy's army and nodded. "Good. Now, cover your ears."

Reidar then unleashed his legions.

Feral Pack ravens appeared in the sky, blocking out the setting sun. Skeletal Warriors came out of the ground by the thousands. Spectral Mages appeared from mana.

The mana cost was high, but Reidar's regeneration perks kicked in immediately, refilling his mana almost as fast as he used it.

He kept casting. Summon Vorathid Foragers. Summon Shadow Guardians.

Hundreds of thousands of creatures filled the valley floor and the ridges with the small guys. Reidar had nothing that could truly go toe-to-toe with Viren. Not yet, at least, although he had something that would work well enough for him to win.

Reidar knew most of his summons were fodder. Against a Level 335 Shadow Mage like Viren, these low-tier summons would die quickly.

But that was the point.

Reidar needed the battlefield full of creatures so that Viren would come out. The lower-tiered monsters could kill the defenders, while Viren, thinking that Reidar could not summon anything better, would rush to kill, and there, Reidar would summon the titans.

"Go," Reidar said.

The monsters moved forward.

As the skeletons reached the walls, Reidar used Skill Sharing to summon his stronger monsters.

Summon: Twin Boulderback Behemoths. Summon: Bark Behemoth. Summon: Cinderheart Efreeti. Summon: Tidal Saint and so on. While Reidar's plan hinged on their absence, he at least needed a minimum to breach the walls and keep the other summons as alive as possible.

Dozens of large creatures appeared, towering over the walls of Ashford.

In the ritual chamber, Mikko Viren opened his eyes.

The mana density in the air spiked, and he clearly noticed.

He stood up, leaving the circle. The lights on the floor flickered because of the change in mana.

"I was right," he said to the empty room.

He didn't use the stairs. He used his shadow magic to teleport through the base.

He appeared on the ramparts a second later. Then he saw it.

Viren gripped the railing.

The valley was full of monsters.

The ground was covered by skeletons in armor with hollow eye sockets, hulking beasts with matted fur and dripping fangs, and eerie creatures that writhed like living shadows, all moving toward the walls like a tide of death.

But it wasn't the swarm that troubled Viren. Rising from the swarm were the Titans.

Large stone giants walked forward, shaking the ramparts. A creature made of fire hovered above them. Massive, tree-like creatures rooted themselves.

Viren stared. He was Level 335 and a Deacon of the Church of Unbinding, but looking at the army, he felt scared. He wanted to use his shadows to run away.

But he couldn't. The Mana Siphoning circle was downstairs. If he lost this base, Silas would kill him, and he would lose all the support he got from the church.

Viren raised his hands, pulling mana from the air. Shadows around the base rose like spikes.

"Kill everything that moves!"

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