"What's wrong?" I asked Harold.

"Three problems. One, we have another Drakkan force approaching us. Then, we have a monster wave approaching us. And, the scouts have detected a flying beast approaching, some kind of large bird," he said, looking worried.

"Why are you this tense?" I asked. "Is the attacking force that good?"

"No, the Drakkan force is smaller than before. Just five hundred, and they are not risking an approach. I'm worried about the bird. Scouts are confident that the bird is a mount for the ascended, their protective aura is pretty distinct," Harold replied. "Combined, they might be dangerous."

"Rosie is still away, recruiting, right?" I asked. Harold nodded. "Fine, I'll go and handle it. Meanwhile, give the order to blacksmiths. They can go back to the dungeon, and they have Radiant Flame metal to work with. Same for the farmers."

Harold nodded.

A quick step through the gate network later, I was at the second wall, and dashed toward the third wall, which was currently in construction. Toward there, I could see the dragon force, led by Terry and Logan, quick to reinforce the location. Their attempt was impressive, but I doubted it was a smart idea.

I rushed to their side. As I got closer, I got a better view of the construction, the walls rising with an impressive speed thanks to a combined effort from the workers and newly developed construction machinery including cranes, forklifts, and trucks; all going back and forth to deploy the needed mixture of stone and metal.

"Sir," many greeted me as I approached. I waved at the machine operators before I continued, going to Terry's side.

"Everything alright?" I asked. This version is sourced from MV3L3MPYR.

"Hopefully, sir. I'm trying to understand whether they are here to harass us or they are bait," Terry replied even as he passed me the spyglass, allowing me to observe the forces. A glance was enough to show what he meant.

The Drakkan force was barely five hundred strong, but every single one of them was mounted, armed with both lances and bows. Currently, they were outside the artillery range, but, combined with the speed their horses were moving, it was easy to imagine them occasionally drifting closer to harass the construction effort before retreating.

Worse, they were perfectly positioned to deal with the refugees Rosie would bring.

"A simple trap, but a nasty one," I admitted. Just by the merit of their distance, they had neutralized our biggest advantage. If I went to their side, my dungeon-powered mana regeneration would weaken considerably.

Then, there were the ascended reinforcements detected by the scouts.

"Monster wave is still a distance away, right?" I asked.

"Yes, sir. We can pull back to defend, but …"

"That would ruin the construction, and cause further problems," I completed. "No, we can't afford to pull back from our defensive encampments immediately.

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"What are we going to do?" Terry asked.

"We need to deal with the Drakkan force before the beast wave. We can't afford to deal with the combination."

"Should we?" Terry asked.

"No, stay back. I'll test them first," I replied. Just because their ascended reinforcements had been seen didn't mean there weren't others with them.

I could escape an ambush. They could not.

"But —"

"No, I want you to stay in a defensive position, ready to react," I said as I moved forward.

As I approached, I saw them spread out into a formation; elite swordsmen taking the front line with archers positioned carefully at their rear, arrows already glowing with health. I approached slowly, knowing that they could retreat if they wished. I could match their speed, but all they needed to do was to disperse.

I drew my sword, channeling mana through the blade as I prepared to face them head-on.

"It looks like you're itching for another defeat," I shouted. "I'm happy to see just how much great Drakka is scared of a poor little blacksmith!"

I couldn't see their faces at this distance, but I didn't need to realize just how angry that statement made them. An easy taunt, but an effective one. I hoped that they would attack me, therefore giving me the initiative on how to handle them.

A few of them, I could see arguing for that exact reason … but ultimately, they decided against it. "You will get what's coming for you, you worthless peasant!" their leader shouted and reached for his bag.

As he removed a glowing rock, I tensed, ready to dodge, shield, or even open a gate as needed. But, before I could make a decision, the crystal rose high, and exploded. For a few seconds, I waited, tense, but there had been no effect.

Then, I felt something happening in the dungeon. A sudden flood of mysterious energy, one that was supposed to not exist during the day. Just as I realized what was going on, the cavalry spread, pulling several more crystals as they bombarded the sky, each explosion giving more of that mysterious energy, the gates working overtime to absorb it.

A nasty plan, but an effective one, I realized. The mysterious energy not only angered the wild beasts, but also empowered them significantly. That move alone turned Rosie's mission into a difficult challenge, forcing us to expand our forces.

I threw several mana attacks their way — not using the Radiant Flame tricks — but a mana dome blocked the attacks. They stayed in place, while the beasts all around us started to go wild. It would be only worse when the beast wave finally arrived.

In response, I sent several signals to Terry, ordering him to mobilize our forces for attacks, and be ready to pull back to the second wall.

While I did that, the archers released a volley, their arrows streaking through the air like bolts of deadly light. I swiftly conjured a defensive shield of dense mana, deflecting the incoming projectiles, but the sheer power behind them forced the shield to stagger.

They were prepared for my tricks.

I let the mana shield explode brightly, and used the screen to rush forward.

They were quick to defend. The swordsmen charged forward, their movements precise and coordinated, suggesting they had at least one Charisma user amid them. Yet, I stepped into the melee range, willing to accept the risk.

Their weapons glowed as they attacked with practiced synchronization, attempting to overwhelm me from multiple angles. Several attacks bounced off my armor, but their attempts to deflect my attacks were even less successful, each blow delivering death.

Realizing they couldn't withstand my assault for long, they started dispersing. I infused my blade with powerful decay mana, slashing in a wide arc that started to eat into their armor.

[-1000 Mana]

Not enough to ruin their armor, but enough to make them think that I put all my reserves into that one attack, trying to make them attack before their ascended reinforcement arrived —

Suddenly, pain flared in my shoulder as a blade punched through my defenses, strong enough to punch through my armor. I grunted as I caught the sight of the attacker. Only after delivering the attack, a protective shell appeared around him, signaling his identity as an ascended warrior.

I ignored the pain radiating through me as I pushed forward. I recognized the nature of the trap, so I pulled back. Just in time, as two other ascended appeared behind me, ready to cut off my path.

They committed more to their attack than I expected.

Just not enough to take me down. Even if I ended up in the middle of their formation, surrounded by the enemy.