Martin barreled into the venom sac and drove Death Jaw deep into it.

The rest of the vanguard’s attacks connected after him. Blades struck the broken joints, arrows punched into the marked vents, and spells streaked through the golden field before brightening as they crossed Martin’s line. The entire vanguard moved behind him like one weapon, and Martin became the point of that weapon.

The venom sac closed around his blade like living muscle, slowing Death Jaw before it could tear all the way through. Martin lowered his shield, drove his shoulder behind the sword’s guard, and pushed with everything he had.

His boots slid through blue blood, poison hissed against his armor, and the Ant Queen’s legs hammered the ground around him with impacts close enough to rattle his bones. The Black Wolf Fangblade’s orange aura opened like a ravenous jaw while Kinnami’s golden light wrapped around it from behind, black, orange, and gold twisting together until two wolves seemed to bite into the same prey.

The sword sank another inch, then another, and Martin’s hands tightened around the handle until his gauntlets creaked.

He refused to pull back. Instead, he dragged himself deeper, as if he had become part of the pack, the true alpha tearing into the prey to finish the hunt.

The Ant Queen thrashed and screamed, her opened vents spitting blue blood in abundance. She looked like a miniature version of Cascade Valley, with so much blood fountaining out of her wounds that it poured down in rows like waterfalls.

Her HP kept plummeting.

Then Martin twisted his sword inside the venom sac.

Death Jaw tore through the heated channel NukEncore had prepared. For one terrible instant, the swollen sac went still, and then it ruptured.

Venom exploded in every direction, splashing over monsters and players alike. The nearest Darling Ants shrieked as poison washed over them. Enemy players caught in the blast staggered, their HP bars melting before they could even understand what had happened.

The vanguard was not spared. Tanks raised their shields too late, duelists stumbled back with poison icons flashing over their heads, and healers shouted over one another as green damage numbers began ticking across the entire front line.

Martin took the worst of it.

His HP dropped in a flash, not only because he was the closest to the venom sac, but also because of Hold the Line. Twenty percent of the damage taken by others had been redirected to him.

The damage came in too fast, and his HP bar plunged.

Kinnami snarled against his shoulder, her golden body flickering as she fought to soften every poison tick before it reached him. Her paws dug deeper into his armor, and each pulse of her light dragged his HP back from the edge by a thread.

Crimson Halo’s eyes widened.

The poison is too much. His HP will hit zero soon!

[Crimson Halo: Kinnami, anchor him.]

The Wolf Spirit’s ears flicked at her mistress’s voice. The moonlit thread between Crimson Halo and Kinnami brightened, and the golden light around Martin thickened for one more desperate second.

[Crimson Halo: Martin, do not make me heal a corpse.]

[Emperoar: I’ll try to stay inconveniently alive.]

[Crimson Halo: See that you do. I prefer scolding people who can hear me.]

The Ant Queen’s scream broke apart as her own poison surged back through the ruptured channel, tearing through the damage NukEncore had heated, Kill Clause had opened, and Martin had finished.

Her legs buckled one after another. The massive body crashed into the flooded nest with enough force to send blue blood rolling across the stones, crushing several Darling Ants beneath her as she fell.

The golden field trembled from the impact, and for a moment, no one moved.

The Ant Queen’s abdomen spasmed once, then twice, before her HP hit zero.

[You have killed the Dark Aquatic Ant Queen Lv. 50]

[You have leveled up.]

[Emperoar Lv. 36]

[You have leveled up.]

[Emperoar Lv. 37]

[You have leveled up.]

[Emperoar Lv. 38]

[You have...]

Martin’s smile stretched wide.

The good old level-one dungeon trick still works! Haha!

The other players had helped him with the kill, and the EXP continued to pour in. Martin’s level kept rising.

He and the others had survived the onslaught.

Enemy players either died to the poison or became so vulnerable that the vanguard’s ranged players only had to flick their fingers to take them down. In the middle of the chaos, more EXP flowed through the battlefield.

A heartbeat of silence passed before the vanguard erupted.

Someone shouted. Someone laughed. A healer sank to one knee, breathing hard as her staff dimmed in her hands. Potato Block stared at the Ant Queen’s corpse, then at his shield, then burst into wild laughter.

[Potato Block: We lived! We actually lived!]

NukEncore lowered her hand, her smile softening as she watched Martin stand in front of the fallen mini-boss. For once, she did not look annoyed that someone else had taken the brightest spot.

Crimson Halo looked less impressed, since she was still watching Martin’s HP bar.

[Crimson Halo: Martin.]

[Emperoar: Yes?]

[Crimson Halo: I will scold you later.]

[Emperoar: Understood.]

Chaosgraphy’s smile widened.

"Congratulations, Martin. You survived the boss and earned the after-party punishment."

Martin finally let out a breath, and for a moment, it seemed as if everyone could finally breathe with him.

Then a loud howl resounded from the backline.

It did not sound like a wolf’s howl, or any beast Martin had heard before.

He turned around and saw the creature that had howled, along with its status.

[Ashjaw Hyena Lv. 60]

[Raze Dawg Lv. 60]

[Guild: Just Die]

Beside it stood a tall man, calmly stroking the hyena’s head.

"Calm down, Ashy. Our plan’s already in motion," Raze Dawg said.

His level, nickname, and guild name hovered above his head with the confidence of someone who wanted everyone to notice.

Kuro A’s voice swept through the voice channel.

[Kuro A: Enemy guild confirmed! They’re from a different academy, and they’re targeting every active front at once! They waited until we were locked with monsters and rival players. Their guild name is Just Die! Do not let them disrupt the mission!]

Raze Dawg smiled.

"One of you was precious enough for Ashy to drag me here. I expected a real battle, but look at you. Underleveled, undergeared, and still pretending this is an expansion force. What happened to Cassandra? I thought she understood levels better than this. Or is she just a fraud who throws money at players?"

Martin clenched his hands, and his face turned cold.