"Winning!"

"We are winning!"

"Hell yeah!"

Triumphant cheers echoed throughout the shattered battlefield.

The warriors who had earlier been knocked unconscious by the guards and Dryad smashing them into the ground finally began regaining some semblance of awareness. Many of them slowly rose to their feet while staring at the battlefield with excitement and disbelief.

Some raised their weapons and shouted loudly upon seeing the giant abomination being overwhelmed by Nyxara and Barbros.

But unlike them, Reigns did not feel relieved at all.

Instead, his expression gradually darkened. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"This feels too easy..."

He stared carefully at the battlefield while tightening his grip on the Scughe.

The abomination looked far too dangerous.

A creature like this should not be pushed back so easily.

Something felt wrong.

The giant abomination continued staggering backward under the relentless attacks.

Nyxara sliced apart another frozen arm while Barbros smashed one of its twisted faces into pulp with a brutal punch.

BOOOOM!

Black blood splattered everywhere.

The countless screaming faces across the creature’s body began twitching violently.

The battlefield fell silent for a brief second.

Nyxara instantly frowned.

Barbros also paused while breathing heavily.

The giant abomination slowly lowered its body.

Then all the countless twisted faces across its flesh opened their mouths together.

A horrifying black glow began emerging from within them.

Reigns’ eyes widened instantly.

"Move!"

SCREEEEEEEEEECH!

An ear-piercing scream exploded across the battlefield.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The giant abomination erupted outward with terrifying waves of darkness.

Massive black tendrils burst from its body like a storm of living shadows.

The frozen ice covering its body shattered apart instantly.

Nyxara’s body trembled slightly before several giant tendrils slammed directly into her.

BAAAAANG!

She was blasted away violently through the shattered branches of the canopy.

At the same time, Barbros roared and tried punching through the darkness.

But dozens of tendrils wrapped around his arms and chest before exploding violently.

BOOOOOM!

The giant chief was sent skidding backward as blood spilled from his mouth.

The battlefield instantly descended into chaos.

Dark tendrils spread wildly in every direction, piercing through the village grounds.

Several recovering warriors screamed as the attacks tore through their bodies.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Some were thrown into the air while others were crushed directly into the shattered wood.

The triumphant cheering from moments ago instantly turned into terrified screams.

Reigns felt his entire body go cold.

Giant waves of darkness were already rushing toward him at horrifying speed.

"Damn!"

He quickly tried to step back and take cover.

But it was too late.

A massive tendril was already right before him.

Reigns’ pupils shrank in horror. His mind raced as he activated Phantom Steps to evade, but the tendrils smashed through the phantom and continued toward him.

Just before it could reach him, a figure suddenly rushed in front of him.

"Gunther?!"

BAAAAAANG!

The dark tendril pierced straight through Gunther’s body.

Blood splattered across Reigns’ face.

Gunther’s body trembled violently from the impact while the dark tendril remained lodged inside his chest.

For a brief moment, everything around Reigns fell silent.

Gunther coughed out blood before slowly turning his head toward Reigns, a weak smile appearing on his battered face.

"Damned... Reigns... now you owe me one."

The next second, another explosion of darkness erupted.

BOOOOM!

Gunther’s body was blasted away from before Reigns before crashing heavily onto the shattered canopy covered in blood.

Reigns didn’t even get the time to cry out before the gigantic body of the abomination suddenly surfaced right before his eyes.

It looked even more horrifying than before.

Its massive body towered over the shattered canopy while countless bloody tendrils smoldered and twisted around it like living snakes. Dark smoke leaked out nonstop from the cracks across its flesh while the countless distorted faces fused into its body screamed and cried together.

The pressure alone made Reigns feel suffocated.

Gunther’s sacrifice made his chest tighten painfully for a moment.

But Reigns quickly gritted his teeth and forced those thoughts aside.

From Gunther’s words, he was certain that the man hadn’t truly died.

That meant he still had another life.

Still...

Watching him get pierced right in front of him left a bitter feeling in Reigns’ chest.

Reigns quickly looked around the battlefield with a tense expression.

Nyxara and Barbros had both been blasted away badly, their bodies covered in wounds and blood.

Reigns didn’t even know if the two could still stand up and continue fighting.

His heart tightened immediately.

"Nyx! Are you alright?!"

For a moment, there was no response.

Then suddenly...

CRACK... CRACK...

Ice slowly spread apart nearby.

Nyxara pushed herself to her feet with faltering steps while holding her greatsword tightly.

Blood dripped down one side of her forehead while several dark wounds covered her arms.

But her eyes still remained cold and sharp.

A freezing aura spread around her body as ice slowly swirled around her, her piercing glare locked directly onto the abomination.

"I have never been better, darling. You should take care of yourself too."

The moment she finished speaking, freezing energy exploded beneath her feet.

BOOOOM!

Nyxara instantly shot forward with an icy blast erupting behind her.

Her greatsword dragged heavily across the shattered canopy while frost rapidly spread everywhere along her path.

The abomination reacted immediately.

SCREEEEEECH!

Countless tendrils of darkness shot toward Nyxara from every direction like giant spears.

But at the same time, Barbros slowly rose back to his feet.

Blood still flowed down his muscular body while the glowing tattoos across his skin shone brighter than before.

Illusory figures of giant beasts slowly appeared around him.

First a lion.

Then an elephant.

Several massive animals manifested around his body like spiritual guardians.

Barbros roared loudly, and the giant beast phantoms roared together with him.

The entire battlefield trembled.

With a furious expression, Barbros pulled back his fist and punched forward with everything he had.

BOOOOOOM!

The colossal punch slammed directly into the abomination’s chest, carving a massive bloody crater into its flesh.

The creature let out a violent scream, black blood exploding into mist everywhere.

Meanwhile, Nyxara hacked apart several tendrils before thrusting her greatsword deep into the frozen wound created by Barbros.

CRAAAAACK!

Ice exploded across the creature’s body once again.

The two continued fighting desperately against the monstrous abomination while darkness and freezing energy clashed wildly across the shattered canopy.

Reigns stood there breathing heavily while gripping the scythe tightly.

His mind was in complete chaos.

Should he join the fight?

Or would he just become a burden?

The difference in strength was simply too massive.

Just as he struggled with those thoughts, he heard a faint whisper near his ears.

[Use me.]

"What?!"

Reigns immediately rubbed his ears and looked around with a startled expression.

For a moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if he had imagined someone’s voice.

Then the whisper came again.

[Use me, Reigns.]

"Huh?!"

Reigns froze before he slowly lowered his gaze toward the source of the voice.

Wrapped around his ankle was the soft wooden anklet.

And the voice he had heard was coming from there.