<div> Chapter 73: Abandon
 Katar observed them closely.
 Seeing how they struggled against a lower D-rank, it was obvious that being without an Erwald was dragging them down and leaving them far behind the others.
 "They’re useless. Don’t let them drag you back," he said, his eyes trailing them until they disappeared from view.
 Icard looked toward the raid party that had been sidelined by their casualty.
 "You’ll need to get her out of here, or the spawns will find and crowd you," he warned.
 "Hey! You all, let’s move!" another raid party leader called out, raising his voice to urge them onward.
 Icard glanced back as they scaled the roots once more.
 ’They won’t want to head inside with that kind of casualty. And being only four, they can’t afford to reduce their numbers further,’ he thought.
 Returning fully to the path ahead, they could still see clusters of spawns lurking near the surrounding entrances; Bark Guards and Moss Hounds pacing the shadows.
 They quickly caught up to Damon’s group then.
 From every direction, more creatures were closing in. They had to move with precision, dodging as many as possible.
 Following Albert’s orders, they sought a point with fewer spawns, desperate to avoid a battle that would let the horde pin them down.
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 </div> They circled the perimeter, navigating the undulating heights of the roots.
 Icard’s raid party moved fluidly, and from a distance, he could see Damon’s group also circling with them, persistent to keep up.
 Finally reaching a suitable point, they jumped onto a final root, one that crept into the thick, in-between two gigantic trees, like a bridge.
 In unison, the groups, including Damon’s, ran along its length and then, finally plunged into the grove.
 Ahead was a clear path, save for a Bark Guard and a Venom Spitter that suddenly blocked their way.
 One of the raid parties handled them quickly, a blur of motion neutralizing the threats before they could strike.
 They hurried on into the dense cluster.
 The environment was suffocatingly dark, dominated by massive trunks that dwarfed the trees outside.
 The ground was uneven and treacherous, buckled by the weight of the gigantic trees.
 Icard peered into the eerie space and identified their route immediately.
 "We should head deeper, into the heart of the grove!" he urged.
 The others followed, rushing past the massive trunks into the new, oppressive environment.
 But once again, the forest floor exhaled as Bark Guards and Moss Hounds surged from multiple directions.
 The sight forced them to skid to a halt, their expressions hardening with a mix of exhaustion and readiness.
 "Can we fight now?!" Matt asked, his voice strained.
 "You got a choice? So yeah!" Damon replied, having arrived with them at the same time.
 Icard, Matt, and the rest readied themselves.
 In an instant, elemental energies flared and force-based powers were conjured.
 A chaotic battle erupted, sending shards of damaged wood and splinters flying through the air, mingled with the remains of Moss Hounds and Bark Guards.
 These spawns weren’t a major threat to Icard and the others, who cleared them with relatively simple skills.
 However, the constant exertion threatened to drain them before the main fight.
 They had to be fast and break past this wave.
 Yet, even as they hurried, they couldn’t escape the next obstacle.
 Another D-grade Thorn Knight had just stepped into the path.
 "Damn it," muttered one of the other raid party leaders, a man with a tired but sharp gaze.
 The leader of the second six-member party looked equally irked.
 Icard shared their frustration; they had barely finished the E-grade wave, and now this?
 "You all should just go at it together," suggested Ben, the Erwald of the yellow-haired leader of six.
 "Yeah, so we don’t expend too much," Icard added.
 "Hmph," Katar harrumphed, shifting within Alia’s shirt with an air of impatient superiority.
 The incarnations lunged at the Thorn Knight, which had already grown a sword from its right arm.
 Together, they thrashed the knight, sending it skidding back across the roots.
 It was then that one of the raid parties regained their footing without a cooldown.
 Instead of finishing the fight, they charged forward, sprinting past the Knight in a blur, heading deeper into the forest.
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 </div> "Huh?" Icard muttered, confused. "What the hell are you doing?!"
 "You guys take care of it! We’re going for the Chieftain where we’ll need our energy. Haha!" one of them shouted back, their tone suggesting they were far too important to waste energy on a mere knight.
 They successfully escaped, leaving the damaged but active Thorn Knight to stand back up and face the remaining group.
 "Tch," Katar clicked his tongue.
 "Those foolish retards. I can’t believe an Erwald let his incarnations think like that."
 The Thorn Knight prepared itself, the sword on its hand glinting as it stepped toward them in measured, intent strides.
 They were down six men now, and while it was annoying, they prepared to engage.
 Just then, they heard movement behind them.
 "You all should go ahead."
 Icard glanced back.
 "I don’t think I can reach the Chieftain at my level, but we can at least take this one’s mana essence," Damon said, approaching with his teammates.
 "I’ll take care of it. Go ah..." Damon urged again, but he was cut off by an explosive attack.
 A heavy invisible strike slammed into the Thorn Knight’s head, arm joints, and legs, pinning it down with crushing pressure.
 Before anyone could react, a different attack followed, a concentrated beam of emerald light.
 The incarnation pressed forward with intense firepower, blasting the knight’s chest before it could block, the energy punching straight through.
 The Thorn Knight was blasted back, its form rippling before it fell dead.
 The force-based incarnation was heaving from the exertion, and the one who dealt the killing blow had expended a great deal of power.
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶 But the knight was dead, and its killer had secured its mana essence.
 "Now that’s one for everyone," their Erwald, a black furred, spider-like creature said.
 "We must advance now!"
 Damon stood there, watching.
 It was a blatant display of the gap between them; they had taken down a Thorn Knight far more easily than his group ever could.
 It felt like a rub in the face.
 Icard knew the "one for everyone" comment meant they had each gained at least, the equivalent of 16 AP each, a boost for their growth.
 But then, it cost them energy.
 Taking essence wouldn’t refill their stamina; it only improved their overall mana essence.
 And meanwhile, the main fight was still ahead, including two upper D-ranks.
 He looked at Damon.
 "Trust me, it’s harder than it looks," Icard said encouragingly. "But if you plan on entering further, I can assure you... there are even stronger spawns than these."
 He said this just as the panel that had just appeared before him flickered with a warning.
 [Multiple Spawns Detected]
 [Threat Levels: D+++]
 [Spawn Names: Treant, Grove Sentinels]
 ---
 Way ahead of them and deeper into the grove, the raid group of six advanced.
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 </div> Before of them was a faint light glowing through the gloom of the forest.
 "Kandin, are you sure we should keep going? I’m having a bad feeling about this. Maybe we shouldn’t have left them" one of them said to their Erwald in a low voice as they hurried on.
 "Don’t doubt Kandin’s judgement. If we can’t defeat the chieftain, we’re strong enough to escape" Don, their leader said.
 "Those guys are probably too lame. They won’t be able to catch up"
 The young girl who had asked pursed her lips and kept to herself then. She was still unsure.
 Their surroundings were pretty much dark with a lighter shade behind them which they moved away from as they advanced.
 It was also quiet.
 A contrast from the environment they had just been in. But even at that, it was still very much eerie that way.
 Their guards were up. Most of the time at least.
 But even that was not enough to detect it.
 It’s massive body moved a bit and that was when their attentions snapped to it immediately.
 A pair of green glowing eyes looking down at them.</div>
 

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Chapter 73: Abandon

Chapter 73: Abandon Katar observed them closely. Seeing how they struggled against a lower D-rank, it was obvious that being without an Erwald was dragging them down and leaving them far behind the others. "They’re useless. Don’t let them drag you back," he said, his eyes trailing them until they disappeared from view. Icard looked toward the raid party that had been sidelined by their casualty. "You’ll need to get her out of here, or the spawns will find and crowd you," he warned. "Hey! You...

SSS Frost Sovereign: Rewinding The Apocalypse!

Chapter 73: Abandon

SSS Frost Sovereign: Rewinding The Apocalypse! - Chapter 73: Abandon