[Serathra has decred a retreat with 23% damage taken.]

  Ats was about to swing his spear toward the neck of his oppo when, suddenly, his on stopped mid-motion. The challenger had chosen to surrender.

  [You have earned 15 rank points.]

  [You are entitled to cim 37% of the oppo’s resources.]

  [gratutions on your victory!]

  [You have unlocked access to issue a direct challeo your oppo using your Attack Token. They will be uo escape or dee.]

  Cheers erupted from his troops as the battlefield shifted. One by ohe enemy forces were enveloped in glowing light, their forms vanishing from the area.

  Ats exhaled slowly, spinning his spear in a fluid motion before st it bato his iory. Turning to gnce over his shoulder, he saw the victorious expressions on the faces of his rades.

  In the distahe enemy’s isnd began to retreat. At the edge of the opposing ptform, Serathra stood, her bloodied figure visible even from afar. Her left arm hung limp, drenched in crimson, and her once fident stance was now marked by exhaustion.

  “I’ll e back stronger!” she called out. “Thanks for the battle.”

  With those words, the woman stepped back, disappearing as the isnd itself began to drift away.

  Their oppohis time articurly challenging, wielding the Corruptio and applying its effects to her eroop. This made the battlefield dangerous and uable.

  Fortunately for Ats, his side had no she of fighters with Dark Element affinities. In fact, the number of Dark Element users under his and was unusually high for what was sidered a Special Element.

  [You have obtained 200 Units of Wood.]

  [...]

  [You have obtained 12 Prisoners.]

  [You have obtained 223 Gold s.]

  [You have received 490 Are Shards.]

  [You received 19,568 Exp]

  [You have level up]

  [Level 47]

  [Exp: 2,990/179,665]

  Ats and the others retreated back to their isnd from the warzone, bringing with them the spoils of victory—including 12 prisoners of war as a reward for their successful defense.

  He immediately checked on his troops, ensuring everyone’s dition after the intetle. The Corruptio wielded by their oppos had made healing magic less effective, prolonging recovery efforts, but thankfully, no lives were lost.

  Among the 12 prisoners, only three were batants who met Ats’s standards. Additionally, there were three workers, of which he chose two t into his workforce. The remaining prisoners were sent down to the Lower Lands, as they didn’t fit his needs.

  This marked yet another victory, their sixth secutive win—including the two battles against Soren. It was an incredible achievement.

  Even so, Ats khe importanaintaining their momentum. With their current position as Rank-1 Seeker Division 3, every victory brought them closer to adva. If they could tihis streak into the season, promotion to Rank-2 was well within reach.

  Ats held a discussion with Edrik and his elite subordinates for a strategic review. As usual, Edrik took the lead, guiding the versation. Kurogasa, reserved, only spoke when directly addressed, but his carefully chosen words always carried signifit weight.

  Karian, oher hand, was repeatedly told to stay quiet by Edrik, as his suggestions were always overly brutal and almost immediately dismissed.

  Milo, shuffled his deck of cards relentlessly, especially whenever someone gnced in his dire.

  Manna lounged in the farthest er, legs crossed, no entary. Meanwhile, Lyrassa listened ily, but she, too, opted to stay silent throughout the discussion.

  Mira? She was much better off staying outside. Her overwhelming charm had an uny ability to derail serious discussions, and no one wao risk losing focus during su importaing.

  And Baldric? He was outside, thhly enjoying himself at a celebration with the troops. Despite their exhaustion, they couldn’t resist his energy and booming voice as they reveled in their victory.

  With approximately two months left in the current season, they still had oack Token remaining to challenge another Lord. However, Edrik raised some important siderations.

  “If we want to maximize the rewards from this token, we o pi oppo who might respond to our attack with their own terattack,” Edrik expined. “That would result in an all-out frontation.”

  He paused for a moment to ensure his point was clear before tinuing. “The first question is: how do we identify an oppo likely to respond with an all-out frontation?”

  Edrik leaned back slightly. “We use the few weeks for scouting. By the progress of battles on nearby isnds and trag their current status, we arrow down our targets.”

  He gnced around the room. “It’s critical we also ehat we’re fully prepared for victory in such a frontation. Winning an all-out battle will not only grant us the maximum possible upgrades but also help us establish a stronger foundation heading into the season.”

  The group nodded, sidering Edrik’s well-id-out strategy.

  opic, everyoually agreed with Ats’s decision to prioritize reag level 5 the remaining two months of the season. He k would take relentless effort, but the bes would be worth the grind.

  At the same time, he still had to it to the rigorous training sessions that Kurogasa had prepared for him. Bang the two goals—leveling up and sharpening his bat skills—would push him to his limits.

  It was now a matter of seeing which would e first: his long-awaited level 50, the battle, or the possibility of having to their remaining Attack Tokeo ck of preparation.

  There was no time for rest. The very day, those who had recovered from the ret battle jumped straight bato training without hesitation.

  Ats, having gained numerous upgrades since his st session—including after f his bond with Lyrassa—was back to grueling exercises.

  This time, he faced a familiar challeraining while wearing armor specifically desigo pletely dull his senses. However, a new yer of difficulty had been introduced.

  He was handed a specialized spear crafted by Baldrilike his usual on, the Fang of Infernos, this spear weighed an astonishing 100 kilograms (approximately 220 pounds)—ten times heavier than his regur spear.

  Ats had to run while perf a sequence of spear teiques. He spun the massive spear with precision, thrust it forward with trolled force, swept it in wide arcs, and followed up with overhead strikes that demanded both power and bance.

  Ats steadied himself, fog as elemental particles began to gather around him. Unlike before, when they floated aimlessly, the particles were now visibly drawn toward him, ing around his body and the spear in his hands.

  He spun the spear with precision, grounding himself in preparation. After leveling up i battle, his stats had improved slightly, and he could feel the differen his strength and trol.

  With fides began running through the course. He recalled the yout of the tra detail, using that knowledge to navigate effitly. The elemental particles surrounding him seemed to enhance his movements, and his steps were steady and assured.

  Having spent weeks training without the use of his senses, he had grot at maintaining his bance. Even the heavy armor and spear no longer felt as overwhelming.

  Lava stream ahead—jump!

  He unched himself into the air, spinning the spear mid-flight. As he desded, he executed an overhead strike into the ground.

  The impaleashed an explosive bination of fire ah, sending a fiery shockwave rippling outward. The sheer force of the strike captured the attention of nearby troops, their morale was visibly lifted by his performance.

  The training tinued for another week. Now, the sed advanced session was set to begin.

  Ats stood in a barren field surrounded by cracks of va. Low hills enclosed the area, creating a natural arena for the challenge ahead.

  This time, the task was far more daunting. He would face waves of monsters attag from multiple dires. With the same dition, all of his senses, sight, hearing, smell, and touch were pletely shut off.

  While his previous training involved deteg and iing with elemental particles from inanimate objects, this time he would have to trad bat living, moving enemies.

  The monsters were already on their way. He could tell by the erratic behavior of the elemental particles in the area, swirling and shifting wildly iain dires.

  But identifying the monsters’ exact locations—or their numbers—proved much harder than he had anticipated. The chaotient of the particles made it difficult to pinpoint each target.

  Ats tightened his grip on his spear, taking a steadying breath. His first move would be to parry—testing the ining attacks to gauge the strength, speed, and number of his oppos.

  His body tensed, ready for the first strike, as he waited for the chaos to collide with him.