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“I’ll tell you how we’ll fight.”

As Ghislain’s explanation continued, the expressions on the mercenaries’ faces changed by the second.

Some still seemed uneasy, but most looked impressed.

This young employer had already made preparations for a situation like this.

“A-amazing!”

“How did you know to prepare in advance?”

“I’ll trust you, Young Lord!”

The mercenaries reignited their fighting spirit.

The belief that they could indeed win the battle if they followed his plan started to blossom again.

“Get plenty of rest during the day. Once the battle starts, it’ll be a long night.”

Following Ghislain’s orders, the mercenaries quietly rested during the day, replenishing their energy.

As night fell, the Pallors came again and started taking the lamps.

The mercenaries no longer reacted and simply bowed their heads as if frightened.

Before long, only a few lamps remained. The field of vision had significantly diminished.

Crrrrr…

The Pallors left once again, their eerie laughter lingering behind.

And then, the next night.

Whoosh!

The last lamp disappeared, and the entire area was swallowed by complete darkness.

Even though they had cut down some trees, the forest was so dense that the faint moonlight couldn’t even illuminate the person next to them.

Crrrrr…

Everyone held their breath, remaining motionless in their spots.

The silence was so heavy that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Shrrrk, shrrrk.

Finally, the Pallors began to approach.

With all light gone, the Pallors had nothing to fear.

As hundreds of Pallors surrounded them, the mercenaries began to sweat coldly.

A primal fear surged within them as they felt the presence of something invisible standing before them.

Crrrrr…

They could feel the Pallors moving slowly in front of them, skin tingling.

Now, those creatures would either kill them or drag them off as prey.

At that moment, Ghislain shouted.

“It’s time!”

At his words, everyone ripped apart the objects they were holding.

Fwoosh!

White orbs, each about the size of a child’s head, instantly floated up into the sky, radiating light.

As over a hundred orbs floated into the air, the area lit up as bright as day.

What they had torn was the scroll for the 1st-circle spell, “Light.”

Ghislain had brought boxes full of them as his hidden card to deal with the Pallors.

Kaaaaargh!

The Pallors shrieked in agony, shielding their eyes from the light.

The mercenaries were stunned as they saw the creatures now revealed by the light.

“Wh-what… they look like this…?”

Though humanoid, the creatures were incredibly tall and emaciated.

They had four vertically slit eyes with pointed ears on the sides. Their mouths were torn up to their ears, revealing sharp teeth.

Their faces lacked a nose, with only two nostrils embedded into the skin, and disgusting, bulging veins covered their cheeks.

Where their hands should have been, only long, sharp, scythe-like horns extended.

Several long, wriggling tentacles hung from their arms.

These were likely the tentacles they had used to steal the lamps.

“Hurry and attack!”

Ghislain shouted at the mercenaries, who hesitated at the sight of the Pallors’ grotesque appearance.

“Charge! Attack!”

By now, Kaor and the Cerberus Mercenary Corps were already gleefully plunging their weapons into the bodies of the Pallors.

The other mercenaries quickly followed suit, drawing their weapons and launching attacks.

Unlike the previous night when arrows had passed through them, the Pallors’ bodies were now taking hits relentlessly.

“Kuhaha! I’ve been itching for this! You bastards!”

Kaor let out a crazed laugh, grabbing the Pallors by their faces and stabbing each one in the neck with his own hands.

Gillian, too, swung his axe with deadly precision, smashing the Pallors’ heads without mercy.

They unleashed the mana they had been suppressing and went on a killing spree, taking down the Pallors one by one.

Kaaaah!

Though initially startled by the sudden flood of light, the Pallors quickly regained their composure and began their counterattack.

The Pallors’ scythe-like nails were sharp enough to pierce through human armor and flesh.

While their specialty was hunting in darkness, these creatures, native to the Forest of Beasts, were no weaklings outside the shadows.

Thwack!

“Gahhh!”

Mercenaries started to fall, one by one, as the Pallors attacked them.

There were around three hundred of them—an overwhelming number even outside the darkness.

The scattered Pallors quickly regrouped and charged at the humans. Ghislain was no exception.

At that moment, Belinda stepped in front of Ghislain and shouted.

“Young Lord! Step back!”

Fwoosh!

As her cloak billowed, dozens of daggers shot out, piercing through the Pallors.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Slash!

The daggers, connected to various parts of Belinda’s clothing, moved like living snakes, aiming for the enemies’ heads.

With dozens of daggers occupying the space, the Pallors soon shifted their focus to Belinda.

“Hmph!”

As the incoming monsters’ attacks closed in, Belinda ducked down and ran her hand along the heel of her shoe.

Click!

With the sound of gears locking into place, a sharp blade sprang from her heel.

Swish!

Belinda sliced through a Pallor’s jaw with a single swift kick, cutting it clean.

Clang!

Weaving through the Pallors’ scythe-like strikes, Belinda launched attacks in every direction, creating a brief opening.

Taking advantage of the gap Belinda created, Ghislain surveyed the battlefield and shouted.

“You idiots! Hold the formation! Don’t just fight recklessly!”

Before the battle began, Ghislain had the mercenaries take up formation and wait.

But these fools had gotten so excited that they charged forward, breaking the formation.

“Maintain the shield wall! Block with your shields, and the rest of you get inside to engage the enemy!”

They weren’t a single unified mercenary corps, nor were they soldiers who had undergone proper training, so this kind of chaos was inevitable.

But Ghislain, the King of Mercenaries, was someone who had commanded countless mercenaries and ruled over battlefields.

He had experienced countless situations like this before.

“Gillian, Kaor, buy us some time so the Mad Dogs can reorganize the formation!”

Quickly assessing the battlefield, Ghislain moved the mercenaries into position and swung his sword.

Upon hearing Ghislain’s command, the Cerberus Mercenary Corps moved forward while the rest of the mercenaries began to retreat.

Kaor clicked his tongue in disappointment but moved to assist the mercenaries whose formation had collapsed.

Gillian also actively helped, making sure the mercenaries could reassemble their ranks.

The Cerberus Mercenary Corps’ exceptional individual skills and solid teamwork enabled them to withstand the Pallors’ attacks.

“Move faster!”

Ghislain, Gillian, and Kaor unleashed their mana without holding back, darting between the Pallors.

Only Belinda, ignoring the mercenaries, continued to smash the Pallors in front of her.

Kraaaaah!

As the three and the Cerberus Mercenary Corps disrupted their attacks, the Pallors became even more ferocious, striking at the mercenaries with increased aggression.

However, the mercenaries weren’t without experience in fighting monsters.

As the Pallors’ attention scattered, the mercenaries gradually extracted themselves from dangerous situations.

“Move quickly!”

“Raise your shields! Hold them up!”

“That’s it! Get inside! Move in!”

The mercenaries with shields stepped forward, blocking the Pallors’ attacks.

Once the rest of the mercenaries moved behind them, the shield-bearers formed a circular formation, blocking attacks from all sides.

As a few formations took shape, the casualties among the mercenaries began to decrease rapidly.

Seeing this, Ghislain shouted loudly.

“Mercenaries, hold your ground! Mad Dogs, Gillian, and Kaor cover the gaps between them!”

After issuing the orders, Ghislain let out a deep breath.

With the mercenaries now moving on their own, it was his turn to sweep through the battlefield.

Ghislain exploded both of his cores, releasing a surge of mana.

Soon, his eyes glowed red, and red mana rose from his body like a shimmering heatwave.

Slash!

Moving at incredible speed, Ghislain began cutting down the Pallors.

In the dark, his movements left trails of red light that flashed like lightning.

Each time that red line passed, a Pallor’s head would be severed.

The mercenaries, momentarily forgetting they were in the middle of a battle, muttered to themselves in disbelief.

“What… what the hell? He’s even stronger than usual!”

“I already thought he was amazing, but… is he actually stronger than I realized?”

Until now, Ghislain had only used one core in fights against monsters.

Exploding both cores put immense strain on his body, so he reserved it for only the most dire situations.

But now, despite the risk to his body, he had no choice but to unleash his full power.

There were simply too many Pallors; if he conserved his strength, the mercenaries would be slaughtered.

Slash, slash, slash!

With every flash of the red line, the number of Pallors dwindled rapidly.

The Cerberus Mercenary Corps, encouraged by the sight, began pushing the monsters back relentlessly.

“What are you doing? Are you just going to watch? We need to fight too!”

One mercenary shouted, spurring the others in formation to press forward against the enemy.

The shield-bearing mercenaries blocked the Pallors’ attacks, creating openings, while others thrust their spears and swords through the gaps.

Of course, they weren’t professional soldiers, so their teamwork wasn’t perfect.

Sometimes, their timing was off, causing the shields to falter, and their attacks didn’t land properly.

However, with Gillian and Kaor assisting them, the mercenaries could maintain their formation and continue their attacks, even if clumsily.

“Push them back! Push harder!”

The mercenaries, growing accustomed to their coordinated assault, pressed the Pallors with their shields while tightening their formation.

As time passed, the number of enemies visibly dwindled.

Kraaaah!

The Pallors realized they had fallen into a trap.

They were invincible in the darkness, but their entire species could face extinction if the current situation continued.

Kraaaah!

The leader of the Pallors, who had been attacking the mercenaries stealthily from the rear, sent a signal to its kin to retreat.

Though it was smaller in size than the other Pallors and didn’t appear like a leader, it was, in fact, the most powerful.

The leader glanced around, signaling its orders, and began retreating.

As long as it survived, the species could thrive again.

Just as it was about to make its escape, a human came charging toward it, destroying everything in his path.

This human’s blood-red eyes shone menacingly as he approached like lightning.

It was already too late for the leader to flee.

Deciding to kill the human first and then escape, the Pallor leader let out a screech and swung its scythe.

However, the scythe merely sliced through empty air.

Sensing a presence above, the leader lifted its head.

The human with the glowing red eyes was descending with a vicious smile; sword aimed downward.

“So, you were the leader.”

Ghislain was certain this creature had been commanding the Pallors’ hunt.

As he fought, his sharp eyes caught sight of the Pallor leader seemingly giving orders.

Slash!

With a merciless strike, Ghislain’s sword cleaved the leader in half, from head to body.

No ordinary monster could withstand the mana released from two cores exploding.

Kraaaaah!

With the leader dead, the Pallors fell into chaos, screaming and scattering in all directions.

“Everyone, get them!”

“Waaaaaah!”

“Kill them all!”

The mercenaries threw down their shields at Ghislain’s command and charged at the Pallors.

Some mercenaries were wounded by the frantic movements of the dying Pallors, but their rage drove them forward, eagerly stabbing their weapons into the creatures.

Kraaaak!

In the end, the Pallors were shredded to pieces, their bodies collapsing in heaps.

Only a few managed to escape into the darkness beyond the reach of the light.

“Stop! Don’t chase them!”

Even though only a handful of Pallors remained, there was no way for the mercenaries to fight them in the darkness.

The excited mercenaries reluctantly stopped their pursuit as Ghislain called them back.

“Haaa…”

Ghislain let out a deep breath.

Suddenly, his body swayed. The aftereffects of using two cores at once were hitting him.

Although the battle had ended, no one spoke, and they all turned their attention to Ghislain.

But soon after, the mercenaries, one by one, let out triumphant cheers and surrounded him.

“We won! We actually won!”

“Hahahaha! We’re alive! We made it!”

Filled with excitement, the mercenaries shouted in celebration.