The Author's POV

Not far from them was another group of lower ranked members scouting the area ahead. They were the main force in charge of the operation. On the other hand, Amber and she were merely there to ensure that nothing occurred to them. Somewhat like bodyguards in disguise.

Their presence shouldn't be out of the Monolith's calculation.

"That's good."

Amber responded, her tone sounding rather low. It was her attempt at hiding her nervousness.

"Don't worry."

Her nervousness didn't slip past Donna. She placed her hand on her shoulder and reassured.

"We've got the upper hand. We may be walking towards a trap, but the fact that we know that should already be enough of an indication that we aren't going there without a plan. Have faith in the Alliance Master."

"You're right."

Amber took a deep breath and stabilized her heartbeat.

She looked at Donna and asked.

"...Is he trustworthy?"

"The Alliance leader?"

"Yeah..."

Amber bit her bottom lip.

"He seems rather young, and there's not much that I know about him. It'd be a lie if I said I wasn't worried."

"..."

Donna wordlessly stared at Amber.

'Is he trustworthy?'

Donna's mind was just now starting to wrap around how far Kevin had come in such a short amount of time compared to when they first met. From having a rank of around a to now being on par with her.

...Then there was Ren as well. Nothing needed to be said about his accomplishments, which surprisingly overshadowed Kevin's already absurd ones.

'Now that I think about it... what kind of monsters did I train? Is my teaching that effective?'

She shuddered at the thought.

Perhaps she was a way better instructor than she had expected.

"We're here."

head, Donna's eyes focused on an enormous beacon that was deeply etched in the ground with four clamps by its

into the sky

"Mana Compressor."

target of their excursion. As long as they destroyed it,

It was just that...

There appear

...It was completely deserted.

no one in

feel several presences beneath the

Amber's murmur, Donna found her body tensing. A subtle hue spread from her

tell

"No."

a tense look. With thin vines secretly

threatening auras. About seven of

"That many?"

revelation left Donna completely taken aback. The Monolith seemed better prepared than

the ground and cast a solemn

do we

"I don't know."

lips while staring at the attack force ahead of her. They were currently pretending to scout the location while, in reality, they were just waiting for

to face Amber. She finally took a deep breath, and then

the exact location of all those that

"More or less."

whether or not she had tracked down all of the individuals hiding in the ambush. Her vines might not have been able to extend to the spot where a being with

She looked at Donna.

what do you want

"Start a direct attack."

stern manner. Her amethyst colored eyes shone brighter than before, slowly extending

location and that they're waiting for us.

down at

let the

"Got it."

her gaze away from Donna and fixed it on the opposing combat force that was off in the distance. Seeing their bodies tense, she knew that they'd received

The feedback she was receiving through the

I didn't miss

sure she was locked on all the auras,

"I'm ready."

her gaze toward the

"Okay, get them out."

"You got it."

carrying out Donna's instructions, channeled all of her mana into the vines, which burst forth from the ground

Rumble―! Rumble―!

were about the size of three tree trunks. The very tip of them was extremely sharp, and following their appearance, several figures emerged from

"We have been discovered!"

"Engage with the enem―"

were the Monolith

"Stop."

of Donna's voice quietly spread across the entire battlefield, and the figures that emerged

Click―!

ground clicked at her step, and she brushed her black hair

the world took on a purplish

me a favor

were just a couple of words, but the moment they spread,

individuals found themselves tempted by her voice, and they brought

the side

Boom―! Boom―!

with everything they got. Blood sprayed all over the

Boom―!

sound of explosions reverberated throughout, drowning out the cries of desperation coming

leaving behind only those that held a considerable amount of

are you

lingered in the air, halting their movements. It was only for a moment, but it was sufficient for Amber to

"How dare you!?"