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."

brought her out of her delusions. Raising her head, Donna's eyes focused on an

beacon, directly shooting into the sky and absorbing the mana around

"Mana Compressor."

their excursion. As long as they destroyed it, their mission would be

It was just that...

Report. There appear to

...It was completely deserted.

was no one in

feel several presences beneath the ground.

found her body tensing. A subtle hue spread

tell

"No."

her head with a tense look. With thin vines secretly spreading from her fingertips,

feel several threatening auras. About seven of them to be

"That many?"

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

ground and cast

do we do

"I don't know."

bit her lips while staring at the attack force ahead of her. They were currently pretending to

turned to face Amber. She finally took a deep

you know the exact location of all those that are

"More or less."

all of the individuals hiding in the ambush. Her vines might

She looked at Donna.

what do you want me

"Start a direct attack."

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

location and that they're waiting for us. It's best if

looked down

let the combat team

"Got it."

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 direct orders

She couldn't help but feel rather tense at the moment. The feedback she was receiving through the vines led her to believe that there were a significant number

I

locked on all the auras, she looked directly at

"I'm ready."

her hand and fixed her gaze toward

"Okay, get them out."

"You got it."

into the vines, which burst

Rumble―! Rumble―!

were about the size of three tree trunks. The very tip of them was extremely sharp,

"We have been discovered!"

"Engage with the enem―"

the Monolith

"Stop."

Donna's voice quietly spread across the entire battlefield, and

Click―!

ground clicked at her step, and she

wide, the world took on a purplish hue,

a favor

just a couple of words, but the moment they spread, the eyes of many

tempted by her voice,

the side of their

Boom―! Boom―!

the assault force and Amber attacked with everything they got. Blood sprayed all

Boom―!

explosions reverberated throughout, drowning out the cries of desperation coming from those who had

that held a considerable

are you

the air, halting their movements. It was only for a moment, but it was sufficient for Amber to intervene as thick vines sprouted behind them like spears and

"How dare you!?"