This world was far too vast for us to have it all to ourselves.
The first to notice something wrong… was Phoenix Sunlight. He rose to his feet with a scowl, his eyes fixed on the eastern horizon.
Phoenix's sudden movement instinctively drew everyone's attention in the same direction.
At first, there was nothing.
But over time, my senses picked up what had made Phoenix move earlier.
"This is bad," I muttered without thinking, and Snow nodded—he had felt it too.
"What? What's going on? Why are you all making those faces?"
Danzo asked quickly, his voice rising in tension.
Phoenix answered in a deep, commanding tone:
"Everyone, prepare to move."
And just as he spoke those words… the first wave of danger we had sensed moments ago revealed itself.
The land was cloaked in darkness, so we couldn't make them out clearly at first—but they were far closer than we'd expected.
"What the hell are those things?!"
Ragna and Danzo both cursed at the same time as a wave of pitch-black bodies surged out of nowhere.
"Nightmare creatures?!"
"No!"
I immediately denied it, pushing my Hawk Eyes to their limit.
"They're human."
Mangled, broken, and disfigured… they staggered toward us barefoot, draped in tattered rags—or, in many cases, wearing nothing at all.
Upon closer inspection, you could see it .. that black substance oozing from their pores and wounds…
Everyone stared in horror at the horde approaching from the distance.
"These are humans? They look more like…"
Emelia Atarax murmured, but Dawn Polaris finished the sentence for her.
"The Ganado…"
They looked terrifyingly similar to that nightmare creature we fought during the island trial.
"Should we avoid them?" Seris asked, directing her question at Phoenix, who stood at the head of our formation.
"No… That won't help."
After focusing for a moment, I understood what Phoenix meant.
"They're coming specifically for us."
Their presence here wasn't random. They were headed straight for us—mouths open wide, drooling black sludge as they came.
"Prepare for battle!"
Phoenix shouted, and we immediately shifted into the battle formation we had agreed on beforehand.
With Phoenix at the front, flanked by Danzo and Daemon, the two of them burst forth—releasing explosions of silver and golden aura respectively as they donned their armor.
Right behind them were Snow Lionheart and I— the main duelists in our formation. The rest had taken their positions toward the rear according to their roles.
We had already decided to go all out—no restraints—which explained why both Daemon and Danzo had pulled out their trump cards from the very beginning.
"I don't get it… Professor Phoenix, wouldn't it be better to wipe them all out with a single large-scale attack?"
Snow asked, beginning to feel the tremors beneath his feet caused by the approaching army.
Phoenix simply shook his head in response.
"We can't do that."
Phoenix was more than capable of incinerating the entire army with his flames… but that wasn't an option.
"If I unleash one of my stronger attacks, I'll have to burn through a tremendous amount of aura—and that would immediately alert the Ultras to our position."
It was safe to assume this army only found us because they happened to be nearby. In other words, our location likely hadn't been exposed—yet.
But the other side undoubtedly had its fair share of mages and Wave Controllers. If Phoenix went all out, they would sense his presence in an instant.
"Remember… the enemy isn't just what you see in front of you. It's far more than that."
"Understood!"
Snow responded without hesitation, and Phoenix nodded firmly.
"We'll have to do this the hard way!"
As he spoke, Phoenix's fists ignited with blazing fire—flames that the young Sunlight Lord unleashed in a searing beam, vaporizing the vanguard of the oncoming army.
In a single strike, he wiped out dozens of them.
Phoenix's fire was so intense, his victims didn't even leave behind corpses.
"Let's go!"
Daemon Valerion shouted as well, charging headfirst into the crowd in a flash of lightning, slicing through their ranks. Danzo followed right behind, unleashing his own destructive power.
Meanwhile, the Wave Controllers—led by Sansa and Seris—targeted the deeper lines of the enemy formation.
And after the initial clash…
I realized something.
"This is easy."
Cutting off one of their heads with Balerion, I understood they really were like the Ganado.
"Way too weak."
They were so primitive they tried to attack with their mouths, attempting to bite… but even that was painfully slow.
"Let's finish this quickly."
Snow and I plunged through their ranks with blistering speed, tearing them apart with swift, coordinated strikes. Still, most of the kills were claimed by Phoenix, who shredded dozens in mere seconds.
"What the hell is up with these things?!"
BOOM!
With a single punch, Danzo sent an entire swarm of them flying. Some exploded into pieces, their bodies ripped in half.
Yet even in that state… they still attacked.
"What kind of curse is this?! Zombies?!"
"Quit talking and kill them properly!"
Slash!!
With a giant arc of violet aura, I cut down more and more of them.
We eliminated hundreds in record time, but despite the ease… something didn't sit right with me.
"Something's off…"
How did they find us in the first place?
Was our position exposed?
And if it was… why send weaklings like these?
"Something's wrong…"
As I started using my brain again, I finally realized just how deep I had pushed into the swarm of twisted humans.
The adrenaline and high of combat had blinded me to the state of the battlefield—I hadn't even noticed how far I'd gotten from the others.
But I wasn't alone. Phoenix, Snow, Danzo, and Daemon were still further ahead.
Dawn and Ragna—along with the other duelists and spearmen—weren't far either.
But I didn't see Sansa or the others anywhere nearby.
Activating Hawk Eyes, I scanned the battlefield, and after a moment, I found them.
They had been supporting us from afar in their own way .. and that help had made a big difference.
But then… I froze.
Because the moment I extended my gaze just behind them—
"Everyone! Fall back! NOW!!"
I shouted with all the strength I could muster, drawing everyone's attention to what was happening behind the line.
But I was too late.