Scarlett stood still for a few seconds after the giant centipede finally stopped moving. The forest around them was completely destroyed.

Trees were broken, the ground was torn apart, and the air still smelled of blood and burned flesh from the explosions and lightning.

The massive corpse of the centipede lay in front of them like a fallen hill, its armored plates cracked and black blood slowly flowing out like a dark river.

The battlefield had suddenly become quiet.

Scarlett slowly turned around and walked toward Amon.

Her long crimson hair moved gently with the cold wind, and her expression, which had been cold and battle-ready just moments ago, softened slightly when she looked at him.

She stopped in front of him and looked him up and down carefully. Checking on him if he was okay or not.

“Are you okay?” she asked calmly.

Amon nodded and gave a small smile. “Yes. I am okay,” he said.

It was not entirely true. His ribs were still hurting, and his back ached from smashing into the tree, but compared to what could have happened, this was nothing.

Scarlett stared at him for a moment longer, as if trying to see whether he was lying or not. Then she slowly let out a small sigh.

It was a quiet sigh of relief.

“Good,” she said.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke. The wind blew through the broken forest, moving leaves and dust across the destroyed ground.

Then footsteps approached from the side.

Malphas walked toward them.

Unlike Scarlett, his expression was not relaxed at all. His face was serious, and his eyes were scanning the surroundings constantly, as if he was expecting another monster to appear at any moment.

The blue lightning around his sword had already disappeared, but the pressure around him still felt heavy and powerful.

He stopped a few steps away from them and looked first at the dead centipede, then at the destroyed forest, then at Amon and Scarlett.

“There might be more stronger monsters coming soon,” Malphas said in a serious voice.

His tone was calm, but the meaning behind his words was heavy.

“This one was already Peak Rank Four. If more monsters like this appear, or something stronger, the situation will become dangerous very quickly.”

Amon listened carefully.

Scarlett crossed her arms and nodded slightly.

Malphas then turned his head and looked directly at Scarlett.

“Stay focused,” he said. “Observe everything around the battlefield. If you sense anything unusual, tell me immediately.”

Scarlett nodded again. “Understood.”

She was very good at sensing mana, blood aura, and hostile presence. Among all of them, her detection ability was also better than many.

Then Malphas turned toward Amon.

His gaze stayed on him for a few seconds before he spoke.

“You,” he said, “stick with the weaker people.”

Amon raised an eyebrow slightly but didn’t interrupt.

Malphas continued, “Your abilities are good for both attack and support. You can move fast, attack from distance with that flying weapon, and your shadow abilities are useful for surprise attacks and protection.”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“If strong monsters appear, Scarlett and I will handle them. But the weaker monsters that slip through, or if rookies get surrounded, you and Mark step in and protect them.”

Amon nodded slowly.

“Understood,” he said.

Malphas looked at him for another moment, then added, “Don’t try to fight monsters like this one alone again.”

Amon gave a small, awkward smile. “Yes I won’t,” he replied.

Scarlett looked at him sideways as if she didn’t fully believe him, but she didn’t say anything.

Malphas then turned around and looked toward the eastern tower in the distance. From here, they could still see the top of the tower through the trees.

“We should return closer to the tower,” he said. “The battle is not over yet.”

In the distance, they could still hear explosions, monster screams, and people shouting.

The battle was still ongoing everywhere. This was only one battlefield. There were three more towers.

And who knew how many monsters were still left in this forest.

Malphas started walking toward the tower, and Scarlett followed him.

After walking a few steps, she stopped and turned her head slightly toward Amon.

“Can you walk?” she asked.

Amon snorted lightly. “I’m not that injured.”

“I’ll live,” he said.

Scarlett looked at him for a moment, then turned and continued walking.

The three of them moved back toward the eastern tower through the destroyed forest.

As they walked, Amon looked at the giant corpse of the centipede one last time.

That monster had almost killed him.

If he had reacted one second slower, he would have been eaten alive.

He tightened his grip on his sword slightly.

‘I’m still not strong enough,’ he thought quietly.

He had been training with scarlett, sparring with her each day, and yet when a real powerful monster appeared, he was still thrown around like nothing.

If Scarlett and Malphas had not arrived, that fight would have ended very differently.

He exhaled slowly.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached closer to the eastern tower again.

There were rookies, archers, mages, and close combat fighters. Some were injured, some were exhausted, but everyone was still fighting.

Flying monsters were still attacking from the sky, while spider monsters and new wolf-type monsters were attacking from the ground.

Now, a few monsters even came out of the ground near the tower. From back side of group.

The ground was tore, as they came out from the crack.

As soon as people saw Malphas and Scarlett returning, many of them felt relieved.

“The leader is back!”

“They killed that huge monster!”

“We’re safe!”

Voices spread quickly among the group.

Malphas immediately raised his voice, “Don’t relax! The battle is not over yet! Stay in formation!”

His voice was loud and commanding.

Everyone immediately became serious again and returned to their positions.

He then began giving orders quickly.

“Archers, focus on flying monsters only!”

“Mages, don’t waste mana on small monsters—aim for groups!”

“Front line, hold the perimeter! Don’t let monsters reach you! Focus on ur backside as well.”

His leadership was calm and efficient. He didn’t panic, and he didn’t shout unnecessarily. Every order he gave had a purpose.

Scarlett moved to a slightly higher rock and stood there, observing the battlefield from above, just like Malphas had instructed her.

Her red eyes scanned the forest again and again, searching for any unusual movement or powerful presence.

Meanwhile, Amon walked toward the group of weaker fighters near the tower.

Some of them were clearly tired and scared. Their attacks were slower now, and their movements were not as sharp as before.

Amon stopped near them and looked toward the forest where more monsters were coming out from between the trees.

He rested the hatchet on his shoulder and held his sword loosely in his right hand.

“Alright,” he muttered quietly to himself.

“Looks like I’m babysitting now.”

“What did you just said?” Ethan who was little away from him asker in irritated voice.

“Haha it’s nothing.” He laughed it off.

But even as he said that, his eyes were serious and focused on the forest ahead.

Because deep inside, he had a feeling. That giant centipede was not the last strong monster they were going to face today.

‘There will be more stronger monsters…’

Just then the tower that as silent.

It suddenly trembled.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep