Chapter 234: The S-Rank Gate! [You have entered a death zone with penalty of 2,000 lives] Inside the gate, the group found themselves in what appeared to be a cave. Grant, the vanguard, immediately activated a lighting rune, brilliant illumination flooding the space and revealing their surroundings in stark detail. Their eyes scanned the environment. It was a spacious cavern, high-ceilinged and wide, with rough stone walls that glistened with moisture. Multiple tunnels branched off in different directions, suggesting a complex underground network. But they weren’t the only ones there. The team was surrounded. Hundreds of beasts filled the cavern, their bodies pressed together in a dense pack that blocked every visible exit. Creatures with muscular frames, scaled hides, and razor-sharp fangs. Saliva dripped from their mouths, pooling on the stone floor as they stared at the intruders with predatory hunger. The beasts hadn’t attacked yet, still processing the sudden appearance of prey in their territory. But that hesitation would last seconds at most. "Formation! Now!" Grant’s voice cut through the tense silence. He immediately surged forward to take the front line, his massive, bulging frame positioning itself as the primary barrier between the team and the horde. The others reacted like the elite awakeners they were, rearranging themselves into combat positions befitting their roles within moments. They were the cream of humanity’s fighting force, individuals who’d survived countless life-or-death situations through skill, power, and split-second decision-making. They responded to the threat before the beasts could even finish processing their sudden presence. Caleb, the berserker, immediately moved to take position on the front line alongside Grant. His class was technically a tank variation despite leaning heavily toward offense over defense. He would absorb damage and convert it into devastating counterattacks. Cain and Abel flanked them on either side, their swords already drawn, bodies coiled like springs ready to explode into motion at a moment’s notice. The twins moved as one entity, their positioning perfectly mirroring each other. Behind the front line, the ranged combatants positioned themselves strategically. Reid nocked an arrow, already identifying priority targets among the beast horde. And Moon stood ready with his newly acquired staff, mana already beginning to circulate through the weapon’s channels. Jonah waited in the formation, waiting for chaos to erupt before blending into it, seeking vulnerabilities and high-value targets. Nina took a defensive stance near Mara, her knight class specialized in protecting the healer who would keep them all alive. "Mara, prepare to heal me and Caleb immediately!" Grant commanded, "Moon, Kael, the team will engage the moment after you cast your opening spells! Area denial and maximum damage!" Grant’s eyes blazed in intensity, these beasts weren’t weaklings and their numbers were incredibly high. Before them stood a few hundred beasts, and they were all A-Rank with a few S-Rank between them. The beasts were no longer staring, with a unified, bone-chilling roar that echoed through the cavern like thunder, they charged. Hundreds of bodies surged forward as one, a living avalanche of claws, fangs, and murderous intent. "Everyone else, hold until the mages create our opening! Then we cut through and establish a defensive position!" Grant shouted, bracing himself for impact with his massive shield held firmly in his left hand and sword gripped tight in his right. Moon and Kael didn’t hesitate. With Kael being a pyromancer specialized in fire magic, Moon immediately made the decision not to use his own fire element. Overlapping the same element wasn’t efficient. Instead, he would leverage his other affinities for maximum synergy. Lightning charged in his right hand, crackling. Water gathered in his left, condensing into a pressurized form. In a single fluid motion, Moon thrust his left hand forward and released a massive water jet toward every incoming beast charging from the northern section of the cavern. The high-pressure stream sprayed across the front lines of the beast horde, drenching dozens of creatures in an instant. Water soaked into their fur, scales, and hides, running down their bodies and pooling on the stone floor beneath them. The beasts barely registered the attack as a threat. The pressure wasn’t high enough to hurt them, it was more tickling than painful. They didn’t slow their charge, rather, they continued surging forward without breaking stride, their momentum undiminished. Which was exactly what Moon had planned. Crackle! Zap! Zap! Lightning followed moments later, released from Moon’s right hand in a brilliant, snapping arc that brushed their vision. The timing was perfect, the lightning struck just as the front line of the beast attack was about to crash into the team’s defensive formation. It’s effect was nothing short of devastating. Lightning doesn’t just flow through water. It propagates through it, spreading rapidly to anything connected by moisture. The drenched beasts became perfect conductors, their wet bodies creating an interconnected network that distributed the lightning’s voltage across dozens of targets simultaneously. Tens of beasts stopped motionless mid-charge, their muscles seizing, their systems overloaded by the sudden shock. Their bodies shook violently, unable to control their own movements as high voltage coursed through them. BOOM! Before they could even process what had happened, before their bodies could recover from the paralysis, Kael followed up with his own attack. A massive fireball, crashed into the cluster of shocked, water-soaked beasts. BOOM! A mixture of magnificence and gore was the result of the explosion. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞 Fire met water in a violent reaction, hot steam erupting outward as flames consumed the helpless creatures. Most were injured severely, their wet fur and scales offering no protection against the Kael’s attack. Several died outright, their bodies charred beyond recognition, their bodies still twitching from the muscles spasms that the voltage caused. Thick mist began rising from the impact point, the byproduct of their two spells. The obscuring vapor spread rapidly, filling the cavern and cutting visibility to nearly nothing. Grant’s eyes glinted, immediately recognizing the perfect moment to engage. "Attack!" he roared, surging forward despite the obscured vision. After all, he knew exactly what was going to happen next— Moon summoned his wind element with a sweeping gesture of his staff. A powerful gust erupted from their position, pushing the mist away from the team and driving it deeper into the beast horde behind the front lines. The vapor that had threatened to blind them became a weapon instead, obscuring the enemy’s vision while clearing their own. CLASH!