In battle, the basics were not to be dragged around but to choose the battlefield that favored you. “I’ll tell you how we’ll fight.” As Ghislain continued his explanation, the expressions of the mercenaries constantly shifted. Some still appeared anxious, but most of them showed expressions of admiration. This young employer had already prepared for this situation in advance. "That's... that's amazing!" "How did you know and prepare ahead of time?" "We'll follow you to the end, my lord!" The mercenaries were once again filled with fighting spirit. If they followed his words closely, they were convinced that they could win the battle. "Get plenty of rest during the day. Once the fight begins, it'll be a long night." Following Ghislain's instructions, the mercenaries quietly rested during the day, replenishing their strength. As night fell, the Phalores returned to retrieve the lamps again. The mercenaries didn’t react anymore, simply lowering their heads as if terrified. One by one, the lamps disappeared, leaving only a few, and their visibility dropped significantly. Creak... creak... The Phalores left again, with only their eerie laughter lingering in the air. The following night came. Whish! The last lamp disappeared, and complete darkness engulfed the surroundings. Even though trees had been cleared, the forest was still dense, and the faint moonlight couldn’t illuminate the person standing next to you. Creak... creak... Everyone held their breath and didn’t move a muscle. The heavy silence was so thick that you couldn’t even hear breathing. Rustle, rustle... Finally, the Phalores began to approach. With all the light gone, there was nothing for the Phalores to fear. Surrounded by hundreds of Phalores, the mercenaries began to sweat profusely. A primal fear arose as they sensed something invisible standing right in front of them. Creak... creak... They could feel the Phalores moving slowly before them, inching closer. Any moment now, the Phalores would either kill them or drag them off as prey. At that moment, Ghislain shouted. “Now!” At his command, everyone tore apart what they had been holding in their hands. Fwoosh! Hundreds of white orbs, each the size of a child’s head, shot up into the sky and lit up the area. With more than a hundred orbs illuminating the surroundings, it was as bright as day. What they had torn apart were scrolls of the 1st Circle magic spell, Light. It was Ghislain’s trump card, which he had brought in a crate full of scrolls to deal with the Phalores. Kaak! The Phalores, blinded by the sudden light, screamed in agony, covering their eyes. When the mercenaries saw the Phalores for the first time, their faces twisted in shock. "What the... what kind of creatures are these...?" Though humanoid in shape, they were tall and gaunt. They had four eyes, torn vertically, and pointed ears. Their mouths stretched all the way to their ears, revealing rows of sharp teeth. They had no noses, just two slits embedded into their faces, with grotesque veins bulging from their cheeks. Where hands should have been, they had long, sickle-like horns. Their arms writhed with several tentacles that likely had been used to steal the lamps. “Attack now!” Seeing the mercenaries hesitate at the sight of the Phalores, Ghislain shouted again. “Charge!” Already, Kaor and the Cerberus Mercenary Corps were gleefully driving their weapons into the Phalores’ bodies. The other mercenaries also grabbed their weapons and began their attack. Unlike the night before, when arrows passed right through them, this time the Phalores’ bodies were pierced mercilessly by their weapons. “Hah! I've been itching for this! Take this, you bastards!” Kaor laughed maniacally as he grabbed the Phalores' faces and personally stabbed their necks one by one. Gillian was also mercilessly smashing the Phalores’ heads with his axe. They no longer held back their mana, unleashing their power to slay the Phalores. Kaaargh! The Phalores, initially caught off guard by the light, soon recovered and started to counterattack. Their scythe-like limbs were sharp enough to penetrate human armor and flesh. Though their strength lay in hunting from the shadows, these creatures of the Forest of Beasts were still formidable even in the light. Shk! "Argh!" Some mercenaries began to fall as the Phalores struck back. There were hundreds of them—too many for the mercenaries to handle easily, even outside of darkness. The Phalores, which had been scattered, quickly regrouped and charged at the mercenaries, Ghislain included. At that moment, Belinda stepped in front of Ghislain and shouted. "Master! Fall back!" Whoosh! The robe draped over her flapped in the wind, and suddenly, dozens of daggers shot out, piercing the Phalores. Clang! Clang! Clang! The daggers, connected to her outfit, moved like living snakes, targeting the heads of the enemies. With dozens of daggers dominating the area, the Phalores soon turned their attention to Belinda. "Hmph!" Dodging the monsters’ attacks, Belinda crouched and touched the heel of her shoe. Click! With the sound of gears locking into place, a sharp blade protruded from her heel. Shing! With a single sweeping motion of her leg, a Phalore’s jaw was cleanly sliced off. Clang! Clang! Dodging the Phalores' scythes, Belinda's relentless attacks created a temporary reprieve. Ghislain, leaving the enemies in front of him to Belinda, quickly surveyed the battlefield and shouted. "You fools! Hold the formation! Don’t just charge in blindly!" Before the battle had begun, Ghislain had set the mercenaries in formation. However, in their excitement, the foolish men had rushed out, causing the formation to break. "Hold the shield wall! Block with the shields, and the rest of you get inside and attack!" Since they weren’t a unified mercenary corps, nor were they trained soldiers, this kind of chaos was inevitable. But Ghislain had been a mercenary king, commanding countless mercenaries across many battlefields. He had seen this situation far too many times. "Gillian, Kaor, help buy time for the others to reform the formation!" Assessing the battlefield in an instant, Ghislain took charge, directing the mercenaries and swinging his sword. Upon hearing his orders, the Cerberus Mercenary Corps moved forward, while the others began to retreat. Kaor clicked his tongue in annoyance but moved to support the mercenaries where the formation had collapsed. Gillian also moved swiftly to help the mercenaries regroup. The Cerberus Mercenary Corps, known for their skill and teamwork, held off the Phalores' attacks long enough for the others to fall back and reform the shield wall. "Move faster!" Ghislain, Gillian, and Kaor dashed through the Phalores, not holding back their mana as they fought. Only Belinda remained focused solely on crushing the Phalores in front of her, without sparing a thought for the mercenaries. Kaaargh! As the three leaders and the Cerberus Mercenary Corps put up a fierce fight, the Phalores became even more ferocious in their attacks on the mercenaries. However, the mercenaries weren’t entirely inexperienced when it came to fighting monsters. With the Phalores’ attention divided, the mercenaries slowly began to regain their footing. "Move faster!" "Raise your shields!" "Now! Come inside!" The shield-bearing mercenaries blocked the Phalores’ attacks, allowing the rest to get inside the shield wall. The mercenaries holding the shields formed a circle, blocking attacks from all sides. Once a few formations were established, the casualties among the mercenaries quickly diminished. Seeing this, Ghislain shouted loudly. "Hold the line! Cerberus, Gillian, Kaor, support the gaps in the formation!" With his orders, the mercenaries were now capable of holding their own. Now it was Ghislain’s turn to clean up the battlefield. Unleashing the power of both of his cores, Ghislain flooded the area with mana. His eyes glowed red, and red energy began to rise from his body like a heatwave. Shing! Ghislain moved with incredible speed, cutting down the Phalores. In the darkness, he seemed to flash like a crimson bolt of lightning, slashing down anything in his path. Each time the crimson streak passed, a Phalore’s head would fall. The mercenaries, in the midst of their battle, couldn’t help but mutter in disbelief. "What...? He's even stronger than usual?" "I thought he was already amazing, but he's even stronger than that?" In previous battles against monsters, Ghislain had only used one core. Exploding both cores placed a great strain on his body, so he only used that power in critical moments. But now, there was no choice. There were too many Phalores, and if he held back, the mercenaries would be slaughtered. Shing! Shing! With every strike of the crimson line, the number of Phalores quickly dwindled. The Cerberus Mercenary Corps, emboldened by Ghislain’s display of power, pressed forward, relentlessly attacking the monsters. “What are you waiting for? Do you want to just watch? Let’s fight too!” One mercenary shouted, prompting the others in formation to move toward the enemy. When the shield-bearing mercenaries blocked the Phalores’ attacks, the others took the opportunity to stab through the gaps with spears and swords. Though they weren’t a professionally trained army, and their coordination wasn’t perfect, with some timing mistakes and poorly executed strikes, they managed to hold the formation with the help of Gillian and Kaor. "Push forward! Push them back!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺 As the mercenaries became more accustomed to fighting in formation, they steadily pressed the Phalores. As time passed, the number of Phalores diminished noticeably. Kaaargh! The Phalores realized they had fallen into a trap. In the darkness, they were invincible, but in this current situation, their entire race could be wiped out. Kaaargh! The Phalores’ leader, who had been hiding in the shadows and quietly attacking the mercenaries, signaled to its kin to retreat. The leader was smaller than the others, making it hard to believe it was in charge, but in reality, it was the most powerful of them all. After sending the retreat signal, the leader tried to slip away. As long as it survived, its race could thrive again. But just as it was about to flee, a terrifying human with glowing red eyes charged toward it like lightning. It was too late to escape. Seeing the human, the Phalore leader decided to kill him first before retreating. Letting out a monstrous shriek, the leader swung its scythe. But the scythe sliced through empty air. The leader looked up, sensing something in the sky above. The human with the red eyes was smiling cruelly as he brought his sword down. “So you’re the leader.” Ghislain was certain this one had been commanding the Phalores’ hunt. Even while fighting, he had been observing the entire battlefield and had seen the leader issuing commands. Slash! Ghislain’s sword cleaved through the Phalore leader, splitting it cleanly from head to toe. No ordinary monster could withstand the power of two exploding cores. Kaaargh! With the leader’s death, the remaining Phalores descended into chaos, screaming and scattering in all directions. “Finish them off!” “Waaah!” “Kill them all!” At Ghislain’s command, the mercenaries threw down their shields and rushed the Phalores. Though some mercenaries were injured by the flailing Phalores, they didn’t care, driven by their rage as they stabbed and hacked at the creatures. Screech! In the end, most of the Phalores were reduced to bloody shreds. Only a few managed to escape into the darkness beyond the light’s reach. “Stop! Don’t chase them!” Even though only a handful were left, the mercenaries couldn’t fight effectively in the dark. Reluctantly, the frenzied mercenaries halted at Ghislain’s command. Hoo... Ghislain exhaled deeply. Suddenly, his body wavered. The aftereffects of exploding both cores were catching up with him. Though the battle was over, the mercenaries stood silently, all eyes on Ghislain. Then, one by one, they began to cheer loudly, surrounding him. “We won! We did it!” “Hahaha! We’re alive! We survived!” The mercenaries, overwhelmed with excitement, erupted in cheers. This chapter demonstrates Ghislain's leadership, strategic thinking, and the immense power he wields when using both of his cores. The mercenaries, initially frightened and disorganized, eventually pull through, inspired by Ghislain’s strength and direction, managing to drive off the Phalores.