Kase and Colin walked to the front to take a look. They found a small, nearly dry pond ahead, filled with mud and with only a little water pooled at the very bottom.

"This is the place," the Mage said. "Silverpine Village is still safe. The Blights are most likely lying in ambush around here, just waiting for us to go down."

Colin asked, "Can we sweep the area first?"

"There’s no point," the Halfling said. "Those Blights move at about the same Speed as us. Even if we drive them off, they’ll just come back."

"Then let’s set up a small defensive position on the bank. At least we’ll have the high ground."

"Let’s do that, then." The others agreed.

After that was settled, Colin asked, "So, are we going down now?"

"I’ll go first." The Plated Armor Strongman unslung the Shield from his back and jumped down first. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Colin turned and organized the rest of the party.

After all the members of the Gray Squad had jumped down, the two Adventurer squads followed, climbing down to provide support.

As the Adventurers approached the center of the pond, Colin, who was still on the bank, suddenly caught a putrid, rotten stench.

As if on cue, a rustling sound suddenly rose up from all around them.

Drawing his weapon, Colin yelled to the others, "Get ready!"

Immediately after, the sound of snapping twigs and crunching leaves came from all directions.

Twig Blights and Needle Blights emerged from the woods, surging toward them like a reckless tide.

At a glance, their numbers were comparable to the force that had attacked the gates of Silverpine Village. Back then, however, the Adventurers had split their forces.

With this shift in numbers, the Adventurers now held the advantage. However, they no longer had defensive fortifications, so it was still anyone’s guess who would come out on top.

The front line clashed with the monsters.

The Adventurers on the perimeter swung their weapons.

For a moment, shattered twigs flew everywhere.

The tidal wave of monsters, each over a meter tall, crashed against an unbreakable reef. They were completely unable to budge their enemies an inch.

Perhaps traumatized by Colin’s two Burning Hand spells, the Twig Blights broke formation as they charged. This only amplified their individual weakness.

The Twig Blights in the rear didn’t dare advance until their comrades in front fell, terrified of being annihilated in heaps by area-of-effect Magic.

A dozen seconds later, the few Needle Blights at the rear also charged forward.

However, the spikes they launched were nothing compared to fletched arrows. Possessing a definitive range advantage, the Adventurers could pick them off one by one from a distance.

As he threw a fireball to finish off a monster, Colin glanced at the state of the battlefield.

The Blights were taking a beating, but even in a desperate situation, the creatures showed no fear.

’Looks like this will be a war of attrition,’ Colin thought.

SQUELCH, SQUELCH—

The war of attrition didn’t last long. A strange sound suddenly erupted from the pond.

Colin glanced back and cursed instinctively, "Damn it."

The mud at the bottom of the pond was coming to life. It churned and twisted as a giant, muddy arm reached out, planted itself on the ground, and began to drag a body from the mire.

It was a humanoid creature resembling a gibbon, or rather...

Mud streamed down its crevices, revealing azure crystals beneath.

Only then did Colin realize it wasn’t living mud or some other creature. It was an Ice Giant Statue!

The members of the Gray Squad immediately clashed with the Ice Giant Statue.

The Spiritual Light of Magic flared. The Golem’s footfalls made the earth tremble. Blades and swords flashed and clashed.

The two Adventurer squads that had gone down to provide cover stood at the edge of the battlefield, completely at a loss. With their level of skill, they couldn’t possibly intervene.

"An emissary of ice? Here? You have got to be kidding!"

Kase’s voice came from beside him.

’So this thing is one of Lady Rime’s creations?’

’So this is the Druids’ trump card,’ Colin thought. ’Too bad there was no way to detect it beforehand.’

’If Kase had scouted with the Gray Squad from the start, maybe he could have figured something out. The members of the Gray Squad look like they have no experience fighting Frostland Druids.’

Then, the mud below began to churn once more.

Four human-sized figures emerged from the muck. Their bodies were gnarled and uneven, as if woven from tangled vines.

"Look! What are those things?"

A terrified scream came from behind.

Looking back at the battlefield, he saw several more creatures—just like the ones that had emerged from the mud—staggering toward them.

They looked like massive clumps of tangled, twisted roots. Soft vines grew from their arms, and they had distinct facial features, making them look even more grotesque than the smaller Twig Blights.

’These must be Vine Blights.’

’A stronger type of Blight than the Twig and Needle varieties.’

"What do we do now, Colin?"

A few of the archer Adventurers standing nearby asked.

The melee Adventurers were barely holding back the monsters charging from the forest. If those Vine Blights from the pond climbed up the bank, the archers would be in serious trouble!

Colin glanced at the distant Ice Giant Statue and swallowed hard.

’Even if we ignore that big one, we won’t be able to suppress the Needle Blights if our archers are taken out.’

’The front line can’t spare anyone, and the Gray Squad is tied up with that powerful enemy.’

’So who’s left to turn the tide?’

It didn’t take long for Colin to realize the party still had an ace up its sleeve.

He and Kase.

’Compared to the other Blights, these Vine Blights aren’t that much stronger.’

"We’ll handle them," Colin said. "But if any Blights charge down here, you have to support us first."

After the Adventurers nodded, Colin said to Kase, "Those Vine Blights down there run at about half the Speed of an Ordinary person, but if they get too close, they can lash out with their vines to grab you."

Kase touched the Blazing Fire Glue on his shoulder strap and nodded.

After muttering ’with great power comes great responsibility’ to himself a few times, Colin and Kase leaped directly into the pond.

Chanting a Spell, Colin gathered a swarm of sparks at his fingertips.

At the same time, Kase loaded an earthenware pot of Blazing Fire Glue onto his Catapult.

With a WHOOSH, a Flaming Arrow flew with precision and struck one Vine Blight in the head, while the Blazing Fire Glue exploded over another.

The scorching Flame instantly baked the mud dry and ignited the withered vines within.

A few seconds later, another fireball and a pot of Blazing Fire Glue flew out simultaneously. The fireball struck the first Vine Blight again, while the long-burning Blazing Fire Glue smashed onto the head of a different foe.

Colin glanced over his shoulder.

After he had jumped down, the melee Adventurers pushed the front line forward, turning the pressure back on the monsters. The archers, meanwhile, focused their attention on any Blights that tried to jump down into the pond.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Colin cast another spell.

Another fireball exploded.

It took three Flaming Arrows to finally bring down one Blight, while the remaining three were now burning from the Blazing Fire Glue.

Seeing the enemies closing in, the two exchanged a glance, turned, and ran.

’If we can keep this up,’ Colin thought, ’we can win!’