Wind blew, and the trees of the Savage Oasis ruffled as a shockwave swept past...

Vamel stood at the crown of the tallest tree he could find.

His delicate, mysterious Treant race features were illuminated by the blinding purple eruption in the distance.

The Treant frowned, his eyes squinting. His emerald pupils spun, zooming his vision through the night.

His sight cut through space, focusing on a figure running through the dense foliage.

A familiar figure — Seth. Though not familiar to Vamel, as he couldn’t ascertain the race of this individual.

"An Andrathal?" he pondered, but quickly shook his head.

There was no way those pompous bastards entered such a barren region. Plus, this creature was too weak to be part of that race.

In Vamel’s eyes, Seth couldn’t cause much trouble. Based on what he could sense, this guy would at most last until the fourth or fifth wave before being overwhelmed.

Shaking his head, Vamel decided to let things be for now. As far as he could tell, things were still under his control.

He stared at the participant number — it was still at 10. It hadn’t dropped.

That meant, plus this creature, there were three other unaccounted variables.

Shian was right. He had to be cautious. The moment he sensed a threat to the mission, he would take action.

But for now, Seth and the others were simply too weak to warrant action from him.

---

Across another region of the Savage Oasis...

A dense, chilling fog spread through the surroundings. Wherever it covered slowly began to crack and gloss with ice.

Within the fog were shadows of myriad creatures, bright frosted blue eyes piercing through the haze.

The army of mist-obscured silhouettes marched forward with a steady pace, tireless and emotionless.

Sitting on the back of an elongated millipede creature was a figure that glowed in the dark.

Her skin emitted a pale luster, unblemished and pure. Her beautiful winter-blue hair flowed down the back of her pure white silky gown.

She was like a winter fairy — distant and transcendent.

Elaine had a small curl on her lips as her eyes scanned her now-developed army of the Frozen.

This Quest Event was more of a boon for her than it was a challenge.

She had dealt with two waves of beasts, and not only did she win, their corpses joined her army — making up for losses and even adding more.

Elaine stared at the timer of the third wave...

[Third wave arrives in: 2m:31s]

Her gaze flashed with expectation. In due time, more fodder for her army would be added.

Just then, a strong gust of wind swept past, throwing off some of her army. She herself remained steady on the back of her makeshift mount.

She stared at the horizon. A brilliantly lit purple mushroom cloud peaked above the trees, reflected in her eyes.

Her senses picked up a familiar presence, and her eyes lit up.

This was a chance!

Elaine wasn’t delusional enough to let the illusion of her easy victories make her overconfident.

She had detected that these monsters grew stronger wave after wave.

No one knew when the waves ended. For all they knew, these things could get as strong as a Noble.

Or maybe even beyond. They were too new to the Origin Realm to know this for now.

But what she did know was that they had a much greater chance at survival with her team than without.

She summoned a golden mage staff — a Leader-grade loot drop she had gained previously.

It had a special ability of boosting elemental abilities by 30%. For Elaine, this staff was a true treasure.

The ground began to rumble. She stared into the horizon coldly.

’I’ll deal with this wave, then retreat to find Seth,’ she decided.

Elaine tapped the bottom of her staff on the back of her mount gently...

A golden ripple pulsed out. The millipede creature reacted, raising its head, mandibles clicking as it let out an inhumane, deafening screech.

And like a battle horn, the entire slow-marching dead army suddenly burned with life.

Their movements became sharper and faster.

Both sides held numbers, but one side held power.

This wave of Viagra Bulls burned with a brighter bronze luster. Their auras were palpable as they trampled forward with ruthless tandem.

The two sides slowly closed in, their auras clashing — one a brilliant bronze blaze of feral essence, the other a chilling dense essence radiating cold and death beneath the night sky.

Then both sides clashed. The Viagra Bulls ripped into Elaine’s army like scissors through fabric.

The Frozen didn’t stand a chance. Wherever the Bulls stomped, nothing could resist them.

Their bronze scales protected them from harm, their blood-stained horns glinting with deadly ferocity.

They impaled and smashed any and all in their way.

The Origin Beasts slowly tore through the army, heading right for their prey — Elaine!

The closer they got, the more frenzied and rabid they became. Their hooves could crush all, their horns could tear all. Nothing could stop them.

Honestly, if the army of the Frozen were sentient living creatures, their morale would have been at an all-time low.

Which would have impeded their performance in battle. But the dead held no fear of death.

And the vacant-eyed Frozen corpses fought with rigid tenacity, their essence in full bloom, making trampling them not any easier.

But still, the gap in power existed, and the Viagra Bulls got too close.

Elaine, who had been watching all along, merely observed coldly.

As though these beasts that wanted nothing more than to rip her into shreds and trample her skull to mush weren’t getting closer.

Elaine watched calmly until they crossed the invisible line she had decided on.

’It’s time...’ Her staff pulsed, and a crusting cold essence flow seeped into the air.

Her Frozen army froze, a chilling current building within them. Their torsos shone bright blue.

The dead creatures stopped battling suddenly and flung themselves at their foes.

An eruption of steam burst out of the nose of a bull as an undead lunged at it, arms wide and torso simmering.

It reared its horn, ready to impale and rip apart this insect when—

Boooom!

An eruption of ice tore through the air. A dense chill of cold essence dug into the Viagra Bull’s body. It roared and thrashed.

The essence dug deeper, sinking its claws into its being until it frosted over. Its eyes turned blue as its heart finally halted, dead.

This wasn’t singular — it happened simultaneously across the whole hoard. In the blink of an eye, Elaine had assimilated half of her enemy forces.

Her expression remained cold and unmoved, as though this outcome had been predetermined before the battle even began.

Her staff tapped against the carapace of her undead millipede mount.

A wave of blue spread. The eyes of her Frozen army burned brighter as a buff of ice embraced them.

The newly converted Bulls roared in reverent fervor as they suddenly burst out, attacking their former allies.

The battlefield grew more chaotic, and the tides this time tilted Elaine’s way...