"Enemy attack! Defensive formation!" The Temple Knight Commander’s roar was the first to ring out, overpowering the monsters’ shrieks.

The ten Temple Knights reacted with incredible speed. Their circular defensive formation instantly contracted and solidified. Ten Rune Knight Swords lit up at once with a blazing white Holy Light, resonating with one another to form a translucent, pale-gold Energy Shield around their perimeter.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

A dense spray of burning crystal fragments and several scorching lava streams slammed against the Shield, creating vast ripples and an ear-piercing sizzle, but the Shield held strong.

However, not everyone was under the protection of the Temple Knights.

A few Great Knights positioned slightly to the side instantly found themselves under siege!

"RAAAGH!" That highlander in the Wolf Fur Cloak had the wildest reaction. Facing a large Scorching Beast pouncing from a flank, he charged forward instead of retreating, letting out a heaven-shaking battle cry. The heavy, wheel-sized War Axe in his hands, wreathed in earthen-yellow Life Energy, came crashing down like an avalanche!

The War Axe collided with the claws of the Scorching Beast’s raised forelimb, erupting in a deafening crash and a shower of sparks!

The Scorching Beast staggered from the savage blow, while the highlander’s arms trembled from the impact, his feet carving two shallow furrows in the ground. But the ferocious light in his eyes only grew brighter. Seizing the opening, he kicked the Scorching Beast in its relatively soft underbelly, forcing it back for a moment.

The representative from the Golden Coast, on the other hand, was in a much sorrier state.

His brilliant, deep-red Life Energy aura rapidly dimmed under a wide-spreading cloud of toxic crystal shards spewed by an Earth Rock Worm. The corrosive attack sent him into a panic, and his expensive robes were instantly damaged and scorched.

He tried to dodge backward, but his retreat was cut off by two opportunistic Scorching Beasts, putting him in immediate peril.

The Iron Wall Imperial Guard Commander, facing an Earth Rock Worm that had burst from the ground, displayed the calm composure befitting an Imperial elite.

Runes flashed on his thick Black Iron Heavy Armor, allowing him to absorb the impact of several crystal shards with dull clangs. Simultaneously, the heavy Lance in his hand shot out like a viper from its den, stabbing with vicious precision at the relatively weak joint beneath the Earth Rock Worm’s mandibles.

The pitch-black Life Energy gathered at the Lance’s tip possessed immense piercing power, successfully puncturing the carapace and causing dark-red ichor to spray out.

The Earth Rock Worm reeled in pain, thrashing wildly and temporarily halting its assault.

The Storm Twin Blades Brothers, however, seemed perfectly at ease, nimbly weaving through the gaps in the monsters’ attacks.

Their attacks weren’t known for power, but for their incredible speed and cunning angles.

Their two slender Curved Sabers blurred into a silver-blue web of light, striking specifically at the Scorching Beasts’ joints and compound eyes. Although it was difficult to land a fatal blow, they effectively disrupted the monsters’ offensive rhythm, creating opportunities for their companions.

Knight Armand’s expression was grave. He had opted to stand back-to-back with two other Great Knights from different Kingdoms, forming a small triangle.

His Swordsmanship was traditional and disciplined; every blow was powerful and heavy. He repeatedly parried and drove back the attacking Scorching Beasts, maintaining an impenetrable defense, but he was clearly unable to mount a swift counterattack.

In the first few seconds, the scene descended into chaos, with everyone fighting for themselves. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The monsters’ strength, numbers, and coordination all exceeded most people’s expectations.

This was their home turf, after all. The Energy was more abundant, and the local Laws also seemed better suited for them to exert their power.

The moment the attack erupted, Murphy had already drifted back several meters like a phantom, neatly avoiding the pounce of the first two Earth Rock Worms that broke through the ground.

His eyes flashed as they swept across the entire battlefield, instantly assessing the situation.

The individual strength of these monsters generally approached, and in some cases surpassed, the level of a Great Knight at the Peak of Mortality from the Main World. Moreover, they had superior numbers, coordinated seamlessly, and were familiar with the terrain.

’A head-on battle of attrition would be unwise.’

’I have to create an opening, stabilize our formation, and then look for the objective.’

He didn’t rush toward the representative from the Golden Coast, who appeared to be in the most peril. Instead, with a flicker of movement, he proactively intercepted a large Scorching Beast that was pouncing from the rear flank toward the edge of the Temple Knights’ defensive perimeter, attempting to tear the formation open.

The Scorching Beast seemed to sense the threat. A threatening hiss came from its tooth-filled maw, and its thick foreclaws, gleaming with a dark-red sheen, slashed viciously at Murphy.

Murphy neither dodged nor evaded. In the instant the claws were upon him, he drew his dark-gold Longsword. Refined white Qi, highly compressed at the blade’s tip, materialized as a beam of white sword light less than a few dozen centimeters long, yet so solid it was almost blinding. He jabbed it precisely at the central, load-bearing joint of the Scorching Beast’s claw.

TCHSS!

A soft sound, like a hot knife slicing through tallow.

The white sword light instantly pierced through the carapace and joint, which were harder than refined steel.

The Scorching Beast let out a sharp, pained shriek as its entire forelimb buckled, dropping limply to its side.

Murphy pressed his advantage, surging forward and slashing at a joint in the carapace just beneath the Scorching Beast’s head, which it had raised slightly in pain.

TCHSS!

An incredibly faint yet exceptionally clear sound of penetration rang out.

The blazing white sword light sank into the fatal gap without any resistance.

The instant the sword light entered the body, the blade of Murphy’s sword trembled slightly. A blast of highly condensed Qi, possessing intense vibrational and piercing properties, suddenly erupted from the beam of light.

CRACK!

A barely audible cracking sound, as if coming from deep within the carapace, faintly echoed out.

The Scorching Beast’s massive body suddenly went rigid. The frenzied, dark-gold flames burning in its eyes were snuffed out in an instant, as if by an invisible, frigid wind, rapidly dimming into nothingness.

It didn’t even manage to let out a final shriek. Its massive body lost all strength and toppled sideways with a thunderous crash, kicking up a cloud of dust that reeked of sulfur. After a few instinctual twitches, it fell completely still.