[West City Wall of Rine Town]
After dealing with the assassin, Kanzaki Rei returned to the battlefield with a heavy heart.
To be honest, Rei hadn't wanted to come back.
But the warrior had persuaded him.
"You should return to the battlefield now. The observers can keep a close watch for the assassin's movements."
"We'll also support you immediately if anything happens."
"If you leave now, you'll be completely alone."
"A mage facing an assassin alone is far more dangerous than staying on the battlefield."
The warrior had indeed convinced him.
Earlier, if the observer hadn't warned him—
Rei's reaction might have been just a fraction of a second slower.
The consequences were unimaginable.
From the assassin's perspective, it would certainly be preferable if Rei left the observers' sight and wandered alone.
Rei didn't know how long he could remain on guard.
But one thing was certain—
Running away alone would only turn everywhere into danger.
So in the end…
He still couldn't escape this.
Damn it… I really don't want to be involved in something this life-threatening.
I've already killed so many monsters. I've done my duty, okay?
Even if he said that…
Now that he had returned, what else could he do besides keep killing enemies?
He couldn't just stand around doing nothing.
The observer stood behind Rei with her hands behind her back, concentrating completely on the surroundings around him. The moment she noticed even the slightest abnormality, she would warn him immediately.
Because of the earlier incident, two Level 3 Defenders had also appeared beside Rei.
They stood to his left and right like guardian statues.
The Level 4 Defenders were busy working with their teams to kill Fourth-Tier monsters, so they simply couldn't spare anyone.
High-level adventurers were indeed rare.
Especially Defenders.
There were only two Level 4 Defenders in the entire town.
…
Below the city wall, the Sea of Fire began raging once again.
"What exactly is a Nest? Do you know?"
Rei asked the observer behind him.
She stood there calmly with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Are you asking about the Eight Great Nests of the World?"
"…Maybe."
"About the Nests, there are only legends. There is no real evidence. Do you still want to hear it?"
"Yes."
"Alright."
"The legend of the Nests speaks of the Seven Ancient Nests, the earliest and most primordial dungeons."
Rei blinked.
"Wait… didn't you just say eight?"
"Because the Seven Nests actually consist of eight. One of them is a Twin Nest, so one counts as two."
Rei: "…"
"Please continue."
Rei wanted to complain.
But he didn't even have the energy to do so.
"These Seven Nests are said to be the origin of all monsters."
"There is a theory that every monster tide in the world flows out from these Seven Nests."
"There's also a belief that if someone could destroy all seven nests, all monsters in the world would disappear."
Rei asked,
"So… none of them have been destroyed yet?"
The observer shook her head slightly.
"Not only have they not been destroyed."
"No one has even found their existence."
…Huh?
They haven't even been found?
The legend sounded so detailed and convincing that Rei had almost believed it.
"Earlier, the warrior who saved me said this monster tide might be a Nest invasion."
That didn't sound good at all.
The ancient Seven—no, Eight—Great Nests launching an attack on a tiny place like Rine Town?
Maybe I should just run.
That thought surfaced again in Rei's mind.
"Yes… I heard him say that."
"If that assassin was infected with Face Worms, then it might be…"
"Nest – The Swarm."
Face Worms.
A Fourth-Tier monster, yet it possessed almost no combat ability.
Even a Level 1 adventurer could crush them easily.
However—
They had a horrifying ability.
While a creature was still alive, a Face Worm could burrow beneath its skin, crawl up through the flesh, and reach the face.
From there, it would control the host's behavior and thoughts.
They usually appeared together with other monsters.
When prey was knocked unconscious or left near death, the Face Worms would seize the opportunity.
Once controlled by a Face Worm, a living being was technically still alive—
But it was essentially already dead.
They became loyal soldiers of the Swarm.
The little consciousness they retained existed only to execute the Swarm's commands.
In fact, those possessed by Face Worms sometimes gained enhanced reaction speed, heightened perception, and increased physical vitality.
Their combat ability could even become stronger than when they were alive.
"ROAR!"
BOOOOOM—RUMBLE!
Another thunderous explosion echoed from afar.
Immediately afterward, rows of trees collapsed.
It seemed the Level 5 adventurers had begun fighting again somewhere in the distance.
Another pillar of light shot into the sky.
Three massive vertical slashes could faintly be seen tearing across the battlefield.
The battles of Level 5 adventurers truly had overwhelming spectacle.
"King-Class."
Suddenly, the observer spoke again.
Rei turned to look toward the battlefield.
From the distant forest emerged a creature resembling a centipede dragging four chains behind it.
Its upper body was humanoid, with four arms, each arm pulling a heavy chain.
But its lower body was a long centipede form.
"Cruelty – Esvarro."
"The weak point is the leg joints. Attacking the joints can sever its legs."
"The chains in its hands are extremely durable."
"The lower body is weak to fire. The upper body is weak to ice."
"It can recover injuries by devouring corpses."
So this was what an Observer could do.
Having someone instantly identify a monster's weaknesses was a massive help.
But the next moment—
Rei's expression darkened.
That King-Class monster wasn't the only one emerging from the forest.
"Evil-Face Demon Spider Lord. King-Class."
"King of Swift Black Hornets. King-Class."
"Moth of Torment. King-Class."
"Explosive Insect Nest. King-Class."
…
The observer continued reading out the names one after another.
"Kanzaki Rei… they all seem to be looking at you."
Okay.
I'm leaving.
Assassin or not—it's still better than dying here.
Rei immediately turned around.
Ice condensed beneath his feet.
Sorry everyone…
"Miss, please notify the others to run too."
"Even for me, it would be difficult to deal with that many King-Class monsters at once."
"After the monster tide retreats, we can take the town back."
But the observer didn't move at all.
She calmly replied:
"Rine Town has a protective magic formation left behind by Iz."
"If necessary, we can activate the formation to defend the town."
"Besides, didn't we receive news this morning that Iz and the others won their battle?"
"They should already be on their way back."
"As long as we hold on until they arrive to support us, everything will be safe."
Rei clenched his teeth.
You should've mentioned the defensive formation earlier!
…Forget it.
He would stay and hold the line a little longer.
Rei sighed and dispersed the Ice Shard beneath his feet.
"Miss… my strength is limited."
"I can only do my best."
"Yes. Rine Town has been able to hold until now thanks to your help, little Rei."
Rei didn't feel any burning desire to live and die with Rine Town.
If the situation turned bad, he would absolutely retreat to save himself.
He looked toward the dozen or so King-Class monsters in the distance.
The Level 4 adventurers had already engaged them immediately.
Level 4 fighting Third-Tier King-Class monsters seemed relatively manageable.
The jump from Level 3 to Level 4 was a huge threshold.
It represented a qualitative leap in strength.
However—
Their numbers were small.
At most, they could only hold back two or three monsters each.
Which meant there were still twelve remaining.
No—
Another one had just emerged.
Thirteen.
Almost all of them…
Had become Rei's responsibility.
They were seriously lacking manpower.