Without any warnings, hordes of fantasy monsters were attacking anything that they could get their hands on. To make it worse, they weren’t as mindless as normal mobs should be.

‘Isn’t it too much?’

Adding to the pile of mixed settings, the invading monsters all shared one ability, Intelligence Absorbance! As long as they consumed the heads of their victims, they could receive a fragment of their memory alongside a part of their intellect!

Having read the intermission chapter where the Evil Faction found the first ‘Crack’ and started preparing to weaponize it, Leo already knew about this cheat property these monsters possessed. In short words, these monsters were simply born to colonize!

“Everyone, get yourself together! We have to do something about this!”

However, even when faced with such terrifying monsters, not everyone cowered in fear waiting for their death. Pung Miyoung calmly stood amid a group of Mount Hua students, shouting to wake up everyone from their shock.

“But…”

“Can we really beat something like this?”

“How are we supposed to fight them? These things can fly!”

Everyone looked at the stone-skinned gargoyles that were fighting the senior Daoists in fear. Was this really their place to fight when even the instructors are struggling to keep themselves alive?

“Shouldn’t we just escape and call for help?”

No matter what was happening, this was the Mount Hua Sword Conference. The majority of the Righteous Faction’s powerhouses were joined here! As long as they called out for them, this terror would immediately disappear!

“You think they wouldn’t have noticed something like this already? They must be facing a much worse situation since they aren’t coming to our help…”

“Ah…”

“They are also…?”

It wasn’t like the rest of the young Martial Artists were stupid, but their logical thinking sequence was broken under the emotional stimulation of fear. The only one who was clear-minded enough to assess the situation was also the same person who had the courage to speak up.

‘As expected of the protagonist’s childhood friend.’

Let alone the Senior Daoists, any powerhouse that happened to be within the audience was currently entangled with a monster of similar strength. Thanks to the information they inherited from the heads of the miserable Evil Faction’s scum, they recognized most faces that had made a name for themselves. Even those that they didn’t know about simply radiated with strength like brilliantly-lit beacons!

At the same time, they were using fear-inducing tactics by using the common force to get rid of the weaker mobs in order to monopolize the numerical advantage. However, there just happened to be one convenient loophole in their little plan.

“Can’t you see it? We aren’t just lucky to not get attacked, these monsters are not targeting us, to begin with. We have to make use of this to our advantage!”

The younger generation present on the 1st rate field was basically middle-class targets. Not only were they not famous or strong enough to be immediately occupied, but they also weren’t weak enough to be eliminated quickly!

“Can’t you remember why we are all joined here? To fight for the pride and reputation of our sects and families! To prove that our Murim Alliance is still the strongest! As Righteous Martial Artists, we have the responsibility to change injustice by our own hands!”

After using her first low-leveled shouts to make sure that the monsters that showed all signs of intelligence still lacked the ability to comprehend their language, Pung Miyoung took it upon herself to remedy the mental collapse that her fellow students were suffering from. Only then would there be a chance to make a comeback in a situation like this!

“We can’t fly, but we don’t have to! We just have to take down the weak link in their chain. The number of their peak and above powerhouses is almost the same as ours, so all we have to do is take down the ones that are descending to attack the powerless masses!”

Disregarding the youths that just came to watch, almost all the rest were geniuses! Some had carelessly joined, but more than half of the 200 Martial Artists were all people that couldn’t be compared to normal 1st rate Martial Artists!

Swish!

Plum blossoms fluttered down as Pung Miyoung ran out of the crowd joined around her, slashing down a harpy that was toying with a 3rd rate middle-aged Martial Artist. Black blood splattered on her face, but she was unbothered by it, using her footwork to dash towards her next target.

“This is your chance!”

She was no longer going to waste time doing nothing by speaking, the limit to her words’ effect could only be made up for by action. If the rest of the so-called geniuses could only continue to watch in a situation like this, then that was how far they would have gone in life anyway.

“The Southern Edge naturally wouldn’t stand by while you take all the honor!”

Suppressing his fear with his pride, Chang Howan spoke in a tsundere tone as he followed Pung Miyoung’s lead. This was the true stage where he could prove their worth and make up for his early loss!

“The Qingcheng sect shall also follow, we have no cowards in our midst!”

“Are you going to have your senior sister do all the work? What are you waiting for?!”

Cheng Gihu, Pung Eunhyung… like a chain of fireworks, all the youths crowding together in fear broke their mental barrier, unsheathing their swords as they dashed towards the closest monster they saw!

The weakest monster still possessed the abilities of a 2nd rate Martial Artist, while the majority were on par with 1st rate Martial Artists or stronger. However, once the cloud of fear dispersed, the youths valiantly fought without an ounce of hesitation!

‘They are doing great… as they should be.’

The heroic sight of valiance and self-sacrifice was heart-moving for him. Unfortunately, Leo wasn’t in any place to join the rest of his peers. He…

‘Now let’s see how this will go.’

…Had something much bigger to deal with.