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By the time they came to their senses, everyone was already standing inside a vast, palace-like chamber. Deep blue lines were interwoven across the gray stone floor, forming countless intersecting triangles that gave off a mysterious, arcane impression.

Behind them stood a massive stone door, blocking their retreat. The stone door rose more than three meters high, its surface engraved with indecipherable patterns. The only thing that could be understood was the number “1” etched above the door.

This was the first floor of the Forgotten Tower.

Following the patterns on the ground with their eyes, they saw rows upon rows of statues, hundreds of them, arranged in neat, regimented formations like an army.

These statues resembled adult men in size… no, slightly larger even. On average, they stood at least 1.8 meters tall. Each held a different type of melee weapon, standing lifelike and immobile at attention.

In addition to the regular soldiers, there were a few massive figures, colossal statues that stood on either side of the room. Counting them, there were four in total, each estimated to be over three meters tall, almost the same height as the stone door itself.

Behind these giant statues shimmered a thin, transparent bluish membrane. Through this membrane, one could clearly see what lay outside, a boundless sky.

As soon as the system message appeared, it was as if some hidden switch had been triggered. The deep blue lines beneath their feet suddenly lit up, glowing as if charged with electricity. In the blink of an eye, the entire space was illuminated by a grand azure light!

**Clack—clack—**

A strange sound came from every statue, as if… they were about to awaken!?

Of course, the worst-case scenario had to happen. In less than ten seconds, pieces of stone began to crack and fall from the statues, revealing fully armored warriors emerging from within!

At the same time, a string of pale blue numbers appeared at the center of the room.

“Zane, look there!” Shiu pointed at the ticking countdown.

“I see it! I think we’re on a timer, we probably have to complete something before it hits zero. Judging from the situation, my guess is we have to defeat all these enemies!” Zane quickly replied. “There are way too many of them. Let’s form up against the wall. Endless Sea, you handle positioning, leave two spots open for me. I’m going to check their stats first!”

Endless Sea nodded. “Got it!” Then he added, “That stone door doesn’t look very secure, there could be traps. Let’s form a crescent formation along the side wall. All ranged players, move into position first!”

At this critical moment, everyone cooperated smoothly, quickly forming a defensive arc in the corner, minimizing the damage they might take.

Meanwhile, Zane transformed into a gray wolf. Starry leapt gracefully onto his back, and the two of them dashed toward the looming enemy army.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a spectacular scene outside of a cutscene…” Zaria said in awe.

“Honestly, nothing surprises me anymore when I’m with him…” DumbCitrus muttered, though her mouth hung open in disbelief.

“…”

***

With the boost from Pride of the Wolf Clan, Zane quickly approached the enemy line.

**Clack—clack—**

Suddenly, every single enemy turned their gaze toward him in perfect unison. Being stared at like that was seriously intimidating, but fortunately, Zane considered himself thick-skinned enough to endure it. Steeling himself, he inspected the enemy’s attributes.

Epic-grade elites!? Zane looked again to make sure, and he wasn’t mistaken.

Even the so-called “mobs” beside them shared the same stats. Which meant… this entire army of statues was made up of elite monsters! An undefeated myth of the ancient era… The thought sent a chill down Zane’s spine.

He couldn’t risk attacking first. They hadn’t moved yet, this was his only window to return to the formation. If he triggered them now, he’d be swarmed by hundreds of Epic-grade Knights charging all at once. No one could survive that.

These weren’t ordinary mobs. Monsters that operated as a legion didn’t follow standard aggro mechanics. As soldiers, even after becoming statues, their obedience to commands remained deeply ingrained in them.

Then, one of the three-meter-tall statues at the rear raised its arm in a signal to advance.

**Thud-thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud!**

The synchronized marching footsteps pounded the ground. They were merely walking, yet the thunderous noise that followed made Zane wonder if they might stomp hard enough to crack the floor beneath them.

Not a single soldier lagged behind or stepped out of line. They advanced in perfect order.

‘This is too much?! Are they really pitting us against real army?’

Zane quickly retreated and shared the enemy stats in the party chat.

For a moment, no one could say a word. Shiu and the others had only seen overpowered bosses like the Death Knight before, but facing a whole battalion of enemies that were essentially weakened versions of that was nothing short of shocking.

Thankfully, the formation was already set.

Endless Sea, Snowy, Zane, Starry, and Starmew formed the outer arc, creating a semicircle. Traveler, Zaria, and Lordsey filled the gaps between them to safely output damage. The remaining ranged members were positioned in the far corner against the wall to continue their assault from a distance.

Before long, the enemy had fully encircled them.

Zane raised his hand slightly, and radiant energy surged through everyone’s body.

A wave of buffs elevated the party’s stats to a new level, giving them a much-needed sense of security.

As the battlefield shrank, the enemies seemed to abandon their own formation. Several of the nearest Dragon Abyss Knights launched their attack first.

Zane stood directly in the center of the outer formation, making him the most exposed.

**Bang!**

Three Charges landed on Zane in rapid succession. The damage was tolerable. Fortunately, these knights weren’t mounted, or the impact would have been devastating with double the power.

However, Zane was immediately stunned. Due to the level difference, the stun effect was brutally effective. Even with the Tenacity Bracelet reducing effective time, he was still immobilized for 4.5 seconds.

And if it was that bad for Zane, it was even worse for the others.

Endless Sea braced his shield tightly in front of him, ready to block. He hadn’t reached Level 21 yet, otherwise, with the Guardian’s Heart equipped, his tankiness would have been far superior.

Knights could learn a new passive at Level 20, Ironclad Constitution, which reduced incoming damage by 5%. With both Guardian Shield and passive mitigation stacked, he only lost about 1500 HP total.

Similarly, as a melee class, the Pugilist had a defensive skill, Indomitable Will, which could instantly dispel abnormal statuses and reduce the next attack’s damage by 50%.

After taking one hit, Snowy immediately activated Indomitable Will.

With that, she still had over 2000 HP remaining.

Starry, boasting over 200 points in physical defense, had little to worry about. Even under level suppression, Charges were only hitting her for a little over 100, and one of them even missed. She could easily recover the lost health with just a single attack.

Starmew had nearly 10,000 HP, thicker than even Zane’s health bar, so it remained relatively safe as well.

However, every member of the front line was now completely stunned.