The battle was inevitable. Ace and Ren fought fiercely, drawing the monster away from the protective fortress. They clashed all the way back into the forest they had just exited.
Many attacks were exchanged, but Ace had the upper hand. He wasn't bothered by the terrain since he was already familiar with every corner of this dense forest. Nearly half of the forest had been destroyed because of the monster.
"Hoo... are you enjoying this, Ren? Fighting a monster this entertaining?"
"Haah, you call this entertaining? You're just pretending to be weak and playing around—when you could've finished him off instantly!"
"Hehehe, come on, a little fun doesn't hurt. I've always fought like this in my previous life anyway. In the end, I always win. Hehe."
Ren was left speechless. She didn't know what to say about Ace's silly and seemingly unserious behavior.
Because of this prolonged fight, the monster became exhausted, panting like he had just run a 1000-meter marathon. Frustrated, he screamed,
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
"WHY AM I LIKE A DOG BEING TOYED WITH?!"
Without warning, Ace suddenly attacked, knocking the monster down. He stood above it and summoned his Midasi Core Aura.
"Hey, answer me, you ferocious-yet-soft monster—who's behind all of this?"
"Or else..."
"Okay, okay, I'll talk!"
"Good, a smart monster. Now kindly explain!"
"Well actually..."
Before the monster could say a word, its body suddenly expanded. Realizing what was happening, Ace quickly leapt back. The monster then exploded, leaving behind only an item drop.
"Whoa... I thought this only happened in my world. Turns out it happens here too."
Confused by what had just happened, Ace nevertheless understood this was all planned from the beginning. Before leaving, he intended to restore the damaged forest, but just as he was about to begin, he saw the forest had already returned to normal.
"Wait a minute... wasn't half the forest just destroyed? How is it...?"
"Oh my god, you seriously didn't know?"
"Umm... no."
Ren sighed and muttered under her breath as she scolded Ace.
"Then where were you when the others gave us that important info in this forest?"
"Umm... I was helping Gen, so I didn't have time to join the meeting. Hehe…"
"Whatever. Let's just go."
They returned to the place where the others had taken refuge. Upon arrival, they found many soldiers standing outside the gates, relieved and happy to see Ace and Ren return safely.
They entered, and time passed. In one of the houses, they held a meeting to discuss their counterattack and to uncover the identity of whoever was behind all this. The planning went on for a week. They also explored every corner—both inside and outside the walls of Sister Fortress Two.
The goal was to help other refugees and soldiers who were either trapped or affected by the tragedy.
After all this, they prepared to head to the final fortress—the youngest sibling fortress—where everyone inside was safe. But the downside was that many monsters and their minions were stationed outside its gates. They kept their distance, observing their movements carefully.
If you thought those inside were safe, you were wrong. It was more like they were under quarantine. Not even air travel was possible due to a protective barrier that blocked all living beings, including humans.
This wasn't without reason. They had prepared everything thoroughly. It wasn't betrayal—they simply knew that everyone inside was too weak. Only refugees, the king, and a few others were in there.
All they could do was pray—for their families and loved ones—to survive and fight back. Helpless, they endured sadness from being unable to help.
They waited for a miracle.
And today… we would be that miracle.
Today, we would save them and retrieve every stone stolen from the fortress walls.
Where did they get the stones? It happened three days ago, during an exploration mission. That's when they encountered a general—one of the masterminds behind this whole tragedy.
More precisely, they were in the northwest.
"Hm, I think it's best to observe first. I'll talk to him and signal you when it's time."
They were positioned in a forest near the border of a large, shallow river. They were perched in the trees.
Unbeknownst to him, the general knew he was being watched, but he had no idea Ace was already right next to him. Strangely enough, Ace was amazed—the general didn't notice him at all, even though Ace was literally beside him.
Ace checked his status and saw that his stealth skill was active. From afar, many enemy soldiers could be seen. Eventually, the general was subdued—not through an epic battle, but in a laughably simple way.
Ace then signaled the archers to fire in the direction he indicated. An arrow flew and struck the enemy forces. Some were gravely injured, and without hesitation, Ace threw his boomerang toward the still-conscious soldiers.
"Target them all and slice them in two."
None survived. All targets were wiped out. Then, they discovered a large box containing stones from the fortress wall—stones used to strengthen the defenses. Strangely, there were three of them.
"They're seriously storing three stones here? Isn't that dangerous if we get attacked?"
"Exactly. There should at least be a warning system in place. It's like they weren't prepared at all."
"Yeah, I thought they'd be stronger than this."
People from the Core Continent were dumbfounded. The ones who had once terrorized them with overwhelming power turned out to be strong, sure—but brainless.
"They just look scary. Feels like it's their first time trying to conquer something. Or maybe they're only strong in the beginning."
Said Ren, clearly annoyed that her opponents were uninteresting and not much of a challenge.
The others just shook their heads at her behavior.