Attrition

"What's going on?"

The Leader Monster's sudden surge in presence startled them. Still fighting according to their original rhythm, they were caught completely off guard. Hansen in particular was a Martial Combat Faction member standing at the very front. He had already adapted to the monster's previous strength and speed, but with this sudden escalation, its attacks became countless times stronger than before, and its speed was too fast to react to. Though Hansen hastily raised his shield to defend himself, he was still blasted away. Man and shield separated as he traced an arc through mid-air, hitting the ground and rolling several times before finally stopping. When he got back up, he spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. The left hand that had held the shield was twisted, red, and swollen, clearly suffering serious damage to the muscles and bones.

Everyone was shocked. This thing had a Second Stage?

If even Hansen had ended up like that, the others naturally did not dare meet the monster's attacks head-on. As the frenzied monster charged over, they all retreated and began restraining it with ranged attacks!

Yet the Leader Monster had not only grown stronger—it had also gained speed and body strength!

It smashed through Gonzales's massive fireball with a headbutt, raised a hand to block Eileen's bullets, crushed Ivanka's Mechanical Beast underfoot, and knocked aside Diana's flying knives. Like a maddened bull, it charged through their attacks at an inconceivable speed and pounced toward the nearest target, Diana. At the critical moment, Diana activated her Treasure Tool's blink function. Her figure vanished, and when she reappeared, she was in a location dozens of meters away.

The monster reacted just as quickly, instantly changing targets and pouncing toward Eileen!

Seeing this, Eileen lightly leaped into the air and fired a