Experimental Subjects, Stepping Up Without Hesitation!

Only Illusory Moon shone in the night sky; New Moon had not appeared. Dim moonlight washed over the forest and a small town not far away.

From a high vantage point, faint fires smoldered within the town, but they were by no means the lights a normal town should have had. They were the last lingering embers of some accidental blaze.

With Ian's eyesight, he could even make out the traces left by residents fleeing the place in panic, driving carts and cattle with their families in tow. Abandoned trash and dropped parcels littered both sides of the road leading out, making their haste and terror plain to see. They had not even dared return for the luggage they had left behind.

There was no one in town, not even corpses, nor were there any beasts. A blessing amid misfortune—at least everyone in the town had survived.

Ian's group was organizing their equipment, while Teres's team was sorting through the weapons from the levitating-stone aircraft and off-road transport vehicles. They had all donned their armor and were arranging their swords and alchemical firearms, carefully loading bullets one by one.

"We'll wait for you nearby. Send a signal if you need us, and we'll try to break in and rescue you."

This was what the levitating-stone aircraft pilot said to Ian. He clearly knew who was truly in charge of this group. "The nearest Inspecting Knights Order camp is more than ten kilometers ahead of Axle Town. Just follow the road. Best of luck with your mission."

"Thank you very much."

Ian could tell that this pilot cultivated some kind of earth-element True Form. He was at the peak of the First Energy Level, with exceptionally strong physical capabilities—even stronger than ordinary earth-element Magic Beasts—yet not a trace of Origin Matter