James tapped YES.

[STREAM ACTIVATED]

[CHANNEL: TEAM ZERO]

[VIEWER COUNT: 18,402]

The view stabilized around Team Zero standing at the edge of the Floor 9 battlefield. The viewer count was already high because the TRB had promoted the stream across all Challenger networks and public channels.

The number rose quickly.

[VIEWER COUNT: 45,119]

[VIEWER COUNT: 91,773]

The public listing showed only Team Zero with no full names, no classes, and no personal information visible until the stream was live. Viewers immediately recognized the channel name because Team Zero had been rumored to be connected to the tower reset incident after Floor 5.

The stream chat moved fast.

@TowerWatchIE: It’s live.

@DublinClimber92: Team Zero? Aren’t they the ones from the reset incident?

@RaidStatsGuy: Five-man party. No priest visible.

@GreenTowerFan: This is already suicide.

James saw the comments flicker in the corner of his Stream tab interface, then minimized it. He couldn’t afford distraction right now.

The stream camera angle shifted automatically to give viewers a clear view of the team’s formation and the battlefield ahead. That’s when viewers noticed Kael standing in the center-rear position with something glowing faintly on his head.

The chat exploded.

@MageUnionWatch: Wait. Is that the circlet?

@PriestWanted: That’s the Apostle’s Radiant Circlet.

@FloorWatchEU: TRB gave them the circlet? Then this is serious.

@FloorNineGraveyard: Circlet or not, Floor 9 killed a priest already.

@RaidStatsGuy: If Team Zero has the circlet, TRB is gambling everything on this run.

Team Zero didn’t react to any of the comments because they were focused on what lay ahead. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The Floor 9 battlefield spread out before them like a warzone.

A wide muddy field led toward a large goblin settlement built against a rocky hillside. Crude wooden walls encircled the main camp with watchtowers positioned at key angles. Sharpened stakes jutted from the ground in defensive formations. Smoke rose from multiple fire pits scattered throughout the settlement. Broken siege structures and overturned carts littered the edges of the field. Forest flanked both sides of the approach, dark and dense.

The goblins didn’t rush blindly toward Team Zero like they had on Floors 6, 7, and 8.

They watched from behind barricades and tower platforms, waiting.

That alone made the team uncomfortable.

The System notification appeared in all their visions.

[FLOOR 9 — STORY FLOOR]

[MISSION TYPE: SURVIVAL/SUBJUGATION]

[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE ALL WAVES AND ELIMINATE HOSTILE COMMAND STRUCTURE]

[WAVE COUNT: 3]

[CLEAR CONDITION: ALL WAVES CLEARED]

[FAILURE CONDITION: PARTY DEATH]

Finn read the notification and his expression hardened. "Three waves. Command structure. This isn’t just killing all the goblins."

Kael adjusted his glasses. "The last team died during wave two when the ogres appeared."

"We know," Finn said. He turned to face the team. "Formation. Finn front, James behind and flexible, Aria left flank, Elliot rear and ranged, Kael center with the circlet."

Everyone moved into position.

Finn continued. "Kael, don’t activate the circlet yet. The first wave in the footage had no dark magic. Save it for when the aura appears."

Kael nodded.

Finn looked at James. "In the footage, the aura didn’t come from the goblins themselves. It was being fed from somewhere. Once the second wave starts, your job is to watch for anything unusual. If you see a source, you follow it."

James met his eyes. "Understood."

"If the aura appears, find where it’s coming from," Finn said. "We’ll hold the line."

Aria spun her spear once. "Don’t take too long."

Elliot nocked an arrow. "We’re already down one fighter if you leave."

James nodded and drew his sword.

The System countdown began.

[WAVE 1 BEGINS IN: 10 SECONDS]

Fifty goblins emerged from the settlement.

They moved in organized groups of ten with shields in front, spears behind, and archers on the flanks. Some carried crude firepots while others held jagged blades. They had better equipment than normal goblins and they moved like soldiers instead of wild monsters.

But there was no dark magic yet.

Team Zero braced.

Finn raised his axe and shield. "Here they come."

The first group of goblins charged across the muddy field with shields raised and spears leveled. Finn met them head-on and his axe crashed into the lead goblin’s shield with enough force to crack the wood. He kicked the goblin back and swung horizontally, catching two more with a single strike.

Aria darted left and cut through a flanking group before they could surround Finn. Her spear moved fast and precise, punching through leather armor and green flesh. She killed three goblins in quick succession and pushed forward to clear the approach.

Elliot stood in the rear and fired arrows with steady rhythm. Each shot targeted archers on the settlement walls or goblins trying to throw firepots. One goblin archer fell from a watchtower with an arrow through its throat. Another dropped its firepot before it could light the fuse.

Kael stayed in the center and called out movements. "Second group from the right. Finn, incoming spears."

Finn shifted his shield and blocked a coordinated spear thrust from three goblins attacking together.

James fought actively behind Finn with sword and shield raised. A goblin broke through the front line and rushed toward Kael. James intercepted it and drove his sword through its chest before it reached the center.

[GOBLIN SPEARMAN SLAIN — 55 EXP]

He pulled his blade free and moved to the next target.

Two more goblins came at him from the left. James blocked the first strike with his shield and cut the second goblin’s legs out from under it. The goblin collapsed and James finished it with a downward thrust.

[GOBLIN RAIDER SLAIN — 50 EXP]

He stepped over the corpse and activated Summon Undead Skeleton.

[SUMMON UNDEAD SKELETON ACTIVATED]

[MANA COST: 45]

[CURRENT MANA: 1,035/1,080]

Bones ripped free from the goblin corpse and reassembled into a skeletal warrior. James sent it forward to fill a gap in Finn’s shield line where goblins were trying to push through.

The skeleton blocked two spear strikes and bought Finn time to reposition.

James moved to the next cluster of enemies. Five goblins were grouping near a broken cart and preparing to rush Elliot’s position. James raised his hand and fired Necro Blast.

[NECRO BLAST ACTIVATED]

[MANA COST: 10]

[CURRENT MANA: 1,025/1,080]

The death energy shot across the battlefield and hit the lead goblin in the chest. Rotting spread through its torso and it collapsed mid-step. The other goblins hesitated for one second, then Elliot’s arrows found them.

James watched the battlefield and calculated his next move. Ten goblins were clustering near the settlement barricade and preparing for a coordinated push. If they all rushed together, they’d break through Finn’s position.

James grabbed a nearby goblin corpse and activated Corpse Explosion.

[CORPSE EXPLOSION ACTIVATED]

[MANA COST: 28]

[CURRENT MANA: 997/1,080]