"We absolutely can’t let them take the resources here, as it’s likely some high-quality ore materials."

’Now!’ Danzo internally roared.

Lightning exploded from his body as he shot forward.

Joyan slammed both hands down.

’Seal them!’

Massive brown crystalline walls surged upward, trying to isolate Rudrean and Aelira.

Ruben raised his hand. ’Tracking volley!’

Dozens of sharp blue projectiles formed and locked onto Rudrean.

Yufania’s voice followed, calm but sharp. ’I’ll distort their senses.’

Pink ripples spread across the cavern, bending perception and warping distances.

Jolina rushed low. ’I’ll break their stance!’

Aelira smiled.

"They’re serious."

Rudrean glanced once.

"They’re coordinated. Don’t underestimate."

Then everything collided.

The projectiles arrived first.

Rudrean shifted slightly.

One step.

Half turn.

The entire volley missed in an absurd way, but what they couldn’t see was the complex flow of wind that redirected them.

"What?" Ruben’s eyes widened. "That tracking should not miss!"

"It didn’t miss," Rudrean said calmly. "You just couldn’t hit."

Aelira stepped forward into the incoming melee strike.

Jolina’s claws aimed for her legs.

CLANG!

A silvery-gold shield manifested instantly behind and around Aelira, intercepting a simultaneous rear strike from another direction.

’What the hell is that?’ Yufania shouted.

’Automatic defense?’ Joyan frowned. "Break it!"

Multiple attacks converged.

Lightning.

Blades.

Shockwaves.

They all struck.

The shield held.

Aelira didn’t even flinch.

"Done?" she asked casually.

She raised her revolver.

BOOM!

A compressed wind shot blasted Jolina.

’Too much power!’ she gritted her teeth. ’I almost got my Magic Suit shattered despite my best defense spell being activated.’

Behind them, Rivera raised her hand.

’Stay in flow. I’ll boost you.’

Golden streams surged and wrapped around Rudrean and Aelira.

Their movements sharpened further.

Ryzen stepped forward.

’I’ll cover the back. Don’t worry about stray attacks.’

A massive ice wall layered with lightning rose behind them, intercepting wide-range attacks.

Lyra said softly, ’I will restrict their movement.’

Dozens of crafted weapons formed around her and shot forward in unpredictable arcs.

’They’re supporting perfectly,’ Ruben muttered. ’We can’t break their rhythm!’

’Then break the core!’ Danzo roared.

’Everything on Rudrean and Aelira!’

The pressure intensified.

The cavern shook.

Lightning storms collided with wind currents.

Illusions layered over reality.

Explosions filled the air.

But nothing landed.

’They’re not even defending properly anymore,’ Yufania said, her voice trembling. ’Why are they not taking damage?’

’They are,’ Joyan said, staring. ’But... it’s being negated. Their defensive spells are not breaking, and even if they break, the remaining damage is negligible.’

Suddenly, Aelira walked forward through the storm.

’What?! Her Magic Suit should have broken by now!’

Every heavy hit that should have broken her... didn’t.

Rudrean stood still for a moment.

Watching.

Analyzing.

Then he spoke.

’They’re overcommitting to us.’

Aelira grinned.

’Yeah. They’re ignoring everyone else.’

Rivera caught on instantly. "We punish that?"

’Exactly,’ Rudrean said.

He vanished.

’Behind!’ Ruben shouted.

Too late.

Rudrean appeared behind him.

’Should’ve spread your focus.’

One strike.

Impact.

Ruben’s Magic Suit shattered, and he vanished, forcefully teleported out.

’What?!’ Danzo’s eyes widened.

Aelira moved next.

"Your defense is too slow."

Two shots of Hell-Blaze Spiral Bullets, boosted by 100 Vina.

Joyan’s barrier cracked instantly.

Another shot, and he was teleported out.

’They’re picking us apart!’ Yufania shouted.

’Retreat and regroup!’ Danzo commanded.

Lyra’s voice cut in coldly. "No."

Her weapons shifted positions mid-air, sealing escape routes.

Ryzen added pressure.

"I won’t let you move freely."

Ice and lightning locked down the battlefield.

Rivera boosted again.

"Finish it!"

Rudrean appeared in front of Danzo.

"Your mistake?"

Danzo swung with lightning-clad fists.

Rudrean caught the angle.

Redirected.

Then struck.

"You focused on the wrong people."

Impact.

Danzo’s Magic Suit shattered.

Teleport.

Yufania tried to escape using illusions.

"I can’t see them!" she shouted.

Aelira appeared behind her.

"I can."

One shot.

Teleport.

The last member lasted barely a few seconds.

Then vanished.

Silence fell.

Ryzen exhaled slowly. "That... was clean."

Rivera nodded. "They had a good formation, but their strategy failed."

Lyra tilted her head slightly. "They prioritized incorrectly."

Aelira stretched while grinning. "They couldn’t even touch us."

"Let’s take the resource or whatever is here and get out," Rudrean said as he headed toward the last passage.

...

Outside, waves of shock spread.

Team Pentaloft, one of the top teams expected to land in the top three ranking at the end of the event, had just been eliminated.

"Holy shit. That’s Danzo! He’s back?"

"This is crazy. Who defeated them?"

"The scary thing is... only their team exited. You know what that means?"

Danzo and the others had ashen faces, especially Danzo.

His fists were clenched, and his eyes burned with fury.

"They got defeated so badly that they couldn’t even take out one person from the team they were fighting against? Crazy."

"Who defeated them?"

Suddenly, the leaderboard shifted.

Team RuRaRyRiRa just increased their score by 5600, totaling 14,600.

The second team had 2740 points.

"Jeez. It seems those two will add their names to the Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard of the Riglight Galactic Alliance given their performance."

"Most likely."

"It’s too soon to tell. The Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard takes into account multiple factors, especially feats. They need to make a name in the real world for that, not just in a Secret Realm."

"Yeah, but surely those two will get their names on it."

"You think they were also the ones who defeated Danzo and his team? They must have been in the same spot, so after they won, they got the resources there."

"Most likely."

...

Rudrean and the others exited the underground cavern and went up.

"Since we want to hunt Wild Boss Monsters as well, I’ll also start tracking them," Lyra said.

Aelira side-hugged her. "Yep. Thank you, sis. Let’s have a blast and get stronger. We’ve got four whole days to spend."

"The night will descend soon, so we should also find a good spot to rest," Rivera said.

"Oh yeah, about that. We’d need a private place," Aelira said cheekily with a smile and wink. "Rudy and I need to do some work alone. If you know, you know."

"Same, same." Ryzen grinned as he slapped Rivera’s butt.

"No problem. I have a house with me anyway." Lyra nodded, her cat tail swaying calmly behind her as she took out a cube. "This can expand into a three-storey house. Not too big, but enough for us."

"But we will need to create beds. It’s just a box for now, but with lightning system, and basic furniture only."