Ed knew very well that he was a useless piece of waste when he had nothing to say and had to fight.

So from the very beginning, he wisely chose to run with his head - preferably to be able to stay out of the enemy's range, so that his companions would not have to worry about his safety.

But he was clearly not fast enough. Isis took a small step backwards after transforming, nearly stomping him on him, and Tess grumbled as she was squeezed away by the ice dragon's massive body. By the time Ed patted his chest in horror and tried to find the right direction in a panic, the battle had begun.

The surroundings were in chaos almost instantly.

Sesyana, the young sword dancer, came like a gust of wind, easily overstepping the ice dragon's wings, and when he passed Ed's side, he didn't even give him a little out of the corner of his eye, and went straight to Norway.

In his eyes, perhaps only another elf was worthy of being his opponent.

He even raised his sword and saluted, but his movements were too fast, and he did not hesitate to attack without giving his opponent time to return the salute.

The ancient twin swords rained down like a rain, almost like a continuous curtain of light to Ed, making it difficult for Norway to cope for a while, and he could only retreat again and again, jumping and dodging.

Ed's impression of Norway seems to be always graceful and agile, and he is at ease at all times, and there has never been such a messy time, which made Ed worry a little, and kept looking back while dodging the surrounding sword lights and sword shadows and escaping into the forest by the roadside.

Norway had admitted that he was nowhere near as fast as the Sword Dancer. But he has a lot more experience. He quickly regained his rhythm and suppressed the opponent's attack, and Cesyana's dual swords seemed to slow down involuntarily.

Ed breathed a sigh of relief. Holding his head and rushing to the gap between a rock and a big tree on the side of the road, he obediently shrank into a ball.

At first he could hear Tess giggling and laughing, and her opponent, Rosa, had been chosen by herself. Rosa had a helpless smile on her face, but her subordinates were fast and ruthless, and they didn't seem to show any mercy, and it didn't take long for Tess, who had no time to be distracted, to gradually quiet down.

Ed looked at Naria—to his surprise. Instead of standing next to her father, who had broken a leg, the black-haired girl joined forces to fight against the enemy, but joined Akan against Baie. The two who had fought side by side with the undead had a tacit understanding of attacking and defending. But with his anger and hatred, Bye is clearly far more difficult to deal with than the undead.

With one more helper, they might be able to knock out at least one first...... Alan had to face the little man who was quietly wielding a pair of thin swords. When the other party is vigilant and well-prepared, it is not easy to defeat him for a lame old man.

Ed bit his lower lip tightly. Eyes widened. Forgetting to breathe, he watched nervously at each of his comrades in battle, his heart pounding against his ribs, almost bursting out of his chest.

If he had been a little more serious when Norway had taught him to use a sword, maybe ......

Ed struggled to suppress his frustration, which was useless at this point.

The ice dragon's long tail whistled past his eyes, flicking at the enemy in front of him, but it was still a little short of ...... The road is located between two hillsides. The confined space is quite bad for it, but it can't leave. The mages on the other side didn't know that they had already protected their companions. Or didn't care at all, throwing magic unscrupulously from the beginning. The Ice Dragon's innate resistance allowed it to withstand some of the damage, but it had little power to fight back - the mages cleverly hid from a distance, the barrage of attacks made it impossible for Iss to use the spit, and the crowd of rivals around it restrained it, and when it tried to fly towards the mage, bright lightning slashed at its companions who had sheltered under its wings without hesitation.

The only barrier between them and magic is its body and wings.

The roar of the ice dragon echoed through the mountains. As it clumsily shifted its body, trying to attack its foes without hurting its companions, Ed could clearly see the scars left by the magic on its massive body, blood curling down between the broken scales.

It couldn't resist it for much longer.

Ed clenched his fists and gasped softly as if he were suffocating—something, a word, a word, a power...... It seemed to be stuck in his throat, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't spit it out, but instead he was chilled like he was drowning, and a black mist gradually filled his eyes.

It wasn't just his delusion—the sky was getting dark, and the crescent moon hid behind a gauzy cloud, reflecting a cold light off the white scales of Is.

In a blurred vision, Ed saw Norway leading Sethyana deeper into the forest, presumably trying to leave room for the ice dragon to attack, Tess obviously wanted to do the same, but Rosa just circled in place, and once Tess was out of it, she immediately attacked Naria and Akhan, so that Tess had to turn around and continue to pester her.

And Bye...... When Narya finally slashed the paladin's right knee with a sword, knocking him to his knees, the black-haired girl couldn't help but let out a cheer - followed by Akhan's roar and Alan's roar.

Naria let out a low cry and suddenly fell backwards. Dark blood flew in midair, sliding from Baie's longsword and splashing on his gloomy face...... It also faded from Naria's slender waist.

Ed knew he couldn't see that clearly, he wasn't an elf or a dragon...... But even the trace of consternation and confusion on Naria's pale face completely fell into his eyes.

His body tensed violently, his forehead hitting the rocks, but he didn't feel a trace of pain at all.

He could no longer control the emotions that were surging through his mind as if they were about to explode. Panic, panic, anger, worry, unwillingness, eagerness......

Naria will be fine. He swore to Allen, to Is, to himself that he would not let her hurt in the slightest......

He couldn't let her hurt a bit.

In a trance, he reached out to Naria, as if trying to hold her up. But he wasn't sure if he was really moving...... Or whether it was really done something.

He didn't see the dead leaf that had fallen at his feet in the wind. Suddenly, it floated up and down strangely.

After that...... The world in front of him seemed to be shattered in an instant, rushing into the river of time.

-- with him.

Naria took two steps back, quickly gaining a foothold. The sword instinctively crossed in front of him, but for a moment he was in a trance.

She always felt that she had just slashed Baie's, and she was hurt a lot...... But that was probably just her delusion, or hope. Baie has at least one layer of protection on his body, and an attack that is not strong enough will not deal damage at all. The former paladin was trying to slice Akan's belly from the bottom up, and the big man didn't care about it. As if intending to die together, he slammed his beloved hammer on Baie's head.

He doesn't have many tricks, and he fights with all his innate strength, but that incredible strength is enough of a threat.

Naria lunged forward. Ready to help Akango open Beye's attack, Bye has been forced to change his move and swing his sword to block.

Naria's gaze fell on Baie's unprotected, slightly bent right knee—she could slash him! Even if you can't break through the defense, it's not useless......

The thought flashed through my mind. She hesitated for some reason, as if some mysterious force was stopping her. When she came to her senses, the opportunity was fleeting.

Naria bit her lip in exasperation and rejoined the fight. Is's hind paws swept past her with the sound of the wind, and when he landed, he visibly staggered, causing Naria to startle slightly, and instinctively wanted to look up to see if Iss was injured.

- Don't get distracted!

She could almost hear Alan's reprimand echoing in her ears, and she finally controlled herself. Attack Bye with all your heart. She knew very well that the situation was not in their favor right now, for a half-warrior like her. It's much more useful to do your best to protect yourself, or to help take down an enemy first, than to worry about an ice dragon that is far more powerful than hers.

She could always see the glint in the corner of her eye—golden flames, blue and white electric light, green acid...... As the night falls, it becomes brighter and brighter. The skin shuddered from the power of the magic, and the hair looked like it was about to stand on end, but no magic hurt them—Iss protected them.

She had a vague sense that the mage's attacks were waning. She was not familiar with magic, but she also knew that no matter how powerful a mage was, there was a limit to the spells they could use in a day, as long as they could hold on longer, as long as Iss could hold on longer...... Maybe even Ed will be able to clean up those unwieldy mages!

Hold on a little longer......

Naria thought silently in her heart, and she didn't know if it was to herself or to Is.

Behind her, Allen, who had been silent, suddenly yelled, and the screams of another man followed, and then abruptly stopped.

The corners of Naria's mouth lifted upward, and that little joy bloomed into a bright smile as Alan's cane tapped into Baie's calf.

She knew she didn't have to worry about her father. Even with gray hair and a broken leg, he's the best fighter in the world!

Baie's black eyes seemed to grow deeper, like a vortex that could suck in all the light, and Naria couldn't help but want to avoid his gaze.

"If you've been following us, you should know that Iss isn't one of those evil dragons, he hasn't done anything wrong!"

Alan still tried to convince Baie to abandon the pointless battle, but the man who had nothing but hatred left him turned a deaf ear and was desperate to attack the enemy in front of him.

A dull thud halted everyone's movements for a moment - Iss slammed his body to the side against the rock wall, and immediately struggled to his feet without a sound.

Alan sighed slightly, knowing that there was no room for mercy now, even if he was sorry for Jules......

"Stop! Stop!

Norvi's voice came from the hillside to their left, and two figures rushed down the hillside one after the other—Norway and Sethana, the elves who had been gone for a while from one side of the hill to the other, but now seemed to have turned enemies into friends.

"Stop!" Noway shouted again, and even the mages standing far away could hear every word he said:

"Undead...... We are surrounded by the undead!!".

(To be continued......)