The atmospheric blade flung out a sharp flying sound characteristic of a magical phenomenon and struck the lizard. The compressed air blade split through the lizard's thin neck, and it was knocked down before it could let out a dying cry.

"There's a lizard coming in!

The crowd obeyed the woman's awe-inspiring command, and the students, armed with light equipment such as wands and bows and arrows, stepped back to the rear, and the students in heavy armor stepped forward instead. They lined up, erecting shields like a wall to resist the "swarming hordes of demonic beasts". Magical beasts that have not been solved by long-distance attacks such as magic and bows and arrows pounce on the students in the front, and the two sides collide violently. The students used their shields to bounce back the fangs and claws of the beasts, and in turn raised their swords to slash and slash, destroying a large number of monsters in the blink of an eye.

However, the Monsters were overwhelmingly numerically superior to their defenses, and a few more were behind them. As soon as they saw a monster breaking through the defense, the lightly armed students who were on standby behind the heavily armed students immediately launched an attack to eliminate the fish that had slipped through the net. As a result, none of the demonic beasts were able to pass through the formation.

The middle school students who originally entered Crocker's Forest in groups are now all gathered at a certain fixed point to form a large team. They form a whole group of defensive-focused formations. From the depths of the forest in front of them, a steady stream of demonic beasts poured out on them, and the senior students faced the menacing monsters like a tsunami, showing their heroic posture of fighting the enemy.

One by one, they destroyed an endless stream of demonic beasts, but the terrifying thing was that they were only a small part of the whole. Some of the demonic beasts broke through the defense, bypassed the front of the fiercely fought troops, and rushed to the entrance of the forest one after another.

"If this continues, the first-year students at the entrance of the forest will also be attacked by demonic beasts...... you have to find a way to get in touch!"

The schoolgirls, who had been in command from the beginning, sensed the crisis and were about to inform the rear, when they themselves faced another huge crisis.

"Oh no! It's a lion-headed ape!

The students who witnessed this scene let out a cry of grief. Before, they were all fighting against enemies that were not very large in size, such as the Lizard and the Sabertooth Cat, and although the number was a problem, it was enough to deal with it in the current formation. Dealing with the lion-headed ape is another matter, though. As the name suggests, the lion-headed ape is covered with stubby, knobby horns that look like a giant ape up to three meters tall. This powerful beast alone requires the cooperation of several students to barely compete with it. They really couldn't deal with small monsters and fight such a tricky enemy at the same time.

"......! Second column! Aim at the apes' feet! If they get closer, they won't be able to deal with it!"

Several wands reached out from between the students who served as defensive walls, firing a variety of magic. They use fire magic, wind magic, and lightning strike magic to take on the beasts. It was a few hours before it happened.

In the morning, the middle and senior students who entered Crock's Forest in groups marched forward in high spirits. Keeping their guard and marching deeper into the forest unhindered, they began to feel that something was wrong. Usually before coming here, there are always several attacks from demonic beasts, but this day there hasn't even been a single battle. I haven't heard any rumors of demonic beasts disappearing from Crok Forest lately.

The crowd hesitated to wander the forest, trying to make contact with the other groups in order to get information, but the other groups all said in unison that there were no monsters. Not to mention cats, not even the shadow of a lizard. Something that should have disappeared was also an anomaly, so after discussing it, everyone decided to go back to the camp for the time being to report to the teacher.

Just as they were about to leave, the monsters began to emerge from the forest one by one. This was a bit of a disappointment for them, but they still had to destroy the demonic beasts that appeared, so they each grabbed their weapons.

One, two—five—ten—

When the number of demonic beasts exceeded ten figures, everyone's faces changed. When they saw what was in the forest, they realized that something different had happened than at the beginning.

Fortunately, they gathered before them, so a lot of people gathered, which must be considered a great blessing in misfortune. The students, who have received combat training from knights on weekdays and have accumulated a lot of experience, are ready to respond and form a formation with many people to meet them. This is the result of the expectation that one day he will join the Knights and participate in the operation, and receive training in group combat. In this way, their troops clashed head-on with the Monster herd and returned to the situation they had started with.

The number of lion-headed apes they have eliminated has reached tenth.

Prioritizing long-range attacks to block the enemy's tactics worked, and they decided that staying where they were would only increase their losses, so they retreated to the entrance of the forest.

Luckily, the student president, Stefania Serratti, was also there. At the beginning of the group operation, she assigned her own tasks and used the appropriate equipment, and when she formed a multi-person formation, she followed the same principle, and everyone took on their own suitable roles. Although it was temporary, it went well. The problem is that when they are actually in battle, they do not have a commander. It's good to follow different missions on their own, but if you can't do it at the right time, you're just wasting so much combat power.

Under such circumstances, no one present had any objection to her being the commander of the highest school year and holding the title of student president. Not only does she have titles, but she is also at the top of the list of achievements in the department and is trusted by everyone. Even though this is a temporary force and a temporary chain of command, her command is still very clear, and she can lead everyone through the difficulties, and retreat all the way without much harm, but-

（...... It's terrible. It's also a problem that there are so many monsters, but why are each of these guys rushing over so desperately...... How long can you survive under such pressure?)

Stefania is calm and commanding on the surface, but in fact she is anxious inside. At present, the students' physical strength and magic power are still sufficient, but if they continue to be attacked, it is conceivable that they will be crushed sooner or later.

(And not every monster is blocked, please bless the children behind you must be safe......!)

The situation of the battle has not improved at all, and even so, they continue to resist with all their might. While the seniors were fighting in the forest, the first-year students who were interning on the outskirts of the forest were also attacked by monsters.

First, the students closest to the forest screamed. Several lizards pounced on the students and bit them. Lizards can't kill in one hit, but it's still dangerous to be attacked by several at once. Seeing this, the teachers immediately stepped forward to rescue and launched an attack on the monster that attacked the students.

In terms of results, the teachers' actions backfired, but they can't be blamed. It would have been fine if only these few had come out, but the monsters were pouring out of the forest in large numbers soon after. The teachers missed the opportunity and had to keep fighting. They themselves didn't fall right away, but the students behind them fell into a panic because of the sudden appearance of the demonic beast, and the teacher, who was supposed to calm everyone, couldn't pull away and couldn't give the students the right instructions.

The students waved their wands desperately and unleashed their magic indiscriminately. Unaimed magic cannot damage the beast, but almost hits its companion. Others drew their swords despite the presence of other students around them, causing further panic. Compared to the senior students, who were combat-ready and well-equipped from the beginning, and who had accumulated combat training on a daily basis, the first-year students were not fully prepared in all aspects.

「...... Wind Rush, Single Shot Spread!"

At this moment, someone suddenly jumped over the chaotic group of first-graders. The silver hair shone in the sun, imprinted into the eyes of the chaotic students. The man rolled over in the air, aiming at the ground, firing several wind bombs at the same time. The so-called single-shot diffusion is a type of firing that fires several rounds of magic at the same time like a shotgun.

A series of rumbling sounds was the sound of the magic bullets hitting the ground at the same time. The compressed air bomb that almost flattened the facial features scooped up the monster along with the ground and exploded.

Relentless magic wiped out the central monster in large numbers with a carpet crit, and two more students cut in from the left and right. One of them rushed into the horde of monsters, swept with a mixed sword in his hand, and slashed the bodies of a large number of monsters in half at once with the power of his wrist blessed by body-enhancing magic. He didn't restrain his swing of the sword, but turned around as if he was about to spin in a circle, and then pulled out his weapon from his waist and aimed it at the surviving beasts. (Editor's note: The Bastard Sword, also translated as a one-and-a-half sword or heavy sword, is characterized by a long hilt that can be wielded with one hand or held with both hands.) ）

"It's naïve!

The tip of that weapon, the Scepter Gandibal, suddenly tore open the air fault, and the air flowing into the vacuum belt formed a shockwave towards the demonic beasts, directly hitting the demonic beasts outside the range of the mixed sword, causing their bodies to twist unnaturally and be blown away.

Opposite him, another schoolgirl ran out, holding a staff in both hands and pointing at the other monsters.

"Lightning Strike Javelin!"

In the next second, a lightning strike struck down with a roar and flashes of light, slamming down the assembled hordes of demonic beasts. She didn't look at the monster that was twitching and letting out a dying scream, she directly installed the staff on the sword that had not yet been unsheathed at her waist, and held the dual swords that turned into composite weapons in both hands, slashing at every monster that passed by. It is not only a slender sword body, but also a magically strengthened weapon, which easily splits the body of a demonic beast in half.

The storm-like attack of just three students greatly reduced the number of demonic beasts. The pressure of the Demonic Beasts advancing was relieved, giving everyone a moment to breathe. Witnessing the battle that amounted to unilateral ravages just now made the students stop their movements in shock rather than chaos.

"All staff draw their rods. 」

The dwarf student, who had just jumped over everyone's heads, stood at the front and gave instructions to everyone. The students heard an indescribable power in his young voice, which looked like a bird's chirping, and hurriedly did as he was told.

"Everyone assemble and form a dense formation. Teacher!"

The teacher, who was also speechless, heard his voice and came back to his senses.

"Please take charge of the command, don't let the other party take advantage of it, and retreat at the same time. A few of us went to the neighborhood to support. 」

The teachers then hurriedly began to give orders. Students form a dense formation to consolidate their defenses. The combat ability is slightly inferior, and the first-year students who are not equipped enough want to fight against the Warcraft, so they can only concentrate on the fire attack. It's still a bit unreliable, but it's probably within the scope of the teachers in charge of directing.

El Nesty glared at the beast that had escaped from the forest again, and slowly lifted Winchester. Chid and Artie stood on either side as if they were trying to guard him to his left and right. Chid held a hybrid sword on his shoulder in one hand and Gandibal in the other, and Arti sheathed his two-handed sword hanging at his sides. Seeing the menacing horde of demonic beasts, their eyes still seemed high-spirited.

"Hey, that's an exaggeration. If you have more, you'll be able to mess around to your heart's content!"

"Hmph—you're welcome!"

Al reminded the energetic two.

"You two, it doesn't matter if you want to fight, but don't forget about the other students. 」

"Hey——? they'll figure it out on their own...... Let's ......."

Artie was about to complain, but halfway through her sentence, she didn't say anything. Al turned to look at her with a serious expression that was completely different from his usual appearance.

"If you just want to make a big fuss, you don't have to stay here?"

"Uh, I'm ...... I got it, I'll help them too!"

Kidd immediately raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Luckily, this is still the entrance to the forest, so if you retreat, you'll be back to camp soon. It would be much easier if I could meet up with the Phantom Knight on the other side, but until then......

As he spoke, Al quickly fired a wind blast. The monster that had been trying to attack while they were talking ate the spell head-on and was sent flying.

"We have to protect them. 」

Al made up his mind to pick up Winchester and shoot another barrage of magic.

During the period when the middle division students entered the forest, the mounted trainers of the higher division temporarily put aside their standby duties and went on their own training. Since the Phantom Knights brought in as escort combat power cannot be used for training and increase the burden on the body, it is mainly based on man-to-person training between horse trainers.

Edgar was training to swing his sword, but a sound that shouldn't have been heard in his ears came to his ears like nothing.

"Hey, isn't it a little noisy in the forest?"

"Huh?"

Hearing him say this, the nearby students also pricked up their ears in surprise. Vibrations and sounds that had not been heard before came from the forest, and they quickly understood what it was.

"Explosion...... Is it magic!?"

"Something seems to be wrong...... All hands stop training!The rider prepares to activate the Phantom Knight. Something is wrong in the forest, go check it out!"

The people in the camp suddenly moved in a hurry. The horsemen who had been preparing the Phantom Knights left one after another, allowing the Horsemen to board the body one by one. They skipped the activation process, rushing to get the mech up, and the surrounding area was now overwhelmed by the noise of the Mana Converter. However, no matter how much it is, it can't dispatch all the mechs, so only five Phantom Knights, equivalent to half of the people present, are heading towards the forest.

"Hey, look at that ......."

However, the gravity of the situation is much greater than they imagined. Before they even entered the forest, they saw hordes of demonic beasts rushing towards them, and the number was so large that they had never been seen before. The monsters made strange noises as they went on a rampage in all directions.

"How...... How so!"

"Are the monsters out of control? Those imps won't be in trouble, will they!?"

The crowd hurriedly drew their swords and drove the Phantom Knight into the forest. It didn't take long to meet up with the first-graders. The first-year students had previously managed to retreat under El's improvisation.

First-year students gather and retreat as they shoot magic at the horde to restrain their movements. The demonic beasts that poured out of the forest were hit by magic as soon as they approached the formation. Edgar quickly drove Earcumber in front of them in order to support them. The first-year students, who were originally extremely nervous, finally let go of the big stone in their hearts after seeing the Phantom Knight appear and begin to disperse the horde of demonic beasts. The strongest combat power of mankind, the Phantom Knight, is trusted by everyone, especially in the occasion of this kind of demonic beast attack, with the ability to block a hundred can bring a great sense of security.

In this way they retreated back to the camp and erected a fence around it to fortify their defenses.

While the Phantom Knight was in charge of the guards, the teacher and the riders of the High Division began to discuss their next move. First-graders already have enough manpower to protect them, so it's not a problem. The most worrying thing right now is the senior students who go deep into the forest.

"Do you know the path of the second and third grades?"

"It's hard to predict. For the purpose of the internship, the scope should be the entire forest, and there is no guarantee that they will stay in the designated location at that time. 」

The teacher re-evaluated the course of action of each group of senior students and groaned with a serious face. Although I want to go to the rescue immediately, the number of Phantom Knights is limited, and even if I want to save people, I don't know where to start, so it's hard to choose. The Crocker Forest is a vast area, and searching like a headless fly can even be counterproductive. That said, they didn't have time to hesitate. At this moment, El Nesti suddenly poked his head out from beside the frowning teacher.

"Where are the places in the forest where people gather?"

"Huh? This ...... If you gather, let's be around here. 」

Although the teacher couldn't react to Al's sudden question for a while, he still answered him. Speaking of which, even if the first-year student participated in this discussion, it was useless, but due to his unusually active performance just now, no one was surprised by Al's involvement.

"With such a large number of monsters, will the seniors also plan to fight collectively? 」

"Hmm...... You have a point. 」

"And the Phantom Knight is hard to move when there are too many trees. Considering the composition of our forces, wouldn't it be better to start searching from an open location?"

The map is spread out and marked with red lines. If you want to get to the location you just locked, you have to take the route from the entrance of the forest directly through the center.

"In addition, if you take this route, you can also eliminate the demonic beasts coming here at the same time. If someone gets caught up in the fight, just listen to the sound. 」

Due to the urgency of the situation, everyone accepted Al's proposal and formed a team to rescue the senior students. This place also needs to be defended, and only half of the whole will set off - five Phantom Knights.

Edgar pilots the all-white Phantom Knight, Earl Camber, to join the rescue force first. Just as he was about to step into Earl Camber, someone stopped him. When I looked back, I saw Al standing there.

"Can I go with me too?"

"Why?"

"My friend's family is also in the forest. They were worried, so if I could, I would like to go with them. 」

For a moment, Edgar felt embarrassed. Although there are many dangers, but considering Al's combat ability, he thinks there is no need to worry about it to some extent. Coupled with the fact that his speech at the meeting was well organized, it is likely that taking him to search for it will probably help. Thinking so, Edgar agreed.

Earl Camber told Al to take his hand, and then stood up. Followed by Hewei's Trande Okais and three other mechs, they broke into the forest with heavy steps.

"The man who has run out of mana carries the wounded! The front and the standby train are exchanged! Hold on a little more, everyone hold on a little more!"