The night was finally over. When the raid force saw the sky brightening from the east, they all, without needing to be told, let out a breath of relief.0

Veteran A-rank adventurers who had seen every kind of battle, beastkin warriors who gambled their lives like coins tossed on a gaming table, Bedouin swordsmen who treated death as a part of daily life—all of them were the same.0

They couldn’t help it. The horrors of the night had been just that overwhelming, and more, of the Black Pharaoh, Nephren-Ka. A monster who wielded darkness like the Demon Kings of legend, commanding tides of beasts as if they were his own limbs.0

Those who hadn’t seen him themselves would never believe it. Mighty A-ranks, so rare that even great cities would consider themselves lucky to have one or two, were being thrown away like foot soldiers, and warriors who could normally fight one against a hundred struggled to even protect their own lives.0

Spells and sorcery never before seen on any famous battlefield had clashed wildly. Even Masters who could break armies alone had been forced to pour all their strength into carving paths through...0