Once the dust cloud settled, Erik reappeared.

He was injured.

However, he was in good shape considering the fact that he'd taken the Mamonas's Ray of Destruction head-on.

It was truly an amazing feat.

While it was true that the Mamonas had been significantly weakened by Serena's Water, it wasn't an attack that could normally be blocked by a single player.

Erik managed to do the impossible.

As expected of the Empire Guild's second strongest!

Then, Irene, who assaulted the beast from its left flank, took center stage.

"Groups 1 through 3, attack it head-on! Groups 4 through 6, use long-range attacks! Insect Mages, summon artillery bugs!"

She immediately took control of their troops.

Irene was nicknamed Queen Bee. She was called that because her troops moved like a swarm of bees whenever she commanded them.

The Glacier Squad moved in unison as if they were a singular entity.

It was almost like they were engaged in siege warfare. A portion of her troops climbed onto the Mamonas, while the rest attacked it from afar.

"Arise, Hellfire Bug!"

Tiagon, as well as the rest of the Insect Mages, began summoning insects.

Whir!

A giant insect arose from the massive magic circle on the ground. It was about 5 meters tall.

It had a thick body, and was encased in an exoskeleton. Compared to its chest or head, its stomach was by far the largest and roundest.

They had summoned a total of ten of them.

Ten Insect Mages worked together to summon one each.

The Hellfire Bugs stuck their thick, long legs into the ground and turned around. Then, they pointed their abdomens at the Mamonas.

They tightened their stomachs like a spring, and then released the pressure.

Roar!

A cone of dark red, lava-like energy shot out and struck the Mamonas.

Roar!

Guooh!

The Mamonas quickly sank into the sand, and then reappeared right under the Glacier Squad.

At that moment...

Men whose faces were shrouded by red bandanas popped out of the Insect Mages' shadows, cradled them, and then quickly got them out of there.

These were the Red King Squad's elites.

Most of the Red King Squad consisted of Assassins.

They specialized in assassination, harassment, and guerilla warfare, rather than straight up fights. They were also good at guarding others, as they had just shown.

Thus, the Insect Mages were saved, even though the Hellfire Bugs were eaten by the Mamonas.

Bam! Bam!

The Mamonas went on a rampage, swinging its giant tail like an iron mace.

"I want the first group to pierce through the front. The second group will fall back, and the third group...!" Irene kept commanding her troops.

The Glacier Squad retreated in perfect order. Thus, they were able to minimize their losses at the Mamonas's hands.

Uwooh!

The Mamonas let out a heavy cry, as if verbalizing its regret.

Then...

Black Wolf and his brigade of Tamers/Death Eagles began their aerial bombardment.

The Death Eagles unleashed sharp Blade Winds from their mouths, while the Black Wolf Squad used long-ranged attacks.

Black Wolf used a Tamer secret move.

He opened his arms, and powerful sparks danced across his hands.

Crackle!

At the same time, blue beads of light gathered in the Death Eagle's mouth.

Whir!

Combination Attack: Lightning Bomb!

His lightning and the Death Eagle's energy blast mixed together, forming a gigantic bolt of lightning.

Crackle! Crackle!

Upon contact, the Lightning Bomb exploded.

Guooh!

The Mamonas quickly sank into the sand, and then surged into the air. It was trying to devour the Death Eagles.

Jet-black darkness shimmered within its gaping maw.

"We can't afford to lose the Death Eagles!" Black Wolf yelled urgently.

The Death Eagles did their very best to spread out. Fortunately, none of them were eaten by the Mamonas's attack.

However, the Mamonas violently spun and landed on the floor!

Hellfire Spin!

Boom!

When it touched the ground, a massive 'boom' rang out, which resulted in a sand explosion.

The Empire Guild's troops were forced to lay on the ground in order to withstand the fierce winds and burning grains of sand.

Then...

The Mamonas opened its mouth wide.

Clean Up!

It began to suck in everything once more.

There wasn't anything they could hold onto in the desert.

"Uheok!"

"D-Damn it!"

Several members of the Empire Guild were sucked into its mouth.

* * *

A golden pillar of light pierced through the dust cloud and sandstorm, and struck the Mamonas's body.

Bam!

Shards of all sizes fell from its body like a cascading waterfall. Dukeram lay beyond the blast.

He held the legendary blade, Max Cain, in his hand. It was a sky blue blade that was embedded with shimmering stars! There was a small amount of golden energy still surrounding the blade.

Sword that Brings Victory!

It was a secret move. Dukeram then used another one in his arsenal.

Swish, slash, swish, slash!

Four cuts suddenly appeared on its body.

Space-Time Slash!

It was a slash that violated the laws of time and space.

The attack allowed him to strike at an opponent from a distance, as well as adjust when it would hit by a factor of three seconds.

"It's our turn now." Taker and the Iron Horse Squad stepped forward.

The Iron Horse Squad all rode on armored horses, and wielded weapons such as spears.

Taker himself wielded a trident.

He was also their guild's foremost spear expert. He was called the Ghost Spear due to his skill.

Taker's body glowed with red light, indicative of a Spearman secret move.

Charging Spear of Annihilation!

This skill maximized one's piercing power.

He stretched out his spear, and red energy rose from it like a haze.

"Follow the captain!"

"A great charge!"

"Let's go!"

The Iron Horse Squad followed his lead.

They used their own skills, and the resulting energy made them resemble a giant spear.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

They charged, kicking up a dust cloud.

Bam!

The giant, sharp spear of energy pierced through the Mamonas's body.

Shards of red light endlessly spilled from the wound.

In terms of penetrative power, the Iron Horse Squad had no equal. They truly did live up to their reputation.

The Mamonas roared. At the same time, each of its eight eyes turned a different color.

"This is the 2nd phase. Scatter!" Taker yelled.

Taker had specifically chosen these men for this operation. They were the absolute best of the best.

They reacted immediately, and spread out.

Then...

The Mamonas shot beams from its eyes, each possessing a different element.

Fire, ice, earth, lightning, darkness, light, wind, and poison!

What a spectacular laser show.

But that's not all. Each beam had its own special ability. The darkness blast would both blind and slow you, while the fire blast would burn you. The ice beam would cause frostbite and freeze you, the earth beam would bind you, etc.

Only the light beam had no particular ability attached to it. In exchange, its power was the greatest of the eight beams.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Long beams of light flew around the Mamonas.

Moreover, the Mamonas continuously shot lumps of sand from its back.

The sand didn't do much damage. However, it was as sticky as glue. Once it touches skin, it won't come off easily.

It was absolute chaos.

Lumps of sand fell from the sky, beams swept through the battlefield, and a giant whale monster came rushing at them. It never closed its mouth either, as it was unable to sate its hunger.

However, the Empire Guild had come prepared.

If they got hit by the sand, then they'd just melt it with Serena's Water.

Each person had received about a half cup's worth, and one or two drops was plenty. Thus, they had incurred almost no casualties from the clumps of sand.

They also had a plan for the beams.

Moby Dick, Giant Soldier, and Brown Bear pulled out mirror shields from their inventory.

A mysterious metal, which reflected magic, could be found within the Garlico Desert.

It was called Atarium!

The Arabas Kingdom's blacksmiths crafted these mirror shields out of this metal.

Their effectiveness was undeniable.

The Mamonas's beams were unable to pierce through the shields, and bounced right off!

Then, the Yellow Dragon and Glacier Squads pulled out the magic bombs they'd prepared beforehand.

Magic bombs were the Tower's hit item this year.

Though they were far inferior to magic scrolls, which could contain great magic, they possessed power that surpassed most normal spells.

Plenty of players carried one or two of them around due to their utility.

"Now!"

They simultaneously threw the magic bombs through the hole the Iron Horse Squad had made.

Boom!

A ton of red shards fell from the Mamonas's body. It was as if a huge fireworks festival was going on.

The Mamonas fiercely swung its tail. However, the Empire Guild's elites wouldn't be defeated so easily.

While the Empire Guild was fighting it off, the 100 Insect Mages combined their power to create a gigantic magic circle.

Summon Giant Insect!

The Giant Insect was considered the most dangerous organism within the desert! It popped out of the ground and ripped the Mamonas apart with its serrated teeth.

It usually couldn't be beaten in terms of size, but the situation was a little different today.

If we were to compare the Mamonas's size to the Giant Insect, then the Giant Insect would be like a leech attached to a human body.

The Sand Mages didn't just sit there and twiddle their thumbs.

Summon Sand Golem!

They created a giant tsunami of sand. The sand transformed into a giant fist, which struck the Mamonas's body.

Whack!

After that, the Empire Guild continued their assault.

Erik, Ridgeley, Black Wolf, Taker, etc. The captains did most of the work.

After using 'Sword that Brings Victory', Dukeram hadn't participated in the battle.

Why, you ask?

'I have to raise morale before we try to conquer the continent.'

If Dukeram actively participated in the hunt, then it'd have been a lot easier. But by holding himself back, other people, like his captains, were allowed to shine.

That raised the morale of both his captains and his subordinates.

This would definitely play a huge role in the war of conquest in the future.

At that moment...

The atmosphere surrounding the Mamonas changed.

'It's finally reached the 3rd phase. As expected...'

From here, they would be fighting it blind. They didn't have any information on it.

"This is the 3rd phase. You never know what might happen, so don't let your guard down!"

"Follow my orders to the letter!"

"Whatever happens, don't let go of your shields or your weapons!"

"We have to make sure the Death Eagles survive. You got it!?"

The captains yelled.

At some point...

Mamonas burrowed into the sand. The Giant Insect and the Sand Golem both went with it.

A short while later...

"Ugh!"

The Insect and Sand Mages staggered at the same time. It seems like both the Sand Golem and the Giant Insect had been eaten.

If a summon was forcibly canceled, then the summoner would take damage.

"It's coming!" a member of the Red King Squad yelled.

Kuwang!

It was as if a sand volcano had erupted from the ground.

Mamonas leapt into the air. It was higher than it had ever been before. The beast's body was so large that it even concealed the sun itself. In an instant, the desert was covered by its giant shadow.

Dukeram quickly wracked his brain.

'If we take into account the Mamonas's large body, how high it's getting, the speed at which it falls, and the spinning move it used before, then... We can assume that this entire area will be destroyed.'

In other words, it would be akin to a meteor.

'It's too late to run. If that's the case, then...'

Dukeram used Switch, and pulled out a golden staff. It was called the 'Emperor's Staff'.

It was an item related to Dukeram's secondary class.

The unique class, Desert Emperor!

A unique class could only be possessed by one person on the continent.

Giant energy surged from Dukeram's body.

Summon Immortal Army!

Immortal Guardian!

Dukeram summoned sand troops equal to the number of Empire Guild members he'd brought with him. Then, the sand troops engulfed his guild members.

To be more specific, his guild members were covered by indestructible sand, but to the outside view, it looked like they were completely consumed by sand.

Whoosh!

The Mamonas fiercely spun as it plummeted to the ground.

Catastrophic Disaster!

Boom!

An ear-piercing 'boom' resounded throughout the battlefield.

It was as if a giant, which was larger than the earth itself, had grabbed a hold of it and shook it a few times.

A tsunami of sand, more than 100 meters tall, spread outwards! This was accompanied by a giant sandstorm that reached the heavens!

It was like witnessing the end of the world.