Moon acted on pure instinct. He channeled lightning through his hands and out towards the lunging bear.

The bear groaned in pain as it lost control over its body, it was paralysed.

Moon didn't hesitate, unleashing a powerful Explosive Flame spell point-blank into the creature's face.

BOOM!

[You have killed a level 18 Forest Bear.]

[You have gained 50 Lives.]

"Go!" Moon shouted at Mirage.

The horse didn't need encouragement. He limped the final meters toward the wall where defenders reached down to help guide him to safety behind the defensive line.

Moon turned to face the pursuing horde, placing himself between the enemies and the wall, buying precious seconds for Mirage to reach the base.

Upon entering the wall's protective shadow, Mirage was immediately surrounded by healers who'd been waiting near the gate. They moved at once, one already applying pressure to the gash on his side while another used a basic healing spell.

The veteran who'd organized Moon's rescue had issued a direct command for the healers to prioritize the horse, which surprised Moon. Most would have ignored a common mount in favor of treating injured awakeners.

But the veteran had observed enough to recognize that Moon was no average awakener, and despite the horse being one of the weakest possible mounts, he could tell Moon held the creature in higher regard than most riders treated even their direhorses.

The veteran pulled up next to Moon, his sword still drawn and bloodied from the ongoing battle. He was a man in his forties with sharp features and a confident bearing of a warrior.

"You did well out there. I've never seen you before, what's your name?" he spoke while simultaneously slashing at a beast that lunged toward them through a gap in the defensive line.

Woosh! Thud!

The creature's head separated from its body, crashing to the ground in a spray of blood.

Moon caught his breath, his hands still trembling slightly from adrenaline. "Moon. I registered here yesterday. I came from a weaker base."

"Yesterday?" The veteran's eyebrows rose as he kicked the dead beast's corpse away from the wall. "And you're already out hunting in the deep zones? You've got guts, kid or a death wish."

He blocked another attack with his sword, then thrust the sword through the opening. "Roland. I lead the Third Defense Team."

Roland gestured toward the walls where awakeners fought desperately to hold the line. "We're holding for now, but barely. Never seen anything like this, beasts and humans working together like they're part of the same damn army."

"How long has the attack been going?" Moon asked, channeling what little mana he'd recovered to send an Explosive Flame toward a cluster of enemies trying to scale the wall with grappling hooks.

BOOM!

The detonation sent several attackers tumbling backward, their ropes severed.

"Since the first alarm," Roland replied, his eyes tracking the battlefield with tactical assessment. "Started all at once, coordinated assault on three sides. The main gate's taken the worst of it, but they're probing for weak points everywhere."

He glanced at Moon's staff, noting how the young awakener moved despite obvious exhaustion. "You fight well for someone fresh to the base. What's your level?"

"Nineteen," Moon answered honestly.

"Nineteen and handling yourself like a base lieutenant." Roland grunted approval. "We could use more like you on the walls. You up for it, or do you need recovery time?"

Moon checked his mana reserves. He had about sixty percent remaining, which was enough to deal with most creatures here, whilst still having an escape route if things became grim.

His body still ached from the lightning enhancement's backlash and various minor injuries, but Silver Skin had prevented serious damage.

More importantly, this was exactly the combat opportunity he needed to push Explosive Flame's proficiency higher.

"I can fight," Moon said. "Where do you need me?"

Roland pointed toward a section of wall where defenders were spread thin. "Eastern rampart. They're getting pressured hard, and we just lost two mages there. You join that squad, help them hold until reinforcements arrive from the wounded and those outside the base."

He paused, then added, "Why did you protect that mount so fearlessly, you could've made it here by yourself without risking your life like you did earlier."

Moon glanced toward where healers were still working on Mirage. The horse was stable now, the bleeding stopped, though he'd need recovery time before being travel-ready again.

"He chose to come with me," Moon said simply. "I wasn't going to let him die for that choice."

Roland nodded with something that looked like respect. "Get to that rampart. I'll make sure your horse is taken care of while you fight."

Moon turned toward the eastern wall. The reason he was following Roland's instructions wasn't submission or respect for authority. Despite being stronger than Roland individually, Moon recognized that his experience was nowhere near sufficient for coordinating large-scale defensive operations. He understood his limitations, and wished to learn from them.

While he had his own goals of improving Explosive Flame's proficiency, Moon certainly didn't mind saving lives as a byproduct of achieving those goals. The two objectives could coexist without conflict.

But one thing remained absolutely clear in Moon's mind: his life took priority over the lives of others. These people weren't going to mourn his death if he fell. They certainly weren't going to risk their own lives to save him beyond basic battlefield cooperation. That was simply the reality of how the awakener world functioned.

Survival came first, morals and everything else was secondary.

Moon reached the eastern wall and joined the frontline team, immediately announcing his arrival. "I was sent by Roland to reinforce your position while you wait for additional support."

The veteran team leader, a lean built archer with long blonde hair and a scar running down his left cheek, gave Moon a quick assessing glance, noting the staff in his hand.

"Take position with the mages," he said curtly, already turning back to coordinate his archers. "Follow what the mage captain says, and most importantly... stay alive. Dead awakeners don't hold walls."

Moon nodded and moved to join the cluster of mages positioned along a reinforced section of rampart. There were five of them, led by a woman in her thirties wearing battle-worn robes marked with scorch patterns.

"New arrival," Moon announced himself. "Fire specialist."

The mage captain glanced at him briefly. "Good. We're rotating volleys to conserve mana. When I point, you cast at designated targets. Don't waste energy on scattered enemies, focus fire on clusters or high-priority threats. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Then get ready. Next wave incoming in thirty seconds."

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