Moon, Kael and his team arrived at the western side of the base within a minute of the urgent announcement.

Multiple awakeners converged alongside them from all across Ironpeak, streaming in from every defensive position with weapons drawn and mana blazing. Everyone hoped desperately they weren't too late.

The announcement had been a last resort call for help, which meant the Base Lord had either already died multiple times during the engagement, or he'd suffered injuries so catastrophic that dying even once would impose debilitating debuffs that would make him nearly useless for continued combat. Either scenario was disastrous.

The death of a Base Lord inside his own settlement was catastrophic for morale. Once a lord fell defending his territory, the psychological impact on those under his command became devastating. Panic would spread like wildfire, coordination between teams would collapse, and confidence would shatter completely. It almost always ensured the total loss of that base.

Moon's eyes landed on the behemoth dominating the western gate's killing field.

It was a massive bear, easily four meters tall when standing upright on its hind legs. Its robust brown coat shone with a metallic glow that deflected most of the arrows and weaker spells being hurled at it by desperate defenders.

The bear's most notable feature was its three arms. Two emerged from its shoulders in a natural position , the massive limbs ended in claws the size of daggers. The third arm sprouted grotesquely from the center of its chest, equally muscular and equally deadly, giving the creature an unnatural, nightmarish appearance that violated the expected anatomy of any living thing.

'This is without a doubt an S-Rank beast,' Moon thought with apprehension. 'It might even be stronger than the Winter Beast from the hidden realm.'

Even from nearly a hundred meters away, separated by smoke, flames, and chaos, Moon felt a visceral chill run down his spine as the creature's oppressive aura washed over the battlefield. It was the same primal warning he'd experienced facing the Winter Beast, the instinctive recognition that he was confronting something far beyond his current capabilities.

The bear slammed one massive paw into the ground. Earth magic surged outward in response. Stone erupted from the street in jagged pillars that impaled three awakeners who couldn't dodge in time. Their screams cut off abruptly as rock pierced through flesh and pinned their corpses upright like macabre decorations.

The third arm, positioned at the creature's chest, manipulated a boulder twice the size of a human. It hurled the projectile toward a cluster of mages attempting to form a coordinated spell. The boulder crushed two of them instantly, their bodies reduced to pulp beneath tons of magically propelled stone.

Moon's eyes then landed on a human figure surrounded by awakeners desperately trying to protect him while he recovered.

The Base Lord's aura was no longer the overwhelming presence Moon had felt minutes earlier. It was weak now, faint, flickering like a candle in strong wind that threatened to extinguish at any moment.

The bear appeared adamant about killing the Base Lord, eliminating anything that stood in its path with ruthless efficiency and no mercy.

The weaker awakeners were sacrificing their life counts to buy the Base Lord precious seconds to recover from his injuries. They threw themselves at the bear knowing they would die, respawning weakened but creating momentary distractions that kept the beast from finishing its primary target.

"What are you doing?! Let's go help the Lord!" an awakener shouted at Moon as he ran past, diving into the chaotic melee without hesitation.

Moon followed behind at a more measured pace, getting closer to the beast while maintaining tactical awareness. He'd already observed the situation and formed his assessment. While the beast was overwhelmingly powerful, it wasn't impossible to deal with. It would simply be extremely difficult and costly to do so.

A healer worked frantically on the Base Lord's ruptured leg, which slowly began to reform and recover under the magical treatment. The injury had been severe, bone and muscle torn apart.

Moon pulled up the creature's status as he approached.

—

[Three-Armed Mountain Bear]

[Level: 25]

[Details: A rare evolutionary variant possessing a high affinity towards the earth element. Can manipulate stone and soil to create defensive barriers, launch projectile attacks, and reinforce its already formidable natural armor. Incredibly intelligent for its species, capable of tactical thinking and environmental manipulation.]

—

Reading through the details of the beast before him, Moon grew more cautious. He was now certain that the creature was indeed of S-Rank classification. Despite possessing a basic element rather than an advanced one, the beast's exceptionally high affinity toward the earth element made it as dangerous as creatures wielding more advanced elements like ice or lightning.

Having a higher affinity with an element meant you could resonate at a deeper level with that force, allowing deployment of complex spells and techniques that those with lower affinities wouldn't be capable of executing. The element responded more readily to your will, bent to your intentions with less resistance.

The benefits of possessing higher elemental affinity were extensive in nature. Whether it was the increased magical power output, dramatically reduced mana consumption for equivalent effects, and faster casting speeds that gave numerous advantages in combat.

This bear embodied all those advantages through its mastery of earth manipulation.

ROARR!!!

The Mountain Bear roared furiously as a barrage of stronger spells began raining down on it from the newly arrived reinforcements. The creature's intelligence showed immediately in its quick response.

It struck the ground below.

Cracks traversed the entire battlefield, radiating outward in spiderweb patterns in a radius of twenty meters that destabilized footing for dozens of awakeners simultaneously. Warriors stumbled. Mages lost their casting stance and missed their spell trajectories and archers' shots went wild as the ground beneath them lurched.

Earth spikes erupted from those cracks, impaling fallen awakeners who'd lost balance momentarily. The attacks injured most severely, piercing through armor and flesh.

Several weaker defenders died outright, unable to defend against the beast's overwhelming elemental force before the spikes found vital organs.

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