With everyone working together, a crude defensive line was quickly set up.

The Earth Wizard Apprentices used the [Rock Shaping Technique] and [Earth Spike Array] to create a circular defensive position roughly three hundred meters in diameter.

The Rune Masters bustled about both inside and outside the low walls, multicolored streams of light flowing from their fingertips as they engraved Warning Runes, Anti-Invisibility Runes, and Energy Interference Runes onto the rock surfaces.

The Blacksmiths took parts out of their Dimension Bags and quickly assembled three ruggedly built Rune Cannons. Their barrels were inscribed with blazing red patterns, and their muzzles were as wide as bowls, requiring two Apprentices to work together just to turn the bases.

A tense and oppressive atmosphere filled the air.

No one spoke. There was only the sound of heavy breathing, the sharp clang of metal on metal, and the subtle hum of runes activating.

Ian stopped in a remote corner of the fortification near the rock wall. The light was dim here, far from the crowd, yet it offered a view of most of the area.

He took a dusty gray tent from his Dimension Bag and expertly set it up.

"Gaa, we can finally catch our breath."

Gaga emerged from a special pocket and landed on Ian’s shoulder, his dark cyan feathers gleaming faintly under the light of the fluorescent moss.

He tilted his head, his mismatched gray and cyan eyes sweeping over the busy crowd in the distance as he lowered his voice in Ian’s mind.

"That last fight was so frustrating, gaa... All I needed was one Shadow Jump to get over there and rip that Demon’s throat out."

"I know," Ian replied mentally while checking the tent’s Isolation Runes. "But it’s not the right time yet."

He lifted the tent flap, stepped inside, and set up a simple Silence Barrier.

"Gaga, you’re my strongest trump card right now. Shadow Jump, Omen Eye, Wind Blade Control... With these abilities combined, an ordinary Tier One Demon could hardly resist you."

"But that’s precisely why I can’t reveal you so easily."

Gaga hopped onto the simple cot and began to preen his feathers, his small eyes blinking. "Afraid of being targeted? Gaa."

"Mhm." Ian sat down cross-legged, took out a waterskin, and had a drink.

’This Demon Hunting war is supposedly the Wizard Alliance against the Demons of the Underworld, but the human heart is far more treacherous than any Demon.’

’If people found out a mere High Level Apprentice possessed a Summoned Demon and abilities that could threaten an Official Wizard, endless trouble would come knocking on my door.’

He looked at Gaga, his expression serious. "So, from now on, unless it’s a life-or-death situation or we’re certain the area is absolutely secure, you are not to reveal yourself. But..."

’The exception will be when I’m operating alone to clear out peripheral Demons, and I’ve confirmed there’s no one else around.’

"At those times, you’ll be in charge of keeping watch. As long as there are no witnesses, we can go all out."

"Understood! Gaa!" Gaga puffed out his little chest, excitement flashing in his eyes.

"I’m an expert at being a Shadow Killer! I guarantee I’ll even spot an insect flying by!"

Ian rubbed the little crow’s head, the corner of his mouth lifting into a slight smile. "Get some good rest. Things are... about to get busy."

Over the next few days, the West District Sixth Cleaning Team used the temporary defensive line as a base of operations, gradually expanding their clearing range outward.

The process was far more difficult than anticipated.

The Demons of the Underworld didn’t just mindlessly charge; they also knew how to lie in wait, launch sneak attacks, and even employ simple coordinated tactics.

Every push outward came at a price.

"Left-side rock wall! There’s a Tier One Nightwalker!" an Apprentice shrieked.

Several Wind Blades and Fireballs whizzed through the air, only to strike the rock wall and send stone fragments flying.

The Poison Claw Nightwalker moved like a phantom through the shadows, easily dodging most of the attacks.

They didn’t rush to attack. Instead, they let out sharp hisses that vaguely mimicked the terrified screams of the Apprentices.

"Help... help me..."

A young Apprentice was dazed for a moment and subconsciously took half a step toward the sound.

That half-step was all it took.

A purple shadow lunged out silently! Its bone claws tore through the air, bringing with them a foul stench.

"Snap out of it!" Kalem roared as a wave of Spiritual Shock swept over the area.

The young Apprentice jolted to his senses and scrambled back, but two gashes had been torn into his left shoulder, deep enough to expose bone. The wounds immediately turned black and began to fester.

"Form up! Don’t break formation!" A Blazing White Fire Spear materialized in Kalem’s hand, but he didn’t dare throw it recklessly.

The Nightwalkers were too fast and too close to several Apprentices; it would be easy to hit one of his own.

Five Apprentices formed a back-to-back circle, layering their Energy Shields.

The Nightwalkers circled them, not pressing the attack. Instead, they emitted unsettling whispers mixed with broken words of the common tongue: "Pain... hungry... kill..."

The Shield of an Apprentice with a weaker psyche flickered for an instant. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

In that instant, a purple shadow closed in! A bone claw struck like a viper, slipping through a gap in the Shields!

"Ahhh...!" With a scream, the Apprentice’s neck was torn open, spraying blood everywhere.

The circular formation collapsed instantly. The Nightwalkers weren’t greedy; after a successful strike, they immediately retreated back into the shadows to await the next opening.

Elsewhere, some twenty Apprentices had surrounded a lone Magma Rock Scale Beast. Not daring to get close, they could only try to wear it down from a distance.

Fireballs, Ice Cones, and Acid Balls bombarded it in waves, leaving scorched marks on its Scale Armor but failing to inflict a fatal wound.

Enraged, the beast opened its maw and spewed a torrent of molten rock. One Apprentice who couldn’t dodge in time was instantly set ablaze, collapsing to the ground as a screaming human torch.

"Use ice magic! Suppress its lava!" someone shouted.

Two Ice Element Apprentices gritted their teeth and stepped forward, unleashing a [Frost Nova] with all their might. A wave of frost swept over the beast, finally managing to temporarily solidify the lava on its hide.

The others seized the opportunity to focus their attacks, bombarding its vulnerable eyes and mouth.

However, in its death throes, the beast whipped its thick tail, which swept out like a battering ram!

"Watch out!"

An Apprentice was hit head-on. With his sternum shattered, he was sent flying more than ten meters like a rag doll, screaming all the while.

It took a full ten minutes and cost two a serious injuries before they finally managed to wear down and kill the beast.

An abomination charged the defensive line. One of its seven or eight arms was still gruesomely clad in the tattered sleeve of a Silver Ring Apprentice Robe.

On its giant face, which was stitched together from the faces of different corpses, one of the eyes suddenly shed a cloudy tear. Its lips twitched as it let out a muffled plea, "Don’t... kill..."

A female Apprentice froze.

The next second, three of the abomination’s other arms swung at once—a knife, a sword, and a Bone Blade slashed at her from three different angles!

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!

The female Apprentice was hacked into several pieces. Even in death, her eyes still held the look of pity and shock from her final moment.

The abomination grabbed her severed limbs and deftly "stitched" them onto its own body. Black, fleshy tendrils surged from its form, coiling around the new parts and fusing them into place like living things.

It let out a satisfied gurgle, its aura seeming to grow a fraction stronger.

"These Demons... they’re evolving! They’re learning!"

Kalem’s face was grim as he sliced off the abomination’s weeping head in a single strike.

Battles erupted at nearly every moment. The Apprentices’ nerves were stretched to the breaking point, their Magic Power and Spiritual Power rapidly depleting, as the casualty count slowly but steadily climbed.

For three days, Ian’s performance was unremarkable; he neither stood out nor fell behind.

During that time, he would occasionally slip out of the team’s sight while on missions, such as scouting nearby Demon Nests or clearing scattered Demons from the flanks.

On the third day, after confirming there were no other Apprentices nearby and no one was spying within range of his Spiritual Power Perception, he gave Gaga, who was perched on his shoulder, a meaningful look.

"Gaa, it’s safe! No sign of human life within a one-kilometer radius!"

Gaga had fully extended its Perception. Its affinity for shadows made it exceptionally sensitive to any hidden life.

Inside a small cavern, Ian took out two precious Potions he had been saving.