The Adventurers already knew the grim reality, but hearing the official declaration of defeat from their acting commander still felt incredibly heavy.
"Our comrades are all exhausted," Kaelen added. "The Titan still has thirty percent of its Mana pool. We do not stand a single chance. We will go, and you three will go home."
Korinn stepped forward and shook his head. "Boss, that can't be. We still have a chance. A low probability is never zero."
"At this point, the probability is already zero," Kaelen replied coldly.
Kaelen spoke the truth. In a standard fight, unexpected things happen, so the probability of victory rarely drops to absolute zero. There is always a tiny chance to win. But in a brutal war of attrition like this, the math changes entirely. It is not about a lack of lucky chances, but rather a complete lack of moves left to play.
Even if the Titan just stood completely still without fighting back, the raid team would still fail. They would exhaust their last drops of energy swinging their swords against the thick bark, and the monster would simply win without doing a single thing. Their resources were entirely depleted. They were at a dead end, so the probability of defeating the beast was truly zero.
"Aside from the missing two, everyone is alive," Kaelen said. "We are incredibly lucky to have this number of survivors. But luck has limits. When we chase after that Titan now, it is a guaranteed death."
Nia stood up from the dry ground. Determination burned brightly in her eyes. "I am going."
"No," Kaelen rejected her instantly. "You are staying right here."
"You need support," Nia argued. "Healers are important for the vanguard."
"I don't need you in this," Kaelen said bluntly.
Upon hearing that harsh rejection, Nia's deep fear of being useless echoed painfully in her mind again.
The exhausted Healer sitting on the ground let out a tired sigh. "I don't think I can go with you. If I had a choice, I would love to die with you in the battlefield, but I do not think my legs can move anymore."
"It's fine," Kaelen said gently. "Just rest there."
The sitting Healer was entirely destroyed physically. Even if she drank a fresh Mana Potion right now, the magic liquid would only refill her Mana Core. It would give her Mana, but it would provide absolutely zero physical strength to her tired muscles. A human body relies on stamina to run and fight. She can heal the micro-tears in her muscles caused by fatigue, but she cannot artificially recover her lost bodily energy. Her physical stamina was completely empty.
Nia glared at the big commander. "Earlier, you asked us to risk our lives. But now, why are you stopping us?"
"Two hours ago, the probability was not zero," Kaelen explained calmly. "But now, it is zero. I do not want you youngsters to throw your lives into a battle with no chance of survival. We are going there to die. I cannot let you go with us."
Thorne, the Light Swordsman, Vance, and Chris just stared down at the crushed bedrock. They shared the exact same opinion as Kaelen. They believed they should at least save the young Adventurers if the older generation had to perish.
"I don't care about my future," Nia said fiercely. "Please let me go with you. I do not care if I die."
The other conscious Healer held her hand and offered a warm smile. "It's okay, Crimson Weaver. I am going with them. I will be their backline support."
"No!" Nia screamed, her voice cracking in the cold wind. "I am going even if you try to stop me!"
She locked her eyes directly onto Kaelen's gaze. The big commander let out a long, heavy sigh because of the young woman's absolute stubbornness.
"If you are really sure about this, then as a fellow Adventurer, I have no right to stop you," Kaelen finally conceded.
Korinn immediately stepped up beside her. "I'm going too."
Kaelen saw the fierce determination burning in the Thief's eyes. The commander remembered the dark tent from a few days ago. He had attacked the young man, and the rock Korinn sat on shattered into pieces.
"You changed a lot, Korinn," Kaelen noted quietly. "Just a few days ago, you were terrified of death."
"I... I want to save people," Korinn replied. "I don't care if I die today."
Kaelen gave a firm nod.
Nia looked around at the remaining conscious fighters. Kaelen, Thorne, Chris, Vance, Korinn, a Light Swordsman, a veteran Healer, and herself. They were all hardened veterans, except for Korinn and her.
The eight-person pursuit team prepared to march into the dark forest. Nia suddenly noticed Lumina sitting quietly on a rock. The young Mage casually patched a few minor wounds on her own arms and legs.
"Are you okay?" Nia asked.
"I am fine," Lumina replied with a blank expression. "Just some minor scratches and a broken left arm."
Nia quickly raised her staff. "Let me heal you."
Lumina waved her right hand dismissively. "No. You will just waste your Mana on me. You will need every drop of that energy in the fight."
Nia looked at the young girl, and a quiet realization settled over her. Lumina was the youngest member of this entire raid team, but she was an undeniable prodigy.
If there is a single person who needs to make it out alive, it is her, Nia thought.
She remembered the blinding white light from earlier, so she glanced at the unconscious Adventurers resting on the ground. Because of that spell, they were all still breathing today.
A sudden wave of guilt twisted in Nia's chest. She clearly remembered her own bitter rudeness toward the young Mage just a few hours ago. Without a second thought, she bowed her head deeply.
"I am truly sorry for my behavior earlier," Nia said genuinely.
Lumina just stared back. She threw a completely confused look at the bowing Healer, entirely unsure why anyone would apologize in the middle of a ruined forest.
This is the final day of my life, Nia told herself while keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. Ican at least ask for forgiveness while I still have the time to speak.
After taking a slow, heavy breath, she finally raised her head.
"Let's go!" Kaelen suddenly commanded from the front.
His rough voice cracked slightly in the cold wind. It carried the heavy, terrifying weight of a commander who knew he was leading his friends straight into a guaranteed grave.
The pursuit team immediately started to run. They sprinted down the destroyed path, completely leaving Lumina and the veteran Healer behind with the five unconscious bodies.
---
A full hour passed after the eight-person pursuit team started their sprint through the dark night. They ran faster than horses. Kaelen looked ahead and demanded answers.
"What is going on?" Kaelen asked. "Why can we not see the Titan?"
"Maybe it went a different direction?" the Light Swordsman suggested.
Thorne turned his head. "Vance, what is the situation?"
Three Thieves traveled with the pursuit team. Despite the enormous Mana Pool of the Titan, they could not detect its Life Force. There could only be one reason. The Titan simply moved out of their radar range.
"The Titan might be too far," Vance answered.
"The trail leads directly to Voragale," Kaelen stated firmly. "This is the right direction. It moves slowly, so how come we cannot see it yet?"
Chris adjusted his daggers. "Maybe it runs faster than us. A hundred or two hundred kilometers per hour, I guess."
Nia froze in pure shock. A Healer like her could outrun a normal horse, but she could never outrun a monster at that insane speed.
Korinn frowned. "It's strange. It moved slowly before, so why does it run fast now?"
"Maybe because it senses thousands of human lives in that direction," Thorne guessed.
"What should we do, boss?" Vance asked.
Kaelen looked at Thorne. The old Mage understood the silent command immediately.
"Halt!" Thorne shouted.
Everyone stopped. Thorne raised his wooden staff and chanted the spell.
"My name is the Archon of the Aether.
Heed the first law, O heavy ground.
Break the iron chain where the flesh is bound.
By the weightless crown, the earth shall bow,
Ascend the throne of the empty now.
Aethlevis!"
Thorne, Kaelen, Nia, the veteran Healer, and the Light Swordsman floated into the air. It was a float spell.
"Thieves, pull us," Thorne instructed.
Vance, Korinn, and Chris understood the plan. The three Thieves dashed forward with incredible speed, while the five weightless people held tightly to the Thieves' combat clothes to ride the momentum.
Meanwhile, vigilant knights guarded the East Gate of the Capital of Voragale. They stayed on high alert. If they saw a humongous monster, they would sound the alarm.
Two of the guards blinked when a strange shadow eclipsed the clouds. They suddenly saw a big figure. The beast released thick fog from its gigantic body. All the guards saw the terror, and they became completely horrified.
The leader of the guards screamed. "Sound the alarm!"
GONNNG!