Sabrina gazed at the Forest of Eternal Night located in front of her.

The Forest of Eternal Night was an S-class expansion-type Dungeon. It was sandwiched between two mountain ranges and consisted of countless trees ranging between 70 and 300 feet tall.

It stretched on for thousands of miles from east to west along Yverian's northern border and served as a natural barrier to separate it from the Brimstone Empire.

The two mountain ranges on either side of it rose into the far reaches of the sky above.

Their presence both restricted its growth and protected it from any would-be invasions made by large-scale armies.

The only ways both in and out were to either surmount the mountains themselves or navigate the incredibly narrow and interconnected passes that formed a massive labyrinth leading into the Dungeon.

It would normally be suicidal for them to challenge a Dungeon of such level after merely a month of growth, even if they were Summoned Heroes,  who possessed astonishing development rates and potential. 

But since Sabrina and the others had arrived their bodies had continued to undergo transformations that pushed them beyond their limits through a purification of their Bloodlines. 

They had also instinctively begun to cultivate Divinity, and in Eric's case Lavithium; advancing to the peak phase of the 3rd Tier.

This in conjunction with their previous experience exploring danger zones in The Milky Way, made it possible for them to enter The Eternal Forest of Night with minimal danger, under the ‘protection’ of Yverian Guides.

As long as they didn't travel into the core region they would be able to overcome any would be-obstacles that came their way through efficient teamwork.

Marcus, Alexandra, Eric, and Elizabeth stood so that she was located at the center of the group as they moved forward.

While the experts that the Yverian Empire had sent to watch over them walked a couple of miles behind the group.

This was far enough not to disturb the group's training, but also close enough to rush over in several dozen seconds if the need arose.

"Everyone ready?" She turned to the others and asked.

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Affirmative."

The four of them responded one after another.

"Good," Sabrina nodded before continuing on, "Then let's go over the formation one more time."

The others look at her with attentive expressions full of solemnity because they were aware of the potential dangers contained within the Dungeon before them.

"Marcus and Alexandra will clear a path forward with me and Eric covering them from behind, while Elizabeth will take up the rear and keep an eye out for any sneak attacks. Everyone got that?"

"No problem."

"Same here."

"Affirmative."

"Got it."

Marcus m, Alexandra, Eric, and Elizabeth responded respectively.

"Good," Sabrina turned to face The Forest of Eternal Night once more a solemn expression covering her face; "Let's head out then."

Alexandra and Marcus took the lead, both of them grasping their spear and halberd respectively as they rushed into the forest ahead.

Sabrina and Eric followed around 30 feet behind, far enough so that they wouldn't get in the way of the other two's attacks but close enough that they could use their Magic and Arrows effectively.

Elizabeth tailed just behind them with her swords drawn and at the ready.

As they traversed the forest the canopy located above them prevented much of the sun's light from reaching the ground, thereby limiting their range of vision significantly.

The forest itself was mainly inhabited by wood and plant-type monsters that possessed powerful illusion, restriction, poison, and mind-control abilities.

There were also monsters such as goblins, orcs, forest nymphs, night wolves, and dream beasts.

As they progressed Eric used his Light Magic to illuminate their path forwards and to ward off the illusions created by the various vine-type monsters in the surrounding environment.

After they had progressed in such a manner for a few hours the ground began to tremble and numerous shouts rang out from every direction.

"Its orcs, at least a hundred of them. They divided up into different groups to surround us from all sides. They're relatively well equipped which means we must be near a rather large settlement." Elizabeth made astute observations as she peered into the darkness surrounding them and her cat-like ears swiveled around as she zeroed in on specific noises that resounded throughout the forest’s depths. 

They changed formations as Marcus, Alexandra, and Elizabeth entered a reverse triangle with Sabrina and Eric located in the center.

As they got into position the trembling of the ground worsened as it actually began to rupture in some areas.

Elizabeth's expression suddenly changed as she tightened her grip on her dual swords and spoke in a grave tone, "The situation just became worse..."

The others looked at her with questioning gazes.

"The orcs I told you about earlier seem to just be an advanced force. Behind them is another group of a few hundred more. And even more troubling is that the experts sent by the Empire have been intercepted by a group of high-ranking Orc Mages and Knights about 4 miles away. They are severely outnumbered and it looks as if they won't be able to extricate themselves for a while yet. As such we will have to fend off a few hundred well-equipped orcs by ourselves."

Her words proved their assumptions to be correct yet none of them showed expressions of fear, instead, anticipation surfaced on their faces.

Marcus spoke with an evident thirst for battle, "That means we don't have to worry about holding back and can really let lose right!?"

"Yep!" Alexandra spoke in a similar tone as she grip her spear with evident excitement.

"The two of you are a couple of battle maniacs, but in this case, you aren't wrong. We can finally exert our full strength in a battle without the concern of our strength being revealed and them placing even tighter layers of security around us." Eric spoke as he played with the string of his bow and an intense glow filled his eyes.

Sabrina shook her head and looked over at Elizabeth before asking, "Can you give an approximate distance."

"Yes," Elizabeth answered with a nod before she mentally calculated the distance of the approaching Orcs, "Around 10000 feet, and with their current speed we have around 30 seconds before we make contact with them."

As Elizabeth spoke Sabrina's staff appeared in her hands and she spoke, "Okay. Marcus, Alexandra, and Elizabeth wait for my mark before using your AOE attacks to slow them down. Eric after they slow this group of Orcs down I need you to isolate our current location with the wind. Agreed?"

"Agreed." The four of them responded in unison and prepared to make their moves.

As they waited in silence the ground continued to be riddled with cracks and their bodies tensed with anticipation.

Sabrina raised her staff and countless points of golden red light came into existence in a thousand-foot radius around them. They swiftly absorbed the ambient Mana around them transforming into golf-ball-sized balls of flame illuminating the previously dark forest around them and widening the group’s field of view.

In the following moment, groups of 4-meter-tall Orcs were made visible to them.

These Orcs' bodies were covered in muscle and they wore metallic suits of armor. They wielded various types of weapons, such as; great swords spears, halberds, clubs, and axes. There were also a few at the very back carrying bows or staffs.

The orcs had grotesque features, with large pig-like noses, glistening fangs, dark green skin, and yellowish green eyes possessing vertically slit pupils.

When the surrounding forest was illuminated up by the balls of flame and their positions were revealed, the Orcs sped up, swiftly closing the distance separating them from Sabrina and the others.

Just as the Orcs stepped into the thousand-foot radius Sabrina yelled out, "Now!"

The others had been waiting for this moment and each of them made their move with zero hesitation.

Marcus's halberd released countless rays of golden-brown light as he raised it above his head before slamming it downwards against the ground.

The ground instantly released a tremor even more exaggerated than those that came before and the gravity in a cone-shaped area in front of him experienced an explosive increase in strength.

The effect his power had on any section of the earth’s gravitational pull gradually weakened a few thousand feet away from him.

The speed of the Orcs approaching from his direction instantly slowed as they released roars of frustration.

On the other side a pair of draconic wings possessing bright green scales with a brilliant luster sprouted from Alexandra's back. She gently flapped them and took off into the air like a rocket, appearing in the air above the group of 30-plus Orcs approaching from her side.

She stretched out her delicate hand towards them and green rays of light began to escape their bodies before rushing into her palm.

The Orcs released grievous howls as their Vitality was rapidly drained away from them and their bodies rapidly lost strength.

The Orc Mages who had maintained a certain distance behind the Heavy Armored ones began to panic and swiftly released Magic in her direction.

Alexandra's eyes twinkled with dark light before a ripple of black light spread outwards from her body canceling out all of their spells.

She then stopped absorbing the vitality of the Orcs below her and swiftly dodged backward in the direction of her friends.

On the other side, Elizabeth had similarly dashed forward.

Her dual swords released streaks of golden lightning as she dove straight into the group of approaching Orcs.

After she reached the center of their formation her eyes released a golden glow and she erupted with a Heaven Shaking roar.

The roar produced golden shockwaves that ripped through the surrounding Orcs, reaching far away as they paralyzed the Orcs’ nervous systems for a brief period of time.

At this moment a barrier of wind appeared just outside of the thousand-foot radius, surrounding the area previously illuminated by Sabrina’s spell and preventing anything from getting in or out as Eric released a small shout.

Sabrina raised her staff into the air once more and spoke in an Archaic Language that flowed from her mouth naturally.

As she did the golden balls of flame arrayed around them transformed into meter-long arrows that weaved through the air in beautiful arcs as they assaulted the Orcs from every direction.

Alexandra, Marcus, and Elizabeth continued to engage the Orcs trapped inside the barrier in close combat, whittling away at their numbers as quickly as possible.

"Brina, the other Orcs have begun to focus their attacks on the barrier, I can only hold it for another minute or so," Eric announced after a few minutes of sustained battle against the trapped Orcs.

He hadn't made any move to directly influence the fight, instead placing his focus on maintaining the barrier of wind which had impeded the rest of the Orcs.

Sabrina nodded in understanding before telepathically urging on the others, "Eric can only impede the others for a minute, use instant kill attacks from no on."

"Got it!" 

They responded.

Elizabeth's form became illusory as she moved across the battlefield like a phantom leaving after images everywhere.

Her attacks possessed unparalleled accuracy and precision as she struck the Orcs’ vitals.

Elsewhere, Marcus once more channeled Divinity into his halberd. It released golden-brown light for a second time as he made a running jump and launched himself in the direction of a group of Orcs.

As he landed in the middle of them he slammed his halberd against the ground.

A golden-brown shockwave spread outwards from his impact zone as the ground sank inwards forming a massive crater with a hundred-foot diameter.

The surrounding trees were ripped asunder and the surrounding Orcs spit out mouthfuls of blood before collapsing to the ground, dead.

Alexandra had previously been darting about, twirling her spear as she pierced through the skull of one Orc after another, absorbing their vitality as she did so. 

When the others exploded out with power she came to a sudden stop and a black light filled her gaze.

She then stared each Orc in the eyes, and when she did their hearts stopped as black rays of light entered their bodies. Their vitality was instantly devoured and they began to collapse one after another.

When no more Orcs stood in her vicinity the black light faded from her eyes.

At that moment the barrier of wind broke apart in several places as countless Orcs rushed inwards.