Ethan watched as the dwarf landed on the ground in a small cloud of dust, the dwarves around him looked shocked, their faces twisted in grief and utter disbelief. While they saw their fair share of fighting this way different, it was a killing, an execution. To them there was no honor in a cowardly strike from the shadows. Andrew himself jumped on a barrel filled with water and slammed his warhammer against his shield. He cried, no words were spoken or needed, just a challenge in defiance to their unknown enemy.

  He told Andrew that he would help but for now Ethan wouldn't interfere in the defense, this was still their fight especially now that they had to avenge a comrade. The only thing that would come from his interference was the coordination of the soldier getting thrown off because he forced himself into their already impressive defense. He looked over the arrayed dwarves before his eyes snapped back to the mineshaft.

  The starshaped nose moved from the entrance, what followed was a long slender body, two massive front legs with long claws moved it along the ground with its hind legs being considerably smaller in size. Behind it a long scaled tail followed, covered in thick plates and ending in sharp spikes, making it look like a gruesome bone mace. Ethan knew what it was, at least before the system. A star nosed mole but while pre-system ones were small, round and kind of cute in a weird way this one was massive.

  Standing twice as tall as Ethan, its long slender body rippling with muscles, the fur looked thick and sharp like black needles. The small tail from before was switched with a scaled whip, ready to crush anything. What was missing were its eyes, while moles saw basically nothing anyway this one was completely blind, still it acted like it could see anything clearly with no problem.

  Without skipping a beat crossbows were fired, bolts flying at incredible speed at the mole, most of them just fell harmlessly to the ground after hitting its fur but some managed to pierce its flesh. A shrill shriek echoed from the mole as it was hit, the long tail slamming around in aggression. It was hitting the mineshaft, the wall or ground, seemingly at random, just a valve to release its aggression.

  The dwarves braced themselves for an impact but when they saw pieces of the wall getting crushed into piles of rock or the ground cracking open by the force of powerful hits by the mace-like tail even they took a step back. Ethan knew that a direct hit would be able to kill dozens of them at once. He walked up to Andrew, his hand grabbing the dwarf's shoulder. He had to yell into his ear over the mole’s shrieks and the crushing of stones.

  “I’m gonna help you! But I need your soldiers too, they have to attack it!” he pointed at the mole with his staff. Andrew nodded and pulled two people along that looked like they were in charge. Ethan meanwhile stepped forward, stopping behind the line of defending dwarves and slammed his staff into the ground. For a moment everything seemed to stop for a moment as he spread his aura over the battlefield but to his surprise the mole didn’t even seem to slow down from it.

  His eyes opened wide in surprise, the mole was not immune to his aura but his [Dominion of watchful Winter] literally used eyes to judge the actions of the affected enemy, but this enemy didn’t even know it was being watched. The other effects still worked, the white orbs formed an intricate web around the mole and the chilling atmosphere settled over the mole but it was clearly of a higher level because even those effects were diminished.

  Ethan inspected it, the answer already known to him when he saw the beast, it would lead to a lot of trouble and death if not handled quickly.

  [Starnose Burrower - Level 55]

  [This beast is a formidable subterranean predator, featuring a sleek, muscular frame that is needed to properly utilize the large sharp claws. Its body is slender and agile, covered in stiff, needle-like fur that functions as both armor and heightened sensory organs. Its tail is elongated and scaled, ending in a brutal mace of fused bone spikes, perfect for crushing foes. Its limbs are powerfully built, allowing it to tunnel through earth with ease or strike from the shadows. Every aspect of the creature emphasizes resilience and deadly precision, making it a fearsome inhabitant of its dark, underground domain.]

  He closed the description and slammed his staff into the ground again, the gem on his staff shining brightly as chains erupted from the ground, large hooks adorning the front with smaller hooks spread along its length, the chains came from all around the mole, trying to latch onto it. Most hooks slid off its fur or simply bounced away after the first contact. Ethan’s mouth was pressed into a thin line but he didn’t stop trying.

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  He hadn’t spent much mana so he had time to test the mole. He activated his [Bulwark of the Northern Peaks] Trying to limit the range of the mole’s tail by boxing it in with walls made from ice while Andrew organized his soldiers. He groaned when the tail slammed against one of his defenses, long cracks spreading over it but still holding. While his ice variant was powerful, the fact that stronger foes could still break it bothered him immensely.

  Some of his chains managed to pierce the mole’s fur and opened bloody wounds, hot blood leaking from these wounds which damaged his chains but he just used more of them, even aiming them at already existing wounds to rip them open further. Andrew managed to get a group ready and was approaching the mole from the side, using Ethan’s ice wall as cover.

  While Andrew snuck around the side Ethan sent his own soldiers out, attacking the mole from the front was preferred because of their expandable nature, their weapons attacking the sensitive nose. More shrieks followed once the first tentacle was hacked off and the mole tried to slam his claws down on his soldiers. A thick chain erupted from the earth, a serrated hook at the front which managed to pierce the skin flap between the mole’s claws. Holding it in place for a moment, long enough for his soldiers to spread out and for Andrew to reach the hindleg of the mole.

  Taking a deep breath Ethan used his [Frozen Prison of the Progenitor] after ignoring the ability for a long time as he didn’t have enough chances to properly use it. With it he managed to slow the mole down even further, layering multiple abilities on it while expending a large amount of his mana pool. Still it worked to a degree, the mole slowed down, multiple hooks buried in its bleeding body already. Its star nose started to turn blue from the frostbite his soldiers inflicted with their newly acquired upgrade. A thin coat of ice was crawling over the fur from his aura and frozen prison respectively.

  Andrew didn’t wait any longer, he and his group of soldiers sprinted to the mole and used pickaxes to climb the mole like they would with a mountain. They slammed the hardened tips of the pickaxes into the hind leg of the beast, blood dripping from them soon after. Ten of them made their way up the mole who was thrashing around wildly by the injuries that were starting to pile up.

  While Ethan directed his magic, Andrew climbed towards the neck of the mole with his squad and another group of dwarves made their appearance. The scout group that brought Ethan into the cavern positioned themselves beside him, their long guns resting on the shoulders of the dwarves in front of them, those still holding their spears and shields as they were ready to defend the camp if necessary. Seconds after arriving the first shots rang out, hitting the mole with pinpoint precision and while they managed to penetrate its fur and inflict wounds it still wasn’t enough to bring it down.

  The small dwarven squad meanwhile reached the neck of the mole, they were mostly protected on the way but the sharp fur caused some injuries, even costing one life as one of the dwarves got impaled head first when the mole tried to shake them off and he landed face first on the mole’s back. But with nine dwarves remaining they began to hack at its neck with abandon, their pickaxes started to literally mine the mole as they tried to lay his flesh and bones open. Andrew was still carrying his warhammer, ready to crush the mole’s neck the moment he got the chance.

  Ethan took a deep breath, he was using to many things at once for his level, his abilities while strong were still something he had to grow into, especially his mana pool had to grow considerable, together with his strained network of his mana circuit, he could feel it pulsing along his arms and legs, the headache from using too much of it. How much Gaia would demand of him, he couldn’t and didn’t want to begin to fathom…the amount of hardship that was coming his way.

  Before he could sink into dark thoughts again he heard a call of triumph from the mole, Andrew stood there, raising his warhammer before slamming the broad head into the neck of the mole. The mole itself was a mess of wounds, blood and screams of agony. The long tongue it used to piece the first dwarfs head laid on the ground, one of his soldiers must have cut it off because the tongue was turning pale blue even now.

  The warhammer descended a few more times before finally the notification appeared in his vision, marking the end of Ethan’s first fight in this new world.

  [You killed Starnose Burrower - Level 55 | You gained experience!]

  *Update* You reached Level 40! Stat points allocated! Free points received!

  *Update* Frostforger reached Level 36! Stat points allocated! Free points received!

  Ethan just stumbled back and sat down on the ground. He sighed weakly, his face slick with sweat. He took his hat off and pushed his wet hair back, his sweat was cold, almost freezing in temperature, giving him a bit of relief. He looked at the ceiling of the cavern. “I can’t beat the others like this, this war might be stupid but my path can’t end here, I would do anything to save her.”