In the flourishing Untamed Jungle, where the harmonious melody of chirping birds, rustling leaves, and distant monster calls ought to be omnipresent, an ominous threat lurked in the shadows.

Unbeknownst to the Invaders of the eerie Untamed Jungle, chaos was about to be unleashed quite literally at that.

The atmosphere was heavy with tension and anticipation as a deafening silence fell upon the Untamed Jungle.

Slowly but steadily, the 13 Paladins fully coated in their Holy Aura, their weapons unsheathed and ready to battle advanced through the dark undergrowth of the Untamed Jungle, trying to pave their way through the Untamed Jungle's dense environment. They ignored the storm all around them and stayed fully guarded to act the moment they sensed the presence of an opponent.

The birds all over the Untamed Jungle ceased their melodious serenades, sensing an imminent danger that disrupted the tranquil atmosphere they had known for ages. A foreboding presence permeated the air, sending shivers through the undergrowth and the Paladins.

They knew that something was about to happen, but they couldn't tell what it was. Michael's eyes were glued to them and he noticed that they had somehow sensed his trap. He had wanted to wait a bit more but could not risk it so he was forced to use Extraction earlier.

The world turned upside down.

In an instant, the world erupted into a violent symphony of destruction. Their vicinity was engulfed in a golden light all of a sudden, and the wet soil beneath the Paladins disappeared.

At that moment, the 13 Paladins' heads flicked in the direction of the golden light's source. A young man, his face covered in a terrifying amount of blood, emerged less than a hundred meters in front of them.

The young man's entire being released thigh-thick streams of golden light. They swirled around like tentacles and devoured everything in its wake.

The 13 Paladins were so focused on the young man, whose body couldn't handle the energy that had infiltrated every single pore, that they didn't even sense the three Elemental Mages that had appeared all around them.

The Elemental Mages hands shot to the ground while they continued to chant a long, complex spell. After consuming more than ten energy pills their origin energy storages were overflowing with energy. They could barely control the massive amount of energy that ravaged through their bodies before they unleashed their spells.

The ground trembled wildly when the Elemental Mages' spells were activated. A huge hole appeared in front of the 13 Paladins, and it widened rapidly.

Michael's subjects had worked tirelessly for 16 hours to dig out the hole. It had been covered with the spells of the Elemental Mages, and the additional support of illusion arrays, and it was unraveled right in front of the Paladins.

Michael unleashed 6-Star Extraction's full power while the Elemental Mages expanded the hole. They terraformed the surroundings, turning the crater's immediate surroundings into a slippery slope. The Paladins reacted fast enough. They pierced their weapons deep into the ground to steady themselves before unleashing their Artifacts' enchantments and their Holy Aura.

The Paladins didn't slip down and fall into the huge hole, ensuring that they wouldn't fall prey to the Unknown Lord's dirty trap or so they thought.

Not even a millisecond later, golden streams shot through the surroundings. They dug deep into the huge hole, devouring the wet soil at the bottom. Simultaneously, the ground beneath the Paladins kept disappearing.

Slowly but steadily, the Paladins were sucked into the huge hole that kept expanding. It was 50 meters in breadth and width, yet its depth was only 20 meters. However, the depth continued to expand.

21 meters.

22 meters.

25 meters.

30 meters.

At 30 meters, Michael stopped. He retrieved a few more energy pills which he swallowed without hesitation.

He knew that his body had already digested too many energy pills in a short period, but he didn't care about the aftermath of today's fight.

If he wanted to deal with 13 Tier-3 Paladins, he had to accept that he would sustain heavy injuries.

By now, Michael and the Elemental Mages had already accepted that they would either lose a few limbs, or that they would die for good. They knew very well what kind of suicidal mission they'd accepted. But they were fine with that.

If they couldn't kill the 13 Paladins now, everyone in the territory would die later.and that was something Michael couldn't accept.

After spending several months inside his territory, his subjects became part of his family, and Michael was not someone who turned his back on his family. He would rather be ripped into pieces than living with the guilt of having betrayed his family.

Taking that into consideration, Michael retrieved a Chaos Pill once again. He looked at it for a moment, took a deep breath and threw it toward the Paladins.

He aimed at the most-crowded area, hoping that the Chaos Pill could pull the Paladins down to the bottom of the huge pit.

'Stop struggling to stay up here. Fall down and succumb to your miserable fate!' Michael screamed in his heart just before a deafening blast tore through the air, ripping apart the fabric of serenity that had enveloped the Untamed Jungle.

The wet soil all around the area of impact convulsed, and a blinding silver inferno blossomed from the epicenter of the explosion.

The silver inferno spread out rapidly, destroying everything in its wake. The life of everything it touched was drained, and the energy in the vicinity was taken and corrupted.

The Untamed Jungle, once vibrant and teeming with life, became a canvas of chaos and destruction. The humongous trees, the guardians of the forest, were uprooted and thrown like mere twigs, their branches splintering.

In an instant, the acrid scent of the burning vegetation choked the air, mingling with the pungent odor of the decaying flora and fauna.

Amid all of that, the roars of the 13 Paladins rang out.

They unleashed their Soultraits, intensified the power of their Holy Auras, and activated the enchantments of their armors to protect their bodies.

However, in response to their actions, they lost footing on the ground. The slippery slope beneath them disappeared devoured by the silver inferno pulling eight Paladins to the bottom of the huge pit.

The first explosion caused considerable damage. As the smoke dissipated, the shattered remnants of the once-thriving jungle were unveiled.

The aftermath of the Chaos Pill's devastating impact was far stronger than Michael anticipated. Eight Paladins had been pulled down into the pit that was slowly filled with water, while the remaining Paladins were either backing off, or trying to cope with the aftereffect of the silver inferno after it came in contact with their bodies and Artifacts.

Michael smiled at the sight that unfolded in front of him. He looked over to the five Paladins, who had yet to be pulled down into the pit, his blurry sight giving him a rough indication of where they were.

'Looks like I cannot get all of them,' He noticed while being drained and bleeding all over his face.

Michael had never used Extraction like this. The Soultrait drained his entire energy even after he took more than a dozen energy pills. The amount of energy he had to use to continue expanding the huge crater to pull down eight Paladins had been terrific yet the 6-Star Soultrait was still not at its limit.

If Michael had more energy, Extraction would have taken more from him to pull all Paladins down into the pit, much faster at that.

His lack of energy was at fault for missing out on the remaining five Paladins, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Right now, the most important thing was to kill the Paladins at the bottom of the pit and instill terror in the hearts of the remaining Paladins.

'I wonder if you will dare to attack me after I show you what I'm capable of,' Michael wondered, retrieving dozens of Chaos Pills at once.

He looked over to the five Paladins, a devilish smile forming on his lips.

**