Edward was over the moon, his face breaking into an unstoppable grin.
Leveling up in the Worlds' Floating Isles is notoriously tough.
Each level up requires exponentially more experience (core power), meaning you have to take down many more monsters than before to level up again.
As of now, most professionals on the island are still at level one, and some haven't even reached that.
Not everyone has the guts to battle wild monsters, after all.
But that's not what's important.
What matters is that the top professionals on the island are probably hovering around level two or just stepping into it.
Those who have reached the mid-stage of level two are as rare as hen's teeth.
This isn't just Edward's guess; it's based on information leaked in the [Island Chat Channel].
Take the Golden Behemoth Lord, for instance.
As a Lord with top-tier units and the leader of the island's strongest professional alliance—the Hall of Kings—he's definitely a top dog.
Besides Edward, he's the most famous on the island, ahead of most professionals.
But even he has only just advanced to level two this afternoon, a fact he revealed in the Hall of Kings' chat channel to boost his prestige among alliance members.
This 'secret' was then leaked to the island-wide chat channel by a member of the Hall of Kings, and thus came to Edward's and countless other professionals' knowledge.
Setting aside the fact that this incident attracted a bunch of professionals to join the [Hall of Kings]...
Even a top dog like the Golden Behemoth Lord has only just advanced to level two, which shows the level at which other professionals are.
It goes without saying...
There are very few professionals who have reached level two.
In this context, Edward's breakthrough to level three is downright terrifying.
Without comparison, there's no harm.
Edward topping the level rankings is absolutely no question.
If Edward's level info were to spread in the island chat channel, it's hard to say how big a shock it would cause, but it would definitely make many professionals claim it's simply impossible.
No one's level can rise that fast.
If it does, it must be a BUG.
...
Edward stood in the small square of the Territory, his gaze piercing through the unfenced borders towards the battlefield shrouded in darkness.
The battle between the Angel squad and the undead army was relentless.
Waves of undead creatures, fearless of death, continued their assault.
It seemed as if countless undead were gathering in the nearby darkness, wave after wave besieging the Angel team.
Under the illumination of the holy light, Edward could barely make out the battlefield.
The area, spanning several hundred feet, was now covered with stark white bones.
These were the remains of skeletal soldiers and warriors, left behind after being slain—no blood or flesh, but all the more sinister and terrifying.
Besides the skeletal remains, there were also many ghouls' bodies, some reduced to ashes, others sliced into pieces by the Angels' swords.
To this point, the number of undead slain by the Angel squad had surpassed a thousand—a staggering number.
Hunting an equivalent number of wild monsters had taken the Angel squad nearly an afternoon.
Yet, this battle had not even reached an hour.
This showed the intensity of the fight and also hinted at the terrifying number of undead creatures hidden in the darkness, so much so that saying the ground was covered with undead was no exaggeration.
"The Angel squad can't keep this up until tomorrow morning," Edward thought.
"Such intense fighting is a huge drain on the Angels' magic, stamina, and even their spirits."
He felt he must remind Virginia and Janet.
Thinking this, Edward contacted Virginia on the battlefield, advising her to lead the other Angels back to the Territory if they couldn't hold on, to avoid unnecessary casualties.
Virginia quickly responded, informing Edward that they could still endure another round of fighting.
Hearing this, Edward said no more.
He trusted Virginia's capabilities.
In the time that followed, Edward kept his attention on the battlefield while sensing the surge of primal force within him.
Being able to clearly perceive the enhancement of his own strength was a joyous and even intoxicating experience.
Edward couldn't help but indulge in it.
Additionally, counting the gold coins scattered across the battlefield was a pleasure.
Under the cover of night, reflecting the holy light and flames, the gold coins were particularly dazzling and eye-catching, like stars dotted in the night sky.
After counting once, there were over seventy little stars.
Counting again, the number of stars increased to over eighty.
However, many gold coins were covered by the bodies of undead creatures, making it impossible to count exactly how many had fallen on the battlefield.
But it was certain that the number was substantial.
Edward somewhat regretfully said, "It's a pity that there are so many undead on the battlefield that the Angels have no time to collect the gold coins. Otherwise, I could use these gold coins to summon new Angels to join the fight and kill more undead."
Such is the way of the world; not everything can be perfect.
Edward could only put aside this thought.
Moreover, the gold coins on the battlefield would not disappear; at most, they would wait until the undead retreated the next morning to collect them, so the impact was not significant.
An hour had passed.
On the battlefield, the Angels no longer chose to clash head-on with the undead legion.
Under the command of Virginia and Janet, the Angel squad fought a strategic retreat back towards the Territory.
The Angels were too drained.
Especially their magical energy, which was nearly depleted.
Whether it was combat skills or the Angelic Flame, all required magical energy to unleash their formidable power.
Once the magical energy was exhausted, the Angels' strength would be severely impacted.
Thus, a temporary retreat was necessary.
Even if they were to continue fighting, they would have to wait until their magical energy was restored.
But just then, from the depths of the dark forest, a furious roar suddenly erupted.
The sound was unlike any monster roar Edward had heard before.
It was filled with endless murderous intent and gave off an intensely chilling sensation, as if the dead themselves were howling in rage.
"Retreat..."
Virginia's expression tightened.
She issued the command for a full retreat once again.
The other Angels sensed the impending crisis and no longer just fought as they retreated. Instead, they unleashed all their magical energy in an instant, slaughtering the undead creatures blocking their path in swathes.
Despite more undead creatures closing in, the Angel squad still managed to carve out a path to the Territory.
On this path, fierce flames blazed.
It was the Angelic Flame, capable of purifying all evil.
The Angels did not flap their wings to retreat through the air, as the skies were not absolutely safe.
Instead, under the deterrence of the holy flames, the nearby undead creatures dared not approach, and could only watch helplessly as the Angels crossed through the channel of holy flames and broke out of their encirclement.
"Roar, roar, roar..."
Many ghouls roared in frustration nearby.
It was only after another roar that the ghouls and skeletal undead retreated like a tide, disappearing into the darkness.
The undead army had retreated, but this was not the end.
Soon, the darkness in the distance seemed to be torn apart by some terrifying creature, slowly revealing a massive figure.
The ground also trembled as this figure appeared.
Moments later.
The figure reached the beginning of the channel of holy flames.
The still-burning golden flames clearly illuminated it in Edward's view.
At that moment, Edward's pupils sharply constricted.