SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will - Chapter 409 The Battle Begins [1]

The archer turned away from the two and looked at Moon, who was already walking toward them.

“Boss, they’re pulling out from the battle at the last minute.”

Moon arrived in front of the two Evolvers. Both of them had their heads down, eyes fixed on the ground, unable to meet his gaze.

“Is that true?” Moon asked. His voice was calm. Quieter than anyone expected, giving the severity of the situation.

“Yes. That’s true.” They said together, their heads still drooped.

“You are quite brave.” Moon said.

His words came out cold. A smile spread across his face, and both Evolvers raised their eyes a little, only to flinch as if they had been struck. Their bodies began to tremble.

“You know, you are quite lucky. We’ve been hunting together for days. Sleeping in the same hideout. Eating the same food. We did a lot together, we became comrades, all of us.”

He paused.

“You’ve also confronted us with your choice late. But at least not at the very last moment.” His eyes flashed with something that made both Evolvers take a step back. “Had you done this while we were fighting, had you turned your backs in the middle of a battle…”

Lightning crackled across his knuckles.

“I would have killed you there and then. With no mercy.”

The two Evolvers stood frozen, not a single breath escaping their mouths. They couldn’t and wouldn’t fight back, they knew that the only way they could survive this, if they remained obedient and hoped for Moon’s mercy.

Moon turned away from them and faced the rest of his team. Every single person had stopped. Every pair of eyes was on him.

“This is your final chance.” Moon said, addressing the whole group. “Those who wish to fight, remain where you stand. Those who wish to leave with these two, you may do so now. I will pardon anyone who leaves at this moment.

But… if you choose to stay and then decide to leave later, during the march, during the fight, at any point after this moment…” He clenched his fist. Lightning arced between his fingers with a loud crack. “All you will find is death. By my own hands.”

The group was silent.

A few seconds passed. Then, a warrior near the back stepped forward, his head low. “Sorry.” He muttered, and walked toward the two who had already withdrawn.

Moon watched him go without expression.

“That’s it? This is the final chance. I will not touch you. This is not a trap.”

He looked across every face in the group, one by one. Giving each person the time to make their choice.

Nobody else moved.

Moon needed to be sure. He would rather march on the base with ten people he could trust than thirty where twenty might scatter at the first sign of real danger. Desertion during a fight wouldn’t just cost the person who ran. It would shatter the morale of everyone around them, create gaps in the formation, and cascade into a collapse that would get them all killed.

Better to lose them now than lose everything later.

“Last call.” Moon said.

Silence.

The archer stepped forward and turned to face the group. “You heard the boss. Anyone else?”

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.

“Good.” Moon turned toward their enemies. “Then let’s move.”

Moon turned and walked. He didn’t look at the three who had stepped out. He didn’t acknowledge them, didn’t offer parting words, didn’t spare them a glance over his shoulder.

They simply ceased to exist in his mind.

The team followed. Nineteen Evolvers fell into step behind him.

The departure of three people had sobered the group, but it hadn’t broken them. If anything, the ones who remained walked with more purpose than before. They had been given every chance to leave and they chose to stay.

That choice meant something.

Thirty minutes passed. The terrain grew familiar. Rocky outcrops they had passed before.

The wind picked up as they neared the section of the island where the underground base sat.

Moon raised his fist. The group stopped.

Moon turned to face his team one last time.

“From this point on, we don’t stop. We go in, we clear every room, and we don’t leave until it’s done.” His eyes moved across each face. “Stay close, follow the plan, and watch each other’s backs.”

The tanks moved to the front, shields raised, their bodies forming a wall of armor from side to side. Behind them, the brute crouched low, ready to push through the moment the tanks created an opening. The mages fell in behind, hands glowing with spells. The archer took position at the rear, an arrow already nocked. Moon stood just behind the tanks, staff in his right hand, a cluster of explosive runes tucked into his left pocket where he could reach them in a heartbeat.

The group moved toward the entrance.

“Let’s go.” Moon said. Lightning crackled in his left hand. [Ignite] formed at the tip of his staff, the crystal glowing.

The tanks pushed forward and the team followed.

The first stretch of the entrance was empty. No resistance, traps, or ambush waiting in the shadows. Their footsteps echoed off the narrow walls as they advanced through the corridor.

Moon stopped the team once he spotted a hidden inscription etched into the stone wall at chest height. A detection rune. The work was clean, precise, and unmistakably different from Frey’s style.

It was likely made by the runesmith named Lukas.

Moon inspected it for a moment. The rune was linked to something deeper inside the base, likely an alert system that would notify whoever was waiting the instant it detected movement. Dismantling it quietly would take time, and in a corridor this tight, having his team standing still while he worked was asking to be attacked.

There was no point in being subtle.

Moon hit it with a bolt of lightning. The rune shattered, its fragments sparking briefly before going dark.

“Faster. They know we’re here now.”