Before casting Warp to take the group to the Temple of Rizari, Eli made sure to buff each and every one with Agility, Bless, and Embrace the Dying Light. On top of that, he triggered Aura of Defense by using his Aura Overload talent, giving the group an immense boost to defense, toughness, and all resistances. The preparation was for one simple question.


    Did the Cursed Lizardman Acolyte boss respawn?


    Thankfully, it did not.


    Neither did the mages by the raised platforms, but the cursed lizardmen knights were arrayed around the walls, just like in their previous encounter, and the rogues lurked in the shadows. The incredible DPS from Cruella was sorely missed and, having only fought weaker monsters earlier in Glimmer Bastion, the expertly fighting cursed lizardmen provided more of a challenge. Still, without support from the lizardman mages and the Acolyte, and with the fresh buffs from Eli, the Ravenous Barbarians made short work of the opposition.


    Ding! You have reached level 43.


    Exiting the prison-like structure, they were surprised to find it just as they''d left it, meaning no other humans around anywhere.


    "Where is everyone?" Sasha asked, peeking out from behind Amy''s back.


    "I guess this floor is much more difficult than the third one. Maybe they are closer to the stairs," Eli said, sighing. "I was sort of hoping they''d be down here already and that they''d found the way to the fifth floor."


    Since standing around provided no answers, Simon and James took up the front with their heavy shields as the party made its way toward the stairwell. Many groups of cursed lizardmen barred their way, all of them a mix of knights, mages, and rogues. Each time they encountered a cursed lizardman mage, they all grinned as Eli cast Silence. Without the monsters'' spells, those fights were a walk in the park.


    Silence has ranked up. Rank 1 -> Rank 2.


    Checking his Skills-list, Eli found that the description hadn''t changed, except for the duration increasing by a whopping 50%, from 30 seconds to 45 seconds. Not bad.


    Silence (Rank 2): Remove target''s ability to cast spells for the duration of this debuff (45s).


    Not wanting to repeat his previous mistakes of waiting to add Attributes, Skills, and Talents, he dove into the Skill Tree for Silence and found an interesting node to put a point in.


    Silence of Crowds (1/1): If the silenced target is killed, the effect spreads to nearby enemies.


    That was sure to have some interesting applications. Eli also added his available Attributes to Wisdom for the added mana regeneration, bigger mana pool, and minor added experience gain. He still wasn''t sure exactly how the attribute worked, but experimentation with that was better left for more calm days.


    The level, he added to Commander, hoping to get another aura to choose from the available list of skills. Unfortunately, none appeared. Not wanting to waste the point when his auras were near ranking up by themselves, from just having them active at all times and affecting his allies, he made the decision to keep it in reserve.


    Many cursed lizardmen fell to Simon''s and James''s blades, with support from Samantha, and Sasha providing damage from afar, and Amy''s wolves and bear adding numbers to their already large party. Eli kept everyone healthy and made sure their buffs were active at all times while toggling his auras as needed. Dana mostly used her instrument and conserved mana in case her lightning spells would prove necessary at some point.


    They kept mostly outside the houses since the hallways were too tight to fight in properly with so many people and animals around.


    By the time they made it back to the small separate house where the first boss lurked, Eli was confident they could defeat it. After winning over the Acolyte and getting a few more levels between them, the threat should be manageable. But fighting that thing was low on the list of priorities. With Cruella and so many others needing to be rescued, they couldn''t linger. Instead, they turned and entered the church-like building. This place, too, was empty.


    Rather than wait around, they entered the stairs. They emerged onto the third floor, and absolute pandemonium waited for them. The humans of Infinite Innovation Solutions were fighting a veritable army of lizardmen. Most of the monsters were the regular kind, but the sheer number of them, far more than they''d fought before, made for a difficult time reaching the stairs. Among the normal lizardmen, cursed lizardmen roamed. Knights and mages both aided their weaker counterparts, with several lizardman goliaths having joined the fray. Altogether, the lizardmen held even the impressive combined power of the humans back.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    As Eli watched in horror, he saw someone being grabbed and carried away, screaming as she uselessly hammered her fists against the cursed lizardmen knight.


    "We''re going to need a lot of healing spells for this," Simon said grimly.


    James drew his sword. "Cruella is going to be so pissed she missed this."


    Eli began by casting Sigil of Light, placing it at the front where human melee classes were struggling to keep the monsters back, much less push forward themselves. After that, he methodically silenced every mage he could find while healing those who''d lost more than half their health. Many lizardmen turned to face the Ravenous Barbarians, but Simon and James, helped by Samantha''s Walls of Light, funneled them into a killing field where Amy''s animals waited. The wolves tore into lizardmen while Princess bellowed, using a skill that forced the monsters to attack the bear rather than the more fragile and damage oriented wolves.


    While Amy, Sasha, Simon, and James focused on keeping the brunt of the monsters from attacking everyone else, Dana''s music provided a speed buff and Eli found that she was able to cast spells while playing. Lightning surged out from her, striking the nearest lizardman, then jumped to another, and another, chaining outward to great effect, killing whole groups with each cast. Samantha''s slow-moving pulsing bombs of light arched through the air and exploded over and over again, taking large chunks of health from even the cursed lizardmen while also applying damage-over-time effects. When she used the beam of light she''d been so fond of when she and Eli rescued Simon, it no longer hit a single enemy, then stopped. Instead, it continued unhindered in a straight line, passing through a whole slew of monsters. The damage was somewhat diminished from before, but the way it added debuffs and DOTs more than made up for it.


    The arrival of the Ravenous Barbarians marked a change in the tide of battle. By themselves, they weren''t enough to outright win over the masses of lizardmen, but they pulled attention away from the front. With Eli and his friends attacking from the rear and many monsters turning to face the new threat, the front where everyone else was fighting began to crumble.


    Walls of fire from someone unseen mage, though Eli could guess who it was, roared into life. The flames cut the battlefield into smaller, more manageable sections, and that allowed the melee fighters to press forward, spurred by the sudden change in the way the battle was going.


    The lizardmen lines crumbled. Eventually, only the goliaths remained. They flailed wildly as hundreds of ranged attacks slammed into them. In a matter of seconds, they, too, were slain. Victory and dominion over the third floor belonged to the humans. A few had been lost in the fighting, with wooden markers sticking out of the ground to show their passing. More still had been carried away, leaving gaping holes in the many parties formed in the assault of The Temple of Rizari.


    In the middle of piles of lizardmen, where the fighting had been the most intense, Eli found Charlotte covered in blood but standing tall, with her two-handed sword, the same weapon she''d started out with, still gripped in both hands.


    "I killed them, Eli," she whispered when he approached.


    Eli healed her as he put a hand on her hugely muscular arm. "You weren''t afraid?"


    "Terrified," she said simply, "but I did it, anyway."


    "That''s real bravery," Eli said. "You did well, Charlotte."


    She blinked, and her unfocused gaze settled on Eli''s face. "I still think I prefer farming."


    He nodded seriously. "Do you want to continue down to the fourth floor?"


    She nodded. "We have to save them."


    "There''s a spot open in Ravenous Barbarians if you''re looking for a party."


    She grinned down at him, raised her hands above her head, and shouted, "Ravenous Barbarians, whoop!"


    After adding her to the party and regrouping, everyone gathered by the stairs down to the fourth floor. After killing all the lizardmen, none had respawned. Eli wasn''t sure if that was a good thing or a bad one, but he did know it was time to continue. This was the first time the entire fighting force of Infinite Innovation Solutions had been gathered like, joined in purpose.


    Many were present. All in all, it had to be more than forty parties of eight or less. Everyone gathered in a large crowd by the stairs, with Ravenous Barbarians at the center. People were talking excitedly. Some were scared, others were looking forward to what was coming. As Eli peered out across the field of people, more than anything, he saw looks of determination.


    The people Eli had fought with before stood out with their slightly higher level, and he was gratified to see a few new faces with the Healer class. Off to the side, The Dragon leaned against the wall of a stone building. The red and funny-looking wizard''s hat Eli gave him sat crooked on the top of his head.


    Leonardo was clad in heavy armor, standing slightly in front of his son, Luca, who wore a dark cloak and almost seemed to blend into the background.


    The mages turned healer-mages from the party he''d helped were busy buffing people or otherwise preparing.


    Many, many people of every age, class, and level had joined the Ravenous Barbarians in their quest to free the captive humans and goblins. From the looks of it, this would be their first proper raid.


    Somewhere far in the back, someone shouted, "The Deep State is run by lizard people!" After a brief pause for effect, the unseen man continued. "Or is it... Lizard MEN? It''s time to wake up, sheeple!"


    Eli cleared his throat. "Yes.. anyway, let''s get started."