Oscar possessed vast knowledge about the monster waves, having faced them countless times before.
He quickly explained the situation to John in detail.
These monster waves were divided into three stages:
The first wave consisted of humanoid monsters, ranked A, between levels 100 and 200.
Oscar had fought through this wave many times and managed to hold them back.
The second wave marked where the real challenge began.
If the first wave failed to break through humanity's defenses, three world class monsters would appear — between levels 450 and 550.
These were the monsters responsible for Oscar's previous defeats and forced retreats.
But it didn't end there.
The third wave began once the defenses were breached — an endless horde of humanoid creatures, monsters from the second wave, and worst of all, the Kraken, an S-rank monster at level 650.
They would destroy the city completely, even if no one remained, before moving on to the next one.
"Four World Class Monsters?!" John was stunned. He hadn't known there were three other S-rank monsters besides the Kraken.
He had struggled greatly against Zaglith and Oruin, and defeating them had been nearly impossible — and that was without Silver interfering in the fight.
Now, he would have to face four at once.
John knew that even with his current strength, this was impossible.
"My best chance is to kill the three S-rank monsters in the second wave before the Kraken appears," John thought with a bitter sigh.
The strongest monster humanity had ever faced before the current disaster had been an S-rank at level 400 — it was classified as a world disaster at the time.
It took twenty S-rank Awakened to bring it down, and even then, five of them died in the battle.
Now, John would have to fight three monsters stronger than that one, alone.
"When will the second wave begin?" John asked Oscar after learning all this.
"They'll start appearing in about fifteen minutes. We can still retreat during that time," Oscar answered, bitterness heavy in his voice.
He hadn't even considered fighting those monsters — not even after John appeared.
To stand a chance, they would need every S-rank Awakened in the world and Legendary-grade weapons at minimum — and even then, victory wasn't guaranteed.
"Yes, prepare your men to withdraw. As for me… I'll stay and face this wave," John said with a calm smile.
"What?! That's suicide! I know you're strong, but fighting those monsters alone is madness!" Oscar shouted, fear and frustration in his tone.
"Don't worry. Oh, right — I didn't tell you yet. I already took care of the disaster in North America," John replied with a faint grin.
"You… took care of what?!" Oscar froze in disbelief.
Disasters were known worldwide — it would be absurd for anyone not to have heard of them.
John briefly explained what had happened in America. His skills and aura left no doubt that he was telling the truth.
"There's still hope for humanity after all…" Oscar thought to himself, feeling a spark of relief.
"In any case, I need you all to leave immediately," John said firmly. "Before the second wave begins to appear."
John possessed the Battlefield Domain spell, but he knew he couldn't use it in this fight for several reasons.
First — these monsters didn't use magic.
Second — if he activated the Heaven and Earth Seal against the second wave, the Kraken might notice and attack before the fight was over. If the battlefield was damaged or destroyed from the outside, John would take serious backlash.
Third — and most importantly — was the sheer size of one of the monsters: the Giant White Whale.
It was massive — as large as an entire city — and the domain simply couldn't contain it, causing activation failure.
From Oscar, John learned about the three monsters:
White, the Giant Whale, level 550.
Tank, the Crab Mountain, level 500 — its brown shell resembled a mountain.
Mon, the Ancient Megalodon Shark, level 450 — one of the most ferocious predators of prehistoric seas, fast and massive with razor-sharp teeth.
Oscar's forces and the other Awakened began evacuating the city before the second wave arrived.
A few minutes later, the sea level began to rise, almost like a tsunami.
Thankfully, all the Awakened had already withdrawn — otherwise, most would've died from this wave alone.
The rising tides posed no threat to John, but he focused his gaze on what caused them.
The first to appear was White, the Giant Whale, level 550.
The second-wave monsters appeared in order — White, then Tank, then Mon.
S-rank monsters often possessed unique names — granted after gaining a degree of sentience.
"So, it's time…" John murmured, a fearless smile spreading across his face.
He shot into the sky toward White, who also rose into the air, casting its colossal shadow over the city.
Compared to White, John looked like an ant.
For a moment, the whale's body completely blocked out the sun.
John swung his sword, combining it with wind magic. The attacks landed, leaving faint marks on White's body — but compared to its size, they were barely scratches.
He had expected that. He had no large-scale attacks — even if he used Hellfire, White could simply dive into the ocean to extinguish itself.
Though ocean water was weaker than Hellfire, quantity beat quality.
John continued slashing at White's massive body until the monster finally felt the damage.
When White turned to see what had harmed it, it found a lone human floating in the sky, striking again and again.
Realizing this, White opened its mouth and unleashed a deafening sonic blast toward John.
John immediately activated his Ultimate Defense Magic — but before he could react, blood poured from his eyes, ears, and mouth.
"What?! My defense magic didn't nullify the sonic waves?!"
The barrier was still intact — the sound had simply passed through it as if it didn't exist.
John was thrown back, his internal organs and brain severely damaged. His thoughts became hazy; he could barely focus.
All he could rely on now was his super regeneration.
White didn't bother finishing him off. It turned and moved toward the city, not even considering John a threat.
But John couldn't allow it to destroy the city.
As soon as he recovered enough, he took to the skies once again, flying straight toward White.