The heat coming from Maria’s flames was great. Enough so that everyone put on their masks to cover the one part of their bodies that had been uncovered.
The fires kept the wolves back momentarily, giving the Awakeners the time to strap them on. By the time their earth magic had managed to stifle the worst of it, the wolves had been reduced even further, three more burned-out corpses littering the clearing.
Now that they were fully covered, they restarted their assault. James and Tea shifted to the side, carefully edging around the torrent of flames and moving toward the Boss. At the same time, Daniel, Mark, Lauren - who had decided to run interference between the two groups - and Ezekiel took position before the greatest concentration of monsters.
The earth rumbled and split, large stones stifling the fires enough that the wolves could finally reach their targets again, and the battle restarted.
James and Tea advanced towards the Boss, the massive green wolf whose presence dominated the battlefield. Its eyes glowed with a malevolent intelligence, and it moved with a predatory grace that belied its size.
James condensed his mana, forcing more and more in his limbs to grant him an additional boost in power. He knew that every strike would have to count. Beside him, Tea gripped her staff tightly, her stance ready and alert, her eyes fixed on the giant wolf.
As they closed in, the Boss let out a guttural growl, a deep sound that resonated through the clearing. The vines and roots that had been burned by Maria’s fires were quickly replaced by new ones, which burst from the ground, snaking towards them with deadly intent.
James reacted instantly, his fists glowing with mana. He struck at the incoming roots, a hit that unleashed an explosion of force strong enough to shatter the tendrils into splinters. The air vibrated with the power of his strike, blowing ash and dust away.
Tea moved in harmony with James, her staff twirling in her hands. She channeled her magic, creating powerful wind vacuums that caught the roots and vines, tearing them apart before they could reach their target. Her every moment was deadly as she gracefully danced among the Boss’ constructs.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team engaged the remaining wolves. Daniel and Mark formed a defensive line, their weapons a barrier against the onslaught. Maria, her hands weaving intricate patterns in the air, directed her fire magic with precision, creating walls of flame that hemmed in the wolves, limiting their movements and channeling them into the team's kill zones.
All the while, they were supported by Ezekiel, whose buffs allowed them to handle so many different enemies simultaneously.
Lauren flitted through the battlefield, delivering deadly blows to any beast whose injuries made it just a tad slower, before retreating immediately to avoid getting caught in their sharp fangs. She also threw her knives at the Boss from hidden angles, ensuring it could never fully focus on its two opponents.
The wolves were numerous, but their numbers couldn’t be leveraged properly given the funnel they were being put through, and few dared brave the flames to try and break containment.
Those that did were left horribly burned and were quickly dispatched by Lauren, who emerged from the flickering shadows like a grim reaper.
Back at the forefront of the battle, James and Tea continued their duel with the Boss. The green wolf, finally realizing the threat they posed, turned its full attention on them. It lunged at James, its jaws snapping with enough force to crush stone.
Having felt its mind sharpen with the intent to hurt him, James was ready and dodged to the side. As the wolf passed, he struck, his fist connecting with its side. The mana explosion sent a shockwave through the clearing, the impact reverberating through the air.
Blood splattered on the ground, a thin stream falling from where the beast’s fur had been torn away, only bruised flesh left behind.
The wolf howled in pain and anger, but recovered quickly. It was resilient, its body seemingly able to absorb an incredible amount of punishment.
Tea took advantage of the momentary distraction, her staff glowing with accumulated energy. She unleashed a barrage of wind blades, each one slicing through the air with lethal precision. The blades struck a wall of wood that erupted from the ground, cutting through it and reaching the Boss behind.
However, by then, they were weakened enough to do nothing beyond further annoying it. It growled low, eyes glowing with malicious intent. It retaliated with a surge of mana, the ground erupting around James and Tea, sending spikes of sharpened wood hurtling toward them.
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James placed himself squarely before Tea, wanting to take on the brunt of the attack, even as he anticipated being possibly put out of commission after the barrage.
The woman, however, had other plans and thrust her staff forward, the winds howling with the motion and pushing back against the spikes, stopping the first few entirely and slowing those that hid behind them, allowing James to tank them with little trouble, his suit absorbing almost everything.
The chaos in the clearing was great, so much so that one couldn’t be blamed for thinking no one had the upper hand, but slowly, the humans were pushing back the wolves. Maria, standing to the side, was a conductor of destruction. Her flames leaped and twisted, creating a deadly barrier that singed and scorched any wolf that dared to pass. However, the continual use of such powerful magic was taking its toll. She reached for another mana potion, downing it in a swift motion, and grimaced at the raw feeling of it going down.
Daniel and Mark, standing side by side, formed an impenetrable barrier against the wolves. In the middle of a fiery tunnel, sweating within their suits and battered by the constant fighting, they still didn’t allow any monster to push past them.
His hands aglow with healing light, Ezekiel kept a watchful eye on his comrades, ensuring they remained fighting fit. His spells weaved through the air, soothing aches and bolstering the team's defenses, ensuring their senses remained sharp.
Lauren, her movements swift and deadly, picked off the stragglers. Her knives cut through the air, each finding its mark with deadly precision. She moved like a shadow, appearing only long enough to swing her blades before disappearing back into the cover of the trees and the flickering flames.
Meanwhile, James and Tea were desperately struggling with the Boss. The massive green wolf was a relentless force, its every attack both a feint to get physically closer to catch them in its jaws and a distraction so it could utilize its magic in grand barrages, aiming at exhausting them and keeping them pinned. James, his fists glowing with concentrated mana, struck with explosive force, each punch sending shockwaves through the air and repelling the worst of it.
Tea, graceful and lethal, complemented James's brute strength with her wind magic. Her staff twirled in her hands, summoning gusts and whirlwinds that kept knocking the Boss’ attacks away, not allowing it to get too close lest it get caught in one of her occasional vacuum spells.
The battle reached a fever pitch when suddenly, with a swift and unexpected move, the Boss caught Tea off guard. A massive vine, thick and thorny, shot out from the ground, wrapping around her leg and pulling her towards its snarling maw.
"No!" James shouted, his eyes widening in horror.
Reacting with pure instinct, he lunged forward, his mana surging to new heights, though he didn’t allow it to run rampant as it usually did. He struck the vine with a thunderous bang, all the energy in his limbs flooding in and cracking the construct.
James’ mana flowed freely, caustically eating away the green magic and freeing Tea from its grasp.
She rolled away, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of the Boss.
With Tea safe, James turned his full attention back to the green wolf. His body ached and his mana reserves were pushed to their limits, but he knew this was their only chance.
His hand reached into his pocket, glad to find that the little bottle he kept for exactly this reason was still there. He brought it to his lips and drank it in one swift motion, feeling the liquid power return strength to his system.
Gathering all his energy and mana, he prepared for what he hoped might be the final blow.
He charged towards the Boss, his every step leaving small craters in the earth. The air around him crackled with energy, the mana in his limbs reaching a breaking point. As he neared the massive wolf, James leaped into the air, his fist drawn back, ready to deliver a strike with all the power he could muster.
The Boss abandoned the new construct it was working on and focused on James, pupils tightening when it realized the absurd mana the human was about to unleash.
Pumped by the artificial mana running through his veins, James captured it all with his willpower and pushed it into his right arm, uncaring of the sharp pain that had substituted the constant ache.
Fucking hell, if you don’t die with this, I don’t know what will do it.
He crossed the distance in the blink of an eye and saw the first stirrings from the ground of a wooden barrier coming to protect the Boss, but it was already too late.
Grin firmly affixed in place, James caught the beast’s eyes and tried to convey all his determination in that one glance.
Then, James's fist connected, releasing a wave of energy that radiated through the clearing. The impact was monumental.
The Boss’ howl of pain was lost as the force of the blow had the very air roaring. It flew back at incredible speeds, crashing against a tree at the edge of the clearing and through it, until a massive pine stopped it.
The earth itself seemed to shake, until for a moment, everything was still.
Then, sound came rushing back. The roar of the fires intensified now that the Boss didn’t need to be kept away from its minions, and Maria used all her mana to swallow the remaining wolves in flames.
Bright lights flashed as Ezekiel targeted the stragglers with debuffs, slowing them down enough that the other three could catch and kill them on the spot.
The moment the Boss disappeared from the battlefield, all the coordination and absurd determination the wolves had shown through the dive vanished, and they became confused, easily falling to the Awakeners’ assault.
A few minutes later, even the crackle of flames vanished as Maria extinguished her element, stumbling to where James was still lying.
Tea reached him first, worriedly shaking his shoulder when he didn’t answer her calls. The others soon arrived and James exchanged a glance with Daniel, who understood his silent plea and went to ensure the Boss was truly dead.
“I’m fine.” He grumbled, voice raspy and low.
He wasn’t. His entire right side felt on fire, like someone had poured hot oil on him, while the left was numb.
I might have exaggerated this time.
When Ezekiel reached him and the cool healing light engulfed his body, James breathed relief.
With his mask on, he couldn’t even smile reassuringly at the others, but moving was out of the question for the moment, so he turned to the blinking notifications at the back of his mind while keeping Awareness trained on their surroundings, not wanting for any leftover monster to find them now, in such a vulnerable state.
“You really like mangling yourself, huh?” Ezekiel asked, shaking his head as he poured even more power in, slowly knitting back the burst muscle fibers James had unwittingly destroyed with his last attack.
“Sorry.” He muttered, though he couldn’t help but grin, reading the blue box.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have defeated the Lv. 67 Boss monster [Forest Wolf - Green Overseer]!
You have earned 2315 EXP.