As the fight against the beasts continued, the formation everyone had been maintaining began to shrink in size. Gradually, Nate and the girls began to get pushed back. Which meant that the two guards who were using close-range weapons had to also step back as well.

It was not the best of situations, but they were not quite to the point where they needed to abandon everything either. As the kids continued to get overwhelmed, the time when they would need to flee drew ever closer.

Nina’s arrows and Fitch’s crossbow bolts shot through every gap they could find. Each one aimed at taking out the most powerful beasts as they made their appearance. The initial horde had already been eliminated and now they were dealing with all the beasts that had been coming to back up the original group.

They might have been able to believe that they were nearing the end of it all if the wind hadn’t continued to occasionally blow. It was working against them, though only in short bursts. The wind kept bringing in the beasts, but at the same time, it wasn’t spreading the smell far enough or for long enough to truly swarm them.

Nate swung his kukris with determination. The edges of both had dulled several minutes earlier. Each swing took far more energy and strength than before to cut through the thick hides of the beasts. The tips of both blades had chipped off during one of his earlier swings. One had hit a particularly hard bone inside the beast and the tip had gotten stuck in it. The other simply hadn’t been able to withstand the constant abuse and had given out of its own accord.

Angelica’s sword was in a similar condition with the blade riddled in knicks and taking on a definite warp to the once straight blade.

Lindsay’s halberd was holding up the best out of their weapons, though even the haft of her weapon was starting to crack ominously. Not that it mattered in her case. The weak link there wasn’t necessarily the weapon, but her. Sweat was streaming from her, and she was beginning to struggle for each breath. The heavier weapon might withstand the abuse a little better, but it took its toll on her.

The group took a tired shuffling step back, continuing their slowing inching movements back toward Nina and Fitch.

With their weapons degrading quickly, and exhaustion closing in for each of the three, the adults needed to make a decision. Did they stay, or was it time to go? Killing the beasts wasn’t a problem for them. That part was easy. However, there was still a limit to how fast you could swing a blade or shoot a bow. At least for now, there was a limit. Every time they improved their realm, they became a little faster, stronger, and hardier. Each of those improvements was more or less pronounced depending on the quality of their core.

It was everything a person could want.

The one thing none of the adults had used during the expedition so far was their energy skills. Everything they had done up to that point had been through the use of their physical weapons. The energy skills were being held in reserve in case something truly out of their control happened.

They had decided early on not to use them if the situation didn’t absolutely call for it. This was still, above all else, a training expedition, and the three teens did not have access to energy skills yet. It wouldn’t do to show them off and make the three want something they weren’t ready for.

They had avoided using even the simplest of skills the entire trip as a result so as not to needlessly tempt them.

Now, as they gradually bunched up and prepared to make their escape, the reality they might have to use one of them was becoming increasingly clear.

“Everyone, come to me!” Nina called out after they had been fighting for over two hours.

Niall should have been back an hour ago, even with the detour and taking some time to deal with whoever had been following them. She was beginning to grow worried about his safety and had delayed their departure for as long as she could stand. The time had come to leave.

There was no time to grab the cores, which really made her pocketbook hurt, but getting everyone out safely came first.

“Peter, if you would be so kind as to clear the way. Clark, make sure none of them approach our back.” She ordered as soon as they had gathered around her. Nate picked up his backpack since it was nearby, and Angie did the same for her and Lindsays.

Peter was the big guard with a nasty-looking mace who had been hired by the Travers to protect their daughter. Fitch was the second of the two guards hired by them.

Peter cracked his neck and swung the mace into the air. At the point of its apex, energy began to gather around its spiky head. The energy had a feeling of heaviness to it that everyone in the group was able to feel. The large man’s arms bulged as he struggled to hold the weapon in the air for just a few seconds longer, willing the energy to continue building.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

When he could hold it no longer, he smashed it into the ground with a grunt of exertion. Turning towards the kids, he smiled and simply said, “Energy Wave.”

True to the name, a wave of energy burst out of where the mace head had buried itself into the ground.

The energy extended out in a loosely shaped V formation, sweeping every beast it came across into the air. None of them got up again to cause them problems.

That wasn’t the purpose of the energy skill, but they were weak enough that they still died when faced with someone that much stronger than them. The skill was generally meant to stun and open the area up in front of the user, so they had room to move around.

Regardless, none of them were going to complain. It didn’t matter whether the beasts were stunned or dead in this case. One was as good as the other.

Running through the freshly opened space, they found the path the truck and rig had taken to get back to the main road and stuck to it.

Clark kept their back safe with his own energy skill that was called ‘Cutting Blade’. The attack released a thin, sharp blade of cutting qi in a long horizontal line. It didn’t look too impressive at first until they saw the results and everything it had sheared in half.

A few minutes after reaching the path, the number of beasts in front of and behind them began to diminish.

They had gotten away safely. It had cost them the rest of their catch from the expedition, but they had made it. Now they just needed to find where Niall and John had gone with the truck and rig.

With a moment to breathe, at last, Nina pulled the radio off her chest. “Niall, John, are either of you there? It’s been a couple of hours now; we’re getting worried here.”

There was a long moment of silence before Niall’s voice came back over the speaker. “Yeah, we’re here. A little beat up, but we’re alive.”

“What happened? Who was it? What did they do?” Nina shot off angrily, barely taking a breath between questions.

“It was a drive-by, old-school pump and dump, no chance to see their faces. John took lots of photos of them chasing us and the pump and dump though, which will help when we get home. I recognized the truck, Nina. It was Donovan’s.”

She inhaled sharply and brought the radio to her forehead. “I know we didn’t leave on the best terms since we refused to do that last job, but why would he do something like this?”

“Petty revenge is all I can think of. Pump and dumps, while frowned on, aren’t illegal since they don’t always equal the other party’s death. They can even be viewed as helping them in a way. However, doing it while that group has minors and is involved in a first expedition most certainly is illegal.”

“Are you both alright?” Nina asked, slowly lowering the radio while taking deep even breaths.

“The rig is a little banged up, and we are working on replacing a tire right now. Thankfully, the truck is fine. As for us, we are both exhausted. We used most of the potions we had stored in the rig to make it through this fight. At least the rig is completely packed again, so it isn’t a complete waste. As soon as we finish replacing the tire, we’ll be headed back your way.”

The two spoke for a few more minutes before she put the radio back on her chest with an annoyed sigh.

“Um, what exactly is a ‘pump and dump’, and who is Donovan?” Lindsay asked her somewhat hesitantly.

“Donovan is our old boss. He owned the company we used to work for. He was not exactly happy when we refused to go deep into the dimensional zone and be part of the group that went to inspect the building that now surrounds the portal. I never would have guessed that he was this petty before now.” Nina gave a half-hearted shrug and kept them all walking along the path as she talked.

“The pump and dump is where someone will use a modified trailer rig to dump out their load. While at the same time pumping out all the smell that had built up inside. A half-full trailer usually works best, I’ve been told. The goal is to block the target’s truck and rig with all the bodies you just dumped, making it so they can’t move. Then the beasts obviously come because of the spreading smell. Leaving your truck and rig to get demolished is not an option when you are out on an expedition. That is what holds your supplies and is your way back home.”

“Even a flight energy skill will only get you so far unless you have trained it to a high level or your own realm is high enough,” Clark said from behind them.

The various ins and outs of the topic kept them talking all the way to the main road.

“We’ve reached the main road. Have you got the tire back on yet?” Nina asked her husband over the radio.

It was the whip-wielding John who replied. “Yes ma’am. We are headed your way now. You should be able to see us in a couple of minutes. Niall says we’ll be cutting the trip short and heading back as soon as you all are safely inside the truck.”

“Understood. See you both in a few.”

The sun had come up around an hour or so into their hike. It was still early hours, but already the world was starting to feel a little safer again now that they could see farther than a few feet in front of themselves.

“Well, we will need to get your new cards on our return, finalize the payments for everyone, and then go over how each of you performed. There is still a bit to do, however, considering we were all up for most of the night, or the entire night for the more experienced among us, I think ending the expedition early is a good move.”

Nate readily agreed, while Angie and Lindsay both seemed relieved as well. None of their weapons had made it out of the last fight in great condition. The occasional beast they had encountered during their hike had only further damaged them. The metal-based weapons they had come out on the expedition with had lasted exactly one expedition.

The truck and rig came into view a few moments later as they were chatting amongst themselves.

True to what they had said, the truck was undamaged. The trailer, on the other hand, was another matter. It looked as though it had gone through a warzone and been hit by tank rounds. The side had several large impact craters and dozens of smaller ones where tusks or spines had hit it. Near the top, where the metal should have been the thickest to account for the welds, had been partially ripped open.

It was also riding bottomed out. The trailer shocks and springs would need to be replaced after this job, preferably with something more heavy-duty.

That was just what they could see, right off-hand. Since the inside of the rig was full, Niall and John had decided to throw all the extra bodies on top of it and tie them all down.

“Is that even safe?” Nate asked as it rolled to a stop in front of them.

His mother snorted. “No, but I’m not going to tell them. Are you?”