EARg-argh...
In the middle of the grass plain, more than Fifty bodies of the giant lizard scattered. Mainly three combatants had been fighting these lizards.
EARGH!
One jumped at Erika, right under her. It was aiming for her leg but surprised when it wasn't there. The lizard slipped, unable to contain its momentum, it became prime for her counter.
Rotating her targeted back leg, she was holding her two-handed sword extended from her shoulder. She did a fendente cut, a descending, cleaving, attack. With that, the lizard's neck was severed.
"Another one!?"
As she finished, another lizard lunged at her. It jumped reaching for her head which was quite higher.
After the cleaving cut, she had her guard down low. She widened her left leg to the side. Pulling her sword with her body she did a cotton (from below) cut. Slashing diagonally on the lizard.
"Kyaa!"
Erika, Dusk, and Lemmy were the combatants. Char and Venny stayed in the back and left them in the front.
Char wasn't a complete snub as he used to be a military sergeant. It was just that joining the other three would only hinder their movement. He took on a couple of lizards but as a form of self-protection.
Vinne had some unique skills on her armament. But, those skills weren't really useful against non-persons like beasts, monsters, and mutants. Hence her scream as one of the lizards crept near them.
"eurARH!"
Erika turned her two-handed sword into a sword made for throwing. The looks and the proportions of it were similar to a small javelin. The long-ish handle was made of material that weighed almost nothing. The blade was the heavier part of the thing.
She took a step forward on her left leg while her back was bending. Once "primed" enough she rotated her body and released the javelin. It hit her target instantly killing it.
That was one of the seven forms of her skill, [Quanta Sword].
"Another one!" Char alarmed.
Erika needed time to call her sword back before throwing it again, so it was impossible. Dusk could try to imitate Erika's move to save his sister, but he would lose his weapon.
It's not the time for that!
CRACK!
But before Dusk threw it, Lemmy finished the lizard with lighting magic. The hole gaping through the lizards was proof of its tragic end.
Lemmy got the highly sought-after "Hybrid mage" as his shtick. Rather than using a big stave, he chose to use a wand-size magic stick. The main lure to his style was the decent firepower while being able to be quick.
Some people combine guns with martial arts techniques. People called it gun-fu which sounds a little bit sarcastic. But it was a good match. Martial arts' close-quarter swiftness most of the time feels aeonic. But with the deadly force of a gun, that can be fixed.
The idea of a hybrid mage was as much as gimmicky. The one at the top of that world was Lemmy. His skills only consist of normal elemental magic, classics.
"[Earth magic]"
Lemmy created a wall separating him from a close Lizard monster. The wall itself wasn't too thick. One or two attacks from the lizard should be enough to make it break. But the purpose of that wall was to let the lizard seek.
The monster would undoubtedly aim lower, so Lemmy kicked the ground hard. Jumping diagonally to the left, he found his target and gave it a quick death.
---
"Haa... How much more is there, manager!?"
"Don't know yet, Erika! Don't see the end!"
Char had a [Spirit Guidance] skill. With that, he could see and hear from miles and miles away using spirits. He could also communicate with others using the same method.
"This is why we don't do jobs with hordes! No matter how strong you are, they just won't end!"
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"To be fair, we didn't take this job. It just happened naturally."
"Shut it, Lemmy."
Still, the situation was far from changing. But another party arrived at the scene.
"..."
He started his swing from his high guard. Without showing the swing, his sword reached the bottom and killed a giant monitor lizard.
"Who is that?" Erika was intrigued seeing a sword technique close to her own.
"That's... No way."
"Is that?"
Dusk and Char, on the other hand, recognized the figure. The sallet helmet he was wearing was only ever worn by someone great. The Hero, Altrius.
"So the rumors were true? Ghost Hero..."
"Don't be too hasty, young boss. That can still be an impostor wearing his helmet."
"Then what about that swordsmanship!?"
Swordsmanship aside it was his [light element] attribute that was a bigger mystery to solve. Aside from the Hero, the only other person to be able to use that should be Erika. The passive ability to tear space using the element was a high-level unlock after all.
GYArgh
The mysterious man killed another one of the lizards. He joined the fight as if it were natural.
BOOM
A great explosion shook the forest. It was big enough to alert the lizards to stop instinctively.
"NOW What!?"
They were close enough to the place that the shockwave pushed on them. The dust kicked up was also covering the plain they were on.
RRAAARGH!
That roar was too deafening. Everyone left covering their ears.
"MANAGER! CAN YOU GET THAT LOCATION?"
"YEAH I'LL SEE."
With everyone seeing him, the ghost hero got out of the fighting. He dashed towards the general direction the sounds were coming from.
"GHOST HERO LEFT. WHAT SHOULD WE DO?" Erika asked. Following him to the source was an option. But leaving the giant monitor lizards could lead to disasters.
But to their surprise, the lizard had another idea.
"The lizard! They're running away! If they reach the city it will be hysteria!"
"No... They're not going anywhere outside." Char was using his skill. "It's the sound source! A bigger lizard monster... Monitor Salamander!"
---
RRAAARGH!
"M-maybe we could just not go there? It sounds dangerous."
"Don't be a wuss, Du Lax. If you want to score more points to the Cyntrals, you need to be more serious."
Du Lax and co. were still escorting the Ecout siblings even if it was dangerous. No matter how much the cowardly fat man wanted to leave, the siblings would not tolerate deserters.
Here and there they started seeing the giant monitor lizards. It was enough to scare Du Lax headless. But no matter how many pleas he did, the Ecout sister would not budges.
screeech
The tailing car accelerated and blocked their car. From it, came out Luas the leader of his gang with all of his face's scars. His face alone would be intimidating to normal people. But to the siblings, being normal was an idea that was detached far.
"HEY! Where are we going!? Don't tell me we're going to where those sounds are!"
"Hooo, backing up their scared boss to depart, huh?"
Ecout sister misunderstood the relationship between the two parties. She thought Luas and his gang were simply Du Lax's underlings taking part in the expedition.
The Ecouts exited the car. The oldest sibling pulled Du Lax out as well, thinking he would escape with the car.
"Yes! That is where we are going!"
"Do you want ta die!? The hell are you going there!? We're gonna die!"
"Like boss Like underlings."
"Hehehe." The twins mockingly teased both sides.
Maybe Luas didn't like being called out. For a moment he stopped his fits and listened to what she had to say without.
"You are by Du Lax's extension also a part of the Cyntral corporation. Today our task is to retrieve the boy named Del to let him meet Eric Cyntral. Follow us and you might lose your life. But abandon this mission and you will lead a life worth nothing. It's your choice."
"I see. Welp, it's been fun partner, see ya!"
Luas got in the car and drove quickly, and far.
"NOOO PARTNEEER!"
The Ecout siblings were left speechless seeing what bizarre situation they were in. They got the true story after hearing the word "partner" but still were stunned by the revelation.
"Noo..."
"So, Du Lax, welcome to hell."
She dragged her back to drive.
---
RRAAARGH!
Another roar of whatever creature that was, echoed in the forest. It could be heard as far as the expedition's temporary base that was at the edge of the forest.
"We need to go! If something happened to them... I'm not going to stay here."
"Young master Raymond, please don't! Whatever is happening in the forest is dangerous. Please at least wait until some of the mercenaries are free."
At that moment most of the mercs are fighting a group of giant monitor lizards that came suddenly. They were fighting against 20 of them tirelessly each time.
"My friends are still somewhere inside the forest! I can't just stand here idly."
"If he can't, will you at least allow me?" Kren was also asking to leave eagerly.
Even if the two were confident enough to survive with their ability, the men wouldn't send kids to a dangerous place knowingly. Much more reason that the kids are Cyntrals and his friends. But with the base in chaos, nobody can stop them, not physically.
That was the route Kren and Raymond took. Until someone stopped them.
Vrrm...
"Ray! Where are you going!?"
"Ellie!? My friends went missing, including Vinne! I can't just stand here."
"Are you crazy? Didn't you hear that loud sounds all over!?"
"That's more of a reason to go in! They might be in trouble, we should help them!"
SLAP
"And what the two are you going to achieve!? Just adding more worries!?"
"That's..."
"Eric sent the extermination team. If you would have bothered asking, Dusk is in the forest and he met Vinne there."
"Her brother?"
"Yes, he reported half an hour ago. WAIT here, once the lizards calm down, we're going to find your other friends."
"... All right. Thanks... Um, Kren? I'm sorry to show you this family drama."
Kren who was watching silently until then got roped into the conversation.
"It is fine. I am like that with my family too. If our friends are safe then that is all I needed to hear."
"Yeah..."
They would deploy a rescue team after 20 minutes. Some mercs, the two college students, and Ellie would be on the team. But until then all they could do was to pray for someone to help their friend.
---
Their prayer was granted by Del. The man who was holding himself high in the face of Monitor Salamande as if the monster was nothing but a gecko.
huuuu...
"Let us go, big lizard."