Apollo botched the landing.

The boy slipped and fell on his face as soon as his feet touched the snowy ground.

"Ouch!" He rubbed his reddened face as the ardimals closed in.

One job, Apollo.

You had one job.

In a flash of crimson, my tentacles shredded two Frost Hounds that pounced on him, their blood spraying all over the young Fray.

"Thanks!" he beamed at me, seemingly unfazed by the blood splattered all over him.

"Focus, man," I warned.

Something bonked Apollo on the head and sent him back into the cold snow. It was a familiar Yoyo.

"Get serious, dumbass," Artemis scowled and spun her Yoyo.

A Cryoscale jumped behind her, only to have its head bashed into ice shards by her ardor-enhanced Yoyo.

Another got wrapped in the string, and with a gentle tug of her fingers, Artemis cut the ice lizard into pieces.

Blue blood splattered all over her. Unfazed, she looked at me, "Go. My moronic brother and I will take care of this side."

I nodded, "Good. There are a lot of these scaly beasties. Be careful."

I whistled, and Basil slithered past me with tremendous speed, clamping her jaws around the throat of a Frost Hound.

The hound struggled against the relentless grip of the mechanima, howling in pain as the venom burned it from the inside.

Within seconds, its body sagged, becoming an emaciated bag of burned flesh and dissolved bones sloshing inside its furry skin.

"Basil. Dial the venom down so that the body will not be extensively damaged. This is just too gross," I told her.

Nodding in acknowledgment, my mechanima continued her onslaught against the ardimals.

She effortlessly maneuvered through hordes of Cryoscales and Frost Hounds, adjusting the size and length of her body with seamless precision.

She wrapped her long body around a massive Pookie Bear, transformed her head into the ardor cannon, and blasted the creature in the face, bringing it down instantly.

Without pause, she pounced on a Cryoscale, her long fangs sinking into the icy scales of the lizard.

After violently shaking the creature, she tossed it into a pack of hounds and raised her body imposingly, releasing a terrifying hiss that made even the B-ranked alphas tremble in their spots.

I smiled proudly at the performance of my mechanima.

That's my girl.

Speaking of performance, I turned my gaze to the rest of the group.

The Fray twins were engaged in a seamless dance of combat, taking on Pookie Bears with flawless coordination.

Their movements cleverly covered each other's openings, showcasing a significant level of experience working together.

Artemis's golden eyes glowed, and winds whipped her hair around as she utilized her Aeris strand, imbuing her Yoyo with it to deliver devastating blows to the Glacial Hornbears with unparalleled focus and precision.

Who knew Yoyos could be weapons of mass destruction?

Apollo, on the other hand, was enjoying his slaughter.

Sharp blades of water trailed off his chained blades as he swung them with manic precision, his excited golden eyes glowing with the power of Aqua as he effortlessly sliced the bears into substantial chunks of meat.

Water and wind. What an awesome combination.

Another excited member of the group was Krystal Macleod.

She laughed excitedly like a little kid in a candy store.

Her rapier and strand moved in incredible harmony, creating a mesmerizing dance.

It seemed like she was effortlessly gliding among the Frost Hounds, her rapier emanating an ethereal glow and leaving a trail of mist swirling around her.

The ice lances she summoned relentlessly drove the hounds to the ground, and the intense cold froze their bodies in place.

In this cold wintery terrain, it was clear that such an environment would allow her to go crazy with her powers.

And crazy she is. Her laughter is giving me the willies.

Yep, she would undoubtedly fit right in with the Lunatics.

On the other side of the spectrum was Ava Baskerville.

Initially, I assumed she was a bow or sword user.

Boy was I wrong.

Ava had broken into the rear line of Frostclaw Primates, tearing their flesh apart with metallic claws as if she were a hunting dog unleashed upon a helpless fox.

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I observed with my keen battle-hardened eye and experience and was utterly blown away by her skills.

Contrary to appearances, every seemingly violent and unrestrained attack was a carefully controlled and efficient action executed with absolute finesse.

Her combat skills were nothing short of amazing, and she wasn't even utilizing her strand. This must be the renowned Baskerville combat arts.

Baskervilles were known for not relying heavily on their strands, focusing instead on ardor body enhancement, aura refinement, and superior combat arts.

As a result, they were celebrated for their perfect ardor control and boasted the highest number of Spikers in the Kingdom.

It is said that a Baskerville would only activate their strand when they deemed their combat skills insufficient.

Witnessing a Baskerville using their strand was a rare occurrence, known only to a select few.

Such was the power of their combat arts, and I coveted it.

I activated my stigma, Talent Echo.

My eyes absorbed every movement executed by Ava in her battle against the primates, flooding my mind with the knowledge of Baskerville's combat arts.

My fingers twitched, itching to unleash the absolute devastation behind the claws of a Baskerville Hunting Dog.

The Hunting Dogs of Baskervilles served as a personal army of highly skilled Spikers and Linkers.

Standing above them all was the infamous Hound.

My fingers twitched once more.

The Hound of Baskerville.

A name that struck fear even into the hearts of the Knights of the Round.

The deadliest assassin in the Kingdom.

If Ava Baskerville displayed such strength, I couldn't help but wonder about the prowess of the Hound.

I suddenly have the urge to fight him.

I should seek him out after leaving the Shield.

Looks like I have an idea of what to do next year.

You might be wondering how I managed to observe my group members and deliver a monologue about the Baskervilles while being surrounded by wild ardimals.

Well, the answer is quite easy.

My blood tentacles are doing an impeccable job of ensuring my safety.

The six blood tentacles sprouting off my back lashed out at every ardimal pouncing on me with absolute precision, as if possessing a mind of their own.

They sliced, diced, skewered, stabbed, bashed, and even pulled apart limbs.

Truly multipurpose indeed.

Soon, I found myself encircled by an ever-growing ring of mutilated Frost Hounds, skewered Cryoscales, and neatly sliced pieces of Pookie Bears, all ready for cooking.

Well, except for the hounds. They are quite nasty.

I sensed two familiar auras approaching. I reined in my tentacles as Iris floated above me on her fairy wings of darkness, and Carlo materialized beside me, his body enveloped in crackling red lightning.

"You guys are late," I remarked, still keeping my eyes on Ava gracefully maneuvering through two Primates.

Having completed my information acquisition, I turned to Iris, "Don't tell me you lost your way falling down the cliff."

Iris looked offended, "Hey! I'm not that directionally challenged!"

She gestured toward the dense woods on the side of our current location.

"Perry detected another large horde of monsters rushing toward this place from that part of the woods."

"We went to take care of them," Carlo added. "Captain Iris almost got lost trying to navigate out of the woods, though."

"Shut your trap, Devereux!" Iris snapped, black lightning crackling off her body.

"So. Shall we take care of the big boys?" She crossed her arms and looked into the distance.

As soon as those words left her mouth, a powerful shockwave rolled over the land, and a blood-chilling roar, followed by a howl, shook the ground.

The auras of three A ranks shook the air as the three largest alphas appeared along the slope

A massive Frost Hound, its head and back adorned with colossal ice spikes, unleashed a bone-chilling howl, exposing its massive teeth, its blue eyes radiating primal savagery.

The largest alpha, an A-ranked Frostclaw Primate, roared ferociously and pounded its chest, each hit releasing shockwaves.

The two-horned Pookie Bear beside them rose onto its hind legs, unleashing a thunderous roar that triggered a mini avalanche, blowing snow toward us.

"I got it!" Krystal yelled, plunging her rapier into the ground.

{Ice Fortification}

Sub-strand codes, unlike Strand codes, don't require the warlock to use the sub-strand name for activation.

The ground rumbled as a tall rugged wall of ice erupted a few feet before us, blocking the avalanche with a shudder.

As the wall collapsed into ice pieces, Krystal, visibly exhausted, gave a thumbs-up.

"You're welcome."

I nodded and looked forward.

"We should finish this," Iris declared.

Carlo and I nodded in agreement.

"Will this be fine?" Carlo asked nervously.

"Definitely," I reassured with a sweet smile.

We leaned forward and shot toward the three alphas. Fortunately, the previous avalanche had buried the other small fries.

Any stragglers met a grisly end at the hands of Iris's rods of darkness, my blood tentacles, and Carlo's lightning-infused claymore.

"Carlo, you take the Frost Hound!" Iris yelled over the howl of the wind.

"Understood!" Carlo yelled back.

She looked down at me from the air as she flew, "Mordred! Pookie Bear?"

I shook my head, "Nah! I'll take the glorified ape! The readers have already seen a Pookie Bear and a Frost Hound!"

"Very well!" she nodded and grinned sadistically, "Here, Pookie Pookie!"

We came to a stop just below the ledge where the ardimals stood.

We looked up and met their wild eyes, releasing our auras as a challenge.

"Be careful, Vice-Captain. The alpha Primate has a very unnerving display of intimidation," Carlo warned.

"What does it do?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the Primate, noticing a sinister smile forming on its hideous face.

Carlo suddenly sounded awkward, "It flashes its enemies."

"What?" Iris and I looked at his very disturbed face.

As if on cue, the Frostclaw roared and thumped its chest before grabbing the thick white fur covering its lower body.

With another roar, it flashed us.

I need bleach, salt, and holy water from the Order of Lux to cleanse my eyes from what I just saw.

Oh, and wraith-killing flames. That is a must.

I'm not going to even describe what I saw.

"Yep. That was definitely intimidating," I rubbed my poor violated eyes.

Iris, on the other hand, was frowning, "Why is it throbbing?"

She looked more curious than disturbed.

"Iris! Not the time and place!" Carlo and I looked at her, bewildered at her shamelessness.

The alphas took the opportunity at our distraction and pounced on us from above.

We quickly jumped back a good distance just as the ardimals landed on different locations on the snowy ground in clouds of disturbed snow and a slight tremble to the ground.

"All the best!" Iris called out and flew toward the Pookie Bear.

"Don't die," I told Carlo. The young man, who was older than me, nodded and enveloped his body with lightning.

With a crackle of electricity, he dashed toward the howls of the Frost Hound.

"Now then," I cracked my neck and put away my daggers.

Blood swirled along my arm and enveloped my fists, shaping into blood gauntlets with claws.

Crystallized blood lined the tips of the claws and glinted wickedly.

Blood crystallization, especially for Haema users, was no easy feat. Despite my high rank, I had only managed partial crystallization, primarily coating the tips of my tentacles.

Flexing my fingers, I observed the intricate movement of the blood claws.

The snow cloud before me dispersed with a powerful roar, revealing the towering Frostclaw Primate Alpha.

Its fur quivered as it growled and looked down on me, clicking its huge icicle tusks.

The aura it emitted was utterly terrifying. This beast can raze a small city and multiple villages to the ground if unhindered.

But I can take it.

It's not a daemon, with the full power of its rank behind its every attack.

No, it was a wild ardimal, a creature that looked down on others and seldom used its full strength.

"You're going to pay for violating my beautiful eyes," I calmly declared, meeting its gaze with amusement.

"I'll make you dance to the death, monkey."