“…So, are we going to keep moving deeper into the desert?” Ralph said with a little hesitation in his voice.
“…Assume the same formation,” Alnea said, not even bothering to turn back towards Ralph.
“…What about me?” Karl said, trying his best not to panic.
“…Same as last time.”
“But the enemies—
“The enemies will be there even if you change your position. It will just be someone else who will have to bear the danger for you. Who do you think this person should be?”
“…I…”
“I have asked everyone again, and again, about what they want, and what their specialisation is, just so that I can design the most optimum formation for our team. And every time, you chose to not say anything to me. Even just a while ago, when I assigned everyone their positions, I told you that you might have to face more danger than anyone else, but you agreed to me anyway, because you thought you would not face the danger so soon.”
Alnea paused, and glanced at Karl over the back of his shoulders, before continuing.
“Now, just a while later, when we are faced with danger, you suddenly change your mind… Do you think this is a joke? “
“…No…”
“…I apologize if I come off as rude,” Alnea said, as he turned his gaze back towards the desert in front of him. “But you must understand something, Karl. We are a team. And as a team, we cannot act just to suit the needs of a few individuals. Or that will defeat the whole purpose of a team. Besides, as Wanderers, we should also learn to responsible for our words and actions. Or do you want to be treated as a kid, who cannot be trusted with any responsibilities?”
“…You said you will not let me get hurt.”
“…And I stand by what I said,” Alnea said, turning back towards Karl for a moment, before glancing at the rest of the team. “Not just Karl. Like I said before, when the time comes, I will be the first one running towards the danger. And I will not let any of you get hurt. To do that though, I need you to trust me. All of you. Listen to my orders, and I promise to bring everyone back to the Lost City in one piece. We will even complete the Trial. But only if you listen to me.”
“You are our Captain,” Ralph said. “Of course, we will listen to you.”
“…I do not approve of you charging into danger all on your own, but I will listen to you.”
“…I am not afraid of the danger,” Fran said. “But I am interested in the strength of the team that you said earlier.”
“…I still have a few things to do after we go back to the city,” Aren said, shrugging his shoulders casually. “Looks like there is no other choice, other than listening to you.”
“…Like I said, I have never gone against you,” Zain said, looking annoyed at the rest of the men. “Come on guys, get yourself together already. If you keep dragging me down like this, you will make me look bad with you.”
“…Good,” Alnea said, not bothering to ask about the opinion of the girls. It was not worth the embarrassment. Besides, he knew their answer anyway. “Lia, Vestia…”
“On it.”
“Keep up.”
Once again, the two girls blasted off into the distance. This time though, they were sensible enough to not create a spectacle. Nodding in satisfaction, Alnea followed behind the girls with Yuri. And soon, everyone was running once again, marching towards the depths of the desert, searching for Oren Beasts, while keeping an eye out for more enemies. None came. At least they did not find any Wanderers. Oren Beasts though…
After the five Sand Eaters, they soon came across a wave of seven Blood Sniffers, one metre large bat like creatures, except they could not fly. Through evolution, mutation, or blessings from the Origin Sea, the Blood Sniffers lost their ability to fly, but in exchange, gained the Innate Ability of Bloody Wings. Channelling the blood that they had stored in a separate dimension within their bodies to the edges of their wings, the Blood Sniffers could launch blades of blood at their enemies.
Not a very rare, or powerful Innate Ability. Many Oren Beasts had similar Innate Abilities. Like the Wind Blades of the Green Wind Wolves. What set the Blood Sniffers apart from the other Oren Beasts was their second Innate Ability. A rare passive Innate Ability, giving the pseudo bats the ability to sniff blood from as far as tens of kilometres away.
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Of course, just smelling blood, no matter from how far away it was, could not be considered to be an Innate Ability. The Innate Ability of the Blood Sniffers was to ‘sniff’ blood, even if their targets were not bleeding. Whether they were bleeding or not, as long as any living being, with blood flowing in their veins, appeared within ten kilometres of the Blood Sniffers, the pseudo bats would be able to ‘sniff’ them instantly.
The most annoying part of the Blood Sniffers though, was their Innate Ability of manipulating the blood of their enemies to some extent. It did not do much damage, but the feeling of your blood flowing in reverse, hindering your movements, sure was annoying. It was only because Alnea had already condensed fifty Perfect Grade Blood Crystals, and strengthened his blood and blood vessels that he was relatively immune to bat’s ability. The rest though…
Thankfully, the bats were also a bit agitated, reducing the degree of their cooperation. But they were not completely stupid like the Sand Eaters either. At the very least, they were able to use their Innate Abilities, even if reluctantly. Their enemies were getting smarter… In any case, it was an annoying battle, with Alnea and the girls doing most of the work, and the rest barely contributing anything.
Surprisingly, Karl took the initiative to participate in the battle, launching a rain of fire to keep the bats in check, while Alnea and the girls dealt with them one by one. And it was not just the battle with the bats. Even in the battles after that, when they faced the Flame Scorpions, or the Red Tailed Snakes, he proved to be more useful than the rest. At least he did not waste his Spirit Power like Zain.
Gradually though, as Enn kept climbing higher in the sky, and their number of battles kept increasing, the others also began to learn how to judge the timing of their attacks. They did not have perfect coordination, like the girls did with him, but they were improving. There was just one problem. Their Spirit Power was beginning to run out.
Alnea and Yuri had already exchanged their positions with Cecilia and Vestia to become the scouts of the team, only to exchange their position back after a couple of hours. It could not be helped. The frequency of their battles was just too high.
From Sand Eaters to Blood Sniffers, and then to Flame Scorpions, Red Tailed Snakes, Dark Earth Worms, Black Tongued Lizards, and even some plant type Oren Beasts like Black Thorned Vines, Blood Sucking Vines, and Black Cactus, all sorts of Oren Beasts kept coming at them every once in a while. And though they won every time, with no one getting hurt in the process, the price they paid was also correspondingly high. Drained, and tired, soon the men began to wonder if they should go back.
“…If you want to die,” Alnea replied to their absurd suggestions. “Do you think that a False Wanderer, or maybe even a group of False Wanderers can control so many peak phase Oren Beasts?”
“…Are you saying that we are facing True Wanderers?” Aren said, emphasising each of his words.
“Who knows? I would not be surprised even if the one behind the Oren Beasts is a Mystic Wanderer.”
“…Are they not afraid of the city?” Norren said with a frown.
“Afraid? Why would they be afraid? Maybe they did some tricks, but they did not attack us directly.”
“…Then can we not just go back?”
“…Do you think that whoever can control so many Oren Beasts, and direct them towards us, cannot gather a bunch of Wanderers to ambush us?”
“…Are we really going to die?”
“…No one is going to die,” Alnea said. “At least no one amongst us is going to die. I cannot say the same about our enemies.”
“…How can you be so confident?”
“…How can you not be so confident?” Alnea asked back in return. “As Wanderers, who walk on the line of life and death every day, how can you be afraid of a stupid trap like this?”
“…Stupid trap?”
“A stupid trap,” Alnea said with confidence. “Unlike the traps of the Origin Sea, which we cannot see through without enough Serenity in our Hearts, even kids can tell that we are being led into a trap. You tell me, is it stupid or not?”
“…Stupid or not, it is an effective trap,” Karl mumbled. “At least it is trap that we cannot avoid.”
“There, that is your answer,” Alnea said, with a wide grin on his face. “Since we cannot avoid the trap, we will just keep moving forward.”
“But—
“No buts. Did I not tell everyone before? No matter what happens, just trust me. I will bring everyone back to the Lost City alive. That is my promise as your Captain. In return, all I want is for everyone to keep moving forward. You can do that, right?”
“…Do we even have a choice anymore?” Karl mumbled, as if he was dissatisfied with situation. And yet, he was the first to accept his words. Except for Zain, of course. The white robed Arcanist, despite being drained completely of his Spirit Power, was not showing any signs of nervousness, or anxiety. Rather, the moment he heard that their enemy might be a Mystic Wanderer, he became a little too enthusiastic, urging everyone to keep moving forward with Alnea.
“…It is just a Mystic Wanderer,” Zain said. “If I had all my Spirit Power, I would have brought him down myself. But… Forget it. I will give this chance to our Captain. Out of everyone present here, only your talent can match me… Do not disappoint me, Alnea.”
…Did the stinky mouth really think that he could deal with a Mystic Wanderer? Or was he just getting delusional because of the pressure? No, Zain was already delusional to begin with. Other than the girls though, he was also the only one to trust him completely. No matter his decision, the man always supported him, albeit with some complaints here and there. Still, no matter how annoying he was, Zain had proven himself to be a man worthy of his trust. A man worthy to be his friend.
“I will not,” Alnea said to Zain, responding to his delusional bragging for the first time in a while. “Trust me.”
After a pause, Alnea turned towards the rest of the Star Seekers, and said, “Now, let’s keep moving forward, shall we?”