Chapter 115 Edelweiss and Rhander

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"Watch out! 9 o'clock!" Joseph shouted as he directed Mattheus, Rick, and Mark. He was distraught as none had studied standard elven tactics in the academy. While he was frustrated that he could not command them properly, they were veteran mercenaries and knew how to read the battlefield. None of them panicked, and they covered each other's backs. Their expertise had saved them countless times in the dark dungeon before, and now in the jungle wilderness.

"Look, a fruit!" Joseph exclaimed as he spotted a banana in front of him.

"Let's eat it!" said Edelweiss eagerly.

"Wait, what if the fruit is poisonous?" Mattheus voiced his concern.

"Eat it first. If something happens, Lord Edelweiss can fix it," Joseph suggested, asking Edelweiss to heal them if any poisonous substances were found in the fruit. Edelweiss nodded, and they had a feast. Edelweiss was the pillar of survival for the team, as they didn't need to worry about water and injuries with her healing spells. However, Edelweiss was not omnipotent; she could not make food out of thin air. That's why she was elated when they found a jungle with edible fruits.

With such an abundant supply on hand, there was nothing to fear except instant death for the group. Even when a bunch of spiders ambushed them, Joseph became the shield that prevented the spiders from getting close to Edelweiss. The toxins quickly immobilized him, but Edelweiss cured him with her spells.

"Lord Edelweiss, Rick is down!" Mark shouted as he crushed another spider with his sword. Another spider was hanging on his shield.

"Mark!" With just one word, the veteran mercenary understood what the others wanted him to do. He raised his shield, and Mattheus smashed the spider hanging on it with his greatsword, splattering yellow slime on his hands. Uncaring of the disgusting liquid, Mark circled Edelweiss, trying to protect her flank as she cured Rick, who was lying on the ground.

The group was improvising, as Edelweiss didn't know how to command, and Joseph was the only one who knew the formations taught in the academy. Moreover, the enemy relied on ambushes, and Mattheus, Rick, and Mark had never learned these tactics. However, their experience kicked in, and they knew that if all the members were down at once, it would spell the end for them. Fortunately, the enemy had no instant kill attacks, and Edelweiss only needed a few seconds to heal them as long as she could touch them. Filled with confidence, the group charged, and soon after, the spiders fled. Mattheus gained a level up from the experience points earned.

"Let's make camp. I think setting up around the banana tree would be best," Joseph suggested, getting an agreement from Edelweiss. Nobody worried about water because they believed Edelweiss could create as much as needed. Even Edelweiss herself cared more about getting some rest than finding a river, which once again saved the team from potential death.

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A few hours later, the group built a simple shack thanks to Edelweiss's masterful magic for creating stone pillars and the mercenaries' skills in foraging in the wild. Mattheus used his greatsword to chop down trees and clear the surroundings.

Meanwhile, Rhander was utterly exhausted. His encounter with the worms had left him with only two feystones, and despite his best efforts, he could only manage to replenish three of them before collapsing from exhaustion. Rhander was abruptly shaken awake by Rhegar, and although he felt the urge to lash out in annoyance, he managed to keep his cool when he realized he was the only one still lying down while the others had already prepared to move on.

"Thank you," Rhander silently expressed his gratitude to Rhegar.

"I knew you were tired, but we need to keep going. The worms seem to be getting closer," Rhegar said urgently. "And we also need to find the others. We have no supplies."

The group was hungry, thirsty, and anxious. Rhander could create water, but sustaining nine people was a challenge. Edelweiss could do it effortlessly, and Lily could do it at the cost of her firepower. However, Rhander, not being as blessed, could barely manage it with ample rest and meditation, and on top of that, he also needed to provide light. He had only been able to produce ten liters of water for the group so far, and they all knew it was not enough.

Fortunately, the group valued their comrades like family, and despite their hunger and thirst, there were no fights among them.

Rhander moved with the group, and after several hours, they arrived at the next floor, which was a jungle biome. The change in scenery from the dark cave to the dark jungle was mesmerizing. The group was elated to find a river in the distance, and the dwarves, in their excitement, rushed towards it, only to be reprimanded by Rhegar for breaking formation.

Rhegar and Rhander could not contain their own excitement either, and they followed the dwarves while shouting to maintain formation. However, disaster struck soon after.

"AAHHH! Spiders!" Thor and Helmet screamed from the frontline as the group was ambushed. The spiders were physically weak, and Thorek quickly dispatched one with his axe. But more spiders swarmed them, and as the creatures bit them, their bodies slowly went numb, and they fell to the ground.

"Thor is down! Watch out! They're venomous!" Rhegar shouted as he expertly bisected a spider that lunged at him. Rhander couldn't help but envy Rhegar's swordsmanship, as he had always dreamed of becoming a master swordsman like Ghander of Hoeth. However, his talents lay in spells, and he had excelled in spellcasting, earning him a position with Edelweiss, the best spellcaster in all elven lands.

But in situations like this ambush, mages were often helpless. Even Lord Edelweiss herself couldn't do much unless she had a few seconds of concentration to cast her spells. Lily, who was deadly in both melee and ranged combat, was a rare exception. Rhander had never seen such a fighting style or heard of such a possibility.

Lord Alistar, the hero of Soleil Fort, was proficient in magic and melee, but he preferred axes and bows over magic. His deceased senior, Feht, could cast spell swiftly, but he still needed a few seconds of complete stillness to concentrate on his feystones.

And now, in this dire ambush, the group's fate hung in the balance, and Rhander found himself unable to do anything about it.