Chapter 120 Reunion with Alistar Final Part

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Alistar swam as fast as he could to reach Helmet's group. Helmet was surrounded by raptors, and there were injured people with him. The situation seemed dire, so Alistar didn't have time to return and inform Sig. He could only hope that Sig saw him and followed him to the riverbank where he was at. Alith and Sana followed Alistar, confused about why he didn't return, but soon figured out the reason.

Even with their superhuman strength, Alith and Sana swam faster than Alistar and reached the riverbank a minute before him. That minute was precisely what saved Helmet's group, as one of the raptors was about to bite into one of their dwarven friends. The duo tailfolk proved to be excellent fighters against the raptors, and their quick and coordinated attack had already sent one lizard's head flying by the time Alistar reached the riverbank.

Alistar went on the offensive, and the raptors tried to surround him but to no avail. Their bites were met with his hard skin, and with his strength, he decapitated their heads. He moved to Helmet's rear, closing the gaps in their defenses.

"Hah... thank you, lad... I mean Lord Alistar." Helmet switched from informal to more formal language. He was going to replace his father soon, and his father had warned him that elves love formality, so he learned it while grumbling. He never thought it would be helpful now.

"No need for formalities. Did you meet with the others?" Alistar surveyed the group. There were four dwarves in total, with one of them missing both his legs. The other three were also lightly injured. If Alistar had been an hour or two late, they would have become the raptors' food.

Alistar frowned because he didn't see Edelweiss but soon smiled at the prospect that others, including Lily and Edelweiss, might have survived if this group did too. If he explored more along the river, he was sure to find them.

"Rhander and Rhegar went out with two of my dwarves..." Helmet replied as he gathered his soldiers and tended to their wounds. "What about you? Only three?"

"No, Sig and Niece will come soon. The alligator dragged us to the middle of the river."

"And you survived?"

"Barely."

"Damn it. We could have saved Leghorn..." Helmet mourned, but Alistar pressed on with his question.

"So, where are Rhegar and Rhander? Why did you split into two teams?"

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"They went that way. We needed to secure this base, but we also wanted to search for you guys, so we pushed ourselves a bit. We couldn't survive here without the blessed." Helmet said. While Alistar felt annoyed at the statement that relied solely on the blessed person, he knew it was true.

"Let's go meet with Rhegar and the others! They might have found Lady Lily!" Alith and Sana were excited at the prospect of others surviving the cave collapse from earlier.

"Can you hold the fort on your own?" Alistar asked Helmet.

"It's fine! I'm not a kid. It was just a scratch. I can hold this place for an hour or two. Go on! Help the other group. They might be in trouble!" Helmet waved them off.

After hearing an explosion in the distance, Alistar pursued the group and soon found them. The group was surrounded by raptors, but they dispersed as Alistar arrived. Alistar pondered the creatures' intelligent decision. He was frustrated with their guerrilla tactics. Chasing them was not an option, but if left alone, they would continue to harass them. Alistar's thick skin could withstand the attack of these smaller reptiles, but they could undoubtedly injure the group. Without Edelweiss, there might be death due to blood loss if the wound was not properly bandaged.

"Lord Alistar! I am glad to see you!" Rhegar knelt and smiled as he looked at his lord in relief.

"Rhegar, good to see you too. Did you find anyone else?" Alistar asked.

"I apologize, but our search bore no fruit." Rhegar nodded in shame. Alistar was just glad that at least he was alive. If Edelweiss had at least one or two people with her, she was sure to survive.

"Let us return. We need to scout more. Did you find anything noteworthy?"

"Yes, we found a ruin with a house and a well. I was planning to make that our base. We lost a comrade to an alligator attack."

"I see. We shall do so." Alistar nodded.

"By the way, Lord Alistar, have you completed our objective?" Rhegar asked.

"The titan ores? Not yet. We only managed to gather around two hundred kilos. We still need more."

"I see. We found some in the dungeon above. We might need to revisit it in the future."

"Certainly. But that can wait. We need to find Edelweiss and Lily first. Their lives are more valuable than mine." Rhegar was shocked that Alistar viewed Lily's life as more important than his own, but he nodded nevertheless.

The group returned to the camp and found Sig waiting across the river. Alistar then swam back to their place and carried both niece and Sig back to the base camp Helmet had built. The alligators approached them, but Alistar either ripped their jaws or put a hole through their stomachs with his sword. He was invincible here. His armor and skills worked wonders against enemies that could only harass and rely on numbers and terrain.

"My son!" Sig hugged him, and the family reunited.

"So, should we travel together, or should we leave someone at this new base?" Rhegar asked as they moved everything into their new base. The ruins needed a bit more work, but they could simply use the camps Niece had in her item box. Besides, Alistar wasn't planning on using these ruins at all. He was already used to Niece's very convenient item box skill.

Alistar weighed his options and chose to go together. Rhegar seemed to treat it as using elven scouting military tactics, which dictated that the group should not be more than four. However, Alistar wasn't that rigid. He could simply use invasion tactics and have a larger group. Rhegar seemed to understand this and acted accordingly, while Rhander only followed Rhegar.

The group then marched on, clearing any bushes. The group went from five to thirteen at once. The search for Edelweiss began.