The rest of her companions didn’t realize what was happening, although they assumed that the aerial danger had been eliminated or delayed, since several arrows were hitting their terrestrial enemies.

Goldmi didn’t strain her power much either. She was prepared to go all out, but she preferred not to be discovered, besides letting her companions do their work. They also wanted to get stronger. So, she limited herself to hampering the losts, to uncoordinating an offensive that the late general could no longer readjust.

Thus, the dwarf Taunted two of them, and stunned them with Shield Strike. They were immediately attacked by the muscular demihuman with Brutal Strike.

On the other side, the lynx was taking care of an ant, by attacking its legs with Shred and Purifying Touch, thus protecting the magicians.

The reptilian was quickly depleting his mana, but he had managed to Charcoal an earthworm and a mole, and he was trying it with the armadillo.

For her part, the drelf had used her ranged healing spell to practically kill another one, since the losts were vulnerable to such spells.

They had soon wiped out seven of them, with little more trouble than the mage having spent too much mana, as the corrupted armadillo had proven to be very tough. Six more remained, two of whom were crawling on their crippled legs.

Viclot turned, stood in front of the mages, and used Impenetrable Wall to narrowly prevent the poison from reaching them. Goldmi had avoided damaging that lost too much. She was hoping that her companions would take care of it, without considering that the mage barely had any mana left. She breathed in relief, because she could hardly have avoided the damage to her companions so suddenly.

At that moment, she began to curse herself for having wanted to hide her power, because she had put them in danger. She was beginning to feel tremendously guilty. If not for the dwarf, they could have been injured, even killed.

Meanwhile, the worm that had attacked them was soon on the ground, held by strong jaws. And Crogall used his last mana reserves to launch a Fireball at an approaching one, which was finished off by the elf.

The dwarf was in charge of blocking another worm, while Tarbhnor destroyed an ant that also intended to attack the dwarf, and then he took care of the worm.

The two remaining moles, without further orders, continued to crawl towards them, so they were an easy prey for the group. Meanwhile, with rage, the elf finished off the fallen birds.

After that, the dwarf issued another signal, to indicate that the danger had passed, and they decided to return before their time. They had consumed a lot of energy and mana, so it was wise to rest in the safety of the outpost.

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Viclot and Tarbhnor were arguing heatedly over who had contributed the most, while Crogall was deep in thought, and reviewing the battle and his mistakes. He had almost run out of mana, and that was a serious problem for a mage.

Goldmi followed them with her head down. She only answered in monosyllables if they asked her. She was eaten up by guilt, that of having allowed her companions to be in a danger that she could have avoided.

Maldoa was looking at her with mixed feelings. On the one hand, she didn’t know very well what was crossing the elf’s mind, Clearly, she wasn’t very happy. On the other, what the drelf had discovered about the elf still puzzled her. Someone like her could change the course of that war. She wasn’t surprised anymore they had sent her to protect her.

“I’ll take care of it, go to rest,” the drelf offered.

“Thanks, you’re the best. I hate the paperwork,” the demihuman almost knelt.

It was a sentiment shared by the other two. Reporting and paperwork was something they hated. But it was necessary in a case like that, in an ambush in which a general seemed to be involved. And, for that very reason, she had volunteered. She couldn’t allow any information to leak out.

For her part, Goldmi simply nodded, closely accompanied by the lynx. She still felt bad about herself, despite her sister’s support, so she went straight to the dormitory. She just said that she was tired.

“What has happened? You’ve sent a signal for help and…” asked the officer.

“I’ll send the report directly,” the drelf interrupted, while showing her badge.

“Yes, my captain,” he saluted, dumbfounded.

“My identity is a secret. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She would have preferred not to disclose her rank, but it was better that the officer knew it than the information about that encounter could be leaked. Her companions hadn’t seen it, but it was better if they didn’t think too much about it. Also, it made no sense to raise alarm for the presence of a general which was no longer there. So, she sent a direct message to her higher ups. Then, she went to the dining room.

“Where is Goldmi?”

“She said she was tired. She’s gone to the room,” Crogall, who was the only one still sober, reported.

“I see. I’ll go see her,” she excused herself.

She found her sitting on the bed. She was stroking the lynx, that was lying on her. She sat next to her, although she wasn’t the first to speak.

“I’m not good enough for this,” the elf sobbed. “Sorry, I put you in danger.”

“What do you say!? You’ve saved us! You took care of all the flying ones, and you even helped a lot with the others. Without you, we might not have gotten out of that ambush,” Maldoa contradicted her.

“I could’ve done more. The poison almost got you. It wouldn’t have happened if I’d done more,” Goldmi blamed herself.

“We can all do more, we can all make mistakes, but there is no doubt that you saved us.”

“No. You don’t understand. I didn’t do more because I was selfish. Because… I didn’t want to show my full power. That’s why I put us in danger,” she kept blaming herself.

The drelf was surprised by those words. Her companion had been more than extraordinary. At only level 30, no one could think that she could have done more.

“Goldmi, you don’t have to…”

“I… am… a visitor. I know it’s not good for it to be known, but I can’t keep hiding it from you, from my companions. If not, I put all of you in danger,” she sobbed, without looking at her friend.

That not only shocked the drelf, but made her feel terribly guilty. If the elf felt guilty about this, how should she feel? She sighed. If they relieved her of the mission, let them do it. As a half dryad, she couldn’t keep hiding it from her, not in that situation.

“If you feel guilty, I don’t know how I should feel,” she confessed.

The elf raised her head, and looked puzzled and teary-eyed at her friend. She had trusted her even though she hadn’t even known her for a day.

“What do you mean?”