Zachary had no real use for the purple butterfly he traded from Jean-Pierre. It was a common creature found throughout the jungle. He had seen many of them and they came in all kinds of colors. But they were unremarkable. They had very little combat power or interesting abilities. They were only useful as a scout but he already had Blue and Timber which were far better at that role. At least they could defend themselves and evade tough opponents.
The other summoning cards were also not too special. Only the adept rank flower demon caught his interest, albeit slightly. It was rather unimpressive from his experience. Onkie could fight two of them with ease. Still, an adept was still an adept so he kept for now. He would have to spend some time to replace the original soul imprint in the summoning card with his own. Then he could use it in a pinch.
After a short while, Nellie and Shuhua were back on their feet. They weren't fully fit yet but Zachary's healing got them to a point where they would recover on their own after a good night's sleep. The battle with the seagulls was still ongoing all along the beach but nobody seemed interested in that at the moment. They had fought all morning. They were tired. They had also been ambushed. Their summons which resided in summoning cards could not be brought out again for a while. The ones in soul orbs could still fight but they also needed rest.
"Should we hit them back?" Nellie asked. "They won't see us coming."
"They might," Jean-Pierre said, "They aren't as careful as you guys but they aren't idiots."
"It will be safer to rest and recover. They still have a lot of people and we still have seagulls to fight." Heather said.
"Wait, I didn't mean we didn't have a chance." Jean-Pierre said, "Nellie's idea is pretty good. They won't expect us. And I can easily take care of their scouts."
Nellie gave him a smile and a wink which made him chuckle.
Zachary shook his head at the flirty pair, "Let's not get distracted. The most important thing is still the seagulls and the captain's challenge. We should get some rest. I can't always heal you guys if we get into one fight after another."
His words brought the others around. Even Nellie sat back down without complaint. The only reason they considered retaliating against the Dark Star Gang was because he had healed their injuries. Without him, they had to consider their own mortality and weigh the risks.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
After a long break and filling their stomachs, the gang readied themselves for another long struggle session with the flying pests. The sky above the beach was still filled with them. However, the intensity of the battle between the various flocks and the summoners on the ground had waned greatly. With many losses and no clear victor, both sides took a more careful approach, picking their fights and retreating when things turned for the worse.
Dream reappeared in the small pond, leaping out of the water to create rainbows that glittered under the sun. Its reappearance was like a rock that had been thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples of agitation amongst the seagulls. Straightaway, a pair of large seagulls separated from the flock and dived towards Dream. Those two were huge, fully-grown adult seagulls, each the size of a champion bull. Their four wings covered the sky as they descended into the clearing.
Sensing the danger, Zachary touched Dream's soul orb and quickly performed a long-range recall. A ray of light shot out from his brow and into the pond, retrieving Dream just moments before the two enormous beasts splashed down. At the same time, a forest of treants rumbled forward and crashed into the seagulls, grabbing their wings and ripping their feathers. Each person had brought out a treant, with three adepts and three novices in total. They were slow but they were strong, enough to hold the thrashing birds down momentarily.
"Mary, go!" Heather commanded as a giant python slithered forward.
It was huge, it made Zachary's Boba seem like an earthworm. Its flower-patterned scales wrapped around one of the seagulls and its thick body twisted and constricted, slowly squeezing the life out of its foe. At the same time, the python's scales excreted a toxin that stopped the seagull's struggles. As for the other seagull, it was pelted by Voodoo's poison and succumbed to death after a brief moment of torment.
The two seagulls were quickly taken care of, with their anima crystals dug out and their carcasses thrown aside. Everyone had already captured an adept rank seagull with the soul orbs that Zachary handed out at the beginning. There was no need for a second one since they still had to heal the ones they had already obtained if they wanted to use it in battle. Also, nobody had thick enough skin to ask him for another soul orb for free.
Zachary had already healed the seagull he caught using Wander. He didn't want another one. He was unsatisfied with this species' innate talent. The overgrown bird only had one ability which used its wings to create wind gusts which was generally useless in a fight. All he could rely on were its brute strength and its sharp beak and claws.
"Two more down!" Carlos shouted excitedly.
"And more to go!" Jean-Pierre added.
"How is everyone? And your summons?" Heather asked.
After a round of positive replies, the gang resumed their efforts. They had to share the spoils between six people so everyone had to work hard. It was a test of endurance, for the summoners and their summons. The wild seagulls patrolling the sky, the republic marines that had dug in all along the beach, and the survivors that manned the tree line; they were in a struggle that seemed to have no end.