There were actually two six-winged seagulls. One was slightly bigger than the other. They seemed intimately familiar with each other, like a mating pair. They circled each other, squawking loudly, and launching wind attacks at anything that moved below.
No wonder the scorpion dragon lost in the end. Although it broke through to the expert rank, although it had expert control over three elements, it still had to flee if it was two against one. As for the adepts and novices scattered all over the beach and the cliffs, none of them stood any chance against the fury of these two beasts.
However, it wasn’t a problem that Zachary had to deal with. If the Republic wanted to colonize this new land, they had to put forth an adequate effort.
“Kreee!”
With an ear-piercing screech, a giant eagle flew in from the west, Captain Willis standing atop its back.
“You finally showed yourselves,” She said grimly.
"Keww!”
“Keww!”
The two giant seagulls squawked and turned to face the new threat. They flapped their wings in unison, creating a barrage of wind blades, attacking immediately.
“Weak.” Captain Willis muttered, “Skybreaker, defend!”
The armored eagle beneath her raised its wings. Its gleaming, metallic feathers spread out, forming a living shield.
Pang!
Pang! Pang! Pang!
The wind blades were all deflected. The armored eagle lost a few feathers but was otherwise unharmed.
Captain Willis ran a hand through her wind-swept hair like a dashing heroine, “My turn.”
She swept her hand over her summoning belt, revealing several soul orbs. Rays of light shot out from between her eyebrows and took the shape of three distict creatures. One was a familiar ember cat. Its eyes burned with excitement as it stood on the armored eagle’s head. As for the other two, it was another armored eagle as well as a strange beast that looked like a thorny toad. The toad stuck to the back of the second eagle and croaked menacingly.
All of the summons emitted powerful auras. They were all at the expert rank. With the addition to the first eagle, it was four expert rank summons in total. This was the true strength of an expert summoner of the Republic of Adorin.
“Kreee!”
“Kreeee!”
The two armored eagles screeched and charged. At the same time, Eternum surged around the ember cat and the spiked toad. As they closed the distance, huge plumes of crimson flames erupted out of the ember cat while a barrage of deadly black spikes shot out of the toad.
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"Keww!”
The giant seagulls flapped their wings and retaliated with a tornado that obeyed their will.
The sky trembled and the clouds shook as the two sides collided.
“Zach!”
“Zachary!”
Zachary wanted to watch the battle high in the sky but he felt a tug on his arm. A disheveled Heather pulled him urgently toward some fallen trees. Amidst the smashed tree trunks, Nellie was lying motionless on the ground. Nearby was a giant pill bug which had been sliced in half.
Heather rushed to Nellie’s side, not daring to touch the gaping, wound across her chest. Blood was pouring out. It was a miracle that she was still alive even though her bones and mangled insides were visible.
“Nellie! Nellie!” Shuhua was crying as she hugged Jean-Pierre.
“Damn the saints! Damn the seagulls!” Carlos cursed furiously.
“Zach!” Heather shouted through her tears, “Zach! Help!”
Wander reacted before Zachary did. The turtle shot out from between his brow as a ray of green light and landed beside Nellie. Wander barked at Heather and Shuhua to get them away and then stuck his head toward Nellie’s grievous wound.
The mossy patterns on his shell glowed bright. Eternum surged.
Wander let out a large breath which covered all of Nellie's wounds. The bleeding slowed and then stopped. Bones snapped as they started to regrow. New flesh grew at visible speed. It was simply too fast. His mysterious healing powers defied common sense. It was even more miraculous than when Wander healed their summons last night. He could even bring back a soul from the brink of death.
“Amazing,” Jean-Pierre muttered, “What a good turtle.”
"Too strong," Carlos added.
The others held their breaths, hoping against the impossible.
“Big bro, help me,” Wander barked at Zachary while taking a quick break, “I’m running out of energy.”
“Alright, here goes.”
Zachary activated their soul bond and sent his soul energy through it. Through borrowed power, his strength was Wander’s strength. And if his strength was expended, he could still use anima crystals.
While Wander was still healing, the ferocious battle between experts was still ongoing in the sky. Suddenly, an especially powerful clash covered the area in a blinding flash. Streaks of Eternum flew wildly, crashing down and leaving large holes wherever it landed.
“What’s happening?” Zachary asked urgently.
“The seagulls are fleeing,” Carlos said, pointing at the sky, “The captain and the marines are chasing after them.”
As he said that, countless shadows flashed past, each one a summoner riding their eagle.
Zachary took a risk to stand up and take a look around at the surrounding situation. Large swaths of the forest had been flattened. The beach was almost deserted. The marines that didn’t follow the captain were retreating to the ship to get medical treatment.
“We can’t stay here. We’re sitting ducks.” Zachary said, “Nellie should be stable enough to move. Doro, take her, gently.”
Doro appeared and lifted Nellie with a bed made of earth. Heather led the way with Zachary and Doro in tow. The group silently slipped into the jungle, following the same path they had taken in the morning.
They had no idea when the battle between the seagull overlords and the caption would conclude. Although she was an expert summoner, she faced two expert rank wild Ensouled. Although these seagulls were not the smartest species around, they were creatures with experience and instinct. They wouldn’t sit around and get killed easily. The sky was vast and the world seemingly endless. If they were defeated, they could still flee.
But this matter had nothing to do with Zachary or the others. With the seagulls gone, there were no more points to be gained. They could only hide and await the captain’s return.
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