Whiskers lunged at the first stone skin lizard that got too close. It was even longer than Whiskers but its body was skinny. With just one bite, the catfish’s large mouth engulfed a third of the other beast. The remaining part of the lizard’s body thrashed about, its sharp claws leaving several bloody scratches on the catfish's face.

The other three lizards circled Whiskers. They bit and scratched, aiming at anything in front of them including the fins as well as the soft belly region. Whiskers thrashed about in response, batting the enemies away. As it did so, its mouth loosened and the first lizard was able to break free.

Clouds of blood turned the clear lake murky. Although the surface remained calm, a furious battle erupted within the water. Whiskers swam here and there, using its powerful body to smash its opponents. The lizards were resilient. They withstood the collisions with their stony skin and retaliated by taking bites out of their enemy.

Zachary didn’t look back as he swam. He could feel Whiskers' pain through their soul bond. It wasn’t yet enough to threaten its life but the wounds were terrible. His summon was strong but it lacked a killing move. Against multiple opponents, it was a critical weakness as it couldn’t end the battle quickly.

In such a situation, he couldn’t help but think of Hammer. If only he still had Hammer, this fight would have been too easy. He still had yet to get another crustacean-type summon. There were plenty of those Ensouled residing here but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt that it would be a disservice to Hammer’s memory. He knew he was being stupid and it clearly showed today.

“Whiskers, retreat. You’re faster than them in the water!”

Zachary conveyed this thought through their bond. He couldn’t exactly use words and Whiskers couldn’t understand them anyway. That wasn’t possible until the adept rank. But simple thoughts and ideas were okay. The idea of fleeing was innate to every sensible Ensouled and didn’t need elaboration.

Whiskers flicked its tail fin to knock aside a stone skin lizard and fled in a random direction, leaving behind many trails of red blood as it swam. The four lizards chased after it for a little while until they realized they had been tricked. They turned as one and raced toward Zachary, their second most hated enemy, the hairless ape that had eaten so many of their kin.

Zachary was still some distance from the island. With a limp left arm and a crooked leg, he could only crawl through the water at a slug’s pace. He was a sitting duck.

“Whiskers!” He urgently sent another message, “Charge them!”

Whiskers acknowledged. It swung around and built up speed. It then charged into the midst of the lizards from their flank, causing them to scatter in panic. In the process, it tried to bite one of them but the beast contorted its skinny body at the moment to dodge away.

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Whiskers didn’t stick around. It understood its summoner’s intentions and circled for another pass. It harassed the lizards again and again, buying enough time for Zachary to finally scramble onto dry land.

After coughing up some water and heaving to catch his breath, he looked up at a curious sight. Onkie had dragged Sugo out of the water and the turtle had followed. Sugo lay on the rocky beach in surrender. Its body was flat like a pancake. Its two eye stalks drooped downward in sadness. If it could cry, there would have been a puddle of tears already.

The turtle kept on munching on Sugo's seaweed as if it had found the most delicious thing in the world. Onkie tried time and time again to push the turtle away but it ignored the furry pig. When Onkie tried to bite its limbs, it pulled them into its shell and continued to eat.

Zachary could do nothing about them at the moment. Sugo still had about half of its seaweed left so he turned to the more pressing issue in the water. Whiskers had already fought for a long time. It was covered in wounds. Its speed and agility had dropped steeply. Even as a summon that resided in a soul orb, it had reached its physical limits.

“Whiskers, come back!” He ordered.

Whiskers let out a tired and relieved response. It rushed towards the beach with what little energy it still had. Once it reached the shallows, he patted one of the orbs on his summoning belt. A light shot out of his brow and connected with it, pulling it back to safety.

The four lizards were not far behind. They glared at Zachary and headed straight for him.

“Blue, Boba,” He called out. “Come here!”

Blue flew over and landed on his head, its usual perch. It was getting a little heavy but still manageable. It chirped as if wanting praise for following instructions.

Boba slithered across the rocks and arrived at his feet, also awaiting orders. It had grown much bigger after a few breakthroughs. Its thickest section was about as wide as his upper arm and it was well over a meter in length.

“Gurr!”

“Gurrraa!”

The lizards reached the beach. They let out loud growls as they rushed out of the water.

“Onkie, go!”

“Ooonnn!” She cried out and charged.

Her heavy figure collided head-on with the leading lizard. They tumbled together, scratching and biting. That was one down. He had complete faith that Onkie would come out on top.

“Blue, rain daggers!”

“Chrr!”

Blue flapped its wings and shot out. It paused midway and created a drizzle in midair. The other three lizards were taken aback and dodged in several directions. The blue bird was something they had never seen before so they didn’t know what kind of dangers it possessed.

“Boba, your turn. Take that one!” He pointed to the smallest lizard.

Boba hissed and slithered towards its opponent. The lizard growled and showed its large mouth filled with sharp teeth. It lunged at Boba, intent on chomping into snake flesh. However, Boba struck like lightning. In a flash, its body wrapped around the lizard. The lizard growled and struggled but very quickly, it couldn’t even breathe.

Boba had no other offensive abilities except this one innate to all pythons. It could even kill a stronger beast like this. As of now, there was no chance for the lizard to survive unless it received help.

Zachary waved his walking stick in one hand like a sword and joined the battle. Blue continued to fly overhead, causing confusion. Together they kept the two remaining lizards at bay.

As they fought, the green turtle silently watched them. Its eyes shined in excitement. The Eternum around its body quivered with powerful feelings of yearning and curiosity.

It took a step towards the beach as if it wanted to go over and have some fun. However, it paused when Onkie let out a loud cry, standing over the mangled body of a lizard in victory. The furry pig then charged at another lizard, quickly turning the tide.

The turtle let out a snort and turned back to its meal.