“Watch out!”
“Heather!”
Several people on that side shouted but their reactions were too slow. With a series of dull thuds, black spikes the length of daggers landed where Heather stood. The first one struck her left arm, piercing through it halfway. The second one buried deeply into her side. Another left a long gash along her back as she fell. The rest of the spikes missed their mark, hitting the tree trunk she was standing beside.
“Ahhh!” Heather cried out as she curled up in pain.
“Casimir, mother fucker!” The man in Heather’s group shouted but he was met with a second barrage of black spikes.
This time, it came from a porcupine-looking creature that had appeared at Casimir’s feet.
“Hahaha!” Casimir laughed mockingly, “Everyone, attack! Kill them first! Then we’ll worry about the crocodile.”
“Attack!”
Two more rays of light shot out from his side, turning into waddling black balls covered in spikes. They soon started shooting, sometimes at Heather and her people, sometimes at their summons, particularly the ones trying to pressure the wild alligator.
“Attack!”
“Spike rain!”
The flower demon and the mantis immediately suffered. The flower demon was turned into a pin cushion within a few breaths. The mantis quickly dodged after being hit by the initial barrage. Its movements were still quick but it was in obvious pain. Blue blood flowed from many places where it was wounded.
“Damn it! My Rosie can’t hold on anymore!” One of the women on Heather’s side shouted.
She forcibly cast a long-range recall and then hid behind a thick tree trunk. A handful of black spikes landed where her head had been just a few moments before.
On the other side of the stream, Casimir had summoned another strong Ensouled. It was a familiar creature, a gorilla with shiny grey-metallic fur. It pounded its chest and roared before charging into the melee between the treant, brown bear, and the giant pill bug.
Zachary sucked in a cold breath. It was actually an iron fur gorilla, a specialty of the republic military. He had no idea how Casimir and Dark Star Gang could have gotten one. It certainly wasn’t native to this jungle environment.
Aside from that, both sides brought out more summons. Casimir seemed to be controlling at least four while his lackeys each controlled two or three. Heather’s gang also brought out a motley squad of beasts of all shapes and sizes.
“Attack!”
Like a multi-colored tide, the two sides clashed. Instantly, the chaotic battle resumed. Strange creatures of varying types crashed into each other. Beasts fought their sharp claws and fangs. Humanoid and demonic types used their dexterity and flexibility to fight multiple foes at the same time. Long-range attacks filled the air, flying in all directions.
“Poison arrow!”
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“Horn charge!”
“Bite them to death!”
A flurry of commands added to the cacophony of barks, snorts, squawks, and other strange cries.
Zachary tried to follow the action but there was too much going on. However, there was a definite gap in strength between the sides due to Casimir’s sneak attack. Also, a few summons from Heather’s gang were still occupied with the wild alligator which sapped their fighting strength.
“Heather! We can’t hold on like this! We have to retreat!” The man in her team shouted.
“No way! We can do it, as long as we capture that crocodile!” Someone else shouted.
“And lose most of our summons in the process? Don’t be stupid!”
With Heather still struggling with her injuries, her team was pushed to the brink. Even their summons had been pushed across the stream. It wasn’t just a matter of retreating. If this went on, they would be completely wiped out.
“Zach!” Wander finally spoke up, “What should we do? Things aren’t looking good. Should we help? That ugly old man is so despicable. He is almost as good at sneak attacks as you.”
“Hey!” Zachary complained.
Wander ignored him and continued, “What about the woman? You were eyeing her for a long time. Is she considered attractive for you humans?”
“Hey, come on…” Zachary protested.
Wander laughed.
Zachary shook his head. Jokes aside, he would have to make a decision soon whether to jump into the fray or not. He did not want to see the Dark Star Gang win in such a way. He still held a grudge against them due to losing his first hunting ground. He didn’t know much about Heather from their brief interactions in the past. But at least she seemed better than the old gang leader given how her people were trying their best to protect her.
It was also a problem for him that the prisoners had their own factions. He was confident in Wander’s strength against one or two summoners. But against a group of them, he would be lucky if he could run away.
By himself, he had limited information about the surrounding jungle. He didn’t know if the republic had returned at some point to provide supplies. He didn’t know how Casimir got his hands on an iron fur gorilla.
He also had limited resources and nobody to help him except for his summons. He was reminded of the days he spent with Jean-Pierre and Katherine during the beginning. Even in a small group of three, even when it was just Katherine and him, they could watch each other’s backs. They could stand watch at night so that the others could get some proper sleep. There were definite advantages.
Zachary was also not the same person he was when he first stepped into the New World. He had been a sad sack of emotions, almost despondent, nearly overwhelmed by the approach of certain death.
By bonding with Wander, he was given a brand-new life. Although Minah’s betrayal still hurt, it wasn’t something he was reminded of every day. He was fully healed. He was confident in himself once again. He wanted to grow stronger. He wanted to meet all kinds of Ensouled. He wanted to discover things he never knew about the world.
And right now, there was an opportunity to help a familiar face and join a survivor group.
“Wander, everyone, get ready to fight! We’re going to help Heather and her gang!”
“I knew it! Haha!” Wander barked.
“Onk! Onk!”
“Here’s what we’re going to do. In my eyes, we have two goals. One is to help Heather’s group retreat so that they don’t get wiped out. The other is to make sure that Casimir doesn’t get his hands on the alligator.”
“What? How do we do that?” Wander asked.
Zachary smiled slyly, “Like this…”
He rubbed one of the soul orbs attached to his summoner’s belt and brought out Dream. The little rainbow fish landed in his palm and flapped a few times, confused and slightly panicked.
“Dream, calm down.” He said and rubbed Dream’s head a few times, “This is what we need to do. Blue will carry you to the pond. If I am not wrong, that wild alligator will start to chase you. All you need to do is swim downstream and I will recall you where you get close.”
He turned to Blue, “Here, grab Dream with your claws. Gently, gently, good.”
He made sure that Blue had a solid hold. Dream was a small fish and didn’t weigh much. Blue, who was also not large, could still manage it.
“Alright. Blue, on my signal, fly over to the pond and drop Dream. Then, fly to there and lay down a layer of heavy fog.” He pointed to an area between Heather and the porcupine that had launched the sneak attack. It was on the far side of the pond, directly opposite of their current position. “Afterward, immediately come back. Don’t get distracted by anything.”
“What about us?” Wander asked.
“We’ll wait and see how they react to our opening move. Okay, Blue, go!”
“Churr!”