CHAPTER 67: THE ROAD
[11:48 a.m.]
Aurora watched by her holographic watch as some winged lions were slaying some mutated monsters.
There were about thirty winged lions, a rather frightening number, when one thought about how strong they were.
They were about two meters tall and three meters long, their size increasing when they spread their wings.
However, their appearance was not what caught the eye.
What stood out too much were the shining armors they wore, covering their front and hind legs, with golden shoulder pads and helmets.
“The Queen’s Guards, eh?” murmured Cardinal Brousseau in a simple tone.
The Magic Forest had its own form of government and at the top was the ‘Queen of the Magic Forest’, also known as the ‘Ruler of the Magic Forest’... A calamity of SSS Rank.
One of the few magical beasts with that strength.
Below her were other strong magical beasts that kept the balance in the magical forest.
The winged lions, specifically that portion of lions that were placed under the queen’s command, were called ‘The Queen’s Guards’.
Each of them was of Rank A or above and because of the magic forest’s relations with the Apicius Company, it provided them with customized equipment to increase their battle strength.
This equipment that had a medieval touch in appearance and shone brightly was very useful and expensive artifacts.
Which turned the already terrifying winged lions into even more dangerous weapons.
“From the number of those monsters, it looks like they’re fighting creatures that have overflowed from a temporary dungeon,” murmured the adventurer, Vazquez.
For a few hours now, the lions had been fighting and, even though they had gotten closer, they were still in the battle.
“Do we wait?” Captain Sadiya asked cautiously.
Wait for them to finish their work or address them?
They were already in Yuba City, specifically a couple hundred meters from where the lions were fighting and from where Liam’s drones were transmitting.
Like much of civilization, Yuba City was abandoned and while they could find some buildings, they were half-ruined or overgrown with vegetation.
The winged lions were fighting some canine-type monsters, and while they were weak, being Rank C or B mostly, they were too many for thirty lions.
“No, let’s help finish,” Aurora replied without hesitation.
It wasn’t her style to wait until it was all over and more so when the other group was allied magical beasts.
It would exhaust to fight after hours of travel, still, those enemies with the support of the lions would be no problem.
“My group and Captain Sadiya’s group will advance. Vazquez, take charge of protecting the vehicles along with the church group.” Aurora ordered over the comm system.
As soon as her orders were given, the soldiers who were in a truck started to get off and the next moment, Akira and Clementine’s group came down fully armed.
As most of the current team could be equipped using the quick change ability, they did not always wear combat clothing, as in cases like Leslie, it was overwhelming because of her considerable size.
“Alice, take the lead. Do not intervene with the winged lion prey and only attack those around them,” Aurora ordered, putting on her combat gear.
“Won’t they see us as enemies?” Captain Sadiya asked.
Aurora could tell that the same question was held not only by her students, but by some members of the military, but the answer was easy.
“They will recognize Alice,” Aurora replied and with an amused laugh at the sight of her friend, she added. “It’s not every day you see a young lady who pulls dozens of arms out of her back.”
it was quite extravagant to see that kind of young lady, and mostly her image stuck.
It didn’t matter if it was among humans or magical beasts... Aurora was confident that they would recognize Alice, as the details of her image were quite familiar among magical beasts.
Noticing that everyone was ready, Alice extended six arms from her back and led the group as she ran, using her arms.
Where they were was a region with plenty of trees, very different from where the battle was, which was actually a ruin with old roads and buildings destroyed or covered by nature.
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While some buildings could stand the test of time, they could not stand against the fury of nature that spread relentlessly or the ferocious magical beasts which occasionally fought.
Passing some trees, they found the main street and further on they could see the bridge that allowed the crossing of the river ‘White Nile’.
Near the bridge, the winged lions were fighting wolves, dogs, and foxes.
They were all monsters corrupted by ‘Chaos’ and among them were some that had an extra eye, six legs, or several tails, but they were all wild and aggressive.
They numbered around two hundred, which made for a rather hectic battle for the lions.
“We’ve come to support!” reported Alice as two of her arms caught two C-ranked mutated dogs and slammed it to the ground.
“Understood. Let your humans take care of those around us,” replied one of the larger lions wearing a helmet on his head.
“You heard him. Let’s get this over with,” Aurora said and as she saw the lions moving away, chasing those trying to escape across the bridge, she moved.
Since the winged lions were taking care of the stronger ones, the job went fairly quickly.
Among Captain Sadiya’s group, only those who fought the melee moved while Clémentine and her group moved as a whole with the psionic and Nicole being the dominant force.
Clementine’s telekinesis were quite impressive against weak creatures that could not escape, and Nicole’s fists were devastating when supported by others.
Akira, for her part, floated while firing icicles of ice as if she were a sniper at those canines that wished to flee while her team supported in their own way.
Alice moved deeper into the area while using six arms trapping and striking the surrounding creatures.
Her arms would attack from her back, sides, or front as she ate from her bag of chips.
Aurora set about finishing off those B-Rank creatures quickly.
“Apparently, it was a temporary dungeon that overflowed,” Liam reported in a calm tone over the comm system.
Aurora nodded.
The magical forest was huge and while some magical beasts were dedicated to clearing the temporary dungeons near their homes, they very rarely wandered off to other parts to clean.
As Yuba was near the edge of the magical forest, it made sense that a dungeon would be overflowing... Though she was still surprised by the ‘Queen’s Guards’ that were present.
When the combat was over, and they exterminated the creatures, the vehicles approached with the other groups.
“Thank you for your support, Protectors of Zerzura,” said the larger lion and, looking at the creatures on the road, he added. “Those who slaughtered you will be your reward.”
Knowing how to divide ‘loot’ was something that very few beasts performed, most being those that interacted with humans frequently.
“You heard him. Take everything you want and move the rest out of the way,” Aurora ordered her companions.
It was normal to bring along a few extra-large rings to store valuable creature corpses, as while they might be weak, they could turn into a few thousand extra dollars.
Aurora had no problem with them performing such actions and allowed them to keep the corpses on the grounds that it was a waste to leave them lying around.
Seeing the groups search for corpses that were more unscathed and from which they would earn more, Aurora added. “Eat and rest. We will leave in half an hour!”
Hearing that, one church member pulled out a camp stove and started making food in a big pot.
Another, at a safe distance, set up a square platform on the ground that unfolded two medium-sized toilets.
They were mobile toilets that were larger than the basic ones, and better equipped.
Basic needs needed to be taken care of immediately... That was what the veterans always said.
They could hold on long enough, but they never knew if they would then be in a constant conflict that would prevent them from performing that basic ‘task’.
The winged lions for their part also kept the corpses they liked and the others, they removed their magic cores for safekeeping, making it clear that some of their items not only served as defense but as storage.
The corpses they could trade for money or items and the magic cores they could absorb to try to increase their strength... That was the norm among the magical beasts.
“Where are you headed ‘Protector of Zerzura’?” The lion asked, looking at the human group.
Aurora had noticed that the lion at first was wary, but when he looked at Alice, his wariness diminished and disappeared when he noticed Cardinal Brousseau.
Both individuals were recognized among the magical beasts.
As for her... While some magical beasts knew her by her features or scent, to others humans were all the same, so it didn’t have too much of an impact.
As for how he identified her, it was surely because she was next to Alice and leading the group.
“We are headed to the human war zone in Kenya to escort a group of refugees,” Aurora revealed sincerely and with curiosity, she asked. “You guys, what are you doing here?”
There was no need to hide their mission and be cautious when she had already identified them as ‘Queen’s Guards’... In human terms, it would be the same as discovering another recognized trusted group.
“We are training and at the same time sweeping away all those who oppose our Queen.” declared the lion with a wild growl that the other lions mimicked.
It was known that the ‘Queen’s Guards’ were too loyal... So Aurora just nodded without changing her expression.
While talking to the lion about various topics and news from the magical forest and Zerzura City, strangely including details about artifact upgrades for magical lion-like beasts, Aurora ordered them to reinforce the bridge that seemed damaged by the battle.
The engineer vehicles moved in and using earth magic reinforced the road and filled in the gaps and breaches fortifying the bridge in the process.
“Thank you,” Aurora said when Vanessa brought her food.
It was a soup with meat and some vegetables, quite simple yet extraordinary, thanks to the reinvigoration and benefits of the magical ingredients.
“That reminds me ‘Protector of Zerzura’, the ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’, has left its nest and is suppressing some creatures that wander into the magical forest from its conflict zone.” Reported the Winged Lion.
It was normal for magical beasts to flee due to the conflict of the two warlords, but for a SS Rank magical beast to move, that was something to consider.
The Zhar-Ptitsa, also known as the strongest Fire Eagle and that SS Rank magical beast, said to be a calamity in the sky.
It inhabited Mount Nyiragongo, however, with its flying ability, it could fly over the magical forest without interference.
Although it was not an enemy and was a magical beast that was under the command of the Queen of the Magic Forest, it was a creature of great power and it was nice to know its location.
“Thank you. And tell your people to stay away from Kenya, as it is turbulent,” Aurora recommended in a serious tone.
Zerzura City gave her status and acknowledged the tribes along with the Queen of the Magic Forest, but that didn’t mean others didn’t see them as ‘treasures with paws’ to get rich.
After bidding farewell to the winged lion, Aurora ate her entire plate and returned to camp to take advantage of her rest.
She still had over sixteen hours of travel and close to a thousand miles to go if they didn’t encounter any setbacks.