At the section leading to the riverbank with Fafnir's Corpse, a handful of people gathered. This was the group that was going to make its way into the poisonous mist.
Mercedes twirled her hair as she looked at Natasha, the former wondering what was going on through the latter's mind.
Natasha was far from being a risk taker, yet she had agreed to accompany Solitary into the miasma despite not knowing what Solitary could actually do. There were too many variables that could turn things into an unpleasant situation. Michael's advantage in terms of information was like a mountain weighing on everyone's shoulders.
Yet in this situation, a Frozen Asgard Valkyrie Candidate had offered to go forth. Mercedes could not help but feel uncomfortable. Yet there was nothing she could do as she had no interest in following Will.
'What did that witch see that I couldn't?'
Mercedes looked to Ulysses but the latter was just as clueless as she was. She could not help but feel that something was off.
The party readied themselves and lined up in front of the danger zone boundary. The team was made up of Will, Gianluigi along with two of his subordinates, Natasha, Palmer, Lyra, Lydia and Achilles. This was a rather small group but they were made of quality fighters. Natasha and Gianluigi were capable of doing great damage, causing the other members of the minor group to feel more secure.
Will stood in front of the danger zone boundary and closed his eyes. He released his Mental Energy Field to 10 metres in radius and stagnated his Area as best as he could. After completing his preparations he looked back at Natasha and nodded.
Natasha looked at the group and said, "Solitary, Palmer and Lyra will stand at the Centre of the formation. Dealing with scouting, support and helping in attacks.
The House Of Remus Clansmen along with Achilles, are our tanks and Medium to Short range damage dealers. They will be placed in the Cardinal positions on the outer perimeter of our formation. Lydia and I will stand as a double pivot behind Solitary providing long-range assistance. That's the basic formation. Alright, any objections? "
No one objected, allowing Natasha to move on to what was on her mind," Solitary, I need to ask. How long will your energy reserves last? If I'm using your last guided strike as a reference, you won't last long enough to allow us to reach Fafnir's true grave."
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Will shrugged, "That was me being inefficient, plus I did that under Negative Feedback Adjustment. If I pace myself and release small ordinary True Strikes imbued with Solitude, I can last multiple trips."
The others understood the logic behind his words but could not help becoming a bit sceptical. Nevertheless, the die had been cast. There was no turning back. After that, the crew went over basic battle mechanics. They all had a rough idea of what the others could do hence Natasha was able to organise everyone easily.
Seeing no one disagree with her arrangements, the crew got into formation and walked toward the wall of poison.
Will released a small blade light toward the wall which opened up, revealing a short path into the danger zone. This was a True Strike imbued with Solitary Sword Sovereign qi, thus it was filled with Solitude, capable of isolating space.
Will's blade light cleared a path ahead wide enough for 10 people to walk side by side, a few dozen metres in length.
As the path revealed itself, Will revealed a pleased expression, "Yeah, I can release a few hundred of these no sweat."
The others nodded in relief, especially Gianluigis's followers. They were a pair of twins known as the Twin Crescent Moons. Titus and Julius Remus were slim and skinny, with pale skin and red eyes that matched well with their dreary eyes. They had long blonde hair reaching up to their waists while their figures were quite lanky.
'These guys look more like basketball players than werewolves.' Will was amused by their long appendages and depressing demeanours. The other House of Remus members were extroverted through and through, but these two were more reserved in behaviour. But they were without a doubt Gianluigi's best warriors.
Individually they were already quite talented, each equal to Lydia and Palmer in terms of strength. But their value was far higher because they could fuse their powers and abilities, becoming much stronger than when they fought individually. Their combination wasn't additive but multiplicative. Together their burst power could match that of Mercedes' entire cohort combined, with the exception of Ulysses and Mercedes herself of course. Their presence allowed Natasha to feel more at ease.
All they needed to boost each other's strength was to be within 100 metres of each other. The closer they were to each other the stronger they became. They were placed in the east and west positions on the perimeter. Achilles was surprisingly the lead in the north position while Gianluigi was in the back.
At first, Lydia and Palmer found this formation odd as the front was the most dangerous. Achilles was the weakest damage dealer there, but Natasha didn't care and justified her choice by referencing the Macedonian Charge and the habits of the Wailing Banshees. Will also confirmed that Achilles was fit for the job so no one complained, but there was no doubt that most of the firepower was concentrated in the back as Lydia, Natasha and Gianluigi were quite strong.
"Wailing Banshees are sneaky and love to flank, attacking from behind and the sides, hence why I placed our strongest members on the sides and the back. Solitary, you are our scout and our lives are in your hands. I hope for your sake and ours that you are as capable as you say you are. " Natasha's voice was calm and emotionless, but there was no hiding the veiled killing Intent in her words.
Peerless Dao Master was a male Frozen Asgard Cultivator and hence her enemy. She had agreed to come on this trip because she wanted to gain more information on this odd group of locals.
Narcissus had been left behind to represent Peerless in the main group, but she was satisfied as long as Solitary was there.
'I will force you to reveal everything you are capable of. Servants are the best reflection of their master's abilities. Especially in Branded Dungeons where locals evolve by the blood of users.'
Natasha viewed the Tsimikas group as her enemy and intended to thoroughly eradicate him once she left this dungeon. This was why collecting information was so important for her.
Will chuckled as he casually cleared the path ahead with a few swings of his sword, "Well I do enjoy breathing so no need to worry... Oops, I may have spoken too soon."
A fast-moving silhouette attacked Achilles from the side, but before it could attack the target reacted fast and released a lightning-fast True Strike at the creature!
A bisected corpse landed next to Achilles as a prompt appeared in everyone's vision.