Chapter 253 Beast Horde [1]
"I was wonder why we weren't seeing any beasts or monsters on the way back." Siltheria snickered her breath. She was by far the calmest among them. She didn't do anything rash, but at the same time, she didn't show any panic on her face. The only semblance of emotions that showed on her face was agitation, as if this entire situation was, if anything, but a hindrance to her.
"Game. Stand in the middle of the formation. We can't afford getting you killed in this situations." Suddenly called out, causing Game to quickly run into the middle of their formation.
Looking at the incoming Game, she could not help but feel a little bad for him. He looked so pathetic right now. Before, she had theorized that he might have been a healer of some sort with some battle experience, but after sweeping him a glance, that theory shot out of the window as quickly as it came.
He looked panicked and scared. That was not an expression someone with battle experience would have under such a situation, even if they are healers. That was the expression of someone who had never needed to lift a finger to fight for what they deserved.
'Maybe he's just an important person?' She thought before shaking her head and letting out another sigh.
Gripping the hilt of her blade, she quickly stood before the shivering Game and guarded him as well as she could.
"Gigi. You carry Silas out of here and we'll try to hold them off for a while. Once you've reached significant range, give us a signal and we'll begin retreating too." Alcraz ordered in a tone that demanded respect.
"That won't work. We're currently surrounded from all sides. It's better if we all retreat at the same time. Circling us was a good tactic of closing off our exists, but it stretched their forces thin. With significant force, we can break through their defenses and blast through them." Gigi quickly responded while cutting the air before her with blurring speed.
An arch of toki shot out from her blade, mowing down every creature that stood in her way before dispelling after slicing the 5th beast in half. Seeing this, Gigi could not help but frown. Under normal circumstances, her move would have mowed down an entire section of the beast and monster horde. She knew that these creatures were stronger than most of the monsters and beasts she had fought in the past, but to only kill 5 of them were still quite shocking to her.
"I agree with her…" Siltheria commented from the side, causing Gigi to suddenly snap out of her stupor and stare at the woman beside her. "If we stay behind, the situation will only get worse for us as the stronger enemies get closer. Its better if we put all our forced into breaking through only one side of the encasement and forcing the other side to chase us. That puts us in control and avoids getting us cornered."
Hearing Siltheria's counter-plan, Gigi could not help but nod.
"I have to agree with the girls this time, Alcraz." Deton sighed, his hand pointed toward the hoard as dozens of vines and roots restricted them.
"Alright. We'll go with your plan instead." Alcraz nodded in understanding.
'It seems that he came to the same conclusion as me about Game.' Gigi narrowed her and decapitated the nearest monster. It seemed to be a wolf with 6 eyes and an extra pair of limbs.
Siltheria, on the other hand, had a similar yet different notion of Alcraz's choice. After all, she knew exactly who he was and was quite familiar with the politics between races.
'He placed Game's life in high importance due to both his standing and his position in this team. His dying would have meant we would lose many points, but at the same time, it would have meant killing off an influential human that could help strengthen the ties between the elven people and their human counterparts. Allowing Game to die would not only ruin his plan to get closer to the human people, but it also has the chance of sparking animosity from the human side.
Of course, he's just overthinking it. Such a blunder would not be put on him, but rather, it would be placed on the academy. After all, Alcraz is just a child, especially in the eyes of elves. He wouldn't be blamed by them any more than he would be blamed by the humans. The only people who might hold resentment would be the Evergreens themselves.' Siltheria thought to her while sending out several water spells that pushed back the incoming hordes.
Just then, they all heard Alcraz's voice boom into their ears.
"Go!" Alcraz suddenly shouted while pointing in a particular direction.
Looking in that direction, Gigi's eyes slightly widened before a look of confidence washed over her face.
They all began to dash to where he pointed, including Gigi, who held onto Game tightly.
"Deton." Alcraz spoke in a soft voice. Simultaneously, his hand reached for his blade. Gigi, seeing this, dropped Game to the ground and did the same thing.
At the same time, both Alcraz and Gigi swung their blades in two different directions, creating a sweeping force of toki that pushed the monster and beasts back from both sides, while also killing some simultaneously. Both of them had used the flat side of their blade to create such a phenomenon since it was best to halt the monsters for a moment.
Deton had already clasped both his hands into a prayer before a heart-wrenching melody left his lips.
Suddenly, a magic circle formed out of thin air, tracing itself before him.
'Plant magic, again?' Gigi inwardly thought.
The incantation that Deton sang wove through the air, intertwining with the energy of nature around them. With a profound hum, the ground quivered, and from it erupted a barricade of thorns and vines so thick and high it dwarfed the nearest trees. The creatures on the forefront recoiled, pierced by the thorns, or ensnared by the vines, buying the group precious time.
Gigi didn't wait for the moment to pass. "Move!" she commanded, already darting through the small opening that their combined forces had created.
Game, still on the ground where Gigi had left him, scrambled to his feet, a mix of fear and determination in his eyes. He followed close behind Gigi, running as fast as his legs would carry him. It was a truly pathetic scene, but everyone who saw it didn't say anything.
Siltheria glanced back to see Alcraz, his young features hard with the resolve of someone far beyond his years. It was a look that spoke of the burdens he carried, not just for himself but for the future of his people and the alliance he hoped to foster.
The beasts regrouped quickly, recovering from the initial shock of Deton's spell. Their snarls filled the air, a chorus of rage and hunger as they chased after the escaping party.
"We need to keep up the pace! They're right on our tails!" Deton's voice was urgent, his eyes scanning for more natural features in the environment he could use to their advantage.
Siltheria, running just behind Alcraz, had already started to channel another spell. Her hands moved with practiced grace, weaving patterns that pulled at the moisture in the air. "Cover me for just a few seconds!" she shouted.
Alcraz didn't need further prompting; he understood the potency of her magic. With a deft movement, he swung his blade again, releasing a burst of toki that wasn't meant to kill but to disorient, causing the creatures to hesitate and falter in their charge.
'Something's wrong…' Siltheria suddenly thought. It shouldn't have been that easy. Her serpentine senses were telling her that there was something wrong with how things were going, and when she focused on where this feeling was coming from, she suddenly realized something.
'Those pressures… There are several sapphire cores among them! No… If that was the case, running away would never be an option. Hell, running away from that fight would be impossible.' She inwardly thought as terror ran through her spine.
These were creatures that could collapse chunks of mountains with ease and erase entire towns from existence. What were they even doing so close to the town? Something wrong… Everything was wrong. It was almost like all of this had been planned before they had even gotten there. They were pawns. She knew it.
'Oh, hell with it.' Siltheria suddenly let out a mind-rattling roar that took all her teammates by surprise. However, before they could even react to the sudden burst of sound, they saw Siltheria's body suddenly convulse and wriggle as if a million worms were crawling under her skin.
Out of nowhere, her eyes became more ferocious than before, while her slit-like pupils became more prominent.
Within seconds, she had completely muted, her lover half looking almost unrecognizable from before.
After all, her legs were no more, having been completely replaced with a long serpent-like body covered in immaculate pearly white scales. Her main body looked like it had grown twice in size, but it seemed like her clothes had been made for such occurrences since they grew with her.
Two fangs seemingly protruded from her lips while her hair changed in color, becoming much longer and now shining with an elegant silky white.
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