One by one they stopped running, turned around and started to head back. During all this, the dark spirit masters tried to stop the one who instigated all this. But they failed! William was like a hard to catch bird, small yet agile, fast moving and quite deadly.
William didn't know that, but before everything even started, the dark spirit masters slipped a few groups of their side into the side of the spirit masters here.
They worked as the instigators, the ones to drive all of the spirit masters here away and kill any attempt for any fightback.
It was exactly as William felt, there was something wrong going on here. He never expected that the ones who kept shouting and screaming all this time were the agents of the dark spirit masters.
And just by his shout and actions here, he ruined all these preparations and schemes.
Despite not knowing what scheme the enemy played here, William knew this battle wasn't that hard to win or even that close from being desperate.
So, he moved, started to shout and rally everyone around. He didn't imagine his way in fighting would inspire almost everyone watching him, making them stop running and start fighting.
Seeing that a few groups started to answer his call, William stopped shouting anymore and returned to focus on the incoming enemies.
He knew how the dark spirit masters worked. They'd never start a battle they didn't get one hundred percent confidence in winning.
If they showed such weakness now, being vulnerable to get hit and crushed, this was all false and fake.
William wanted to just balance this battle, not to act like the real big shot in it. However, he didn't know that among the teams rallied to his call, few dark spirit masters were present.
And those already fixed their eyes over him.
What William thought was true. These dark spirit masters came quite prepared. And even if he managed to rally others around, encouraging them to fight back, this effort wasn't going to change the fate of this battle that much actually.
And that was for a proper reason… Monsters!
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Just when William started to withdraw from the frontline, leaving the entire battlefield for the increasing number of returning spirit masters, William heard like others these loud bangs.
It was loud noises coming from the depth of the forest. And the root of all this was coming towards here quite fast.
"It's from the same direction," William already saw many shaking trees far away from here when he was on top of that tree. And for a moment there, he felt like something big was coming.
"Monsters!"
"Monsters are coming in big numbers!"
"Run! Run for your lives!"
Again, shouts started to come from many spirit masters around, exposing the nature of the incoming threat.
"This…" As William wasn't fighting, he grasped the little dirty trick the dark spirit masters here did, "so you scattered a few of your members amidst others? Nice move, but not enough!"
William clenched the hilt of his sword, and without saying anything he dashed multiple times, ending up killing all those who spoke up first.
He didn't just kill these individuals, but also massacred their teams around. If a single fruit was rotten, then others in the same basket were.
Luckily for him, the strongest out there were gold grade spirit masters. And it seemed they never expected such a move from him, from anyone against them, not at such a moment at least.
He couldn't kill these gold grade spirit masters, but he wounded them at their legs and hands, rendering them unable to run away or fight back properly.
"They are traitors!" William noticed the weird looks many gave him. And so he stood in his place with his sword and knives circling around him like he was a demon, "Don't stand like this. Start expanding our formation, prepare for the incoming monsters."
And when he said this, he finally raised the bow he kept holding all this time. Many arrows appeared out of thin air next, and he simply started shooting them all towards the trees in a certain direction.
Everyone got fixed on killing or looking at the weird actions of his, but none ever noticed when he sheathed away his sword. His movements were fast and the next thing everyone saw were for these arrows to vanish in a certain direction.
And then gates of hell opened widely at this part of the forest.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
"I'm buying you enough time to regroup and organise!" William noticed that all stopped what they were doing and looked at him in a weirder way.
In their eyes, William was quite unfathomable! He used a sword, weirdly flying knives, and fast technique to move around. And yet he also got such explosive arrows, which weren't common outside any artisan group or any rich dudes from strong and wealthy backgrounds.
Yet from his weak physique and poor gears, they couldn't help but notice the weirdness in all this.
From the first moment William appeared in their eyes, he kept giving them surprises and did things that were outside their comprehension and logic.
"You heard the man, let's move out!"
"Tiger Head formation! Who is coming with me to form it?"
"The Sitting Turtle is better in defence! Who is coming with me to do it?"
"Screw defence! I'm going to form the Arrowhead formation. Anyone with me?"
In just the span of the next few minutes, the entire place looked chaotic and strange with such shouts that came from the more experienced spirit masters. However, the spirit masters here were actually getting more organised and looked quite deadly than ever.
"We'll capture them for later investigation," one gold grade spirit master came and used a binding technique to seal the movements of the ones William hurt before, "if what you said is true, then your contribution in this battle is quite massive."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢