As the skeleton knights approached, Fang moved towards the center, facing them head-on. Ember moved to the right flank while I went for the left.
"Bring it on!"
Fang shouted excitedly as she bared her fangs toward the rushing horde. Ember quickly prepared her clones and made a brigade of slicing wheels roll around her. I, on the other hand, simply drew my sword and posed in a stance.
In a few seconds, the rushing horde clashed with our line of defense.
Fang was optimized for attacking; each attack was enough to almost incapacitate any skeleton knight that got in her way. Her claws could even tear their armor in half. However, the only drawback is that she has paper-thin defenses. If she ever got hit by even one solid attack, then it would be pretty much over for her.
"Hahaha!"
But not a single skeleton was able to match her speed. Fang was massacring her way towards the center of their formation.
"Fang, don't go in too deep!"
Ember shouted by the side as she carefully sliced away at the enemies before her. The rolling slicers had improved greatly compared to how they were before. It was now even capable of slicing through tough armor like the ones the skeleton knights were wearing like a hot knife through butter.
She was also making her way, step by step, toward the center of the enemy's formation.
"Hey, you two, aren't you forgetting something?!"
On the other hand, I was left alone to fend off the attacks of five skeleton knights at the same time, with more lining up right behind them.
"Damn, they can't hear me!"
I cursed as I was immediately surrounded.
The skeleton knights were powerful. Each swing of their broadsword was heavy. With my small, broken sword, there was no way I could parry their attacks. I should've asked the dwarves for some weapons if I knew this would happen.
As I kept on dodging their strikes, I realized something strange. Before my eyes could even recognize an incoming attack, my body was already moving toward a safe place. I didn't even know if this was still in the realm of reflexes. It felt like I was on autopilot, with an AI with the ability to see the future controlling my body.
When Fang and Ember finally cleared up everything on their side, they were still spotless; there was not a single scratch on them anywhere. I, on the other hand, had my clothes battered up like rags. Fortunately, I didn't have any injuries, but I wish I was able to save my clothes too. It was the last pair of clothes that I had in backup.
"See? I knew Leader would be fine."
Fang said as she poked Ember's sides playfully.
"Well, I too believed that Master would be okay. I was just worrying about his safety."
Ember replied with an awkward smile.
"You two, stop chatting and quickly help!"
I shouted at them. The two of them just shrugged as they cleaned up the last dozen or so skeleton knights.
When the coast was finally clear, I sat down on the ground, dead tired. Ember's clones were moving around, picking up the essence crystals that dropped.
"Good work, Master. What a skillful display."
Ember said as she came to my side.
"Thanks... But I'd appreciate it if you came to my rescue a bit faster. Look at me now; I'm a rag."
I muttered in slight annoyance. Ember just chuckled as she touched my clothes. In an instant, the clothes returned to their previous, intact state.
"Restoration? Did you master it already?"
I was told that it was Ember who healed me after our battle with the demon ground worms. However, based on her reply then, I thought she had yet to master it.
"Only for restoring inanimate objects up to a few minutes at most. Manipulating the fate of a living being is still out of my reach."
Ember replied with an apologetic smile. I remember her saying that it was a fluke when she healed me; I guess it wasn't her being humble but that she was actually telling the truth.
I sat up and checked my clothes. I noticed the small chips and holes that existed before didn't get fixed. I nodded in understanding of her capabilities.
"Leader, get ready..."
Fang, however, didn't lower her guard. Her ears were still pointing upward, monitoring the surroundings. She was staring towards our back, where she detected the above 4th-stage unknown.
Ember and I quickly moved to Fang's side and went into an alert position. Soon, the bushes up ahead started rustling. A figure was slowly approaching with halting steps.
"Hiss!"
Fang sharply sucked air in, preparing to strike at a moment's notice.
A hand appeared—a humanoid hand with sharp red nails. Soon, the figure appeared from between the trees, walking with a limp. Blood was flowing from all over, seemingly extremely weak.
"Oh no!"
I quickly dashed towards the figure.
The figure, seeing me rush towards her, became alert. However, even if she wanted to exert power to defend herself, her injuries were too severe. I quickly shouted, "I'm on your side!" trying to reassure her.
Before I could reach her, however, she fell down. I quickly took a potion from my storage ring and uncorked it, splashing its contents all over her injured body. Although applying a potion externally lessens its power, it would reach the injured parts faster. It's effective for emergency treatments.
The potion quickly did its job and stopped her wounds from bleeding. I took another bottle and tried to make her drink it slowly while I supported her back awkwardly.
I said "awkwardly" because there were a large pair of wings growing on her back. I don't know where I could put my hands to not end up hurting her. Furthermore, she had horns on her head pointing upward. With how she looks, she's probably a dragon-type monster from somewhere nearby.
"But why was she this injured..."
I muttered as I surveyed her slowly fading wounds. Some of them were bruises, but most of the injuries seem to be from a sharp object rending her flesh, something like a claw.
"Master..."
Ember called me from behind. Even without her saying the rest, I could more or less guess.
"We'll watch over her for now. Ember, go and restock first. Fill up the two storage rings with all necessities."
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