“Be prepared.”
Kael spoke with a grim look on his face.
The soldiers nodded. Despite their injuries, some with lethal ones, they quickly prepared themselves for the next phase of the battle.
“Remember, Aria is about 10 kilometres away from this place. We will go to her.
Once the Flying notice, it would take them a little over 2 minutes to reach us and we need about 8 minutes to reach Aria.
In a fortunate scenario, the Flying would take 5 minutes to notice us.
In an unfortunate one, they would notice us in an instant.”
Kael briefed the situation. The soldiers nodded, listening to his words intently.
“We will consider the unfortunate scenario and be prepared for battle. The injured will stay in the middle, the ones who can fight will stay at the front and the back.
I will lead the charge.
Is that clear?”
“Yes, Hero!”
The soldiers saluted, their voices full of determination.
“Make sure to protect your comrades.”
Kael nodded back as the soldiers positioned themselves according to his instructions and mounted their Bonds, ready to leave.
Kael, who was currently on top of Aria’s Swamp Drake, lightly patted its head. Then, he raised his arm and,
“Move.”
He ordered.
The group moved. Nearly two minutes passed by, the Flying didn’t notice them, and they rushed in Aria’s direction. The narrow roads that were once their allies had now become their weakness, slowing them down, but they didn’t complain.
These roads were the ones that allowed them to deal with the Brutes.
Not to mention, the Hero was still with them. His presence alone filled the village troops with endless confidence.
But then,
“Screeechh!!!”
One of the Flying, who was nearest to them, noticed them and flew toward them.
At its speed, it would reach them soon, but,
“Do not stop.”
Kael ordered, his eyes determined.
Within a minute, the soldiers could hear it.
Flap
The sound of its massive wings flapping.
“Screech!!”
It screeched, prepared to rip all of them into pieces, but then,
Kael, who was mounted on the Earth Swamp, extended his hand. Two circles formed in front of his palm and suddenly, three flaming chains materialized and grabbed the Flying with pinpoint accuracy.
Chain of Flames.
“SCREECHHH!!!”
The beast screeched in pain and flapped its wings, trying to get away. Kael, however, pulled it close to him, took out his sword, and jumped toward it.
Slash
The Flying was beheaded.
Their defenses were much weaker compared to the Brutes, making it easier for him to cut them down.
[CE: +549]
Kael saw a message. He, however, ignored it for now and continued to run together with his group.
Because of the first one, the rest of the Flying had noticed them as well. 16 of them were already here.
And soon, his eyes fell on the strongest.
[Name: Baal]
[Race: Skyscapper]
[Rank: Common]
[Age: 42 Years]
[State: Corrupted]
[Level: 15]
[Strength: 30 (50)]
[Agility: 50 (70)]
[Stamina: 35 (50)]
[Defense: 30 (45)]
[Mana: 38 (56)]
[Intelligence: 38 (3)]
[Charisma: 20 (-)]
[Strengths: Exceptional Aerial Mobility, Decent Offensive Power, Tactical Versatility]
[Weaknesses: Low Intelligence]
…
‘The corruption makes this so much harder.’
He complained in his heart.
The good thing was that the roads they were on weren’t as narrow as before, giving the soldiers some room to maneuver.
“Focus on defense, only attack when they come to you.”
Kael ordered.
The Flying had two ways to attack: spit fire from a distance or attack using their sharp talons capable of tearing flesh like it was nothing.
“Yes, Hero!”
The soldiers nodded.
“Echo.”
Kael turned toward Sarah’s Bond, who was flying in the air right above them.
Echo nodded as he glanced at the beasts ahead of him, and then,
KUUUUUU!
He let out a sonic wave that instantly slowed down the incoming beasts. The weaker ones trembled, and some even froze up, unable to move any further.
“Drak,”
Kael turned toward Aria’s Bond.
“Protect the injured, okay?”
“Grr!”
Drak nodded. Kael, on the other hand, prepared his heart as he looked at the soldiers around him.
These soldiers were in no condition to take on 16 Flying, too many of them would die if this continued.
He needed to be the ‘Hero’ and… attract the aggro.
‘Fuck it!’
In the end, he steeled himself, jumped in the air, and climbed on top of Echo again.
“Go!”
He ordered. Echo, as if being able to read Kael’s mind, moved forward.
Now, it was an airborne battle.
“Wooooaaahhhhh!!!”
A battle Kael was having an extremely hard time getting used to.
“I really came to another world, didn’t I!?”
Sitting on top of a Magic Beast, flying at a speed no less than 250 km/h, Kael was having the time of his life.
‘Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’
…Well, if you consider continuously cursing in his mind as his heart shuddered every time he stared at the ground beneath him ‘having the time of his life.’
Too high!
He was too high!
Yes, he had gotten used to this before, but…
Whoosh
Last time, there were no corrupted beasts following him, spitting fire, trying to roast him alive!!
“Kuuuu!!!”
Echo screeched as he moved, changing his direction almost instantly, successfully evading the attack.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!”
Kael, however, felt like Echo’s turning was doing more damage to him than the enemies’ attacks ever could. His heart felt like it would come out in an instant.
Yes, he knew he wouldn’t fall, but it was still too much for his heart.
Echo, however, wasn’t done yet.
Six Flyings were after them, and Echo wasn’t exactly faster than them. He was just more intelligent, and his senses were sharper because he reacted to sound much better than others, making his reaction speed faster than the beasts who just mindlessly followed him.
This made it easier for him to move in random directions, take quick turns, and suddenly ascend or descend to avoid getting close to them.
“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!”
Of course, for Kael, Echo’s tactics were no short of lethal.
“WHICH SON OF A BITCH THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA!!??”
It was his own idea.
“I’ll vomit! I’ll vomit! I’ll vomit!
I am telling you I’ll vomit, dammit!!”
Whoosh
Just then, another ball of fire, much stronger than the previous ones, streaked past him, narrowly missing his head.
Kael could swear that some of his hair was burnt by it.
They were everywhere.
Three on his left, one on the right, and two right above him.
“Alright, alright, I need to focus.”
Kael had barely calmed himself but then suddenly,
Whoosh
Another fireball moved right past him and he froze.
“Fuck, I am dying today.”
He could see his death.