“Guardian Wind!”
At the last moment, a transparent barrier of wind enveloped Seth.
The sub-adult beast was instantly repelled by Brena’s magic.
The nearby juveniles, startled by the resounding impact, reared up in agitation.
As a defense mechanism, they opened their mouths wide, spraying bodily fluids in all directions.
The fluids of these beasts were invariably toxic, and Rita issued a veiled warning about the danger.
As the sub-adult that had lunged at Seth crashed to the ground, Bailey swiftly darted forward, confronting the juveniles first.
Despite his large frame, Bailey moved with agility, cutting down the juveniles with precision.
As expected of Bailey, Rita nodded to herself in approval.
Princess Sercia and Valery Gainer also seemed proud of Bailey’s performance.
“I’ll keep watch, so fight without worry!”
Priest Roen’s reassuring shout spurred Bailey to move even more boldly.
Floria, following close behind, was no different.
Floria gripped the center handle of her bowstaff firmly, then charged straight at the sub-adult.
Eilin frowned at her bold approach.
“Floria! Stay back and support with your bow!”
“I can’t trust these people to just support!”
Despite Eilin’s advice, akin to that of a mentor, Floria retorted sharply.
She did so even with the enemy right before her.
“What kind of woman…”
“In battle, skill is king. Nothing we can do about it.”
Unlike Seth, who bristled, Brena, honest in her self-assessment, accepted it readily.
Meanwhile, the stoic Bailey, unfazed, focused on his task.
He had already dispatched one juvenile in the meantime.
Perhaps because their sibling was killed, the remaining juveniles began scattering in all directions.
“They’re escaping!”
Seth hurriedly moved to block them.
As he set the ground ablaze, creating a wall of fire, the crawling juveniles hesitated.
Confirming their retreat was cut off, Bailey swiftly pursued them.
Brena and Seth moved to assist him.
But Bailey, with ease, single-handedly slashed through the three remaining juveniles in one stroke.
“Now only the sub-adult remains.”
Valery Gainer observed with interest.
The situation now required the group to unite and defeat the lone sub-adult.
However, resembling a cricket, it boasted rapid speed, leaping frequently.
Even Floria, swinging her bowstaff, retreated with a frown at its agility.
Bailey, who had handled the juveniles alone, seized the moment to charge in, but the sub-adult moved even more ferociously.
“I’ll try to bind its legs!”
Brena, barely standing in the trembling forest, gripped her staff and stepped forward.
“Silent Waterway.”
A blue spray of water surged around the sub-adult beast.
The rising water transformed in an instant, encasing the beast in a solid bubble.
Trapped in the water prison, the beast flailed in midair, thrashing for air.
A good choice, but the attributes don’t match.
A wind-binding spell would’ve been better…
Brena’s water prison didn’t last long.
The sub-adult’s magic easily pierced through her water.
As it tore through the water wall, Brena stumbled back in shock.
Her spell was completely broken, and the enraged beast glared at her.
As its hind legs, now free on the ground, prepared to leap, Holy Knight Commander Felix blocked Brena’s front.
Bailey followed, intercepting the charging beast with brute force.
“Devouring Tempest!”
Seth followed up, launching a full-scale attack.
Brena, initially startled, was drawn by Seth’s composure and began chanting wind-attribute attack spells methodically.
Tempests flew in succession, but due to their tension, their aim kept missing.
Each time the wind arrows pierced the wrong spot, Brena and Seth’s expressions twisted.
At that moment, Bailey’s sword struck the beast’s flank.
Keeek!
The beast staggered from the significant blow, and Floria, seizing the opportunity, drew her bowstring.
An arrow, fast as lightning, pierced the beast’s red eye.
Before anyone could voice their surprise, the beast, now half-blind, writhed in agony.
As its movements grew wilder, Bailey hurriedly retreated.
In that moment, the beast reared up, fully exposing its abdomen.
“Piercing Gale!”
Brena and Seth, standing side by side, launched spears simultaneously.
The jade-green spears, following their trajectory, struck the beast’s abdomen precisely.
With its vital point pierced, the beast froze, then collapsed, scattering black mist.
Confirming the shriveling, deflating corpse, Brena slumped to the ground.
“It’s dead…!”
Brena let out a small cheer, but Seth, who had also hit the vital point, wore a dissatisfied expression.
With pursed lips, Seth glanced at Bailey and Floria.
As the Princess’s knight and Eilin’s aide, they had established reputations and didn’t need to exert much effort in this battle.
They had given Brena and Seth the opportunity.
Seth, realizing this, let out repeated, disgruntled sighs.
Brena, catching on belatedly, scratched her flushed cheek in embarrassment.
“The skills of those two mages don’t seem bad. They just need to step up more.”
“They’re probably not used to the beasts yet.”
Eilin’s assessment was met with Mikael’s supportive smile.
Though not as quick as Bailey or Floria, their persistence deserved praise.
“In contrast, the other four were disappointing. Weren’t they chosen by the great mage?”
At Eilin’s question, all eyes turned to the mages.
Rita was equally disappointed.
Kerman and Hilia stood petrified, pale as tombstones, while Owen had wet himself in a pathetic state.
That guy’s done for tomorrow.
Passing the red-faced Owen, Rita felt regret for Kerman and Hilia.
Especially Kerman, Lenore’s son, considered a high-level mage among them.
Kerman, a rare mage’s heir in the Mage Tower, was among the top first-class mages, with a promising future.
His pride, shaped by his environment, had kept him undaunted by Rita in the Mage Tower.
Yet he stood there, doing nothing, leaving Rita deeply disappointed.
Worse, his high pride led him to glare at Brena and Seth.
With a competitive streak like Seth’s, maybe he’ll do better next time.
Trying to stay optimistic, Rita’s gaze shifted to Alois.
Her eyes turned cold instantly.
She hadn’t expected anything from Alois Gradius to begin with.
Alois, likely shaken by his carelessness alerting the beasts, stood with his head bowed, dejected.
Even Valery, who had initially praised him proudly, could only muster a hollow cough, unable to defend his ineptitude.
With that personality, he’s useless.
Since Valery promised to protect him, I’ll just pretend he doesn’t exist.
Rita turned her head coldly.
For a fleeting moment, Alois’s green eyes, meeting hers, trembled slightly.
“I… I’m sorry…”
He muttered in a small voice, but Rita didn’t look back.
Alois hung his head like a sinner.
***
“My heart nearly stopped, seriously.”
“I’d heard about them, but I didn’t know they were that disgusting. Thinking that deer they were eating was a person made my stomach churn.”
As Rita’s group expanded their search range, Kerman and Hilia, who had been quietly trailing, began to speak up.
Recalling the earlier situation, they rambled, but it was just a long-winded way of saying they were scared.
To Rita, a few steps ahead, their conversation was laughable.
“Just wait. Next time, I won’t stand still. If they can do it, why can’t I fight?”
Kerman’s prideful resolve irritated Brena, who was ahead.
As in her past life, Brena despised pretentious people.
She’d even scolded Rita, who blindly followed Talos and ignored less capable peers, on occasion.
“So, Kerman, next time a beast shows up, you’ll take the lead? Seth and I will stand back. Oh, if you want, I can ask the knight and the Child of the Forest, too.”
Caught off guard that Brena was listening, Kerman’s face flushed.
He quickly retorted, “I’ll do better than a second-class like you, so don’t worry.”
“I’m saying this because I’m actually worried. If you act reckless like that, you’ll really die. How about some restraint?”
Brena didn’t back down either.
What followed was a barrage of venomous words.
Their back-and-forth grew louder, drawing the attention of those ahead.
When even Sercia and Valery turned their heads, Rita couldn’t just watch.
“Both of you, stop.”
Rita halted abruptly, warning them.
“If you keep fighting like this, return to the main camp.”
“She started it…!”
Kerman shouted, but Rita’s glare grew fiercer.
“Anyone who disrupts the mission with inappropriate behavior or atmosphere won’t be protected further.”
As if only a life-threatening warning would get through, Kerman fell silent instantly.
With Brena’s final scoff, the commotion ceased.
***
Their voices rose again about twenty minutes later, upon entering an unnamed forest.
“Eggs?”
Following the beasts’ traces, they reached a forest where white, egg-sized foam clung to the dense tree trunks.
At first, they thought it was animal or beast excrement, but closer inspection revealed they were eggs.
The eggs were white, transparent enough to show red veins, some revealing the juvenile forms inside clearly.
Even without Rita’s warning, everyone was certain these were beast eggs—so sinister they looked.
“A hatchery?”
Valery Gainer muttered, his face grim.
Roughly dozens per cluster, they hung like grape bunches on tree trunks and branches.
With hundreds of eggs in sight, the group’s expressions grew grave.
But that wasn’t all.
“This… this is bad… behind here, it’s all…”
Holy Knight Felix, scouting the surroundings, returned pale, pointing behind a large tree, his words trailing off.
As he indicated, the entire forest behind was covered in beast eggs.
“If all these hatch…”
Priest Roen covered his mouth, horrified by the thought.
“We need to burn all the visible eggs immediately.”
Rita, with a stern face, moved first.
“Sigh of the Flame.”
In her past life, burning hatcheries was Rita’s task.
She skillfully incinerated eggs on the verge of hatching.
The eggs burst upon impact, leaking foul liquid.
Most were transparent, but some, with well-grown juveniles inside, oozed dark red fluid.
Occasionally, nail-sized juveniles twitched.
“Disgusting things.”
Whenever they appeared, Rita crushed them underfoot without hesitation.
Her familiarity with the act startled onlookers.
“Come on, let’s not stand around. Help out.”
Sercia clapped her hands, signaling.
The rest of the group began destroying the eggs in their own ways.
About twenty minutes later, a scream pierced the air.
“Argh!”
Kerman’s cry echoed through the forest.