Huff! Huff!
Collective panting echoed out as the group ran desperately through the woods.
As soon as they determined the direction of the berserk beasts, nobody hesitated to start running for their lives.
Rastel was lagging behind as he carried Myra and ran as fast as he could. His stats obviously couldn't compare with these players that were much higher level than him.
He was already getting tired but he persevered, they could already see the walls of Eadon looming closer.
CRACK! SMASH! THUD!!!
The sounds of numerous trees been smashed into pieces suddenly rung out behind them making them quicken their paces out of fear.
"Oh shit! Oh shit!! Oh shit!!!"
Rastel cursed under his breath as he gave a quick glance behind.
The beasts had crashed into the trees at the fringes, still fighting viciously as they clawed at each other.
None of the trees could resist their huge strong frames and that part of the forest ended up as collateral damage.
KWIEEEEK!!!
The large bird screeched loudly as it lifted the alligator into the air again. The alligator snapped at a passing wing but missed, only coming back with a mouthful of feathers which left it grunting in dissatisfaction.
The vicious battle continued in the air again with no sign of mercy. Around the forest, numerous groups of people were running desperately hoping to reach the safety of Eadon's walls.
A few unlucky people had already died, crushed to death by a stray tree that was torn out, a random flailing of the alligator's tail, or getting hit with one of the bird's feathers which were as large as small tree trunks and as hard as steel.
Screams started to echo across the forest which filled the retreating team with despair. Even Myra's optimism couldn't fight this as she started trembling in Rastel's arms.
"Hey girl, don't worry. I'll get you out safe and sound."
Rastel cooed as he tried to comfort her.
Vars was running just alongside them. Although he was also terrified, he had experienced similar instances before during previous blood moons.
Although the two beasts fighting were very powerful, it still meant nothing in the face of corruption. Even magic beasts sometimes couldn't resist the corruption of the blood moon, falling into depravity and becoming berserk.
"Bring her, I will carry her." Vars offered.
Rastel gave him a side glance but shook his head. He didn't like the idea of handing his issues over to other people.
"I am much stronger and faster than you." Vars added bluntly.
'Ah...' his mind momentarily paused.
'Sounds logical.' He relented and handed Myra over Vars without hesitation.
"If you can go faster than this please do. I will catch up with you guys later." He hurried Vars up.
His speed would not magically increase so he had to at least ensure Myra's safety. If he couldn't get back in town before the beasts caught up to them, he would have to find another way to survive.
Vars gave him a quick glance but said nothing. He quickly increased his speed and dashed past the entire group quickly disappearing behind some trees.
Rastel could almost sense Myra's worry from under her hood, she kept staring in his direction till she couldn't see him anymore.
A small smile appeared on his face and he sent a thought to Amba.
In her arms, she suddenly felt Amba's tiny hug. She looked down and saw his comforting eyes which made her smile also.
That's right. What was she worried about? Her hero mage was invincible! There was no way he was going to die here!
Back at the group, all the players felt goosebumps assaulting their backs as another loud screech echoed out.
KWEEIIIIIIK!
'I might actually die here!'
Rastel screamed internally as he ran.
He had considered running off to the side as it seemed the fighting beasts were following a generally straight path but then the fact that it was the blood moon and random berserk beasts could be casually found anywhere together with the fact that he couldn't really be sure about how much berserk beasts can hold a decision for made him discard the idea.
The safest place was definitely Eadon!
With the presence of grandmaster Vulcan there, he was sure that these beasts were nothing to be feared. A dwarven grandmaster wasn't just a really good craftsman, their strength was also legendary.
"Hey, friend! Do you think master Vars would get his father to personally come and save us?" Redbone pulled up to Rastel and asked anxiously.
Rastel had a wry smile on his face but didn't give a negative answer. He had no relations with these people and wasn't willing to be friendly either. Once his identity was exposed, he wouldn't be surprised if they happily sold him out to get a reward.
"He is just heading back to drop off our friend there. Once we get close enough, he would definitely come to find me. Grandmaster Vulcan wouldn't let this kind of threat damage the town so we should be safe."
He sneaked in the fact that Vars would look for him there to make sure the players would want to ensure his safety to secure their own.
"Is that so! Hahaha! We are definitely saved! Come on, I will watch your back if you watch mine!"
As an opportunist, Redbone didn't miss that information and quickly offered to protect Rastel.
'That was easy.' Rastel heaved a sigh of relief in his mind.
Redbone even had members of his team come closer so they could run together. He had the foolish-looking cleric who was called White soul cast a dexterity buff on him.
Experiencing their help, Rastel almost felt touched in his heart.
'If it wasn't that they were also using me I would even feel grateful. Having a team around is so convenient. Should I create a team too?'
Now that he had someone sharing the burden with him, he felt more relaxed and had time to have random thoughts.
All of a sudden, the battle between the two beasts became more ferocious!
The alligator got a chance and bit deeply into the bird's chest plumage which made it give out another loud screech.
KWEEIIIIIIK!
It immediately hurled the alligator forward with all its strength!
DRUUUUUUM! CRACK! SNAP!!
Numerous trees were crushed as the alligator was thrown forward. The earth trembled greatly and the alligator let out a low sounding grunt.
The alligator kept rolling forward, destroying the scenery as it went. The group of players watched in horror as the huge body rolled towards their direction, creating large dents in the earth and snapping trees as it went.
"Shit! Shit!! Shit!!!"
"Why is this happening to me!!!"
"Fuck my life! I am unwilling!!!"
"Dear god! Please god! I will do anything!"
"A--AH!!!!! AH!!!!!!!!!!!"
Numerous curses and screams came out of the player's mouth as they ran while looking behind at the incoming mass of destruction with fear.
At this point, their legs were just moving automatically. It was like they were enchanted by the image of the huge beast.
Rastel looked back and cursed so many times in his mind he couldn't even register the curses before the next batch flew in.
At this point, his practiced subconscious reaction to become calm in extremely hopeless situations tried to kick in but at the end of the day.
'What can I even do?'
He quickly came to this realization once he put a little thought into it. This was a matter way beyond his strength!
'This world is too dangerous! You can't even keep your life if you don't have a minimum amount of strength and can only end up as collateral damage. How strong? How strong do I need to become to be able to freely travel this world?'
This question flashed in his head numerous times until it was the only thing he could think about.
How strong did he need to be?
THUD!!!!!!!!
A loud thud behind him snapped him out of his thoughts and he quickly felt a bit helpless.
'Maybe I can get enough money to recreate my account? It's damn expensive though.' He looked up and had this thought.
The sky went dark all of a sudden as the body of the alligator covered the light from the blood moon. As far as he could see, large greyish black scales covered the space above him.
The entire group stopped together as if it was practiced beforehand and watched as the huge body sailed over them leaving them unharmed.
THUD!
The alligator kept rolling forward in front of them.
"A—Ah!!!!! My heart!"
A relieved yell came out of Bareblade who sat on the ground and held his head.
The rest of the group also felt weak in the knees and dropped down one after the other. This had left an undeniable scar in their hearts. The thought of being crushed to death wasn't so nice to think about.
Even the composed looking Erik was panting loudly and looking very destitute.
The two mages Jane and Jill were even sobbing quietly, feeling extremely thankful for being alive.
Rastel also plopped down, he was tired and had overexerted himself. But his thoughts were different from the rest of them.
'How strong do I need to become to freely have my adventures?'
He frowned as he had this thought.
Before they had much time to rest, they heard the familiar loud screech.
KWEEIIIIK!!!
The bird was swooping low, heading towards the alligator's direction with immense speed!
"I swear if I hear that bird's screech again I might just say fuck it all and let it eat my shield!" Redbone cursed loudly as he held his shield.
Another threat was heading towards them at top speed and they could only look on.
Rastel also had on a grave look but he suddenly noticed something odd.
'Why can't I hear the sound of the trees being crushed?'
Before he could turn to confirm his suspicions, what he could only describe as a flash of light lit up the sky and drew his attention.
A bright slash of energy that looked like a blade tore through the sky and slammed into the flying bird.
KWEEIK!
The bird let out a short screech and dropped to the floor like a sack of flour, it didn't go far before it stopped dead in its tracks not far away from the group.
As dead as it could be.
The entire group stood in shock as they stared at the dead bird. They wanted to go closer and confirm whether it was dead but its large frame was too intimidating for them to want to approach.
Rastel turned his gaze upward and saw the figure of a tall man.
He had long soft brown hair which was tied in a ponytail behind him that reached his waist. He was wearing a casual looking yellow robe with a belt tied at the middle, looking like he just got out of a bath.
His face was feminine looking with small delicate features but he emitted an unmatched aura that made it feel like anyone who challenged him would only be walking to their deaths.
On his hand was a plain golden sword still emitting a faint white light.
He was standing on a flat platform that was slowly bobbing up and down in the air as it floated.
"Holy shit, look! The alligator is dead too!" somebody yelled out.
Rastel turned to see and found out that the crocodile had been decapitated long before.
An indescribable feeling arose in his mind as he turned back to look at this feminine looking man. He had finally found a clue to his answer.
'...…At least this strong.'