*Swoosh!*
Six figures moved through the dense forest at great speed.
Leading them was a blue-haired young man looking forward with a pensive expression.
"… Where are we going, captain?" Rana asked curiously.
"Let's find a base first. We can start thinking about the rest after that." Bloed replied immediately.
"A base?" Rana asked confused.
"Yes. I already sent Oculus to search for one."
Rana nodded in understanding.
After one week of training together, the group knew a lot about the combat techniques of the others. Of course, each one of them hid their trump cards, but their usual techniques were more or less known.
Due to that, the group knew about Oculus' scouting ability. They did not know about the specifics, weakness, or how it worked, but they knew the floating eye was very useful to find things.
And just as they expected, Oculus brought back results soon enough.
"Follow me, Oculus found a good place," Bloed said.
The others nodded and followed after Bloed. Less than five minutes later, the group arrived at a mountain.
Climbing the mountain, they finally found a big cave near the top.
"Is it the place?" Rhone asked.
Bloed nodded. "From here we can have a good view of the surroundings, plus the place is easy to defend."
"You are right. This place is pretty good." Liu Ying agreed with him.
The others also agreed after thinking about it briefly.
Seeing that, Bloed nodded.
"Now, let's talk about our strategy."
Rana, Liu Ying, Aya, Rhone, and Atai looked at each other before looking at Bloed.
After working together for one week, they knew Bloed was much better than any of them when it came to plans.
Bloed smiled wryly.
"I'll guess I'll explain my plan then... What do you think is our greatest advantage?"
"Our greatest advantage?" The others were confused.
"… I think it's the fact we can use more than one method to find the monster, right?" Rana raised her hand timidly.
The others nodded. They seemed to agree with that opinion.
Only Liu Ying and Atai seemed pensive.
Bloed smiled. "That is a big advantage, but it is not the greatest."
"It's not?" Rana was confused.
Instead Bloed, it was Atai who replied.
"… Communication." The cougarkin said with an expression of understanding.
Liu Ying's eyes lit up. "You are right, that is our greatest advantage."
Seeing that Rana, Rhone, and Aya were still confused, Bloed explained it to them.
"Think about it, guys. Most of the monsters we need to hunt are just B-Rank monsters. Any of us can defeat a monster like that easily, thus, it's a waste if we move together to hunt them. The problem is, Rana, Liu Ying, and Aya are not very good at tracking monsters, so they will not be very effective if they move alone. Plus, if we move separately, we run the risk of meeting the enemy teams or a monster we can't defeat, so it's not worth the risk. But, everything changes if we can communicate with each other regardless of the distance."
The three of them were startled. But after thinking for a few seconds, they opened their eyes wide.
"… You are planning to use the same method that you used during the hunt?" Aya asked.
"Yes." Bloed nodded and raised his index finger. One second later, a mechanic dragonfly materialized from the air and landed in his raised finger. "The five of you will move separately, and each one of you will carry a dragonfly you will use to communicate with the others. Meanwhile, Rhone will use his sonic abilities to detect the approximate location of the monsters and send their location to me. As for me, someone needs to stay to guard the base. Plus, I'll also use Oculus to confirm Rhone's information and send it to the rest of you. At the same time, I'll provide you support fire from here. That way, we will be able to hunt the monsters several times fasters than the other teams. What do you think?"
The others looked at each other in surprise.
"... That is a good plan. Excellent in fact." Rhone said. "But what if we met with an A-Rank monster or the other teams?"
"Easy. If you met a monster you can't defeat, I'll provide support through Oculus. And if that is not enough, the nearest person will rush towards your location while you try to gain time. I don't think it will be hard unless you meet one of the three half-step demigod monsters. As for the other teams..." Bloed paused at this point before smiling mysteriously. "We only need to pay attention to the elves. As for the human team, they will be unable to approach us without being noticed."
The group was stunned.
"You did something to them, captain?" Rane could not suppress her curiosity and asked.
Bloed did not reply and just smiled. However, it was enough for the group to confirm their suspicions.
They knew their captain had done something.
Yes, when the game started, Bloed stealthily put a dragonfly in one of the members of both teams to keep an eye on them.
These dragonflies were currently in an inactive state due to the fact Bloed needed to use his entire concentration when he wanted to use them, but at the very least he could use them to keep an eye on the location of the other teams.
Plus, Bloed could activate them at any time, using them to recollect information on the enemies.
Unfortunately, the elves detected the anomaly almost immediately and destroyed it. Bloed was not sure about how they discovered it, but he thought it was related to the fact elves were very attuned to nature.
As for the dragonfly he put on the humans, it was still perched in the backpack of one of them, completely undetected.
In other words, unless they find the dragonfly, Bloed was going to be able to predict almost every move the Sun Kingdom's team does.
"Okay, it's time to start. Time is gold. Rhone, try to see if there are monsters nearby. As for the others, get ready for the action."
"Understood, captain."
"Yes~"
"… Mm."
"Okay!"
"…"
Rhone, Rana, Aya, Liu Ying, and Atai replied each in their own way.
The group started to move immediately. Rhone closed his eyes, using his bat ears to filter the sounds of the surroundings and try to locate the nearby monsters.
Not even one minute later, he opened his eyes.
"I found two. One at the north around one kilometer away from us, and another one at the southeast, less than one kilometer away."
"Good." Bloed nodded and waved his hand. Instantly, two dragonflies separated from Oculus's body and flew in the directions Rhone told him.
Around twenty seconds later, Bloed's lips curved up.
"Liu Ying, you go to the north. It's a kind of wolf monster. Atai, you go to the southeast. It's a squirrel."
"Leave it to me!"
"Understood."
With that, the demon and the cougarkin departed.
A few seconds later, Rhone spoke up again.
"I found another. At the west, two kilometers away."
"Aya, it's your turn."
"… Mm."
"Another one. This one is…"
"Rana, you know what to do."
"Okay dokay~."
Finally, Rhone opened his eyes one last time.
"I guess this one is mine, captain. It's in the northwest, two kilometers away."
"Go. Also, keep trying to locate the other monsters. I will also use Oculus to help you." Bloed nodded at him.
Rhone smiled. "Understood, captain."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
When Rhone left, only Bloed remained in the base.
Currently, his mind was burdened with the information being sent by tens of dragonflies. That was the true reason he remained in the base. The current him could not show even thirty percent of his strength.
Even so, it was not as though he was powerless.
With a thought, a metallic wolf and a metallic puppy were taken out of his storage device.
"Leto, Tito, it's time to work."