"Princess, I need to let go of you for a second." Yue could see things were not going as she had hoped. She let go of Venessa's hand and pulled out one of the magic pistols at her side. She aimed carefully at the Spark Lion that was about to drag one of her classmates away and fired at its head.
*Roar!*
The Spark Lion had sensed danger and quickly ducked, causing Yue's shot to skim the top of its head. Yue frowned and fired a few more shots, but the Spark Lion was too agile and dodged each one. But it did let go of the student and was now paying attention to Yue. "Venessa, stay close, and I will move over to him while keeping the Spark Lion busy. You pull him back."
"Got it." Venessa whispered her reply. She was trying to keep a low profile. She was holding on to the edge of Yue's armor, trying her best not to lose her.
The two edged over while Yue kept firing at the Spark Lion. As they got closer, Yue's ears twitched, causing her to pull out another magic pistol and fire to her left into the bushes. A loud roar was heard as another Spark Lion jumped through the fire that was slowly starting to die down.
"Damn it…" Yue couldn't help but curse. She turned to see half of the students who were supposed to keep the tree line under a heavy barrage kneeling down, covering their heads. Even with there being enough students covering and protecting them, so they can cast safely, they were still cowering in fear due to a few screams. "Venessa, pull him back and get the rest of the class in order. I will draw all of the Spark Lions on to me."
Yue did not want to do this, but she had brought a bit of monster bait with her. It was a risk, but if she played her cards right, she might be able to escape unscathed. At least for now, she would be able to save what students were left.
"Wait, Yue, what do you mean by, you will draw them all away!?" Venessa had no idea what Yue had in mind, but if she drew all the monsters away, wouldn't that mean she would be in danger?
"Just shut up and do as I say." Yue yelled as she fired off more shots. She couldn't get any hits on these Spark Lions. Their ability to dodge ranged weapons was too high. They were well known for their agility and speed. She was risking a lot by trying to bait them all towards her.
"Fine! If you die, you die! Don't come haunting me!" Venessa yelled before grabbing the male student's hand and pulling back towards the center with the other students.
Yue sighed as she took a few more shots at both Spark Lions to keep them at bay. She then quickly reached into her pouch and pulled out a small silver cylinder. "I had hoped to use this as a distraction, but now I will need to use it as a lure."
With a pop of the top, a scent that only monsters could smell flowed out of the silver cylinder. All the Spark Lions stopped what they were doing and suddenly roared out at the same time.
*Roar!*
Yue took this as a cue to run! She already planned her route too! Since she was only a few meters away from the temple ruins, she planned to use them as a way to try to lose the Spark Lions. All she had to do was find a place to toss the silver cylinder, and they would chase after it as she made a hasty retreat. The reason she chose the temple was because she had heard it was more of a maze inside with many splitting paths. This would help make her escape much safer, or at least she hoped.
After going down a few twists and turns, when she came up to an area with multiple paths leading in different directions, she would toss the silver cylinder in one direction while taking the opposite to find a place to hide and rest up to regain her strength in order to escape and return to the academy. This was the full plan in her mind that she had come up with. If it did not work, she could say goodbye to her little wolfkin life.
As Yue ran off towards the temple, she could have sworn she had heard Clara yell out her name, but she did not have time to stop and check to see if she was hearing things or not. The twenty to thirty Spark Lions were already hot on her tail. If she stopped now, she would just end up becoming a snack.
With her max speed, she was able to stay a few meters ahead of the fastest Spark Lion, but she was growing tired fast. As soon as she saw the entrance leading down to the dungeon area below the temple, she did not hesitate to push herself faster and practically fly down the stairs. When she landed, she had to tuck and roll on her shoulder before making herself upright again and taking off as fast as she could.
One, two, ten twists and turns later, Yue finally came to a spot that was perfect for her plan. She came to a skidding stop and tossed the silver cylinder down the right side of the split path before turning around and running down the left side. She heard loud roars behind her as the Spark Lions began fighting over the cylinder. "Here's hoping they kill each other!"
Yue continued down the direction she had chosen, looking for another bend in the path, when she suddenly smelt a very familiar and traumatizing smell. "You have to be kidding a goblin nest!?"
"Gurahhhh!" A bunch of green skinned goblins jumped out of their hiding places and pounced towards Yue!
"Why is my luck so bad!" Yue yelled as she fired at the goblins closest to her causing them to drop dead after hitting them in the head. She came to a skidding stop once more before turning back around and with her tail between her legs, booked it back towards the Spark Lions! "I swear this world wants me deeEEAAaaAHHH!!!!"
As Yue was running she felt the ground underfoot give away causing her to suddenly fall through the floor!