We each took turns sleeping and standing watch through the night just in case of an attack until just before sunshine. With the sun peeking ever so slightly on the horizon, the four of us left leaving Ny to stay at the tree. Practically jumping with excitement, I rushed towards the Dead zone. The closer we get the more charged with energy I feel, but I soon start to notice that the opposite is happening to the others. My connection to Sorc tells me he's getting more worried as we approach, while Blum and Orn seems more somber. While this slightly dampens my mood, everything pales in front of my thirst for new experiences. Due to the connection between us, my excitement bled through to them gradually boosting their moods. With them becoming more excited to plunge into the dangerous zone, I set a breakneck pace until 20 mins after leaving we arrived at the entrance to the zone. In front of us were multiple dense rows of old trees. Reaching the trees, I turned towards the two elders who nodded that we must continue through.
Pushing forward, I feel a building pressure being exerted by the branches threatening to force me back to the starting point. I see glimpses of Sorc pushing through ahead of me as I hear Blum and Orn explaining to me the purpose of these trees.
"Supposedly Gul nurtured these trees himself as a way of keeping those who lacking the sufficient strength from entering the dead zones." Blum stated.
"Those not strong enough will be pushed out by the branches and those too strong have to exercise caution as breaking the branches will make the trees attack and alert Gul's remaining elders."
This left me trying to figure out how strong a beast had to be to make it to the greater dead zone. Lost in thought, I reached the end of the tree before I knew it and what I saw before me was chaos. Sorc and the others were already fighting nearby in front of me. Looking to the sides I noticed that it seemed like Sorc placed multiple [Rock wall]'s on both sides near where I exited from, leaving me wondering just how mana he had. This protected my landing area and lessened the chance of the three of them being flanked.
It seemed that Sorc, Blum, and Orn had formed a formation. Sorc handled defense by using his earth manipulation to destabilize and block enemy attacks. This was to help him preserve his mana after creating the walls. Orn used his physical prowess to exploit the openings created by Sorc, while Blum used his shadow element to launch ranged attacks.
Seeing a glimpse of the power that we could achieve by fighting together, I used the tribal skill [minor telepathy] to inform the others.
"We're sticking together and sharing the prey. Sorc continue to handle defense, Orn and I will be the main attackers with Blum sticking to ranged attacks."
Instantly I was on the move, firing a [ static bolt] on a canine-like beast approaching them from the edges of the right wall. It voiced a short yelp of pain before Orn appeared and killed it. As Orn had moved to the right side to divide the area between us, Sorc defended the left side until my arrival.
Now having a view not blocked by the wall Sorc constructed, all I could see was life and death battles whether it be between groups like us or solo beasts. Currently we were facing a large group containing a majority of canine beast. Most of the beast were mid to peak second tier beasts with 5 at the third tier. Of those 5, 2 were in the low tier 3 and the other three were in the mid-tier 3. There seemed to be around 30 or 40 of them left with around 10 bodies died on the ground.
'How is such a massive tribe still in the lesser zone?' I thought.
The only reasons the others were still alive was thanks to Sorc's walls preventing them from being flanked along with Blum and Orn experience and wisdom. The formation allowed for each one to relieve pressure from each other. Orn made the enemies focus on him as he quickly killed those that got distracted. Sorc protected Orn from those that tried to attack when he was distracted during attacking. Blum used his long-ranged attacks to relieve pressure from both through the use of his skill [shadow lock]. A skill that used the enemy's shadows to lock them in place for a varied amount of time depending on the strength of the enemy.
Upon my arrival a shift happened in the enemy tribe as the Tribal leader began to pressure the others sending a majority of his members to Orns side to isolate me. His tribe begin to ignore the danger trying to wear down the three and prevent them from helping me. With the others busy fighting the majority of his tribe, I watched as his 4 elders converged on me. It seemed like their goal was to exhaust me and my tribe with their superior numbers.
Of the 4 elders, 2 were of different species one was a 1.5-meter-tall green ape with wings that were too small to carry its muscular frame. The other was a completely blue frog with massive front and hind legs. The last 2 were red and brown canines like their leader. Their species were born with a mouth on their tail that was slightly longer than their body. It didn't seem like it was capable of independent thought from what I had seen in the weaker ones, but I felt the need to be wary of them anyway.
As they approached, I sensed a stir in the mana of the ape and the brown canine as the unleashed their skills. Following shortly behind them the remaining two unleashed their skills, too. The four skills were a messy blade of air, a large ball of fire, a large rock, and a compressed ball of water. Two of the attacks was aimed to cut of paths of escape as they targeted the areas behind me. The others were aimed to force me towards the corner that the fire and rock would create.
Shockingly, instead moving into the corner as excepted dodge Rapt turned and towards the water ball. This surprised not only his enemies but their Leader, also. Seeing his charge towards the water ball, the four shifted to follow him. Approaching the attack, he activated [discharge] before jumping directly at side of it. Upon contact, it exploded in Rapt's face. This was the nature of the frog's attack, [Water bomb]. An attack that shot a compressed ball water that exploded upon contact. After the [Water bomb] exploded, Rapt was sent flying back 3 meters before landing on his feet seemingly unharmed.
This shocked the four elders as the frog was the strongest of them when it came to mana and skills. Most beast that came in contact with this attack were seriously injured or killed depending on their defensive stats and tier. Yet this tier 1 beast was not only still alive, but uninjured at that.
This made the elders decided to take their fight a little more seriously. At first, they thought that they would be facing a pretty powerful beast based off of the three that arrived first. Yet after seeing Rapt a tier 1 beast was the tribal leader, they felt as this would be an easy meal. Now their pride as 3rd tier beasts was being challenged by a 1st tier beast.
Something had felt wrong as soon as they laid eyes on this strange beast they had never seen before. Yet seeing how weak it was the five-3rd tier beasts felt as if maybe their senses were becoming dulled. They then noticed that this beast was the leader of the other 3 beast and decided to finish this quick and easy.
" Pressure those 3 and you four bring down their leader quickly" The leader said telepathically, watching as his tribe instantly attacked more vigorously.
This was to make it harder for them to back up their leader as the 4 elders began their assault. Upon engaging, they took the initiative and used their usual tactics made for forcing their opponents into a corner. Now seeing that this had failed, the two red canine and ape separated from the others intending to provide ranged support. The frog and the brown canine pressed forward preparing to fight Rapt in close quarters.
Rapt didn't just watch as the 4 continued to approach, he contacted the other telepathically.
"Sorc prepare to shift the ground under the canine. Try to time it with the frogs jump. Blum and Orn try to clear him soon room." He stated as he summoned two bolts that hovered in front of him. He had been watching carefully for a chance to disrupt the enemy tactics. Waiting patiently as the frog and canine kept pace with each other, Rapt moved toward them rapidly closing the distance without fear. The bolts follow closely behind before breaking off right before the frog started it's jump. The bolts slammed in two of the canines surrounding Sorc, giving him some extra breathing room. He followed up by rapidly summoning three more bolts. The red canine and ape were confused by this action, while the enraging the duo rushing towards him.
'He dares to underestimate us' was what they were thinking.
As the frog jumped, Rapt shot the three bolts in its landing area with one aimed right in the center and the others being on its respective sides.
This confused all four elders this time as concentrating bolts in the middle would've done more damage. At that moment the canine suddenly felt the ground under him rapidly shift him under the frog. Instantly being crushed underneath its weight followed by the three bolts crashing into them both.
Rapt's plan was a success and even though the damage caused didn't produce major or fatal injuries, it had created an opening. Rapt didn't hesitate to exploit that opening, jumping on the head of the massive frog. Plunging his claw in the frog's eye, while striking the other eye with his final bolt and activating [discharge] for two seconds depleting his mana.
Being two tiers stronger than Rapt didn't help much since the frog's element of water was weak against his element. Also, Rapt time in Bados domain taught that when disadvantaged by numerous enemies using your intellect and their negligence when you can. For the frog underestimating Rapt and his tribe lead to its humiliating defeat.
Looking to capitalize on the moment of confusion, Rapt bit into the frog before telling Sorc to move him closer to the trees. Once they stopped moving, Rapt tore into the frog intent on make sure it was either dead or out of the fight.