As we drew closer to the beasts I prepared to summon everyone. The herd looked to number in the thousands. It was a literal tidal wave of beasts, but I wasn't worried about getting hurt or being unable to stop them. With the amount of power on my side, these beasts wouldn't stand a chance, and my summons would be able to let loose all their power. Besides, I'd yet to see gaping dragon in action, not to mention Megumin, who was essentially a walking and talking nuke, in fact, with what I'd seen in the show, she was even more powerful than a nuke.
Rath quickly caught up to the front of the herd and a saw of the beasts glance up and let our roars as they spotted us. I just ignored them and stood.
"You ready Asara?"
The talon rider smiled. "Always, your majesty."
I sent a mental command for Rath to get as low as possible and then we dropped. As we did I summoned all those I'd brought along for the hunt.
The ground shook at the massive weight of my gaping dragon crashed onto the ground. Blood and viscera flew into the air as dozens of the beasts were crushed to death, but that was just the beginning. My other summons didn't need any commands, they burst into the fray with weapons drawn and at the ready.
Giant spikes of ice formed from the ground, sending beasts flying into the air. They only remained whole for a second as Esdeath snapped her fingers and the pillars shattered into dozens of sharp pieces that were sent straight into the horde of beasts.
Cries and screams of pain rose as the beasts were impaled and frozen.
Rath flew above the beasts sending fireblast after fireblast into the herd and occasionally would grab a breast in his claws and like bowling ball send it into hurling into a nearby group of beasts. Blair wasn't fair behind the Wyvern on her floating pumpkin. She cackled as she sent pumpkin after pumpkin raining down onto the beasts, and no matter what they did they couldn't reach her.
Lilah, Leone, Domino, and 2B fought back to back and had essentially created a moving space of death around them. Wherever they went, beasts fell in droves, whether by sword, claw, or bullet, and with their skill and Dominos mutant abilities, the beasts had no luck in getting a hit off on any of them. I felt sort of sorry for them, only a little though.
Gible was up to his usual antics. His flamethrower set beasts alight and his dig ability allowed him to travel the battlefield with ease. The beasts were far too large to follow him and wherever the little rascal appeared, a beast would fall, by flame or by steel claw. I wondered if he'd evolve soon.
Indominus was indulging in his favorite sport, killing. The hybrid as always looked like he was having the time of his life, tearing the beasts apart. He had one held in his jaws by the tail and swung it about like a mace all while dodging any attack that came his way with preternatural grace.
Zombieman was smoking a cigarette while he unloaded round after round of fifty caliber into the beasts. No matter how many times they stuck him, he just regenerated and kept firing. Just a typical fight for the immoral Zombieman
As I tried to find Megumin, I spotted her on the back of Gaping dragon who was smashing his feet into the ground. The explosion wizard met my gaze then nodded towards the herd of beasts. There were still hundreds of them left, and they kept attacking like an endless horde, not that I would have it any other way. I could practically smell the exp.
The wizard raised her staff and began chanting. I wasn't able to hear what she was saying over the din of battle, but I guessed it was the usual she used. The magic circles appeared around her and she raised her staff towards a distant section of the herd.
"Exploooooooosion!"
The burst of fire that lit the world was so bright that I had to shield my eyes. The earth shook and if it weren't for my enhanced strength and Migi then I had no doubt I would have fallen over.
When the smoke cleared I whistled at the devastation her blast had caused. It had been one of her weaker explosions, but even so, hundreds of the beasts lay dead.
I'm not sure how long we went on, but it must have been well over an hour, which was shocking since we were killing the beasts at a ridiculously fast pace, but they just kept coming. Eventually, however, the tide turned into a trickle and only a few dozen remained. I turned and spotted Asara jogging over to me. Rath and Blair could handle the remaining few, I needed to find out who those people were, and what I'd gained.
"Your majesty, the riders are still there," Asara said. "One is approaching, shall we let them pass?"
I nodded. "Give me a few minutes then bring them over to me."
"As you wish, your majesty." Asara bowed then ran off to do as I'd asked.
I turned my attention to all the screens that I'd ignored during the battle. Whenever I ignored a popup, it moved into the corner of my vision. A simple bit of focus and the screens enlarged and appeared in front of me.
[Congratulations! Lilah has Leveled up! Lilah is now Level 9]
[Congratulations! Lilah has Leveled up! Lilah is now Level 10]
[Congratulations! Lilah has Leveled up! Lilah is now Level 11]
[Congratulations! Lilah has Leveled up! Lilah is now Level 12]
[Congratulations! Lilah has Leveled up! Lilah is now Level 13]
[Congratulations! Lilah has Leveled up! Lilah is now Level 14]
[Congratulations! Lilah has Leveled up! Lilah is now Level 15]
[Congratulations! Leone has Leveled up! Leone is now Level 9]
[Congratulations! Leone has Leveled up! Leone is now Level 10]
[Congratulations! Leone has Leveled up! Leone is now Level 11]
[Congratulations! Leone has Leveled up! Leone is now Level 12]
[Congratulations! Leone has Leveled up! Leone is now Level 13]
[Congratulations! Leone has Leveled up! Leone is now Level 14]
[Congratulations! Gible has Leveled up! Gible is now Level 10]
[Congratulations! Gible has Leveled up! Gible is now Level 11]
[Congratulations! Gible has Leveled up! Gible is now Level 12]
[Congratulations! Gible has Leveled up! Gible is now Level 13]
[Congratulations! Domino has Leveled up! Domino is now Level 9]
[Congratulations! Domino has Leveled up! Domino is now Level 10]
[Congratulations! Domino has Leveled up! Domino is now Level 11]
[Congratulations! Domino has Leveled up! Domino is now Level 12]
[Congratulations! Domino has Leveled up! Domino is now Level 13]
[Congratulations! Domino has Leveled up! Domino is now Level 14]
[Congratulations! Migi has Leveled up! Migi is now Level 9]
[Congratulations!...
The screens went on and on. This single fight had gained levels for each and every one of my summonses. The beasts had been weak, but there had been so many that each of my summons had leveled up more than twice, some five times. I also noticed level-ups for my summons back in Larra which made me smile. I was glad to know they could level up without the need to fight. I sent away all the screens until a arrived at the one I'd been waiting for.
[Congratulations! You have Leveled up! You are now Level 11]
[Reward: Summoning Token]
[Congratulations! You have Leveled up! You are now Level 12]
[Reward: Summoning Token]
[Congratulations! You have Leveled up! You are now Level 13]
[Reward: Summoning Token]
I was almost certain my heart had stopped beating. Three levels and summoning tokens from just a single fight. Four new summons that could potentially change everything. This idea had been the right one to take. If this was a sign of things to come then by the time I left these plains, the Tyrofell empire would no longer be a major threat.
Escalation. It truly was my way forward.