When everything subsided, the rescue team gathered at the destroyed goblin village. The barbarians were truly excited, their eyes glittered whenever they looked at Kratos. They were able to see Kratos in action again, something which they were not able to witness for a long time. Their commander had not taken action since he was exiled to the border by their barbarian king, Zeus but today he did.
Kratos felt uncomfortable under their gazes but he did not say anything.
Olivier was in a bad shape, his clothes were tattered and he was covered in dirt. He was tossed and turned around in this battle like cannon fodder by Kratos. Thus, he felt slightly gloomy but he did not let it show on his face.
He coughed slightly to attract the attention of the team. Feeling their gazes on him, he said, "We have exterminated the goblin and we did so without any casualties. But we did not achieve our original goal of finding the missing archers. Let's spread out and search for them. Keep the search perimeter to the vicinity of this village. Also, some of the goblins might have survived uncle Kratos'.. uh.... attack. Kill them all if you find any. No mercy!"
The team acknowledged the command and spread out around the village to search for the missing archers.
Olivier approached Kratos. He hesitated for a while and opened his mouth. "Uncle Kratos, Can you teach me those martial skills that you used earlier?"
"I can not". Kratos replied. "To use those skills, you need to have infernal energy which can only be awakened by those people who have accumulated a vast amount of killing intent by the time they reach tier-3. Infernal energy is also called the energy of hell. Those with infernal energy can progress further only by engaging in killing and slaughter. Most of the barbarians awaken it after they advance to tier-3 strength. Although I do have the method to awaken infernal energy, I don't think that it is suitable for you".
Olivier felt slightly vexed. Although he was tempted by the destructive power of those skills, its requirement was something Olivier found hard to accept. He did not want to awaken the infernal energy which required him to constantly kill to progress. He would be happy with something like thunder or ice like his father and mother.
Seeing Olivier remained silent, Kratos did not say anything.
At this moment, a howl like that of a wolf reverberated through the silent night of the forest. Olivier turned his head towards the direction of the howl but he did not see anything that was out of the ordinary. He instantly activated the oculus art. His eyes started to shine mysteriously as his vision penetrated through the misty darkness and focused on the forests.
In the shadows of the trees, he noticed several creatures moving silently leaving behind their after images. He circulated the oculus art with more intensity causing his visionary field to expand even further. Then, he noticed the creatures hiding in the darkness.
They looked like a wolf but they were twice as large as the regular wolf he saw back on earth. Although those creatures had the body shape of the wolf, their head was like that of a hyena. Their neck was covered with a thick silvery mane like that of a lion.
If anyone from the outside world saw these creatures, they would be frightened out of their wits because these creatures were one of the rarest beasts, Korkottas. They were natural-born hunters of the wild gifted with the agility of the wolf, the strength of a lion, and the cunning of a hyena. The Korkottas were also called the schemers of the forest. They were scary not because of their strength but because of their patience and slyness.
Korkottas were the fence-sitter. Most of the time, Korkottas tailed after strong beasts. They would then gang upon to steal their prey at a critical moment.
Olivier saw Korkottas circling around the goblin village in the dark. He noticed that these creatures were not showing any sign of attacking.
"What is it?" Kratos asked Olivier.
Olivier looked around as he silently counted the number of those creatures. "We are being surrounded by some beasts that looked like wolves. There are around thirty of them but they are acting weirdly".
"Like they are waiting for something?" A feminine voice sounded beside him.
"That's right. What is that supposed to mean?" Olivier did not even turn around. He knew it was Aria. After spending some time with her, Olivier was used to her appearing and disappearing silently.
"That means we are in trouble. These creatures are called Korkottas. If they are here, other beast or beasts stronger than them have to be around. These vile creatures are troublemakers who like to take advantage of the chaos. We have to eliminate them before the real trouble gets here". Aria said seriously as she looked around.
"I think it's too late to do that".
Before Olivier even finished speaking, a loud noise resounded in the distance. The sound gave the impression like that of a colossal monster moving towards them. The ground started thumping like a beating heart and the trees were town apart causing leaves to fly around in the air.
Olivier watched with bated breath as a massive creature slowly appeared in the distance. It moved very slowly but its every movement caused the ground beneath it to shake. The creature bulldozed its way through the forests destroying everything that stood in its path. Olivier needed to look up towards the sky to see its head. The creature had four muscular legs with sharp claws at its feet, every inch of its large body was covered with dark inky scales and a long elongated snout grew out of its elephant head. However, unlike an elephant, its two ivory (tooth) drew a long curve while its edges were coated with golden. Occasionally, flickering lighting danced around its snout and long tooth. giving it a dangerous vibe.
'A thunder attributed elephant which is definitely carnivorous'.
"A Yali!"
An anxious cry entered Olivier's ear at this moment. He looked at Kratos only to see panic all over his face. He had never seen Kratos in such a state before but to even make Kratos panic, this elephant must be some divine beast.
"What is this thing, Uncle Kratos?" Olivier asked Kratos. He wanted to know about his creature even Kratos feared.
"We don't have time for this. We need to get out of here before that Yali gets here. Otherwise, we are all doomed". Kratos shouted towards Olivier not replying to his question. Now, anxiety was creeping up inside Olivier. He had never seen Kratos lose his cool and he knew Kratos enough to know that matters that could faze him were never simple.
"Ok! Let's retreat". Olivier's voice also carried anxiousness.
Aria had been silent all along but she could remain silent no more. "We can not! we have not found the missing archers yet. I will not abandon them here and definitely not after knowing a calamity might descend on this place. A calamity that might take their life".
Kratos was about to speak when an excited voice floated over.
"We found them! They are here!"
The three rushed over to the source of the voice only to find Mina crouching on the ground, her one ear pressed against the floor. "They are here! I think there is a tunnel below." She excitedly called out to Olivier as soon as she saw them.
"Umm. You did good". Olivier lightly patted her on the head and he also followed her action. He could hear a slight muffled sobbing noise coming from below. It was so faint that one might think that it was simply their imagination but Oliver could not ignore that.
"They are definitely below". He said to Aria causing her face to bloom in a smile.
"Let's go and rescue them". Aria replied hurriedly. Oliver nooded as he looked towards the approaching Yali and the glowing red eyes hiding in the darkness causing him to frown.
'The Yali will be here any second now and there are those Korkottas as well. What should I do at this moment? Think Olivier! Think!'
Olivier thought for while trying to brainstorm a solution to their predicament but he did not find any that could help them to transcend this situation safely.
"We need to save them but it cannot be you, Aria. We need your strength. Bjorn!" He called out towards a barbarian with a calm and steadfast demeanor.
"Yes?" He stepped forward.
"Bjorn, you go with Mina and rescue the missing archers. Can you do that for me?"
"Consider it done, Olivier!". Bjorn replied with a smile. He nodded towards Kratos and pulled out his broadsword. He plunged his sword fully into the ground and ran around pulling his sword forming a square. When he pulled out his sword, the ground started creaking like it was sinking. Bjorn then crouched down at the end of the square and pressed his hand into the ground.
Then, under the astonished eyes of Olivier, he pulled out a chunk of the ground with a 'huuuep' sound. Throwing the large square piece of land to the side, he called out to Mina before jumping down.
"Wait for me!" Mina shouted as she too jumped on the hole that Bjorn carved on the ground. Olivier looked gazed towards the hole and shouted, "You need to complete this task ASAP!"
"Five minutes". A voice drifted from the tunnel.
Olivier then turned his focused his gaze towards the Yali. "Now, we need to distract that thing for a while. Uncle Kratos, Any ideas?"
"It will be really difficult to accomplish this. A Yali is a creature blessed with the power of lighting. The lightning it wields is so powerful that most of the Yali's are harmed by it instead. Therefore, they are always in a muddled state of mind, moving according to their instinct. It destroys everything in its path and when it senses anything that could harm its life, it releases the lightning obliterating the danger. Because of this, a Yali always moves along a fixed path roaming the world. It never changes its course of motion and killing is also out of the question. All Yalis are born with tier-3 strength and naturally awakened lightning element. Upon maturity, they could reach up to tier-6 strength. This one might have tier-4 or tier-5 strength. With our strength, it will like an egg striking against the rock". Kratos explained the whole situation. Now, Olivier was fully aware of the reason why Kratos was anxious.
"And do not forget about those Korkottas lurking in the shadow. They will not stay idle while we try to stop that behemoth". Aria added.
Olivier sighed with some helplessness. The whole situation looked so bleak. With their current strength, it would be great if a few of them came out alive after this. Then, it hit him. If the Yali always move in the same course, How did those goblins manage to survive?
'The tunnel! That is our path to survival'. Olivier thought as he looked at Kratos and Aria. They nodded having come to a similar conclusion themselves.
"Then let's try our best to stop that thing. We could not leave our life to a tunnel we barely know about but let's consider it as our last option to fall back to in case of failure. But before that, we need to eliminate those Korkottas lest they cause trouble".
"Leave those Korkottas to us, archers". Aria said as she moved towards the forest carrying a bow and an arrow in her hand. The rest of the archers followed behind her silently.
Olivier and the barbarians remained behind to face the incoming Yali by themselves.