Thud!
"Haha! Take that you crazy beast!" Dean laughed in exhilaration as the bear in front of him fell to the ground.
Sword marks could be seen all over its body which indicated Dean's attacks.
After his first disappointment with the Ape, he had been very careful while choosing his opponents now. This was the fourth beast he had defeated in the space of almost an hour, and although it couldn't be compared to Leon's staggering twenty-eight, it was still something.
Dean still didn't know where Julius was, according to the others, he was at the forefront, where the beasts are stronger. Leon had also ventured deep into the beast tide, but he made sure to stay within the range where he could get help from others and where the beasts wouldn't completely overwhelm him with their superior strength.
Leon helped some of the warriors whenever they were in danger, his skill with the bow was so high that even the best warriors amongst the people here who were good with the bow didn't come close. What was surprising was the fact that it hadn't been long since he started training with it.
Dean soon picked another opponent, this time, slightly stronger than the last. Although the difference is hard to notice, he was certain this one was stronger than the last beast he fought, well, so he wanted to believe.
The battle against the beasts went on for two hours, and thanks to the reinforcement sent by the O'Brien family, the beast tide didn't cause as much damage as it previously did. They found it hard to breach the defenses set up by the warriors.
Roar!
A terrifyingly loud roar resounded in the battleground, drawing the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
All the beasts stopped fighting as soon as they heard this roar and immediately started to retreat.
"They're retreating, after them!" One of the warriors screamed.
Some of the warriors chased after the beasts, but Dean stood in the same spot. The hand he used in holding onto his sword was shaking slightly, while blood could be seen dripping from his right hand into the blade before falling to the ground.
"Phew, I survived this." He muttered while looking at his hand which had a small claw mark, he turned to look at the warriors who were chasing after the beasts, "These morons, they should just let them go."
While Dean had stopped attacking, Leon was trying his best to stop as many beasts as he could. He went for their hind legs, slowing them down so that the chasing warriors could easily finish them off.
'It's best we reduce their numbers before the next attack.' He thought while releasing another arrow.
After shooting that arrow, he tried to take another arrow from his quiver, only to find out that he was out of arrows. Even the ones he had prepared in his storage ring were exhausted.
"Guess that's all I can do." He muttered before walking over to where Dean was standing.
"They still managed to breach the formation, huh?" He asked with a sour expression.
"Yeah, given their numbers, there was no way to stop them all. But luckily, the casualties aren't too high. Although, we lost a few people." Dean replied.
He moved a considerable distance away from the formation, so he didn't know what happened while he was fighting for his life. Apparently, some beasts were able to hurt the weaker Warriors from the Gnurx tribe, even the Warriors from the O'Brien family were no exception to the loss.
"Hmm." Leon nodded before looking around.
He could tell that although there were casualties, the warriors from the Gnurx tribe didn't seem too downcast.
Twenty minutes later.
The warriors who chased after the beasts, as well as the high leveled warriors returned.
"Are you two alright?" Julius asked as soon as he got to where the duo was.
"Yeah, we're okay." Dean replied.
"You're injured." Julius said while looking at Dean's shoulder.
"It's nothing, I've taken a potion which has stopped the bleeding. I should be fine after resting." Dean waved it off.
Julius nodded before looking at Leon, and then at the warriors who were there.
Kaleb approached the trio, still panting from the battle.
"Thank you for your help." He bowed to them.
"It's nothing. As long as you are part of the O'Brien family, then we will always help whenever you're in any trouble. Besides, we're also getting a share from the mine." Julius said.
"What is the extent of the casualties?" He asked.
"Not too much…" Kaleb replied with a respectful expression while telling Julius of the number of people who died or were injured.
In total, they lost about six Warriors from the tribe, and ten were injured. As for the Warriors from the O'Brien family, they lost a higher number of people to the battle. Even though they killed way more magical beasts, the deaths of each Warrior were something that pained both Julius and Kaleb.
"Okay, I think it'll be best to head to where the mine is before the next attack, just to be on a safer side." Julius said, he turned to Leon and Dean before continuing, "From that roar, it's easy to guess that they are being controlled by a stronger beast."
The troop quickly set out, while fighting, they had moved forward a little, so they were closer to where the mine was located. They were in the territory of the beasts, so the quicker they got the injured inside the mine, the better for them.
Also, if they were at the mine, he could come up with a better formation that would minimize the deaths.
"We should get some rest. They might still attack again," Julius said and turned to Leon and Dean when they got to the mine.
"That goes for you two." He added.
"No need to tell me twice!" Dean said as he walked inside while dragging Leon along.
Leon didn't resist since he was exhausted from his continuous attacks. He barely got any rest, even though he didn't personally engage the beasts in close combat, he was constantly on the lookout for warriors who needed assistance. This was by no means an easy task since he had to make sure his attack was spot on.