After lunch, we set out for the swamps. The villagers, led by their elder, gathered at the gates, some looking hopeful, while others wore expressions of sadness. Few believed in the success of our venture, but we were their last hope.
According to the plan, we took up a position not far from where the caravan had been attacked. I called upon Grain and Seleria, giving them a couple of orders to modify the landscape.
When the trap was ready, we lit a fire to prepare dinner.
"Krito, aren't you scared?" Katrina's voice trembled.
"Oh, my, where did all your bravery go, princess? Or are you afraid of the lizards?"
"I fear losing my friends," Katrina buried her face in her knees.
"Hoo, the electric princess can be quite charming," Seleria tried to encourage GMa in her own style. "I'm worried about something else. Do you know anything about the third summoner?" I recalled a few pages from history.
"The summoner of angels?" Kurone was surprised. "What about him? I heard he was a great man, traveling the world and healing people of all ailments with his power."
"Well, yes, that's all true, but do you know anything about his death?" There was no glimmer of understanding on the faces of the guild members. "I read about his last journey; he went to a small village in the swamp to help the residents who were attacked by swamp monsters."
"And how did it all end?"
"What happened afterward was unknown... Neither the summoner nor the village could be found later. I'm afraid they might have fallen victim to those creatures."
Silence killed our self-assurance.
"But even if the summoner couldn't handle the hydras, what are our chances?" Grain was concerned, a fear I had never seen on his face before.
"He was alone, and we are six. Besides, his power was less than that of all the summoners," I coolly shrugged. "I think we have better chances, but we shouldn't let our guard down."
The night was moonless, and clouds covered the sky, creating pitch darkness. However, it posed no problem for the eyes of a black dragon.
"Krito, they're here!"
Rustling and hissing started coming from the nearby bushes. I had correctly calculated that if we positioned ourselves on the edge of the wide road, they wouldn't risk attacking us from the open space. They approached from the east side of the road; all that remained was to spring the trap.
"Seleria!"
With a snap of her fingers, the fire manipulator ignited the dry brush piled in the trench that surrounded our camp. The hydras found themselves trapped in a semicircle of fire, unable to hide any further. Against the backdrop of the bright flames, their silhouettes were clearly visible. That's all Katrina needed; with precise lightning strikes, she began to battle the larger creatures. Kurone picked off the smaller ones, while Grain and I destroyed any rare monsters that managed to get close to us. Seleria abstained from the fight, lest she inadvertently burn half the swamp. Ragni waited on the sidelines, ready to follow my orders.
There were many hydras, nearly fifty, but the chaos sown by the fire trap played in our favor. Even before the flames died down, all the creatures lay dead.
"Ragni, what's the situation?"
"Everything's going according to plan. Two hydras are running north; I'm on their tail!" Ragni spread her wings and dashed off in pursuit.
"Darn, it could be a trap!" Turning to the others, I commanded, "Hurry after her. Silly lizard, if you die, I won't forgive you!"
Ragni flew after the fleeing reptiles, and they sensed her presence but didn't even try to cover their tracks.
"Hmm, do you think you can lure me into a trap? Well, no, I won't venture into your lair."
Fifteen minutes later, the forest parted, revealing a massive rocky entrance to a cave; its size was impressive. If it was made by the elder hydra, then it wasn't wise to confront her directly at the moment.
As expected, the hydras clumsily hobbled into the cave, seeking shelter. The dragoness landed gracefully in front of the cave.
"Well, no, you sneaky snakes, I won't fall for that, and my comrades will arrive soon."
The dragoness turned to meet her approaching friends. The hydras were slow, falling about ten minutes behind. The plan had worked.
"RAGNI, RUN!" Krito shouted.
"What?" The black princess turned around and saw two giant yellow eyes locked onto her. There was no time to react.
We ran with all our might; it was an obvious trap, and no matter how hard she tried, hydras were not dumb creatures. They could catch her if they wanted to.
At the edge of the clearing in front of the cave, a jubilant dragoness waved at us. "Fool, standing in front of their den only provokes them!"
In that moment, movement appeared in the darkness of the cave. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, illuminating the horrifying visage of the monster. It was the head of an ancient hydra, with two enormous yellow eyes with narrow pupils and a mouth filled with rows of white, venom-dripping teeth. It was preparing to lunge, but the oblivious Dragoness didn't notice the danger. My shout couldn't do much to help her; she had only managed to spread her wings when the monster's head lunged at her with incredible speed.
In that instant, a powerful gust of wind knocked Ragni off her feet and sent her flying to the edge of the clearing. The hydra's jaws snapped shut in the air, missing her by inches. Someone had saved the dragoness at the last moment.
The monster's head immediately retreated back into the cave, and heavy footsteps indicated its return to the depths of its lair.
"Madam, you've exposed us," Krito said.
"I know, now we might not have a chance to attack unnoticed, but I couldn't bear to watch that fool perish before my eyes."
"Hey! You two!" The vice-GM of the despised guild called to them, but they had no desire to reveal themselves before HER.
"We'll have to come out; hiding further in this place is dangerous."
"Algo, did we come here for nothing?"
"We'll have another opportunity, don't despair."
Two students emerged to meet the guild: a warrior with a broadsword and a wind and lightning mage.
"Well, I thought you wouldn't give up so easily," I scrutinized the pair, wondering how they survived the night relatively unscathed, as they were a bit muddy, but there were no wounds on them. How they managed to make it through the night remained a mystery to me. "Have you been following us from the Academy?"
The couple glanced at each other hesitantly. Leira decided to respond:
"Yes, we followed you from a considerable distance, and in the forest, we tried to stay away from the road."
"I have many questions for you, but it's too dangerous here. Let's go to our camp; it's safe there now. They won't risk attacking twice in one night."