*ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR*
Helena and her men were startled by the sudden loud roar. They turned around to look but it was already too late for some of her men.
"No! Watch out!"
Helena exclaimed as she saw a large creature crash down towards a group of elite soldiers.
*BANG*
*ROAAAAAARR*
The dust settled and the creature's features were fully revealed.
Helena's eyes constricted into vertical slits upon recognizing the creature.
"Why?! Why the fuck is this thing here?!"
The creature was playfully looking down on one of the elite soldiers pinned under its paws. It was currently playing with its food.
It had a lion's head and body with two short horns protruding above its purple eyes, huge bat-like wings, and a scorpion-like tail.
It was the creature that Helena avoided during her solo training, the Manticore.
Helena was confused as to why the Manticore was there. She spotted it at a different location before and she even marked that location as extremely dangerous.
Who would've thought that she would see the Manticore here?
Helena quickly regained her wits and tried to save the unconscious elite soldiers scattered around the Manticore.
It was unknown whether they were dead or alive.
"HOOOOORAAAAHH!! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY SUBORDINATES!!"
Helena didn't bother trying to hide her dash skill anymore, she needed to use it now in order to have a chance to save the unconscious elite soldiers.
*GROWL*
The Manticore focused its attention on the charging Helena and it growled in fury, it couldn't believe that this human's first instinct wasn't to run.
It enjoys watching its prey run in fear while ultimately being hunted down by it in the end. This explains why it got a bit annoyed after being charged by Helena
The Manticore swiped its right paw to meet Helena's sword.
*CLANG*
Sounds of metal striking each other sounded from the collision.
A few milliseconds later, Helena was sent sliding back by a few meters. It was clear that she wasn't as physically strong as the Manticore.
It was to be expected though, the Manticore is a beast and its body is built way differently than a human's.
"K…Kuuuuhhh…"
Helena staggered for a few moments before finally regaining her balance.
Fortunately, her aggressive charge lured the Manticore's attention away from her subordinates.
Eden also tried to shoot it with a powershot but sadly, the arrows he brought were made of iron and not mithril so it wasn't enough to penetrate the skin of the Manticore.
Seeing that Eden's attacks were currently ineffective, Helena decided that it would be best if he retreated for now since his swordsmanship wasn't strong enough.
"All of you! Retreat to the marked safe zone! Bring the unconscious guys with you! Alexander! You stay here and help me deal with this thing."
*CLANG*
She quickly ordered her men to retreat as she clashed again against the Manticore.
Alexander immediately rushed towards the Manticore's tail in an attempt to cut it off.
He failed to cut it off though as the Manticore kicked him using its hind leg.
Fortunately, he reacted in time and he managed to block the kick with his shield but he was sent sliding back for a few meters after receiving the blow.
Helena and Alexander traded a few blows with the Manticore before finally landing a shallow cut on the Manticore's body.
*ROOOOAAAARRR*
It roared in rage as the shallow cut did seem to hurt it because Helena was the one who inflicted the cut.
The wound throbbed as it burned from the Salamandr's cut.
A few moments later, Helena was enraged as she caught a glimpse of Leif gritting his teeth in the corner seemingly in the middle of a difficult decision.
"LEIF?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO RETREAT TO THE SAFE ZONE?!"
"G…General…I…"
"YOU WHAT?! GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW! THIS IS NOT A BATTLE YOU CAN INTERVENE IN!"
"K…Kuuhh…Understood…General…"
After being reprimanded by Helena, Leif was brought back to reality and immediately left the battlefield with a heavy heart.
He was left behind by Alexander again!
Leif was frustrated at himself right at this moment. He wanted to be there! He wanted to help them fight the Manticore.
Sadly, he was not strong enough to be included in that fight.
That fight is only for Swordmasters and above and he clearly didn't make the cut.
Although he was hesitant, he knew that his general Helena was right. He wasn't qualified to be there.
He couldn't do anything but clench his fists and grit his teeth as his lonely back clumsily sprinted back to the marked safe zone.
Seeing that Leif wasn't in the area anymore, Helena and Alexander can finally concentrate on the battle again.
They had sustained quite a few heavy injuries after being distracted by Leif and they each had to drink one of their strong health potion reserves in order to continue fighting.
The battle was finally back to a stalemate again after Leif left the area.
Helena and Alexander worked together perfectly to inflict small cuts on the Manticore. Unfortunately for them, things weren't looking bright.
The Manticore had a variety of skills and every time it used a new skill, it always dealt heavy damage to both of them.
As a result, they were forced to use their potion reserves at an insanely fast rate.
Now, both of them were down to three strong health potions each.
The goddess of victory seemed to be slowly smiling on the Manticore as they ran out of options.
They had to decide whether to retreat right now or if they should continue to fight.
If they delay any longer, they might not have a chance to escape even if they want to.
Helena was in a dilemma, if she chose to escape right now, she and the battalion commanders would probably be able to escape safely.
The problem is, who knows how many elite soldiers will get hunted down by the Manticore if she chooses to retreat?
A few moments later, Helena gritted her teeth as she finally made a decision to fight.
They didn't need to kill the Manticore. As long as they can hurt it enough to make it flee, they would gain a couple of days to get out of its territory safely.
"Alex! Stand firm! We shall stay and fight this thing!"
Alex nodded in agreement. He also thinks that it would be unwise to retreat because that would put their comrades' lives in jeopardy.
Helena and Alex stared daggers at the Manticore, they had fully resolved themselves to fight to the death with it.
They stood firm in their battle stances as they prepared themselves to fight with the Manticore again.