The onslaught of the jackals suddenly halted, allowing the flames to spread and form a circular barrier with only one gap. Inside the ring of fire, Afura, Bane, James, and his team of five faced seven jackals.
"Kill her!" The lone jackal sub-leader in the ring of fire roared, pointing at Afura as he charged forward. The other jackals followed closely behind, howling as they launched their attack.
Crunch! One of the jackals was caught in a trap set by Old Walker, crying out in pain as he fell to the ground. Immediately after, a crossbow bolt struck him right in the forehead, knocking him down again. Old Walker calmly put away his crossbow, drew his hunting knife, and moved forward towards Mary. Mary had just shot an unfortunate fellow who stepped on a caltrop with her arrow, then immediately aimed at the next target.
James swung his dragon-slaying spear in a sweeping arc, intercepting two jackals. Oliver blocked another. Bane hooked one with his axe, who was then shot in the chest by Mary. Finally, the sub-leader broke through the encirclement and arrived in front of Afura.
"Die!" The sub-leader's eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light, his grotesque axe about to descend.
Afura moved swiftly, meeting the charge and colliding with the sub-leader at an astonishing speed. A silver flash from within her wide sleeves, the sharp blade severed his wrist, the axe caught steadily by a slender, long hand. She spun around, dancing-like, to behind the sub-leader, using the rotational force to swiftly chop down with the axe.
The chainmail was split open, followed by skin and bones. "Ugh!" The sub-leader spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide, his face full of disbelief. He had never imagined that a witch could fight so well. But regret was too late. His spine was severed, his lower body numb. In his panic, he crawled a few steps before being trampled down by Afura, followed by a beheading strike with the axe.
Other jackals tried to enter through the gap in the fire ring but were blocked by James. His dragon-slaying spear danced like the wind, and for a moment, he seemed invincible. After five more jackals died, the rest retreated, circling around, waiting for an opportunity.
This couldn't continue, Afura thought. Fear stemmed from the unknown and death. These jackals hesitated initially due to their fear of fire, but as they realized Afura was not as powerful as they had imagined, coupled with their lust, their fear began to wane. Now, her mana was running out, and there was not much combustible material left around.
"Listen up," Afura said, "I will withdraw the flames, and then we will run in different directions. They are after me; not many should pursue you."
"But..." James hesitated, and Jack anxiously said, "Boss, let's do as the witch says. Don't forget she fights better than all of us and can run much easier alone."
"But what about him?" Oliver anxiously asked, pointing at Bane, who was drenched in sweat, his wounds still bleeding profusely.
Afura checked him and found that the rejection reaction had intensified. Then she said, "Find a place with a water source and bury him."
Oliver immediately mocked, "It's not an orc; you can't plant one in the spring and harvest a bunch in the fall."
Afura rolled her eyes. "Please, bury him deep."
It was a folk remedy; she didn't know if it would work, but the situation was urgent, and they had no other choice. After agreeing to meet in the territory of the fire monkeys, the flames began to recede rapidly. Afura, wielding an axe, charged towards a group of jackals, extended her left palm, and activated her [Cold Wind Blast].
Although the jackals had darkvision, they were powerless against the fog. Three jackals were enveloped by it, instantly becoming stiff and blind. Afura rushed into their midst, the sound of blades piercing flesh reaching their ears. The jackals hurriedly rushed over, surrounding the fog created by the [Cold Wind Blast].
Taking advantage of the jackals' distraction, James signaled his teammates to flee in the opposite direction. After chasing for a while, more than twenty jackals found James and his team not easy to deal with, so they gave up.
The scene returns to Afura...
The night wind was strong, and the fog drifted with it. Three bodies were exposed, one of them kneeling with an axe embedded in his forehead. However, Afura had vanished. Soon, the jackals reacted, chasing after the cold fog, but none dared to rush in.
Eventually, the fog drifted into the forest and dissipated. Fear either stemmed from unknown threats or sensory shocks. Initially, the flames greatly shocked the jackals, but as time passed, they realized Afura's flames were not as destructive as natural wildfires, and their sense of fear gradually diminished.
Afura did not have darkvision, but in the night forest, she relied on her [Vibration Sense] and [Lightning Reflexes] to navigate effortlessly. The vibration frequencies of heartbeats and footsteps were like radar, allowing her to perceive the terrain within three yards. Combined with vague visual information, she moved swiftly through the forest.
Various thrilling encounters occurred along the way, whether it was encountering obstructing branches, encountering venomous snakes, or even the ground suddenly giving way. But with [Lightning Reflexes], these dangers were averted one by one. Afura circled around, wading through water when she encountered it, and detouring around swamps.
Occasionally encountering deadly miasma, Afura covered her nose and rushed through, marking the location. Sometimes she would stop, grab a handful of herbs, smash them, and release a pungent odor that made several jackals cry out, holding their noses.
At this moment, Afura completely disappeared into the darkness. She cleaned her dagger, grasped a bright green venomous snake by the faint moonlight, extracted the venom sac, and squeezed the venom into the green paste made from herbs on the stone. Her mana surged, igniting the kindling under the stone, a faint firelight strikingly visible in the darkness.