The cow fields were quiet, buzzing with mosquitos, creaking of crickets, the fireflies dazzling around the sleeping cows, and the moons silvery shine was plentiful. Everything was going to be better than their last attempt and this time they would give whatever that thing was a good beating.
With Tenpao now with them, there was no way that flying thing wouldn't receive a good slap! Bushy fidgeted with her new bracelet, she had been feeding it mana for the past hours, its storage wasn't immense but it could do. Tenpao unsheated his swords and lifted them up and the way they reflected the moonlight was like the swords were slashing it, with zero dents. Dwelm examined his old companion, the sights and strings were all in order, and this time he wouldn't hold back. Lulu unsheated her broken old great sword and prepared herself for combat.
Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes nearly turned into hours, the gnoll was about to bother her teammates to satiate her boredom but at this time, at the distance, a falling star sliced the starry night approaching the green cow fields with the brightness of a miniature sun, yet even at terminal velocity the saucer halted all its momentum stopping right on top of a cow, Bushy prepared a gravity spell and Lulu began to reach for the vines on the ground but to their surprise the saucer didn't take a cow this time, it spewed out one.
"BEHOLD WEAKLINGZ, MY INGENIOUZ CREATION, BOVINE 2.0!" The loud zappy voice coming from the speakers awakened every cow on the field. The cow that dropped looked normal until it opened its mouth and fired a deadly laser, the party ducked as the shot went over their heads. "THE UNTOLD POTENTIAL OF BOVINEZ ARE UNLEAZHED! MWA-HA-HA!"
Lulu already on the ground quickly charged her spell, roots began to grow out of the ground becoming sturdier by an extra drop of magila being pushed onto the spell. The roots moved like snakes, tangling the legs of BOVINE 2.0 pulling the augmented critter to the ground, then with another quick cast from Lulu, the grass blades grew and encapsulated BOVINE 2.0 tightly like a spider capturing a fly.
"Phew." Lulu slowly got up followed by her companions, Dwelm aimed his crossbow fully charged with magila, and with a movement of his finger, a volley of arrows flew toward the disc, this time making dents.
"HEY!" The zappy voice shouted once more as more and more BOVINEZ 2.0 began to be dropped off the saucer, Dwelm quickly halted his fire and aimed at the new nuisance instead.
With the slightest movement of his finger, Dwelm fired but Bushy hastily pulled his crossbow down, hitting the ground. "We can't hurt them, they're just critters!"
Elves at some point lived in the forests, before the age of monsters. They had an innate relationship with the wilderness and its denizens, many times reflected by the type of magic they wakened, now, even in contemporary times away from the wilderness elves still hold that connection.
Killing just wasn't in their nature.
"We can't restrain all of them." Tenpao said, staring at the disc above while the sounds of crunchy munching blared on the speakers, "This isn't just about helping our client anymore." His muscles tensed as each BOVINEZ 2.0 opened their mouths, "We need to do this."*
Dwelm quickly readjusted his crossbow, "If we could live without spilling blood we would," The dwarf began as his aim pointed directly at one of the BOVINEZ 2.0 heads, "Nobody kills because they want to. We just can't get carried by it." With a precise fire, his arrow pierced the BOVINE 2.0 head putting it at a swift rest.
The blood dripping from the new fleshly hole at its head, the brief convulsion before collapse, the snuffing of another life like a candle. The uncaring attitude of her companions about taking the life of something else just doesn't click for Bushy how could they do something so wrong so easily... But this was why she chose to become an adventurer. To overcome her weakness.
To become the greatest mage, to become the archmage she had to take the step. Her hands were weak, shaking at the grip of her staff, the arrows flying and killing. Gnoll and Human tore through them with steel as multiple lasers rained upon them and missed. Bushy had to do this, the only thing weighing her dreams down was herself. With weak, fragile movements Bushy lifted her staff aiming ahead at one of the BOVINEZ 2.0, her mana drained to a spell, her staff charged with power.
Bushy stared at the BOVINE 2.0, her aim shaking as it stared back at her, mouth slowly opening. The elf closed her eyes and released the spell, the huge wave of kinetic energy struck true.
But it didn't kill. The BOVINE 2.0 howled in crippling pain, both front legs being ripped off of its body revealing flesh and bone to the world, fiber flimsily attached to flesh and nerve, blood seeping into the grass staining the green with the fluids of the once living, screaming with dread and despair. Bushy didn't need to open her eyes to know what she had done. Neither did she want to.
The elf collapsed to her knees, her hands slowly coming into view as she opened her eyes. She felt disgusted.
With the last slice of Lulu's broken greatsword, the last BOVINE 2.0 fell to the ground, the mud tainted in crimson. "Pampkin's sorry." She muttered before looking up, the munching coming from the saucer stopped.
"GOOD SHOW! LETZ MOVE ON THEN!" Before the disc could spew out anything else, Tenpao jumped with both swords at his front prepared to pierce through the metal machination, yet all his momentum met was a blue shield made of multiple hexagons, "AH-HA! I KNEW YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE DIZ, SO I UPGRADED MY AUTOMOBILE BY ADDING AN ENERGY SHIELD TO WITHSTAND YOUR BLOWZ!" As Tenpao fell to the ground he squinted his eyes, staring where he had hit. It was less bright than the rest. "NOW BE PREPARED, FOR THE TRUE BATTLE BEGINZ!"