Aaron watched as the two elves conversed with each other and he found it astonishing to see the elf princess feeling so excited about herbs and flowers.
Well, since it was what she liked, it made sense for her to be feeling so excited at the moment.
It also made him realize just how normal the elf princess was; she was just like the rest of them. But he swiftly brought his attention back to his surroundings when he noticed something strange about the forest.
"It's quiet. Too quiet and I don't like it," Aaron said out loud as he turned around to look at the trees surrounding them. "Let's gather these herbs for now and keep moving," Aaron informed the girls and Diana nodded with a smile on her face.
She was pleased to see how Aaron had noticed that the forest had suddenly become quiet, and this could only mean that a demonic beast was close by or probably watching them right now.
But then, suddenly, Glimmer let out a sharp bark and her fur bristled as she stared at a spot in front of her.
"Aww, shit, here we go, again."
Aaron turned towards the direction Glimmer was barking at and he watched as fifteen demonic beasts emerged out of the shadows.
Looking closely, these demonic beasts looked like coyotes, and they had crimson-colored skin and golden-colored eyes.
Just like the dark hounds, the crimson eyes of the coyotes gleamed with hunger as they all had a thirst for flesh.
=====
[System Notification,]
Beast Type:- Demonic Beasts {15 in number}
Detected Specie:- Crimson Coyotes.
Threat Level: Moderately High.
======
The Coyotes charged towards them and their speed forced Diana and Aaron to split their attention.
Aaron swiftly blocked a swipe from the nearest coyote, and his sword clashed with its claws, causing a clanging sound.
Meanwhile, Glimmer hurriedly darted behind the beast to nip at its legs which helped in distracting the creature enough for Aaron to thrust his blade forward.
As for the ladies, Aurora swiftly cast a spell that aimed a beam of light straight into the coyote's skull, crushing its skull and splitting its entire body into two while Diana focused on the beast in front of her.
Her blade easily sliced through the side of the beast, and it howled in pain, but it didn't go down.
Its movement became weird as it tried to attack Diana once again, but she easily ended it by swinging her blade at the coyote's weak spot.
As for Aaron, he parried another attack from a different coyote, and now three Coyotes were growling in front of him.
The three lunged towards him, but Aaron swiftly activated his new skill {Dual Strike} and he began to feel an indescribable feeling that helped him bond with Glimmer and also allowed their minds to connect in a way that made it easier for them to know what the other had in mind in terms of attacking their opponents.
He didn't have to shout out his command anymore because Glimmer knew exactly what Aaron wanted her to do and she leaped towards the three beasts.
The first beast darted towards Glimmer but she lunged at its throat just as Aaron's blade sunk into the coyote's side.
The second and third followed behind, but Aaron and Glimmer's attacks were perfectly timed, forcing the two beasts to collapse to the ground with their bodies twitching before they finally disintegrated into ashes.
A few minutes later, the growling sounds of the coyotes had subsided and Diana plunged her sword with a swift and brutal strike straight into the heart of the final beast, allowing her to easily dispatch it with a calm look on her face.
"Is that the last one?" She asked Aaron after noticing the last coyote had disintegrated completely.
"Yes," Aaron replied while trying to catch his breath, then he turned towards Aurora. "Your Highness, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Let's just finish what we came here for and get out of here."
The three swiftly picked the herbs they needed, then they made their way back home.
As they approached the edge of the forest on their way back home, Glimmer suddenly stopped and her ears twitched a bit.
Aaron noticed this and he followed her gaze to see the stag emerging from the trees.
As always, the antlers of the stag crackled faintly with electricity as it stood tall, majestic, and unafraid, unlike before.
Aaron slowly approached it before reaching into his pouch to pull out the yellow mana crystal it needed. The stag's eyes locked onto the crystal and it watched as Aaron carefully placed the mana crystal on the floor.
The stag then approached the mana crystal, and it lowered its head before consuming the crystal.
Unlike normal, ordinary beasts, magical beasts were different in the sense that their teeth could easily crush an object as hard as a crystal, and it didn't matter if that beast was a herbivore or a carnivore because every single one of them could do it.
The mana crystals were extremely important to their body, so certain parts of their bodies had evolved to be able to absorb a mana crystal.
Meanwhile, the moment the stag ate the crystal, a notification popped up in front of Aaron.
[Congratulations to the host, the Thunderhoof's loyalty has risen to 20%.]
[You have received an additional 15 bond energy points.]
[Your cumulative bond energy points are now 50 bond energy points.]
[You have successfully acquired a new skill Electric Touch.]
[Would you like to take a look at the details of this skill?]
'Yes.'
[Electric Touch:- This skill allows the host to stun any nearby enemy you touch.]
Aaron read the details displayed in front of him but then he noticed that the Thunderhoof's antlers began to crackle faintly.
Then the stag let out a low, rumbling sound before retreating back into the forest.
However, Aaron didn't try to stop the stag from leaving this time either, and this surprised Diana, who couldn't help but speak up her mind. "You're letting it go, again?"
"Yes."
"But the Thunderhoof looked like it was starting to like you, so why didn't you just use this chance to try to get close to it and bond with it?"