Year 0002, The Imperium
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There was a battle currently ongoing inside the Lonelywood Forest.
There were two groups of the current ensuing battles; one was Jonathan's group along with the new reinforcements.
And the other one was a little bit further away, and it was fierce and destructive. It was August, and the Commander was 'Grimfang.'.
---
Jonathan and his group were surprised when some barbarian-looking people shouted at them from the front.
They couldn't see them before as they were focused on defending against the three Grimfangs who managed to track them down.
Apparently the one they killed before was a Grimfang who was sent out of the pack for its training to become a New Commander Rank.
And after a few days of not returning to the pack, they started to look for it, only to find out its scent in the area mixed with the scent of humans?
They were now sure that the pup was dead, and they began to chase the faint but lingering scent of the culprits.
And that pup was the child of this massive Grimfang in front of them, and it was very, very angrily growling at them.
But they didn't know that part, as they don't speak, Arf... arf … bark … bark … woof … woof … Awooo!
---
Moments later, that massive and scary Grimfang left them; it began to chase the barbarian who shouted before and some other people who were with him.
Now they only have to deal with two other smaller but still as capable and deadly Grimfangs.
Fortunately, the other remaining barbarians helped them deal with the other one; they seemed to be children.
He really couldn't gauge from that distance before, but they are pretty small, and their teamwork was pretty good, and they were agile; they used a spear as their weapon.
They handled one of the Grimfangs that was left, and we handled the other.
---
Erik and Bren arrived a couple of minutes later; Erik was still a bit disheartened when he saw his arrow that didn't pierce nor scratch the massive Grimfang.
But he shook it off while they were returning; when they arrived, he looked at the overall state of the battlefield.
He saw that the girls seemed to be managing pretty well, dodging, feinting, and countering the Grimfangs attacks.
They also managed to hit it a couple of times and was now bleeding.
The other group was having a bit more of a hard time, so he decided to help that group.
When he looked below him, it seemed like Bren already had a pretty good idea of what to do.
As he already started running towards the girls without him asking him to do so, Erik headed to the main group.
---
"Damn, this beast is too strong!"
Red yelled, That is true, though, and unlike before, there were at least three of them fighting the beast.
But right now it's just me and Red, as Chris was at our back protecting the kids and Theressa; he was also still injured, so he couldn't do much up front but be the final defense.
I am the vanguard right now, but my wooden shield is already close to its breaking point.
Even though the wolf was injured with arrows and has sword slashes all over its body, it still has that ferocity in its eyes.
A minute later, one of the other children, a barbarian, seemed to have returned???
Did they leave that other one who yelled before? Was he alone facing that giant beast?
But wasn't that massive Grimfang too strong?
We might even need a small contingent of at least 20 well-armed veteran soldiers to handle that one.
I could tell that we were near death back then; if they didn't arrive in time, we might've been dead already.
It seemed to have been just playing with us then.
---
*Swish! Swish!
As Erik fired off his arrows atop the trees towards the distracted Grimfang, it was hit multiple times, injuring it even further; it pierced its vital organs.
That gave him his confidence back when his hit landed, and he made a smile.
A couple of minutes later, they manage to take it down.
When he looked in the direction of the girls, the battle seemed to have also concluded; the Grimfang was skewered in its head by Bren.
They also don't have any major injuries to worry about and only a few scratches.
After catching their breaths, the other group started to approach us.
The big, burly man who was the vanguard and seemed to be the leader of this group was the first to speak.
"Hello there ... I, no, we wanted to thank you for the help ... we would have been done for already if not for you."
"You're welcome, sir."
Erik answered respectfully.
"What happened to the other one who yelled before? Is he alright?
If you don't mind me asking, of course.
"Oh August, yo..."
But before Erik could further respond, Gel already screamed.
"DADDDDY!!!"
Daddy? Wait, what? Erik thought, visibly stunned and confused.
---
The man looked in the direction of the voice; he knew that voice; it was his precious little angel!!!
"Angeline?! Angelineeee!"
He dropped his gear and ran towards the girls direction.
"Oh my baby girl... I finally found you."
They hugged each other very tightly.
"Wuuu... wuuuuu... sniff... sniff... wuuu."
Gel was crying, and it seemed to be that her father was also doing the same thing???
Eww, what an unsightly view, Erik's POV.
There were tears and ugly snot hanging on their faces; they were relieved to see a familiar face, a face that they had longed to see again for quite some time.
It's best to leave them alone for now, the others thought, while they took that time to rest.
"DADDY... DADDY... WUUUU… WUUUU…"
After a few minutes of that intense, heartwarming, and ugly session, the two began to calm down.
Erik and the others went near them.
"Umm, Gel ... I kind of hate to break it to you with your touching reunion, but we need to get back to the camp, remember?"
"Ah yes, yes, of course, let's go.
Daddy, come with us for now. I'll fill you in with the details while we go there.
It's not that far; it's just two hundred meters in that direction (south)."
Jonathan nodded with his daughter's statement.
But before they could leave...
"Wait, do we just leave the Grimfangs here?"
Bren asked before they went their way.
"Hmmm, I'm assuming Gus would want to take it with us though?"
Betty answered.
"No, let us gather them in this spot and let us leave already.
I'm sure Gus would appreciate it if we are alive when he gets back.
Gel replied, looking in the direction in which August ran off to.
They agreed to do so.
And they left for the camp; it was 20 meters high and was on a mini cave at the face of a cliff, and it had a narrow passageway leading up, so they were safe up there.
---
Somewhere else, August was shooting the Grimfang with his many arrows; he had already expended his other quiver, and now he was more than halfway through his remaining quiver.
But unlike before, he doesn't seem to mind it; he was even pretty confident throwing his massive pool of magic towards the beast along with his arrows.
He was enjoying this battle more than ever.
He spent a good portion of his mana pool already [750/1,320].
When his second quiver was spent, he took out his sword and shield and prepared for close combat; the beast had slowed down significantly and seemed to be on its last leg.
He took 3/4ths of its health already, and now he fought with it in close quarters using 250 mana worth of [Wind Blade Level 2].
It now had a [35-50 HP damage per wind blade and cost 30 MP].
The beast is bound to die soon, so he used one of his favorite Guardian Beast Skills, the [Piercing Bolt].
He didn't know why, but his favorability with his Guardian Beast managed to have risen to another star; it was now [2/10], and he could use 10% max of his Guardian Beast's power.
He threw the [Piercing Bolt] towards the beast, and it hit the beast right in the middle of its cranium and went through the back.
*Thud!
The massive beast lost its life.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SLAIN AN ADVANCED RARITY COMMANDER RANKED GRIMFANG LVL 8. REWARD/S,
+ 2,000 XP POINTS.]
It was twice the amount the 'Commander Boarats' gave him, and it's the lowest-leveled 'Commander Grimfang.'.
"WHOOOO! I WON HAHAHA! The rewards seemed pretty good too; I wonder what I can get with its body parts."
His eyes were twinkling in his greedy thoughts.
---
It took all of his mana to kill it and all of his arrows after an hour of a grueling battle.
It was all worth it, though, as the rewards outweigh the cost.
"I wonder how the others are doing. I hope they are safe right now."
He started heading towards their general direction, dragging the massive Grimfang along with him...