Chapter 79: Horde

A formidable horde moved through the magical forest.

Treading on the undergrowth, pounding the trees, their footsteps made the earth tremble, but this total area was silent, although within it were all kinds of magical creatures and beasts.

From predators to herbivores, they were all walking in the same direction, fleeing from the pressure felt at their backs.

The sound of breaking branches as the beasts passed was the only thing to be heard as all the creatures moved in sync, with no beast or creature revealing its wild nature.

Being in a large group was the only thing that gave these terrified creatures relief, but it was also the only thing that kept them sane.

The difference between a creature and a monster was simply their level of aggressiveness.

Monsters could not stay in groups, as they would attack any creature or magical beasts that got in their way, while beasts and creatures could group together and suppress their nature.

At the same time, the difference between a magical beast and a creature was their intelligence with which they could come to reason sometimes.

However, here were creatures that were guided by their instinct and although they might have a slightly higher intelligence, they were still instinctive beasts.

Among the multitude of creatures were some wild creatures such as ‘Lycaons’, ‘hyenas’, and furious Lemurs that were known to attack any creature to eat its flesh as a group.

One could also see some ‘Rhinoceros Raiders’, and a small group of ‘Man-eating Hippos’.

And amid such a crowd was a large ‘Bloody Elephant’ known that way not only for its reddish fur but also for its ability to absorb blood with its tusks, going into a state of berserk.

That giant elephant walked alone, as did a ‘killer python’ known for its stealth and strong venom, capable of assassinating B-Rank fighters.

They were a great horde of aggressive and wild creatures by nature, fleeing from an even more powerful predator.

The horde marched slowly forward, each one keeping as a group of their own kind and on the lookout for the other beasts.

They walked through the trees and those larger beasts knocked them down.

Then they all halted.

A slight ripple of magical energy spread through the surroundings and each creature trembled as if their instincts wanted to come out.

“There are so many of them. Do you want to have a competition of who kills the most?” Akira, thirty of meters away in the middle of the trees, asked.

“No,” Alice replied as ten arms supported her, steadying herself on the ground and between the tree trunks, and gazing at the group of creatures, she stated. “Competitions with no reward are boring.”

As she finished her words, a black arm carrying a large sphere emitted a magical wave that made the creatures go wild.

“GRAAAAHHH!”

Roars, shrieks, and many aggressive sounds rang out as the magic wave caused them to become extremely aggressive, breaking the peace of the horde.

The hyenas and lycaons, who were the fastest, moved first along with the wolves.

Without coordination, they charged, dodging the other creatures, wanting to devour the two women in front of them.

“Come,” Akira muttered, opening her arms and creating dozens of spears impaling the wild creatures.

For her part, Alice used her arms like sharp blades and dismembered all approaching enemies as she nonchalantly observed the situation.

*BOOM*

An explosive sound rang out as the assaulting rhinos moved in unison, charging and tearing down every tree.

All the creatures couldn’t resist and moved at the same time from everywhere.

It was at that moment that Akira moved, causing the ground to turn to ice, while Alice retreated, using her arms to walk while her other arms slashed at the creatures behind her back.

The furious lemurs went into a state of madness as they charged towards Alice, who was carrying the sphere that emitted a ripple that enraged them.

“Shit. There’s too many of them.” Akira muttered as she extended her senses to move forward while eliminating her targets without looking behind her back.

Alice, instead of responding, continued to move forward as her arms acted like swords slashing at any creature that came within her strike area.

The pythons fired their poisons and some magical attacks reached the duo, without touching either of them, thanks to the ice barriers that Akira produced.

They were moving slowly to attract all the creatures, but not so slowly that those ‘heavyweights’ would catch them, while they were not moving so far away that they would not be outside the influence of the magical artifact.

They were causing chaos in the enemy ranks and the creatures that wished to finish that magical wave that enraged them did not care about their companions, getting other creatures hurt.

The rhinos were the fiercest charging in small groups as they knocked down trees and ran over any creature in their path.

“They’re coming!” shouted Akira as she saw five rhinos tearing down everything in their path, producing shaking sounds.

Those five rhinos were Rank A and had powerful defenses, with a horn capable of piercing a fighter.

Alice ignored Akira’s shout and kept moving, knocking down the lemurs that had only their numbers and not their strength in their favor.

Then, when she realized she had reached the right area, she turned around and looked at the horde, seeking to take her down.

Her arms increased in numbers as they came out from behind her back until she reached a surprising thirty black arms.

Akira, who also braced herself, gave a charming smile.

“GRRAAAA!”

The rhinos grunted at their waiting prey, but when they were five meters away, their feet stopped touching the ground and they fell into a pit.

The next moment dozens of ice spears formed above the pit and Akira pushed them down hard, giving death to the downed rhinos.

At that moment, dozens of hyenas and lycaons reached Akira and Alice. However, before they could touch her, the ambush began.

*Boom*

Roots suddenly appeared trapping those predators, and then a colossal bear, four meters long and three meters tall, wearing a silver armor covering its head, back, and stomach, fell on top of those small predators.

His weight caused the lower-ranking creatures to die on the spot or have serious injuries.

“Oscar you beast!” Akira exclaimed with a laugh as she started firing ice arrows at all her enemies taking a supporting role.

“GRAAHHHHHHH!”

A ferocious roar was emitted by the big bear… By Oscar, who had changed form.

With his large paws, he took down any creature as he didn’t mind using his mouth to tear at the lemur that sought to harm him.

He was an A-Rank as a simple human mage, however, in his bear form, he had the strength of an S-Rank.

Aeko shot her arrows at each dangerous creature, revealing its position among the trees.

“Watch out a man-eating hippo!” Aurora shouted as she moved around, leaving lightning bolts caused by her strikes.

Using the trees or the creatures themselves, she dodged the angry little lemurs to cause chaos in the enemy ranks.

“I got this,” Santiago reported, dropping from the sky where he was hiding by slashing his sword through the head of a hippopotamus that had already opened its gigantic mouth.

There was a bit of resistance and Santiago had to swing his sword, pressing hard, until he got it to fall motionless.

Without stopping, Santiago turned and, with his shield in his hand, began swinging his sword at all the creatures that were coming to attack Alice.

Alice was the center of the group and the others surrounded her, Akira being the one who was focused on protecting her.

Aeko, with her arrows, was giving support to the entire group and Oscar took the vanguard, taking down any creature that appeared.

Santiago to the side, swinging his sword and throwing skills with his sword aura.

Bodies piled up, spreading a smell of blood and staining the ground red. These creatures were those that moved the fastest.

The first heavyweight to appear was the seven-meter long ‘Killer Python’ being as wide as the torso of an average human.

The one to deal with it was Akira, who lowered the temperature around the python, reducing its speed while forming a prison of spikes around it and swallowing it by impaling it completely.

However, that move alone caused the pressure in other areas to increase as the creatures came faster and faster.

“Prepare to retreat!” Aurora ordered with a serious tone as she struck at the approaching creatures, producing powerful explosive waves around her.

Everyone prepared to retreat.

Then, as the lightning bolts covered Aurora’s gloves at maximum power and her combat aura was assimilating with her body, they all retreated in unison.

*BOOM*

Aurora threw her best punch since she had ascended to Rank A, generating a shocking blast wave that knocked down trees and created a small lightning storm thanks to her gloves.

“To base!” ordered Aurora without turning around to look back.

Her barrier activated, protecting her from the minor scratches of the lemurs and from the ranged attacks of the other beasts.

The battle was just beginning.

******

Clémentine heard the explosions and sounds of battle coming from the magical forest and took a deep breath to calm herself.

A small stone wall had been erected using a scroll of earth magic construction and a moat had been created, tasked with at least reducing the creatures’ burden.

They had added the logs cut by Alice to the walls of the fort and built some basic towers on its back where snipers, including Leslie, were stationed.

This defense was basic, with no magical defenses or sturdy materials. However, the real defense force was not in the small fort section.

Clémentine looked in the forest’s direction.

Around the fort, which was built at the entrance to the bridge, was an empty area fifty meters around.

Some branches and dirt remained everywhere, but they had a perfect view of the battle.

“Get ready, they’re coming!” shouted Captain Sadiya as she unsheathed her sword.

Clémentine gave a glance at Érica and the excited Nicole.

The soldiers, paladins, and adventurers were taking up their weapons, ready for battle, but Clémentine could see that her companions were slightly nervous, as was she.

Liam and Andrés’ drones flew over the small fort, while Leslie in her small tower readied her sniper rifle with several extra modules added.

“First it will be our turn,” said Clémentine to Érica, who was carrying a colorful scroll.

Seeing Érica’s serious and focused expression, Clémentine calmed her mind using psionic energy.

She held the small sphere that contained a large amount of psionic energy and kept her concentration on the front.

The first to come out was Santiago, who instead of running across the field created platforms in the air, heading in her direction.

The second was Aeko, who, without looking back, started running at full speed to the fort while replenishing her arrows in the quiver.

“GRraaa...!” Then, with a ferocious roar, a colossal bear in armor flew in their direction.

“That beast is Oscar. Be careful not to confuse him!” Akira warned as he floated behind Oscar, launching ice arrows into the magical forest.

Thanks to that support, Alice and Aurora both flew off towards the fort without stepping on the ground.

“GRRRAAHHHHH!”

Then, as everyone watched as they flew back to the fort, dozens of hyenas, lycaons, wolves, and other creatures like boars, snakes, and lemurs came out of the magical forest.

In their midst were two rhinoceroses and a large hippopotamus that beat all who stood beside them.

Hundreds of creatures made it a shocking sight for Clémentine and the other students.

“Prepare the artifacts and scrolls!” shouted Captain Sadiya, who was in charge.

Clémentine squeezed the sphere full of psionic energy and watched the ‘horde’ approaching, completely crazed.

Before they could cross the forty meters, and when the ambushing group backed up far enough, Captain Sadiya pressed a button.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM* *BOOM*

The explosions resounded amid the creatures, causing the lower-ranking creatures to be shot down with the high-powered mines while the others were maimed.

Some mines had special effects and not only created explosions of fire, but also of ice.

Others sent small piercing metals, injuring as many creatures as possible.

However, it was a huge horde of over a thousand creatures, and among them were B-Rank and A-Rank who were resistant to these tricks.

They continued to charge with force and more anger, then at thirty meters, some of them fell into the wells with traps while others exploded by the mines installed in the area.

“Your turn!” Commanded Captain Sadiya.

Then Clémentine, without delay, moved, imbuing her psionic energy into the sphere and gained control over the gravitational force inside.

The object in her hands was a powerful single attack psionic artifact and while her problem was that it took time to prepare, Clémentine had already been preparing it for quite some time.

Sensing that gravitational force hidden in that sphere, Clémentine used her own psionic energy to manipulate and launch that ability into the midst of the creatures.

“GRAAHHH!!!”

Roars and many shrieks resounded as the gravitational force caused the creatures to be pulled towards one point.

The lemurs, hyenas, and lycaons, along with the other low-ranking creatures, were immediately attracted, leaving only a few rhinos and hippopotamuses resisting the force of attraction.

The sphere caused them to hit each other, attracting rocks and some trees in spiky shapes from the pit traps, impaling and injuring other creatures.

However, that ability was not about hurting, but about gathering them to one point.

Érica snapped her scroll and guided the powerful spell at the creatures and...

*BOOM*

A powerful explosion resounded where the creatures were attracted by the gravitational force, knocking down dozens of low rank and some B rank beasts.

Even that tremendous explosion did not reduce the strength of the horde’s charge, who was coming out from all parts of the forest.

Some creatures that could use magical energy to defend themselves and other Rank-A creatures led the charge, taking the front position.

Clementine’s heart pounded in a mixture of fear, awe, and shock. However, she controlled herself and turned her attention to Akira, who hovered in the sky, ready to take on the horde.

“No one will get past here!” she exclaimed as she spread her arms wide.

The temperature immediately dropped, and a wave of snow fell from the sky surrounding the creatures.

Her goal was not to hurt the creatures but to slow them down while generating a small domain where it would get stronger the lower the temperature dropped.

This reduction in speed would be of great help to those present.

“They will hurt no one on my watch!” declared Cardinal Brousseau, sending out a magical surge that covered everyone in the fort.

Clémentine felt her heart beat harder and more energetically as her mind went into a frenzy, stimulating the psionic energy within her.

She could see the fighter’s veins bulging, and the mages were emanating magical energy as if it was overflowing.

With a calmer, sharper, and quicker mind, Clémentine realized that she just received a spell that stimulated her body to increase its capacity.

Andrés, in that state, moved first, getting several drones to join together, forming a round sphere like a satellite and then shot.

*BOOM*

A fierce red laser beam was fired from that drone, severely wounding a Rank A rhino and killing other lower-ranked creatures.

But that was not all and Liam, who was levitating high in the sky, did the same, only that the drones he used were larger than Andrés’s drones.

“Fire!” Liam commanded, pointing with his hand.

The drone fired a powerful laser beam of greater thickness and strength than the previous one, and as the drone moved, it created a line where the laser passed, destroying magical barriers and killing the creatures that were hit.

It was an S-Rank. A powerful S-Rank mechanic.

Who cared that it used external objects to create that powerful attack?

Power was power no matter what medium was used.

Clementine’s gaze was fixed on Alice, who descended to the ground at the front of the small fort next to Aurora.

They both gave smiles to each other and Alice held out her hands, bringing the shadow of her back down to her feet and spread out on the ground in just an instant.

When the creatures were in front, dozens of tentacles came out one after another, taking any creature head on.

Spears, hands, blades, sledgehammers with sharp spikes... The black arms replicated any weapon and only needed to wave them to cause devastation.

For her part, Aurora gave a big smile and as her footsteps made the earth crack under her feet, she charged at a rhino, head on.

*BOOM!

The explosive force of her blow knocked the rhino down, but Aurora kept hitting again and again as the arms that surrounded her helped her with the little creatures.

Looking down from above the small wall, Clémentine, using her telekinesis, raised ten blades, taking control of them completely.

She then sent her against all those creatures that were seeking to overcome the wall and surround Alice.

Érica, on her part, launched dozens of Ice Spears along with all the mages, causing unprecedented destruction.

It was going to be a tough battle, but everyone was prepared.

******

*BANG*

Leslie fired her rifle without knowing how many times she fired it in the last fifteen minutes.

Her bullet tore through a hyena that was about to attack from behind Nicole, who was taking on two B-Rank hyenas by herself.

She mechanically reloaded her gun and readied her next shot.

*BANG*

Her shot flew at high speed and shattered the leg of a ground boar that had climbed the wall and was facing Clémentine, who was slightly pale from exhaustion.

The boar was cruelly wounded by her shot and allowed Clémentine to move her blades and pierce the boar’s eyes and mouth.

Then, without hesitation, she threw it at another boar that was engaging a B-Rank soldier, allowing her partner to take a breather.

Leslie again reloaded her sniper rifle and halfway through her work, she perceived a fireball coming from a magical lemur approaching.

Despite seeing that fireball heading towards her tower, Leslie activated her barrier and held her position, as...

*Boom*

A spatial distortion appeared in front of her and swallowed the fireball, leading it to appear behind the same lemur that had launched it, killing it on the spot.

“I need a powerful shot!” demanded the High Priestess Xaali, who had protected her.

Leslie readied her rifle and activated the modules to reinforce her next shot while enhancing her weapon with more power and using the magic energy nodes to further empower her weapon.

High Priestess Xaali’s expression turned serious as she sensed his attack and, in a commendable calm, produced a stable portal allowing Leslie to observe her target.

That portal revealed Aurora fighting a massive four-meter tall, five-meter long elephant of reddish hue.

Her skin withstood Aurora’s powerful fists as she dodged the elephant’s trunk and tusks that sought to pierce her.

All the while, she moved around, creating platforms under her feet and using them to dodge the hyenas and lycaons that sought to bring her down.

Alice, whose shadow had extended ten meters around her feet, was facing off against many enemies that sought to take her down.

She had once again activated the baiting artifact to attract as many creatures as possible, withstanding the intensity of her enemies and giving the expedition forces a breather, all on her own.

Since Akira was taking care of the A-Rank creatures, eliminating them one by one, she couldn’t provide the support both sisters needed.

Leslie immediately understood what High Priestess Xaali was looking for.

She needed her to generate an opportunity for Aurora to take down the elephant and allow her to breathe for a moment.

Without betraying expectations, Leslie pulled the trigger on her rifle.

*BANG*

The recoil made Leslie’s shoulder hurt, however, her shot was perfect, and the pain was worth it, as the bullet passed through the portal and moved to its target.

Daring to shoot at the elephant’s head, her shot shattered the elephant’s eye and part of its head, leaving a bloody hole.

That the beast fell to the ground motionless proved that it was a critical hit.

Leslie was surprised at her achievement in slaying an A-Rank elephant that would be among the A-Rank dungeon bosses and, without delay, thanked High Priestess Xaali, who allowed her to perform that surprise attack that proved to be decisive.

A priest, who at this point in the battle was pale, healed her dislocated arm, allowing Leslie to reload her rifle again.

Before she could fire, the communication system activated.

“Aurora, it’s time to retreat to the other side of the bridge. I’ll create a storm to sweep away the wreckage!” Akira said over the general communication system.

The fighting had continued for fifteen minutes and while they had taken down many of the horde creatures, the horde creatures just kept coming.

The worst part was that there were also A-Rank creatures, which led to the S-Ranks like Akira and Liam having to concentrate on them to take them down.

As for the A-Rankers in the caravan, they had enough to deal with dozens of B-Rank creatures on their own.

Even though the horde’s numbers had dwindled, there were still quite a few creatures approaching the fort.

While they were not as powerful and it was noticeable that they were hesitating to attack, the caravan forces could not take them on, at least not as surely as they were doing the job so far.

“Good. Everyone, start the retreat. Liam will cover Akira and the others will slowly retreat,” Aurora ordered instantly.

Alice started walking in the fort’s direction, while her shadow at her feet followed her footsteps as if it was a small domain of darkness defending her from every enemy.

*BANG*

Leslie took another shot to cover Aurora, but at that moment, she felt the creatures tremble.

*SCREECH*

A ferocious screech echoed in the distance and immense pressure covered all living creatures as the temperature rose.

Leslie shivered from head to toe instinctively as she recognized the danger and, as her eyes darted to where the screech came from, color left her face.

A massive bird that, despite being far away, could be seen clearly was approaching.

Its feathers had a red hue as if fire covered them while in its flight it left a trail of fire in its wake.

That creature appeared from the south side, from ‘Lake Victoria’ and as it got closer, the size of that huge and majestic bird became apparent.

With a wingspan of about twenty meters, its length reached eleven meters with its shiny, long feathered tail.

Red-colored feathers that shone even in the distance and stood out more and more, the closer the bird came.

Its mere presence caused the battle to end and the creatures to freeze in fear and terror.

Cardinal Brousseau was the first to react using a powerful artifact that raised a huge barrier, which covered the entire fort and that was all they could do before the arrival of that bird.

Before the arrival of the Zhar-Ptitsa.

The next thing Leslie saw from her tower was a powerful flame that came out from the mouth of that bird, covering all the creatures that were in the area, desolating the front of the fort sweeping away the remaining creatures and corpses.

The flames covered the entire area, incinerating part of the corpses and the beasts that were still alive.

The most terrifying thing was that the fire did not rush into the fort or the magical forest, avoiding destroying nature or them.

Then, the firebird, the Zhar-Ptitsa, the SS-Rank magical beast, continued its flight, leaving only burnt corpses in its wake.

Eliminating the remains of the horde as if they were nothing.