Chapter 60: Being Young II
Janette!!! Marcus screamed internally but he had no time to strangle her. The monsters had taken note of the party and started to move up the hill. They had at least 200 meter to go but as the ginghi leader had said, they were fast. Marcus started to run towards the monsters and gave short orders “Kou concentrate on crowd control, use your aoe to separate them if possible. Achara stay invisible until I have their attention and take them out from the back. Janette pick off those who try to flank us.” Marcus was not sure what the ginghi would do but he did not want to sit around and wait to be saved by Azaa. Somehow he did not like the thought.
He rushed down the hill, which was easier said than done. The forest was dense and the ground was rough with lots of crevices. The beasts did not seem to care to much and quickly moved up the hill. Two of them came at Marcus at the same time while the rest moved much slower thanks to Kou. From close up they looked like your standard big scary wolf/bear monster with claws, large teeth and a short horn on their forehead. One jumped at Marcus and he went low and let Anchor handle it. The impact was heavy but he did not fall, teeth buried into his left arm but a second later his fist connected with the monsters skull and the head came apart. Pieces of the monster splattered over the surrounding vegetation but Marcus had no time to celebrate his new found strength.
The other Frillar had only waited for an opening and charged him head first. The horn on their head was neither long enough or sharp enough to worry Marcus and he decided to take the charge and to counter like with the first monster. The head of the beast smashed into him and he held on to the head ready to sink his knee into it. The moment the horn touched Marcus’ armor a familiar pain rushed through his body and he lost control over his movement for a second. Electric shock!
The monster pushed him down and sank its claws into Marcus’ chest and tried to bite his helmet. Marcus could not use his hands from this position but his legs were free, he kicked the monster into the abdomen and Impulse Hammer lifted it a few centimeters off the ground before it slumped down over Marcus. To remove the already dying monster Marcus slammed his right fist into its flank and the body was pushed away from Marcus, finishing the monster off. He came back to his feet took a look around, and informed his teammates over com “Everybody advised, their horn can shock you. Do not let it touch you.”. Several monsters were already dead and one was floating in the air helplessly. Marcus could not see the ginghi but he had no time to be upset.
Achara had finished off at least two of the beasts and just now jumped over one and vanished mid jump. Marcus rushed over to her to keep the monster occupied and before the Frillar was able to attack him Achara appeared again and sank her blade up to the hilt into the side of the monster. “How many are left?” Marcus asked. “One is floating and one is coming around the left.” was the answer from Kou. Good they nearly got them! “Several Frillars are approaching from the other hill. I count at least a dozen.” Janette reported.
“Achara take the one floating. I take care of the other one than we regroup.” Marcus made his way to intercept the straggler on the left. While running he looked up the hill and the ginghi warriors were gone, only Azaa stood there silently watching the fight. What was she thinking?
Marcus passed a tree and jumped over a small rift and ran right into the last Frillar on this flank. He made sure to avoid the horn and did not care that it was nibbling on his leg while he delivered an elbow strike from hell. An unappetizing sound accompanied the death of the monster and Marcus removed pieces of monster brain from his armor.
Marcus ran back as fast as he could and the team was already waiting. Janette had joined them and had her machine gun in hand “Too much trees for sniper fire.” She said reacting to his look. He nodded and took his place in front of the rest. “Are we going to do this alone?” Kou asked, he also had realized their “friends” were gone. “Seems that way.” Marcus said but his mind was focused on the monsters charging through the woods in front of him. “Ohh boy. There is one bigger and meaner that leads the rest.” Janette gave an early warning to the team.
A few seconds later Marcus could see it too. It was significantly larger and had white stripes together with black fur. But what was most alarming were the two large horns on his head. “That must be an evolved form.” Achara said and Marcus agreed. “I will keep the leader busy. Kou and Janette you mow down the rest. Achara you intercept flankers.” and without another word he moved to engage the big guy. The massive beast overrun a few small tree saplings and broke branches left and right. Marcus steeled himself, if everything goes to hell Azaa will interfere he was sure. She still needed his blood.
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Marcus quickly closed the distance and he could hear the roaring of Janette’s machine gun. She had put several crests into strength just so she could control the recoil from heavier weapons and from the corner of his eyes Marcus could see Frillars being eviscerated by point accurate fire. A weapon like this should not be able to be this precise but in Janette’s hands it was possible.
The large monster was only ten meter away but did not just charge into Marcus. Maybe the remains of several other monsters on his armor made it careful. Or...there was a crackling and Marcus hair stood up. The monster lowered its head and slowly moved closer like a bull ready to pierce him. Marcus stepped back desperately trying to think about a way to deal with, what he expected, was death by electrocution.
He started to circle the monster and pulled closer hoping to avoid the charged horns. As it turned out this strategy was too simplistic and the head of the evolved Frillar turned quickly. At a distance of half a meter lightning jumped from the horns into Marcus’ chest and shoulder. With a thunder clap Marcus fell down and his sight was filled with dancing lights while his body shook with pain. The mega Frillar did not wait until Marcus recovered and closed its massive maw around his upper body. Large teeth pierced through his armor and into his stomach and back. Marcus screamed in pain as the monster lifted him up and shook him around for a few seconds before it slammed Marcus against a nearby tree. Gasping and aching from various wounds, Marcus saw the beast charging his horns again and felt the electricity in the air.
His wounds were closing and against all odds he was still conscious but another combo like that might kill him. He pushed himself up to a crouched position and held on to the tree next to him. Several half broken branches hung in front of him, remnants from his collision with the tree. He grabbed one and threw it directly at the nearby monster and it ducked away allowing the branch to hit its flanks. Well look at this, it does not want to discharge on some random piece of wood, Marcus thought.
Marcus took a deep breath and threw another big branch while grabbing a third with his other hand. As soon as the beast avoided the hit against its horns Marcus charged at it. It turned back but Marcus was ready to throw the third branch. The monster raised its head and the branch only hit a front leg but now Marcus was right next to it. He grabbed the thick fur with one hand and pressed the other against its chest. Jack Hammer. How do you like them apples you bastard! Powerful waves of force ravaged through the body of the monster, tearing arteries and organs alike.
The large monster growled and threshed but after ten discharges of Impulse Hammer it fell over, its large maw open and still covered in Marcus’ blood. Only now the sounds of the battlefield returned to Marcus’ consciousness and the words in the com link became clear. “Achara is down! Janette push them back I will get her out!” Kou sounded desperate and Marcus started running again.
His wounds had already healed and he was only slightly out of breath, even after all of this. He saw Janette giving deadly cover fire while Achara’s body floated out of reach of the monsters and towards Kou. There were only three Frillars left and one was taken apart by Janette right this moment. The second was slowly moving through a field created by Kou and the last… just made acquaintance with Marcus foot as he charged into the monster from behind. Not very sporting but its hind legs broke and it fell over only to be finished off a seconds later by another Impulse Hammer to the back bone.
Marcus turned towards the snail Frillar but it had lost its head and so Marcus ran to Achara and Kou. Kou was treating her but Marcus could see deep claw marks on her back and sides. Her face was white and she was clenching her teeth in pain. “She has lost blood and the wounds are deep.” Kou said with a pressed voice while he continued to work.
Marcus looked at the hill, from where they had started the combat. Azaa was descending at incredible speed, jumping twenty, thirty meter in one go without any effort. With her slender figure and silver armor she looked more like an elf than anything else in that moment. With one last elegant jump she landed right next to Marcus and her eyes wandered over the writhing Achara. Azaa looked back to Marcus who was about to say something but instead watched Achara using her curved blade to cut his left wrist and a small amount of his blood floated towards Achara. Kou watched this with large eyes but Marcus was already an expert in getting his blood drained. The blood entered Achara’s wounds and they closed in seconds.
Achara jumped on her feet and jumped into the air “HOOORAY!”. Her face was red and her eyes looked like she had ten energy drinks in the last five minutes. “WOOOAAA that is amazing. My whole body is tingling! I feel like I could rip out a tree!” Achara jumped up and down while the rest of the team watched her in disbelief. “Is that the effect of your blood?” Janette asked holding her still smoking machine gun. “Seems like it. But it only works when a powerful Blood Mage does it. You can not just drink my blood Janette.” Marcus said and the tension of the battle slowly faded away.
Marcus looked down his ripped armor and saw that Azaa was also inspecting him. He looked into her the eyes and they were cold and calculating. He wanted to say something but Mrs. Sato and the warriors were still coming down the hill. With nothing to say Marcus held Azaa’s gaze for some time and wondered what was going on behind those dark eyes.
