The Silden knight captain shouted his order for his troops. “LOOSE!”

  Spells and arrows flew through the air, hitting the massive tide of monsters and beasts rushing toward the city.

  A mighty roar shook the air.

  “Captain!” A spotter called. “An earth dragon!”

  A massive lizard charged toward the walls. It had no wings, a long tail, a wide mouth, and an armored back. It trampled several monsters as it rushed toward the city walls.

  “Dammit. ALL RANGED ATTACKS FOCUS ON THE EARTH DRAGON!” He shouted his order.

  Spells and arrows assaulted the earth dragon’s shell, barely slowing it down.

  “Captain, what should we do? Should we erect walls in its path?” The vice-captain asked.

  “There would be no point. They’re known for smashing through mountain walls. Just focus attacks on it and hope we take it down before it breaches the walls!”

  “Captain! To the West! Something is approaching!” Another spotter shouted.

  He cursed beneath his breath and turned to head that way when a streak of green light jetted through the air and struck the earth dragon in the head.

  It tumbled while roaring in protest to the pain.

  “What the hell was that!?”

  The spotter monitoring the West looked closer at what was approaching as another green streak of light flew and struck the earth dragon.

  “By the gods! IT’S HER!” The spotter excitedly cried.

  “Who are you talking about?” The captain demanded to know.

  The spotter turned with a hopeful and relieved smile. “HALLFEN SENDS AID! THE CRIMSON GODDESS COMES!”

  The captain took the spyglass and looked at their coming allies. “What the hell? She’s a giant?!”

  The Crimson Goddess unleashed another green arrow from her bow, keeping the earth dragon pinned.

  “Well, I’ll be damned…” The captain shook his head in relieved shock. He turned to his soldiers. “REJOICE, YOU LOT! WE JUST GOT SOME BIG ASSISTANCE! LEAVE THE EARTH DRAGON TO THE CRIMSON GODDESS!”

  The soldiers let out a war cry and continued their battle against the Monster Rush.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Melody ran alongside Aroo with her eyes closed and one hand on Aroo.

  “What does it look like, Melody?” Gerald asked.

  Melody watched through Fenny’s eyes as he circled above the flood of monsters and beasts.

  “No demons, thankfully. Just a lot of beasts. The soldiers on the walls support the ground troops as much as possible.” Melody reported.

  “Keep an eye out for anything big,” Gerald stated.

  A mighty roar shook the air.

  “Melody!?”

  “A moment…” Melody had Fenny look for the source of the roar. Before long, the massive earth dragon came into view. “Earth dragon. It just breached the forest edge and is charging for the city.”

  “Dammit. That thing will obliterate the walls. Can you do anything?” Gerald asked.

  Melody pulled up her bow and opened one of her eyes. Using Fenny’s view, she launched her first arrow.

  They heard the earth dragon roar out in anger.

  “Nice shot, Melody!” Violet was impressed.

  “I stopped its charge.” Melody started charging another arrow.

  “Try to keep in place until we can get to the battle. Then, you take it down.” Gerald commanded.

  “Understood.” Melody waited until the earth dragon was about to move again and hit it.

  As they got closer to the city, they heard the city’s soldiers let out a war cry.

  “Seems they know we are coming.” Gerald chuckled.

  “More like they saw Melody is coming.” Violet joked.

  “Let’s pick up the pace, Aroo!” Melody called.

  “ROOOOO!”

  Both activated Stampede, cracking the ground as they charged toward the battle.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Willow Kant, the guild master of the Silden adventurer’s guild, watched in disbelief as the earth dragon was being kept in place by some mysterious attacker.

  She had lost all hope the moment that the monster appeared, but something was helping them.

  Another tide of beasts rushed toward them.

  “Remember! Don’t mind the herbivores! They’ll run around the city! Focus on the carnivores!” She yelled.

  The adventurers with her acknowledged her command and put down several beasts that broke toward their line.

  Archers and spell casters were up on makeshift towers supporting the defensive front liners.

  “We need more mines over here!” A team leader of defenders called out.

  Three casters sent magical mines twenty feet in front of the defenders.

  “We need some healers!” A group returned to the back line with several injuries.

  Willow chewed on her thumbnail, a bad habit she always did when anxious.

  The earth dragon roared out again in anger as another streak of green light nearly took one of its four eyes.

  “ROOOO!”

  “What the hell was that?” Willow’s assistant, Diana, asked.

  “I think that was a Wooly Bison?” Willow commented.

  Soon enough, the group watched as a massive wooly bison charged up to them, and a black-furred-clad giantess charged into the heart of the battle, letting loose multiple green arrows at the earth dragon.

  “What the hell is that!?” “Is that a giant!?” “Why is it helping us?!”

  “No way….” One adventurer was stunned.

  “Do you know that giant?” Willow asked.

  “That’s the Crimson Goddess from Hallfen! She’s an adventurer!” He shouted in excitement.

  Catching on quickly, Willow ordered her people to assist the Crimson Goddess while dealing with those who get too close to the walls.

  Willow saw a familiar face approaching. “Gerald! I see you brought some big help.”

  He laughed. “Yes, Melody will deal with the earth dragon. We’ll focus on protecting the walls.”

  “Are you sure she doesn’t need help?” She asked.

  Gerald looked over to the battling giantess with a smile. “She has help with her.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Flashing!” Violet yelled.

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  Melody and Annabelle shielded their eyes as Violet blinded the earth dragon with a spell.

  It roared in protest while swinging its hammer-like tail toward them. Melody leaped into the air while switching to her hatchet.

  “Greater Strengthening!” Annabelle boosted Melody’s strength.

  Melody cut the earth dragon’s tail off with a battle cry. It cried out in pain as it regained its eyesight and turned its open mouth toward her.

  “Breath attack!” Violet yelled.

  Melody quickly switched back to her bow and sent an arrow of nature down its throat.

  The earth dragon gagged and coughed up blood.

  Melody struck the dragon’s shell with her hatchet, breaking some of its scales. “Damn. How can we deal with this thing? I’m barely making a scratch on it!”

  “Uhhhhhhh, oh! Use that strength of yours and flip it!” Violet said.

  “Are you kidding!?” Melody dodged to the side as it tried to ram her.

  “Use Dig to put it off balance!” Annabelle added.

  “Great idea! Thanks, Anna!” Melody smiled as she moved to the side of the earth dragon and used Dig.

  The ground beneath the earth dragon’s right legs dipped. Melody lowered herself and activated Stampede. The ground broke beneath her pounding feet as she slammed into the lower left side of the monster.

  The earth dragon roared in surprise as it got blown over onto its back. It struggled to try and right itself, but due to its size and weight, it couldn’t flip itself back over.

  Melody jumped onto the earth dragon’s unarmored underbelly, putting a nature toward the heart, but it got stuck in the dragon’s scales. Melody quickly pulled out her hatchet, spun the blade backward, and used the flat back to hammer the arrow to its heart.

  The earth dragon’s head lulled for a moment before falling still.

  “We got it!” Annabelle cheered.

  “Good job, Melody.” Violet cheerily said while patting her friend’s large shoulder.

  A victory cry sounded from the city as they saw them successfully take down the earth dragon.

  Violet giggled. “Your popularity is going up.”

  Annabelle looked about at the flood of monsters. “Is there any way to deal with this faster?”

  Melody thought for a moment. “Oh.”

  “You have an idea?” Violet asked.

  “I honestly don’t know, but let me try something I saw Mother did.” Melody brought her palms together and closed her eyes in concentration.

  “What do you think she is doing?” Annabelle asked.

  “Uh…” Violet shivered at the amount of magic Melody was putting out. “Something… huge.”

  Fenny flew down to them and hid in the magic pack in a panic.

  The sky rapidly darkened.

  “Uh, Melody?” Annabelle watched in worry.

  The sky began to rumble, and streaks of light jumped about the clouds.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!? Just how overpowered are you!?” Violet cried.

  The wind picked up and whipped about. Thunder cracked above.

  “Oh! This is what Gaia almost did during the first meeting with the duke!” Annabelle remembered.

  Lightning crashed into the ground in various locations, wiping out slews of beasts. Before long, tornados followed, throwing monsters about.

  Violet looked back and saw many shocked faces among the various ground forces, as the very force of nature she was with was obliterating a Monster Rush.

  “Lend me your aid in stopping this imbalance of nature.” Melody’s voice coursed out into the forest.

  “We will help!” “Redirect them, we will!” The forest answered her call.

  “Of course, we will help, Grand Niece!” A deep voice called out. Melody felt the excitement from the speaker.

  “No way! She even has the forest helping!” Violet observed the trees move as best as possible to close off paths, splitting the Monster Rush around toward the city’s edges.

  The battle took nearly an hour, but the Monster Rush seemed finished.

  The skies cleared, and Melody sat down on the earth dragon’s underbelly, sighing in relief.

  “Are you alright, Melody?” Annabelle asked.

  A sweating Melody turned her head and smiled at her friend. “I’m fine. Just a little worn out. I am not used to doing that, so it took a bit out of me.”

  “You literally controlled the weather. That is an understatement of how much magic you just used.” Violet pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.

  Several minutes later, Aroo arrived along with a few healers, Gerald, and an older woman who Melody didn’t know.

  “Willow!” Violet happily called out to the woman.

  Willow smiled. “Good to see you, Violet.”

  “Are you alright, Melody?” Gerald checked.

  Melody nodded. “Just need to rest a bit. I am recharging on magic from nature.”

  “Good to know. Do you think you will be ready by nightfall?” He asked.

  “Nightfall?” Melody asked.

  “Ah.” Violet smacked her forehead. “Sorry, Mel, I forgot to tell you about that. There are two parts to a Monster Rush that are split into day and night. This is due to the difference of when beasts are awake.”

  “Ah, so nocturnal ones will show up at night?” Melody asked.

  “Closer to just after sundown.” Willow corrected.

  Melody checked her magic and stamina. “Hmm. I should be recovered just before sundown.”

  Gerald sighed in relief. “That is good to hear.”

  Melody cocked her head questioningly. “But then why does a Monster Rush last for several days?”

  Willow laughed. “So, what happens is that those who rush from their normal habitat into another throw off the balance of the other. This causes a rubber band effect where the beasts are bounced back and forth between areas. We normally have to deal with them rushing back and forth for all those days. I think you thinned them enough to avoid them coming back.”

  “Now we just need a repeat for the night battle,” Gerald commented.

  Feeling recovered enough, Melody hopped down from the earth dragon and grabbed its tail.

  “Uh, Melody?” Gerald asked.

  Melody looked down at him. “What? I’ve never eaten a dragon before. I’m curious.”

  Willow sighed. “Melody… Earth dragons are poisonous.”

  Melody beamed while Violet and Annabelle giggled.

  “Did I miss something?” Willow asked.

  “Ah, right.” Gerald chuckled. “I almost forgot she is completely immune to poisons.”

  Willow’s jaw hung open as Melody dragged the corpse toward the city.

  “Roo.” Aroo shook her head, flabbergasted over her master’s appetite, and followed after.

  A multitude of carts rolled out of the city to recover as much as possible from the fallen monsters and beasts.

  “Well.” Gerald smiled. “Shall we watch as an earth dragon gets eaten?”

  Willow laughed and agreed. The two trailed behind after the hungry giantess.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Now, add the cilantro, peppers, and salt to the broth,” Pappy instructed.

  Melody added the ingredients to her massive stew.

  A couple hours had passed, and Melody was slowly stewing the earth dragon in its own shell.

  Some adventurers looked on enviously as the delicious scent wafted through the air.

  “You’re welcome to ask for a bowl, but it would be your last!” Gerald laughed.

  “Dammit, why do earth dragons gotta be poisonous….” “I wish I could try some of the goddess’ cooking….” “Dammit! I’ll risk it!”

  The various adventurers shouted and joked while one had to be held back.

  “How’s it coming, Melody?” Violet called over as she enjoyed a skewer.

  “Almost done! Pappy told me to give it twenty minutes to simmer.” Melody used wind magic to control the flame beneath the shell.

  “Will you be able to finish all that, Melody?” Annabelle asked.

  Melody wiped a bit of drool away. “I’ll manage….”

  Twenty minutes went by, and she used Identify.

  Earth Dragon Spicy Stew: Caution! Highly poisonous! A spicy stew made from the diced brain, heart, liver, and poison breath gland. Included are chopped cilantro, Silden peppers, and rice. Greatly increase strength. Significant increase in physical defense. Gives immunity to poison if one survives. Medium chance to learn a new skill. Must consume an entire portion.

  “Oh, you can get poison immunity if you can survive,” Melody commented.

  “No one can survive that, Melody,” Violet commented.

  Melody pulled her bowl from her pack and ladled a hefty portion for herself. Licking her lips, she spooned some into her mouth. “MMM!” She squealed in joy.

  “Thank you, Pappy! It’s delicious!” She complimented the Gnome.

  Pappy laughed. “I am glad that I could be of assistance.”

  “I kind of want to try it now….”

  “DON’T, Anna! I know you have a strong body, but that stuff will likely eat your insides.” Violet warned.

  Melody finished off the bowl, letting out a satisfied sigh.

  “Did you get anything?” Annabelle asked.

  Melody checked her status, and her eyes widened. “No way!”

  Poison Control: This skill allows the user to control poison. It is within the user’s control to change their bodily fluids or adjust poison or something else.

  Melody beamed over her new skill.

  “What did you get, Melody?” Annabelle asked.

  “Let me try something!” Melody quickly stood and went to her stew. Using Poison Control, she slowly decreased the stew’s lethality. She laughed.

  “Good news, everyone!” Melody called out while turning to face everyone. “All of you will get to enjoy the stew in a bit! I can reduce the lethality of the poison!”

  The various adventurers excitedly cried out. Violet shook her head while Annabelle asked to be first.

  A few hours had gone by, and the entire stew was gone.

  “I can’t believe everyone got a minor resistance to poison from that.” Gerald chuckled.

  Melody smiled. “Pappy’s cooking is the best.”

  “I got a major resistance.” Annabelle flexed happily.

  “I got medium.” Violet chuckled.

  Some scouts on horseback rode up to the camp outside the city walls.

  Willow went to them. “Status?”

  The lead scout got down from his horse. “They’re on the move. It’s small right now, but it is building.”

  “Demons?”

  The man grimaced. “Quite a few of them.”

  Willow sighed while turning to Melody. “Melody, do you have experience in dealing with demons?”

  Melody looked up from her project of making the earth dragon’s hammer tail into a two-handed hammer for herself. “I’ve dealt with them over the years.”

  “If I remember right…” Violet recalled. “Fire mole, water bear, ice wolf, earth saber, wind weasel, and… what was the last?”

  “A fire tiger,” Melody answered with a giggle.

  “Oookay! You definitely have experience with dealing with demons.” Willow chuckled.

  “Melody,” Gerald called to her. “We would like you to deal with the demons while we deal with the rest.”

  Melody nodded. “Got it.” She stood and readied her new war hammer. Melody grew the shaft with Steel Wood, a tree she had found deep in the North Gaian Forest.

  “Gods, that looks imposing,” Diana commented.

  “Be glad she’s on our side.” Willow laughed.

  It would be a few more hours till the night Monster Rush was to arrive. Melody went about the main field from which the beasts were coming and set up many traps and pitfalls.

  After finishing their preparations, they rested until the coming Monster Rush.