Tbate-The Reincarnates

Battlefield: Part 2

From the point of view of Iris Flirting

Telmore city

Team Flirting:

Flirting Iris: Earth and wind attribute mage (Divergent), Core in the middle silver stage.

Vanesy Glory: Earth and Fire attribute mage, Core in medium yellow stage.

Kaspian Bladeheart: Wind attribute mage, Core in the light yellow stage.

"Kaspian, change positions with Vanesy!" I swung my blade, creating an arc of wind that knocked the armored gnoll back—a nasty mana beast that was more like a rabid, bipedal dog that tried to catch me off guard.

"Be careful, Iris! If you die because of us, your spirit won't leave us alone!" Kaspian warned, a wide grin visible beneath his dented helmet.

"Go to hell!" I snorted, slicing through another beast with my sword. "Do you want me to count all the times I saved your ass?"

"Don't start a battle you can't win, Kaspian!" Vanesy sneered as she nimbly dodged a spiked mace, following with a hook to the jaw of a fanged orc.

"Vanesy, Torch hasn't found the pack leader yet? These gnolls keep popping out of nowhere." Kaspian spun his rapier before throwing it at a nearby gnoll.

"Not yet." Our brown haired mage yelled from behind.

"Hey Iris the numbers are too much for our team to handle without going overboard." Kaspian sent a wind arrow into an orc's neck, decapitating it.

The power level of the beasts itself wasn't an issue the real problem was their sheer quantity. Killing a beast meant that two or three would replace it, but we had prepared for that. After all, it wasn't a battle I was supposed to win; this was a battle of attrition.

However, the turning point was when the S-class mana beasts started to arrive. The first was a humanoid cat only twice my height, made of pure muscle, fur, and claws.

However, its main flaw was that its attacks only relied on its speed, providing too many openings.

"We will!" I roared, dodging the clawed kick as I bit down on his neck. Blood rushed to my head, drowning out everything but the opponent in front of me. The beast, which had the ability to kill its victims long before they could fear it, hissed and rushed towards me. Its muscular hind legs left marks on the hard ground, its body nearly invisible, but its attacks were linear.

The world around us blurred as I savored the battle. Every swipe of its mana-infused claws left deep gashes in the earth and often on nearby mana beasts. Every failed attack by the S-class cat was a successful attack by me, as my sword left its mark on the beast's sleek striped fur.

I had almost forgotten my purpose in mastering the S-class mana beast, even with my body's warnings my legs ached from fatigue and the scratches left by the S-class beast hurt, but I was in much better shape than the huge, panting cat.

Gasping for breath and with blood trickling down its fur, the S-class beast cautiously backed away. He didn't even make it four steps before I caught up with him and slashed his throat.

Grabbing the dead S-class beast by the scruff of the neck, I let out a roar. The mana beasts around me, no matter how deranged and savage they had become due to the Alacryans corrupting them, began to tremble in fear.

It would be easy to say that this is what the war did to everyone. Part of it was true fighting countless beasts slowly turned me into a beast. However, another part of it was that I enjoyed it.

Being surrounded by death, I had never been able to kill myself freely, but here, it was different.

"Iris. Don't get lost. Remember this is a battle to protect, not a battle to kill." Vanesy's words were like water splashed in my face. I really had lost myself, drunk on the freedom to wreak havoc. I acted like a wild animal released from its cage. Finally sober, I could feel the aches and pains I didn't even know existed starting to take their toll.

That's when I felt the next one. Before I could see or hear it, I felt it. Even amidst the hum of countless marching mana beasts, the footsteps of the particular mana beast shook the earth.

It didn't take long for me to see the imposing monstrosity that trampled other injured animals like insects.

Even with four legs, it was about three stories high and every inch of its body was covered in metallic skin. Thorns sprouted along its spine and at the end of its snout, like a log, was a dented metal sphere.

There was a tense moment as I waited for something to happen amidst the war zone, in addition to the chaos it already was.

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, the once glazed and lifeless beast eyes of the mana beasts now burned with fury. But it wasn't just me; the mana animals began to snarl and hiss at each other, flashing fangs, claws, and horns at each other.

It didn't take long for all hell to break loose. The beasts attacked each other with not a bit of lucidity between them. They leapt at me recklessly, often getting caught by each other in the process.

I slashed and stabbed at the vital organs of the mana beasts that attacked me until a mound of bloody carcasses piled up under my feet.

However, despite the onslaught that befell those who approached, the mana beasts continued to attack and throw their lives away as if they were possessed.

I turned to see the gigantic beast approaching, eyes fixed on me as it stomped the ground in preparation to attack as the pile of corpses continued to grow.

However, I couldn't help noticing the subtle difference in the gigantic beast's behavior. The way the beast glared at me still indicated anger, but the very targeted and threatening act of skimming the ground showed some level of intelligence.

This showed that he wasn't thinking of attacking blindly like before, but expecting me to react in some way to his act of aggression.

As for me, instead of having the luxury of reacting to the gigantic beast, I was occupied by the endless mana beasts that seemed bent on ripping my limbs off.

"Enough!" I roared, releasing every ounce of murderous intent I'd pent up over time.

To the naked eye, nothing had changed, but for anyone with an ounce of sense, they felt it. Even the animals, disturbed as they were, froze and began to shiver by instinct.

That might not have worked while they were in their stupor moments ago, but now the animals around me cowered in fear, while some of the weaker ones collapsed.

With finally some room to breathe, I took a step towards the hulking beast. A path opened up as I walked, the mana beasts unable to bear being too close.

I closed my eyes with the colossal S-class monster that loomed above the sea of ​​mana beasts wreaking havoc with each other, driving all my unabated bloodlust. It was a primitive thing to do, like flexing your muscles in front of your opponent to discourage them, but it worked.

The colossal monster broke eye contact with me, its body slackening. Finally, with a mournful screech, the S-class beast turned and left, trampling smaller mana beasts with every step.

"It's been a while since I felt your bloodlust. A good reminder not to tease you too much," Kaspian said as he joined me at my side.

I cracked a smile before answering. "It only seems to work on the smartest and most powerful beasts."

The mana beasts that had been temporarily paralyzed by my intent quickly broke free and resumed their spree.

"Tred! Vester! Take your units to a left flank. Dirk! Sasha! To the right!" Vanesy's voice rang with confident precision.

Suddenly, without even the influx of mana to warn me, an arrow appeared just inches from my face, I ducked, letting the arrow stick into the flesh of a mana beast.

"What the hell, when did wizards get here?" Kaspian exclaimed more suppressed than scared.

I shook my head. "How about we leave a few alive to try to get their answer?"

Kaspian's lips curled into a wicked smile as she raised her rapier. "That sounds like a plan."