Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Operation Fuss (III)

Eldi was prepared, as he was wearing on a pair of somewhat peculiar sunglasses. They looked like diving googles, but their lenses were tinted. That way, at least he wasn't blinded.

The lynx had to be more precise. She closed her eyes when the impact approached, so as not to be blinded by the brief glare. Luckily, she had trained this while they were preparing for the trip. Specifically, she had done it together with the drelf herself, while she practiced the spell. Therefore, it wasn't too difficult for her to keep her vision intact.

The losts fell quickly before the combined attack of the three. Their level wasn't that high, and they were very close together, which made them vulnerable to area attacks.

Eldi was only immobilizing them with Abysses, as well as throwing the occasional Fireball. The feline, with Lineage of Flame, was immune to fire.

The drelf was also only casting Lightballs. They were very efficient, and she preferred not to expose her roots unless absolutely necessary. She hated having them corrupted, even slightly.

The lynx ran wild among the half-immobilized corrupted beings. Some managed to free themselves, like a strange snake that had legs, eight pairs to be exact. Nonetheless, they weren't enough to threaten her.

The most annoying were the aerial losts, but the goshawk arrived quickly to deal with them. Her wind aura and Wind Blades maimed most of them, and caused them to fall. Apart from the insect, her levels weren't even 70, and that insect had been the first to fall. After Collide's blow, it had been immobilized by the bird's claws. The powerful beak had then destroyed half of its wings, all on the left side. It could no longer fly.

As for the vampiress, she had to face four triclops and a turtle. She had the help of the elf from range, whose main objective was to blind them. 'Three arrows, three eyes' was the challenge that the vampiress had thrown at her, and which the archer was overcoming with ease. Her aim was infallible.

Goldmi also had to be alert to her surroundings, because next to her was a purple girl. Although the kraken was helping in that job. She was looking in all directions from the girl's head. Menxilya, far from having a problem with a being with multiple tentacles on her head, seemed rather delighted with her bodyguard. Maybe, she should be called headguard, as Gjaki had joked, while Eldi was shaking his head.

The triclops were powerful, but not as much as the vampiress, and rather slow, apart from not very intelligent. The turtle was more problematic, with its powerful and poisonous bite, as well as some dangerous skills.

It could turn on its shell to always face the enemy, but it had the problem of being hindered by the three-eyed giants. However, like all the losts, the turtle didn't hesitate to attack the living, no matter if it hurt her allies.

Gjaki had to react very quickly to block the reptile's Longneck the first time it was used. It passed under the giants' legs to reach her, who was focused on them.

She was an experienced warrior, so she knew that unknown enemies could cause unpleasant surprises. Therefore, she had Premonition activated, which warned her of the attack before it happened.

"Turtles are supposed to be slow," she complained as she dodged.

Although her complaints didn't prevent her from implementing a countermeasure as simple as it was effective. She only needed to have the thick leg of a triclops between her and the reptile to prevent it from attacking her. It was simply a matter of positioning herself properly.

Perhaps, this limited her movements a little, but it increased her offensive. Although unintentionally, the turtle ended up helping her by attacking with Longneck the legs that were between itself and her prey.

The triclops, on the other hand, attacked with great clumsiness. Their race was known by their powerful vision, which included rays launched by their eyes. The problem with being so powerful was that they had ended up developing a strong dependence on it.

That hadn't changed when they had been corrupted, but it had changed when her eyes had been pierced by the elf's arrows. Their main sense, on which they depended, was disabled, as well as their most powerful ranged attacks. They could sense the aura of the living, but were unable to pinpoint her location. So, they struck the air, their own companions, and sometimes even the turtle.

The vampiress moved like a fish in water in the chaos. She hid behind the legs to avoid the turtle's attacks, and sometimes climbed on top of it to provoke the triclops' attacks. It would certainly have been more effective to attack directly, but not as fun.

Realizing this, the elf had shaken her head and stopped shooting. She remained watching both battlefields, in case her allies needed her.

"Do you need help?" she asked her winged sister.

"No, I can handle them," she replied.

"Nothing to do..." she sighed.

"Sister, one from behind," the kraken pointed with a tentacle.

The archer turned around. Perhaps alerted by the noise or the explosions of mana, a pack of corrupted bearwolves was approaching. The kraken had only seen the first one, but Goshawkeye allowed the elf to see beyond.

"Something to spend some time," she agreed.

The level of their enemies wasn't high, so she let them come closer. Her sister could deal with them if necessary.

"Shoot," the elf signalled.

An arrow came out of a smaller bow. It was the third one that Menxilya had fired, and the first one that had hit the target.

"I've hit it!" she exclaimed, cheering.

Not only had she hit, but the arrow had pierced the lost's defenses. The girl wasn't an expert, nor did she have great skills, but both the weapon and the arrow were of great quality. In addition, a level 100 Wind Touch, added to a Purifying Touch, were too much for the level 63 being.

Without stopping watching her companions, the elf had immobilized the losts. She had used special arrows of three times their usual length, which had gone through their legs and stuck deep into the ground. They were the perfect target for the girl to practice and, perhaps, to level up a bit.

It didn't take much longer for her companions to reach her, and they stood there watching for a while. Eldi was the only one who intervened. He added some blessings to Menxilya, and even Lent her Mana and Energy, so she could continue shooting.

Afterward, following the goshawk's instructions, they killed the corrupted beings in the vicinity, before returning to the Source to rest and hide. Except for the goshawk, who stayed watching and exploring the terrain from the sky. They wanted to know if any enemy would appear again.