When the piercing screech rang out, everyone in Redwood Town, regardless of their strength, trembled.
The force behind that bestial roar was so immense that the air itself seemed to shake.
It was clear that whatever monster had emerged from the Great Western Forest this time was far, far more dangerous than any before it.
What followed was an intense clash of claws, fangs, and steel as the Spirit Realm Cultivators under Celestina's lead engaged the enemy.
The fight was so intense that the sound of explosions was literally echoing across the sky, reaching all the way from the western edge of Redwood Town to the eastern outskirts where Lucas was standing.
Thanks to opening his Soul Sea, Lucas could use his Soul Sense to enhance his other 5 senses, and even perceive the activity around himself to a certain extent.
Generally, if Lucas went all-out with his Soul Qi, he could sense all activity within a 5 metres radius of himself for a short time, as for how useful this was compared to him just turning his head to look around, that was debatable.
If it was just about feeling the general direction the wind was blowing, strong Life Auras, or the ambient flow of World Qi, then a 100 metres radius was about Lucas' limit.
That, however, was for normal activity.
Right now, when he focused his Soul Sense in a westly direction, Lucas could just barely make out what was happening in the battle, despite it taking place several kilometres away.
Two enormous auras were repeatedly clashing with each other. One of them felt sharp, focused, and solid, while the other was menacing, rampant and aggressive.
Of these two auras, Lucas recognized the former to be his Master's, while the latter, he assumed, belonged to her opponent.
From this far away, it was impossible to accurately read who was stronger, but if Lucas had to take a guess, he felt his Master's aura was actually weaker, though it also seemed stabler somehow.
Lucas had no idea which side had the advantage in this confrontation, and there was no way he could get close enough to observe it without risking his life; so, for now, all he could do was pray.
Although the two primary combatants were the easiest to senses, Lucas was also able to pick up more than a dozen weaker auras engaging in battle.
These auras weren't nearly as intense as the biggest two, but that didn't mean they were weak. Obviously, these auras belonged to Spirit Initiates and Fifth Order Beasts.
If Lucas had to describe the scene he was observing through his Soul Sense, it would probably be something like the night sky reflected in a rippling pond, with two giant moons representing the biggest auras, and a bunch of blurry stars flitting about them representing the weaker ones.
As for which of the stars was human and which was a beast, the only thing Lucas could say was one set of auras seemed more refined, while the other was wilder. If the boy had to guess, he would probably identify the refined auras as humans, but that really was little more than a guess.
Just from what he could sense, Lucas understood that this battle would not be settled quickly like previous ones his Master had gotten involved in; this was a real struggle, where victory and defeat were uncertain.
"Don't worry," Farah suddenly spoke up from his side, "Teacher has been in worse situations than this. She'll win."
Turning his head and seeing absolute confidence on the town butcher's face, Lucas calmed down slightly and nodded before frowning, "I'm not worried about Master, but the others…"
This time, Farah didn't make any comments and instead just clenched her fists tightly. Not only was Farah's Soul Sense much stronger and more refined than Lucas', she was also far more experienced in combat. Naturally, she understood that the battle happening right now was very dangerous, and victory wasn't necessarily assured for their side.
Had it been some other child, Farah might have offered some comforting words or reassurances, but she knew better than to treat Lucas like that. The boy was smart enough to understand that there were no guarantees in life, and even if she told him that their side would come out on top without losing anyone, he certainly wouldn't believe her.
Farah herself wanted to rush over and join the battle, but in her current state, she understood that she would only become a burden, so she simply said, "Our defences elsewhere have been significantly reduced, so I'll head back to the Manor to stand guard."
"But…" Lucas wanted to object, knowing full-well what kind of condition Farah was in.
However, before he could get another word out, Farah just lifted her hand to stop him and declared, "If one of those Fifth Order Beasts breaks through, I can still hold it off long enough for reinforcements to arrive."
Understanding there was no point in arguing, Lucas reluctantly backed down and nodded, lowering his head as he muttered, "Please be careful."
Roughly tousling the Lucas' hair, the gruff butcher snorted, "You're 100 years too young to be worrying about me, boy."
With that, Farah dashed off towards a nearby horses, doing her best to look strong, through it was fairly obvious to Lucas that she was still favouring her right leg, a clear sign her left hadn't yet healed.
The temporary camp hadn't been completely emptied out as there were still a number of volunteer defenders and a few of the weaker soldiers around working on various things like feeding the Tartans or unloading whatever they could from the Sunchaser, but Lucas couldn't help feeling like he had been left all on his own.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help out, but rather that there was nothing he could help with. Lucas also couldn't leave and return home or to the Town Lord's Manor as his Master had given him a task to complete.
For now, the young boy could only hope that the approaching reinforcements would get here soon.
With nothing else to do, Lucas found himself staring off into the west, trying his best to calm his nerves as the sounds of battle grew more and more intense.
Only after what seemed like an eternity did the cry of a hawk sound from above, drawing Lucas' attention.
Hurriedly withdrawing his Soul Sense, Lucas looked up and saw two golden streaks of light swooping down at great speed, one with a single, familiar rider, while the second actually had two riders on its back.
While waving to Vanessa, trying to get her attention, Lucas glanced off into the distance and noticed that there were still 9 more Tartans flying over, though they were much further away.
It didn't take long for Lucas to surmise that the faster Golden Hawks and their riders had raced over after having detected the fallout from the ongoing battle.
With a great gust of wind, the two Golden Hawks touched down and Vanessa called out from atop her faithful mount, "Little Brother, what's going on?"
Not wasting any time, Lucas shouted back, "A group of powerful beasts appeared. Master is current engaging them and ordered me to stay here and request you join the battle as soon as you arrive!"
Turning her eyes to the west, Vanessa scanned the situation with her Soul Sense before her expression turned solemn.
With her High-Rank Soul Initiate cultivation, Commander Clark could tell the exact state of the battle now that she had gotten this close. However, despite knowing the urgency of the situation, Vanessa still paused and turned to the other Golden Hawk to say, "I would appreciate it if you accompany me."
Lucas also turned his attention to the unfamiliar pair at that moment.
One of them was a fully armoured knight carrying a pair of short swords on their belt. With their helmet lowered, it was impossible to tell if this person was a man or a woman, but Lucas could tell that whoever they were, they were strong.
Thanks to his recent experiences, Lucas could roughly gauge the strength of individuals even without directly scanning them with his Soul Sense. This was especially true if they were Spirit Realm Cultivators and were standing relatively close to him
The armoured warrior in front of him gave him the same sense of oppression as Vanessa and Allina did, and they were Peak Spirit Initiates. Two Peak Spirit Initiates joining the battle would greatly bolster their sides' chance of winning, so Lucas was eager to see this happen.
Unexpectedly, though, a cold, masculine voice sounded from within the helmet, "I refuse. My orders are to protect the…"
Before this man could finish speaking, the other rider on the Golden Hawk cut in, "Go. No one here is capable of harming me."
Lucas was slightly taken aback, as this person, covered in a black cloak, was a woman; or rather, a girl from how young her voice sounded. Observing this girl more closely, Lucas was stunned to discover that not only was he unable to clearly see her appearance, he also couldn't sense any aura from her at all.
Is she in the Body Tempering Realm? The young boy wondered to himself, feeling curious about who this person was. Her voice was quite firm and perhaps even a little arrogant, but it was also somehow melodious and enchanting.
Clearly, she was someone of great importance if she could ride a Golden Hawk together with a Peak Spirit Initiate, so it made sense that she was a bit haughty; still, given how pretty her voice was, Lucas somehow got the impression that this girl was quite beautiful herself.
While Lucas was lost in such distracting thoughts, the young female voice sharply snapped, "Have you seen enough, yet?"