Lancelot's clone, perched atop a tree and observing the battlefield, felt its strength steadily swelling as Aisha continued to annihilate the remaining clones, reducing their numbers until only thirty remained.
Lancelot was unconscious, he could no longer sustain or activate his Spirit Core Combination Move to create more clones.
...
In the Forest of Albion, Urue Everhour's once-handsome face had turned pale; his thick black hair, usually so well-combed, was now rough and scattered. He sat inside the carriage alongside Reinhard and the unconscious princess. As Lionel rode the carriage. Along the way they met a pack of Woftins and end up being surrounded by a pack of Wolftins.
With no options left, Lionel ordered everyone to dismount and engaged the beasts.
...
Urue Everhour, Lionel, and Reinhard adopted a triangular formation, ensuring that no Wolftin could approach the carriage. Urue Everhour and Reinhard took the rear, while Lionel stood at the front, gripping a steel sword.
The beast pack consisted of more than a hundred Wolftins, led by a single Chieftin, which normally control more than a hundred Wolftins.
The Wolftin race included Wolftins, Chieftins, Mutins, Lordtins, and Kingtins.
Wolftins were armored wolves, the weakest of their kind, followed by Chieftins, who usually possessed Rank 1 or 2 Feral Souls. Lordtins have Rank 3 or 4 Feral Souls, while Kingtins have Rank 5 Feral Souls. Mutins are mutated Wolftins bearing features and abilities similar to other creatures.
Surrounded by Wolftins, Lionel recalled the wyvern cave, where Cedric had suggested retreating to inform the guild of thier discovery. He had refused, insisting they advance.
Lionel shook his head and muttered inwardly, If Cedric were still here… no, if i had made the right choice back then? He sighed.
We would have noticed the monsters lurking along this path and would not have end up in this situation, Lionel hissed.
After observing the pack for several minutes, he said, "There are no Mutants or Lordtins...only many Woftins and one Chieftin." After hearing this Urue Everhour and Reinhard felt relived and the unease on thier chest vanished.
The two sides had yet to clash when the Chieftin emerged from the crowd of furious Wolftins.
"Awooooo…" The Chieftin's howl bolstered the pack as they surged toward the carriage.
Reinhard, at the rear, closed his eyes and focused on his Spirit Core, now filled only with the essence of blue flames. He controlled the flame essence and murmured in a low, despondent voice:
Eternal flames…
BOOM! The ground trembled as the explosion carved an opening in their path.
The Chieftin and the Wolftins obstructing them disintegrated.
Seeing this, Urue Everhour entered the horse and urged the horse forward, steering the carriage through the cleared passage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Reinhard obliterated the remaining Wolftins at the front of the encirclement. The rest screamed and attacked in a frenzy.
Friendly Combination Move: Dragon's Breath.
Lionel's sword shifted into a bow, and three arrows appeared, their tips engulfed in blue flames.
Twang! Fssst!
The arrows streaked through the air.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
They struck the advancing Wolftins.
THOOM!
Blue flames erupted, scattering Wolftin corpses and tearing a large crater where the arrows landed.
...
Bzzzzz…
Urue Everhour, riding the carriage, felt his ears ring from the explosions. He halted the carriage, clutching his head and groaning in pain.
Tap-tap-tap…
Lionel and Reinhard ran, covering their ears.
FWOOOOM! A four-meter bird passed overhead, wings slicing the air and whipping up a turbulent gust that hissed and roared.
Shhhhhh! Whoooosh!
The wind swept through the forest, rattling the Modred brothers' light-yellowed hair and shaking the leaves. A massive shadow blotted out the sky, the air roaring in its wake.
Lionel and Reinhard were buffeted by the wings' pressure, the gust knocking them off their feet. They tumbled onto the ground, leaves crunching beneath them. Dazed and gasping, they lay there until Lionel staggered upright, hair and clothes plastered by the wind, hearts hammering.
Lionel turned his head to look at Reinhard and asked in a soft, caring tone,
"Are you alright?"
Reinhard slowly pushed himself up and sat on the ground. His eyes were unfocused, spinning with dizziness. He spoke faintly,
"My head hurts… where is the princess and Leywin?"
Lionel smiled. "Leywin is still with the carriage. You don't have to worry about that. Can you still walk?"
Reinhard's eyes slowly closed, and he collapsed onto the ground.
...
WHOOOOOOOSH!
A four-meter-tall bird swept past Urue Everhour. The violent wind lifted the carriage as if it were a mere toy.
The carriage slammed into the ground with a violent SMASH! One horse fell lifelessly, while the other collapsed, its leg crushed beneath the wreckage. Dust and splinters filled the air, swirling within the fading gusts.
The surviving horse whinnied in panic, struggling weakly against the debris. Its eyes were wide with terror, its body trembling from shock and pain.
Branches snapped, and leaves scattered wildly in the wind.
Urue Everhour was thrown clear, rolling across the dirt. He groaned, clutching his head. His eyes widened as he looked up at the four-meter-tall bird, disbelief filling his face.
"No… no, no, no!" he cried, struggling to his knees.
"A Mutated Beast… how can this be? Has my luck gone bad? What is happening to me…"
The creature before him was a Mutant—a fusion of Wolftin and bird. Its entire body was covered in armor, except for its wings.
Urue Everhour's eyes and nostrils turned bloodshot as he injected lemon green spirit essence into a Feral Soul.
The Feral Soul resembled a green slime with four white wings on its back—Rank 1 Healing Slime Feral Soul.
Upon activation, the bleeding stopped. Urue Everhour sneezed, and a thick strand of mucus dangled from his nose.
The mucus continued to expand as it flowed out, quickly engulfing his body. It swallowed him whole, then, after ten minutes, expelled him before slowly disintegrating.
When Urue Everhour emerged, his injuries and scratches had vanished. However, a faint greenish-yellow liquid dripped from his body.
He turned his head and saw the princess. Blood streamed from her forehead. Her lower body was trapped beneath the shattered carriage. One horse lay dead, while the other struggled desperately, its legs pinned under the wreckage, letting out hoarse, continuous cries.
...
Urue Everhour inspected his Spirit Sea.
Inside the orb-shaped Spirit Sea, lemon green essence filled the space completely—indicating rank 1 peak stage. Within it floated three Feral Souls.
A Rank 2 Almost There Feral Soul, resembling a white centipede with numerous legs.
A Rank 1 Blade Feral Soul, shaped like a thumb-sized dagger, with three eyes embedded in its handle.
A Rank 1 Healing Slime Feral Soul, appearing as a green slime with four white wings on its back.
...
After removing the parts of the carriage that covered the princess lower body and removing the horse's leg from beneath the ruined carriage, Urue Everhour injected his lemon green spirit essence into the Rank 1 Healing Slime Feral Soul once more.
The same scene repeated itself.
He sneezed, and a thick strand of mucus dangled from his nose.
The mucus expanded rapidly, swallowing Princess Emilia whole.
Urue Everhour activated the Feral Soul again. He sneezed once more, and another thick strand of mucus shot out. As it grew, it engulfed the horse as well.