I strengthen my defense with Shield Master techniques while using Provoke, and swing my sword while using magic.
It might sound like I’m pretty proficient, but it’s all thanks to Parallel Thinking.
My mind would have blown a fuse by now without it.
Meanwhile, Rurika is using Gale to attack from all sorts of directions. She moves enough for several people all on her own.
It’s because of her that I’m standing alone in front of the hydra.
“Sora, step away when you get the signal.”
Says Rurika.
“Now!”
I immediately get away with Transfer, and heads that were after me fly away with an explosion.
Then, a wind blade cuts through the explosion, cutting one head down and leaving one behind it with a deep cut.
After these two attacks in succession, the hydra has now lost four heads.
It starts rampaging, probably due to the pain, and one of the remaining heads stains the ground black, unable to aim its breath properly.
The regeneration is slow, probably because this was a deep blow.
We figure this is our chance, so Hikari joins in to give Chris a chance to prepare spirit magic.
“!? Is it escaping to the sky?”
The hydra is going up, most likely sensing it’s on the back foot, so I use skills to try to hold it off as best I can.
An intense back and forth ensues, and it comes back down, most likely feeling it won’t escape like that, raising dust as it lands.
Then, after being attacked unprotected for a bit, it howls. The loud howl shakes the air and echoes in my head. I feel like covering my ears, but push through. It’d be bad if I did something I shouldn’t and the hydra attacked me.
But the hydra doesn’t attack, and clearly looks spent with its sluggish moves.
Then Chris’ magic sends two heads flying, and blood paints the ground.
I’m feeling less and less magic energy from it, and I think it’s almost down.
And the others must be thinking the same.
But then something unexpected happens.
Presence Detection picks up something heading this way.
I call out Map, and see something moving from the lake extremely fast. And they’re not nelshas, they’re tartarugas!
Some are heading this way, and others are going towards Argo’s party. But there are clearly more coming here.
They push this way, with their footsteps making the ground rumble. It’s not just a couple either, there are more than ten.
We can’t continue attacking the hydra, we have to deal with the tartarugas.
The hydra takes this opportunity to fly, stumbling away from us.
“It’s no good. Let’s withdraw.”
We can’t take on this many.
We gather near Chris, and I use Transfer to take the three of them to safety first.
“I’m going to get Argo’s party, watch your surroundings.”
I’m in a hurry, so I can’t.
I picked a spot with no reactions, but they might be hiding.
Hikari and Rurika nod, and I use Transfer again. And I see Argo and the others running towards me.
“T-thanks.”
They’re out of breath. I look at the tartarugas pressing towards me, and use Transfer.
In the blink of an eye, Hikari and the others are in front of us.
Argo and the others fall to the ground once they see Transfer is done.
“They overdid it to protect me.”
Mia says that’s why they’re tired.
They were closer to the lake where the tartarugas came from. Not only that, but they were fighting another one.
If they weren’t there, they might’ve all come towards us.
I call Map and use Presence Detection and Magic Energy Detection, but see nothing within one kilometer.
Then I use Farsight to check on the tartarugas, but it looks like they’re going around the place where we were.
What happened there?”
“They just came towards us all of a sudden. Were they mad because we killed their friends?”
I hear Argo and Guilford say.
“It was probably the hydra’s doing.”
“The hydra?”
I say, and Mia twists her head to look this way.
“Yes. It’s just a theory, but I think the hydra howled when it felt cornered, and the tartarugas responded. Also, I checked with Appraisal and the status was Controlled.”
Name – (—) / Job – (—) / Level – (82) / Race – (Tartaruga) / Condition – (Controlled)
They had different levels.
“Did it make them go berserk to escape?”
“That would make sense. It seemed weak after howling, so I think it might be a risky skill.”
“It must have been cornered, judging by what Rurika and the others said. Ah, Sora, we collected the tartaruga we beat. Can you take it?”
Argo says it barely fit, so he takes out the tartaruga’s corpse.
It looks like they managed to beat the first one that appeared.
“It was close. If they had come a little sooner, we wouldn’t have taken down this one.”
Rick and the others nod.
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