章節 53: Demonstration of Strength
Beta's squad easily took care of all the Brown Badgers they found so far. It wasn't really something scary in the first place but their surprise attacks can get very fierce once you killed a few of them. Nonetheless, they had their uses as well. Beta's squad had a much easier time scouting ahead thanks to them because wherever they came from would definitely not be a trap. Like this, they were able to move through the ruins without experiencing any traps and only had to remove some low-level beasts that they encounter.
To ensure that they won't deviate and get lost from the original purpose of the excursion, their current goal has been decided by Beta - meeting the headmaster. Before blindly going around and searching for a key that no one knows how it looked like, Beta wanted to greet their headmaster first. Out of him, they could possibly get some information about it. Of course, his main hidden agenda was that he also wanted to study the prison itself to expand his knowledge about runes. But getting to that point wasn't so easy. They already noticed that the closer they got to the center, the stronger the enemies were. Humans and beasts alike. Until now, they haven't talked to any humans, but they saw a few parties walking around, killing beasts just like them. Their squad didn't want to have any unnecessary trouble and the same went for the other parties, so they just minded their own business and observed them until they left.
By now, they reached an area where the buildings were mostly intact which required for them to deal with the house search differently compared to the area of houses which were heavily damaged and without walls. As Beta's group closed in on another house, everyone got ready. They all knew exactly what to do as they had done it many times since coming to the inner circle. Beta nodded and the Earth Elementalists charged into the house, destroying the door in the process, Beta following closely after them.
"Grrr!"
Two Brown Badgers pounced at them, using their claws. Harald and Gerhard covered themselves in Earth Elemental soulpower and used their weapons to bash them away.
"Scree!"
The Brown Badgers flew away after getting hit and slid over the ground. This was followed by half of Beta's squad rushing in while the others stood guard at the door, making sure that they wouldn't be attacked from behind. Thorn bushes appeared around the group inside the house to strengthen their defenses. At the same time, the ground below the Brown Badgers turned softer and softer, slowly transforming into mud, letting them sink into it and slowing them down. This made it easier for Brian, who had already prepared his fire arrows, to hit them.
"Scree! Scree!"
Endless screams filled the house and its surroundings as their fur started burning. In their rage, they pounced at Beta's group once more without caring about the other dangers in front of them. One of them jumped right into the thorns and was slowly strangled to death with blood gushing out of several spots of its body. To ensure that the thorns wouldn't burn away, Sophie stopped the fire flawlessly with great control. The other badger managed to jump over the thorns and was about to attack Brian, who had set it on fire. But suddenly, a staff appeared in front of its face instead.
"Crack"
The Brown Badger dropped down from mid-air and stopped moving altogether.
"Well done, everyone. Move out and clear the rooms. If you find anything valuable, report it at once.", Beta commanded.
The thorns disappeared and gave way for them to move freely. Beta joined Domian, who was one of the people guarding outside.
"How did it go?", Domian asked even though he already knew the answer.
"There were two. They are dead now and we didn't receive any injuries.", Beta answered nonchalantly.
"Do we really have to use so much effort for every house though? If we continue like this it will take years before we finally find something.", Domian said puzzledly.
"We need to keep the way which we came from clean so that we have a direction to flee into if needed. We are using this method to deal with the houses because I can't believe that these Brown Badgers are the strongest beasts around here. If only two people enter and they are surprised by an unknown enemy, we may lose one of our comrades. I'd rather progress on our way a bit slower and be safe instead.", Beta answered calmly.
Domian raised an eyebrow but nodded shortly after. It made sense to him. An escape route was probably the most important thing to have in an area that lurks with beasts and other unknown threats.
"Growl!"
Everyone stopped in their steps as they looked into the direction of the growl. A white creature quickly approached them.
"Did it hear the screeches?", Beta mused, slowly walking towards it. He quickly added, "Cover my back."
Domian and Pia followed him, carefully looking at their surroundings. But they were surprised once again when they saw another group approaching them from the right.
"Looks like they heard noises as well.", Beta mumbled before whistling loudly, using two of his fingers. Not long after, his whole squad stopped whatever they were doing and rushed near him. All of them took strategic positions which allowed them to be safe and easily attack at the same time. The beast that rushed towards them earlier stopped as well. It didn't know if it should continue or not after noticing the number of its targets increased. As it snarled at them, both groups could see it clearly.
"Is that a White Badger? Or maybe something entirely else?", Beta said quietly, speaking out everyone's thoughts.
"Leave that beast to us or you will suffer greatly!", someone who looked like the leader of the group said in a domineering voice, his teammates snickering in the background. They had done this several times already and knew exactly how this would continue.
"You want this beast? Alright, why don't you let me get it for you!", Beta said happily, with his usual warm smile.
"Hahaha! You don't want to, right? Well, let us convi-… Wait, what?! You will get it for us?", said the leader which was flabbergasted with Beta's reply.
The other group was surprised but their happiness overwhelmed everything. They didn't care to ask any questions or even take notice about the other party's strength at all. They have been going through the ruins and executed the same approach which mostly ended pretty well for their end with big hauls of loot. Thus, seeing Beta's party which consisted of young students made them careless. They had never had it so easy before. So, they were glad that the other party was being obedient this time. Noticing that it was only Beta who approached the beast, the leader was confused.
"Don't you need your team for that?", the leader asked as if he cared for Beta.
"No need.", Beta answered, his smile even brighter.
"Huh? Is he looking to die or something?", was all the other team could think of the moment they heard what the opposing party said.
Beta slowly moved towards the White Badger with his staff out. He knew exactly why they wanted it so much. Even after going through the ruins for a whole day, this was the first white one they encountered. Judging by its countenance and outlook, its fur would probably fetch quite a nice price on the market in the camp. A very good loot compared to the scraps they have been gathering for a while. He can't really blame the other party for being aggressive but he wasn't troubled at all. Actually, a plan sprouted out the moment they showed up so couldn't help but give them his usual warm smile. The other team might think that he has gone crazy but his squad, on the other hand, knew exactly what that smile meant.
Somehow, Beta's squad started to feel pity for the other group. They know their leader very well so seeing him being submissive like that actually scared them. Though they completely trust him, they still kept on being alert and readied themselves for the outcome. Both groups watched as Beta got closer to the White Badger. But no matter what, Brian always had his eyes on the true enemy - the other group. If they did anything suspicious, he would bombard them with fire arrows unrestrainedly.
The air was tense when Beta finally stood directly in front of the beast. It somehow understood that it was being challenged but only one target did so, which completely insulted it. Loud growling filled the surroundings as the White Badger finally couldn't hold back anymore. It jumped at Beta with all of its strength, using its bloody claws which were a huge contrast to its white fur. Then, Beta simply took a swing with his staff. His muscles tightened and his arms twitched. Suddenly, the staff in his hands moved at a breakneck speed, hitting the White Badger's head instantly, which exploded into little bits with no hindrance whatsoever. All of the blood and brain tissues shot into the direction the White Badger came from, covering the ground in a cone-like shape. Beta then loosened his muscles again and looked towards the other group with his warm smile.
"What are you waiting for? Come and get it! I must say though... I am not sure if you are strong enough to get it.", Beta told them while chuckling slightly.
His own squad had seen this scene before so they weren't surprised at all, but the other party was completely stunned.
"W-What the hell?", the leader mumbled quietly. He then looked at Beta as if the real beast was still standing there and ran away without a second thought.
"Retreat!"
Only once the leader shouted this, did his teammates finally come back to their senses and they started running as if they were little girls that had seen a ghost.
"Hahaha!"
Beta's whole squad laughed loudly as they watched this comedic performance in front of them. They all somehow thought of the same thing.
"As expected of Beta!"
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