Chapter 151 - Rescue

The sound of gunfire overhead.

Leo stared at the shots coming from the orphanage. The shadowy figures were slowly inching closer and closer to the orphanage. The only thing that was stopping them from overturning the place was the wave of bullets.

With a single glance, Leo knew that those people wouldn't last for long. Apart from the limited number of ammo, the weapons they used were barely effective against the creatures.

That's where Leo came in.

Letting out a somewhat burdened sigh, Leo compulsively decided to go and save these people. Even with his previous experience with gunfire might not have gone well, he rested assured that these people would be desperate for help.

If things were to go south, he could just as easily run away anyway.

Jumping from the tree branch he was standing on, Leo landed a few paces away from the orphanage. He intentionally landed in the midst of the creatures, opting to clear some of them as he approached the orphanage.

Channeling his Thunder-Attributed magic, Leo used Thunder Forming to create twin shortswords. In terms of combat power and speed, shortswords were the most ideal.

Holding both shortswords in a reverse grip, Leo charged through the wave of shadowy creatures, hacking and slashing along the way.

With every strike, Leo punctured through whatever thing was in the way of his blade. Torso, limbs, appendages, and even heads. Leo didn't hesitate to strike through these creatures.

'This is pretty fun.'

Leo had lost a lot of precious time when he was knocked out. So, naturally, being able to stretch his muscles after realizing he missed out on the climactic battle was nothing but satisfying.

As he kept going forward through the wave of creatures, some of the shadowy figures turned their attention to Leo. The spread of which Leo gained the creature's aggro had no particular pattern. It just sort of happened.

Naturally, Leo didn't seem to mind.

So long as the creatures kept their eyes on him, the people in the orphanage would have a much easier time dealing with them. What's more, Leo's strength made him a near equal to a regular army.

However, there was a clear limitation to that.

He soon realized that the number of creatures that focused on him started increasing rapidly. There was a lot more on his plate than he'd care to admit.

Still, Leo pushed on.

His struggles aside, Leo knew what he was doing. His speed was simply too much for the creatures. So long as he can continuously be on his toes, Leo wouldn't have a big problem.

"Commander, there appears to be some sort of light coming from inside the swarm."

One of the soldiers stopped firing his assault rifle and quickly reported his findings. The commander, in response, looked over the window to check on what this 'light' was.

Through his binoculars, the commander spotted a man clad in electricity. The light that revolved around him didn't seem to be wavering one bit as he continuously fought more and more monsters.

"Tell all the troops to clear the monsters. Do not, under any circumstances, fire at that light."

The commander knew whoever this guy was; he was helping them. No sane enough person would willingly jump in the middle of a swarm of monsters.

Leo, unaware of being noticed, continuously went on his way towards the orphanage. It became apparent that he had bit off more than he could chew.

And, as much as he wanted to clear all of the monsters, that wasn't the reason why he was here.

Reaffirming his goals, Leo started to push forward with greater force. This time around, Leo didn't bother killing every single monster. Prompting instead to kill those that were blocking his way.

Furthermore, he noticed that the gunfire seemed to have coordinated better.

Instead of spraying their gunfire at whatever was in front of them, the troops seemingly aimed their shots around Leo. Their goal was to avoid Leo and focus on stopping the monsters from getting close.

Now, Leo didn't have to worry about some random gunshots coming his way.

With an increased spring in his steps, Leo unequipped the twin shortswords, changing his weapons entirely. Between his fingers, the thunder seemed to crackle as Leo controlled them with a forceful will.

Electricity started to form the shape of small knives, each one sharp and small enough to fit between his fingers. They were, in other words, throwing knives made entirely out of electricity.

'Let's go.'

Leo quickly swung his hand, and four knives immediately shot out. The knives managed to strike down two monsters while Leo continuously ran forward.

While he ran, Leo consistently whipped up a bunch of throwing knives as soon as he threw them. His attacks were swift and to the point.

Even though he couldn't aim every single one of the throwing knives, each one managed to make the creatures flinch.

As the change of weapons coincidentally changed his rhythm, Leo found himself moving quite faster than before. Throwing knives consistently was an effective tactic for him to move past the monsters without killing them.

'Last one.'

Soon, Leo reached the last monster and quickly maneuvered himself past it. Leo jumped from his current position and used the monster's head as leverage to flip forward.

'Finally.'

Leo ran to the orphanage at full speed. He didn't have time to recover his breath. The amount of throwing knives he created took a small toll on his overall Stamina and Mana. Both of which would recover once he actually gets inside.

Electricity crackled from his feet as Leo sprinted towards the dilapidated building. From there, he jumped and reached a second-floor window.

As soon as Leo landed, it caused one of the troops to flinch and stumble back. After all, it wasn't every day that they would see someone wrapped in electricity jumping up from the ground floor.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

The commander, who was watching the spectacle happen, calmly asked Leo's identity.

"I was sent here by a guy. He told me to get here, but I don't really know what for. I guess you can answer that for me."

"The kids are at the back. They're gathered up as planned. It'll take a few minutes for my troops to recover all of the gear."

'Kids?'

Leo was surprised. He didn't expect children to be involved in all of this. Then again, it became clear why Rynold was insistent on coming back here.

He then quickly jumped down from the window and entered the orphanage from the second floor.

"Leave the gear. We're leaving. Now."

Leo's voice resonated with much authority. It was surprising, especially coming from someone who was half the commander's age. It was as if Leo was speaking with great experience from battle.

"R-right..."

The commander was hesitant to leave a significant portion of their gear behind. However, their lives took priority.

"Alright! All units, convene on the first floor! Leave any unnecessary equipment behind. We're leaving!"

Without a single second spared, the troops started to move in waves. The first ones to go down the stairs were the mercenaries stationed on the third floor.

"Take the kids and move down there!"

The commander ordered those who were on the second floor to follow. As a consequence, the creatures seemingly noticed this and started to rampage with greater force.

"Focus on regrouping. I'll stall these bastards."

Leo threw a teleportation stone at the commander before jumping off the window from whence he came. The sound of thunder clapping overhead their location as Leo started to let loose.

The amount of gunfire diminished as most of the troops convened at the first floor of the building. Those who were near the windows started to pop some shots, but it was still limited.

Fortunately, none of the mercenaries didn't need to do anything to support Leo. Because, right now, they were in the ideal conditions for a storm.

Activating Renegade of Storms, Leo's abilities evolved a step higher.

With his thunder-clad boots and sword in hand, Leo lashed out violently against the monsters.

Being an attack-oriented class and the magic Attribute to support it, Leo made quick work of whatever monster came close. Furthermore, because of the flashing lights that the Thunder magic emanated, the creatures turned a little bit docile.

Coincidentally, Leo's attacks made for a rather good show to those who were watching. Hell, even the mercenaries got distracted because of how dazzling and powerful Leo's attacks were.

"Group up! Now!"

The commander shouted to gather the mercenaries' attention. Now was not the time for them to be enjoying a show. There was a limit to what a single person could do, and the commander was not going to sit still and find out.

Teleportation stone in hand, the commander was confused as to what this piece of rock was supposed to do. Leo just threw the thing at him, not really clarifying what the stone would be used for.

"Anytime in the next 10 years, man!"

Leo shouted as he hit a monster that pounced at him.

"I... I don't know what you want me to do!!"

The commander shouted back with an extremely bewildered look on his face. Clearly, he wasn't pulling Leo's leg of how unaware he was.

"Shit."

Leo weighed his options. He currently only had one teleportation stone left. One that he was planning on using to get himself out of here. But, because of one slight oversight on his part, Leo was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Cover the entrance! Now!"

"All troops! Open fire!"

Leo quickly retreated a few steps and regrouped with the rest of the mercenaries. From there, he swiped the teleportation stone from the commander's hands and infused Mana into it.

The stone started to shine with a bright light as it shattered. The light started to envelop everyone in the room as the teleportation procedure started.

As the light permeated across the entire room, the mercenaries ceased firing. They thought that the light signified their safety, but they were dead wrong.

"Look out!"

Leo shouted as he saw one of the creatures lashed its claw out to a mercenary very close to the window. He was unable to react in time as the creature managed to tear that mercenary into shreds.

However, it didn't stop there.

Some of the creatures also entered the area of light. If only Leo had activated the teleportation stone earlier, these creatures wouldn't be brought along with them for the ride.

'Shit!'

As the light faded, Leo was back in the Teleportation Room in the Tree of the In-Between. Unfortunately, he had brought uninvited guests along with him.

The creatures didn't stop as they took down the next mercenaries. The shadowy figures were now out for their blood as the mercenaries were too scared to react.

In fact, one of the creatures gnarled at a mercenary who had fallen to the floor. The man was fully terrified as he raised his sidearm and fired. However, his clip was empty, and no shots were fired.

The creature was about to snap its jaw at the mercenary's head. But, it suddenly stopped as blood bloomed from its neck.

Clearly, someone was fast enough to react in time and save them.

Following this, a blue bullet fired from a gun unlike any before met its mark at another monster's neck.

With two of the creatures down, only two were left. Leo, finally recovering, created throwing knives and threw them at the remaining two creatures. The crackle from the throwing knives made from electricity made a satisfying snap as soon as it hit its target.

Leo breathed a sigh of relief as the monsters disappeared into dust.

"What the hell were you trying to do?!"

Oliver shouted at Leo with an enraged look on his face. He was not expecting to fight monsters just when he was about to leave.