War (1)

"Come on, man! Look to the right—the sabretooths are coming!"

With a swift turn of their heads, they spotted a pack of sabretooth tigers charging through the dense forest, their massive forms cutting through the trees like phantoms.

"I got it! You guys cover us on the right from the dire wolves!" Amir barked, dashing toward the oncoming beasts.

The war had raged for three brutal days, a relentless clash between the city's defenders and the magical beasts. The creatures, despite their overwhelming numbers, had resorted to guerrilla tactics, picking off soldiers one by one in the forest's shadowed depths.

Around 40,000 magical beasts remained, while the city had only 20,000 soldiers and 5,000 undead from the Marquis to hold the line.

The sabretooths, enormous orange tigers with dagger-like fangs and razor-sharp claws, bore down on them. Amir, using his shadow step, unleashed eight crescent blades, slicing three of the beasts in half. With a flick of his wrist, a ball of energy crackled to life in his hand.

"Fireball!" he shouted, hurling the blazing sphere at the noble-class sabretooth.

The beast leaped aside, narrowly avoiding the blast, but before it could react, Amir's blade found its mark, severing its head with a swift strike.

"Amir, the path is clear! Let's move!" a man called out.

Amir, using shadow step, darted away from the remaining sabretooths, leaving them behind as he and his group escaped the forest, racing toward the safety of the camp.

"Whoa, that was close! They almost got me," a man with brown hair and a patchy beard panted.

"Yeah, that dire wolf nearly took a chunk out of your ass, Mike!" another man laughed.

As the group shared a moment of relief, Amir watched them, his face grim. There was nothing funny about their situation—they were being outmaneuvered and overwhelmed by creatures they had once dismissed as mindless.

In the distance, the sounds of battle echoed—swords clashing, screams of the dying, and the constant thunder of explosions from the mages on the walls. It was an endless fight, and in just three days, Amir had killed more magical beasts than he ever thought possible.

But there was no time to collect the bodies for absorption; for every beast he felled, ten more took its place.

'What a shitty situation,' he thought bitterly.

Without a word, Amir walked away from the group, heading toward the camp's center to gather more information.

"Hey, Amir! Where are you going?" the scruffy-bearded man called after him.

Amir ignored him, his pace unwavering.

"Hey, kid, I'm—"

"Leave the kid alone," another man interjected. "We just got out of that forest. He probably wants to rest."

As they watched Amir walk away, the men couldn't help but marvel at him—a child with such incredible power. They knew they wouldn't have survived without him. They were all E- rank but he was leagues above them.

As Amir approached the main camp tent, he saw Tabbatha hunched over a map, her hair in a messy bun, eyes fixed on the positions of the magic beasts and their soldiers. She was the strategist of the left wing, and her brilliance in tactics had not gone unnoticed by Amir. He couldn't help but be curious about her, wondering who this woman was with such a sharp strategic mind. The Hunter's Guild was in charge of this side of the forest, and Tabbatha was the mastermind behind all their actions.

Her plans had been the bulwark keeping the monsters at bay, even foreseeing the night attacks. She was impressive in every sense of the word. When she saw Amir enter the tent, a slight sigh of relief escaped her lips.

"Amir, you're back. How did it go?" she asked, a hint of anticipation in her voice.

Amir shook his head, his expression grim. "We still can't push deeper into the forest. Every time we try, we get ambushed by multiple packs."

Tabbatha sighed, disappointment evident. She had been hoping for better news. The monsters had established a line in the forest leading up the mountain, and they couldn't break through it. If they could, it would relieve the pressure on the Krasner family and allow them to make progress.

But as things stood, they were being beaten back on the front lines, unable to gain ground.

"That's not good. We really need to find a way to force the magic beasts' hand and make them bring out their reserve forces," she muttered, focusing on the board.

Amir followed her gaze, understanding the gravity of their situation. Even when reinforcements arrived, the magic formation would take weeks to fix the teleportation system. He wasn't a strategist, but he knew that if the magic beasts kept their reserves out of play, the situation wouldn't improve much even with the mages from the capital.

"So, do you have a plan to help them, or are we stuck holding the line?" Amir asked, curiosity piqued.

Tabbatha looked up, her eyes meeting his. The short, black-haired boy had intrigued her ever since they met. At just 12 years old, he had asked to join the war effort. Initially, she was inclined to refuse, but Finral had insisted she let him. She assigned him less dangerous missions, hoping he would stay out of harm's way, but Amir had done more than survive—he had thrived, consistently delivering results.

He was the most talented kid she had seen in years. Calculating, precise, and able to follow plans with ease, he was unlike any other child she had met.

"Yes, I have a plan, and you're going to help with this one," she said firmly.

Amir listened intently as she laid out the details. "I'm moving you from your current group and placing you with another. They're stronger than you, but the mission shouldn't be too dangerous for you to handle with your stealth. They're the most powerful party we have, and your task will be to scout out the packs of noble-class beasts. If possible, take them out."

Amir understood why she wanted to eliminate the noble-class beasts. They were the main reason the war was going poorly. While they had people capable of handling heroic-class beasts, those individuals were few and far between. The sheer number of packs containing noble-class beasts was overwhelming their forces, as these beasts were stronger at the base level.

The other noble families were also dealing with stronger beasts, so everyone had their hands full. Their makeshift army was strong, but not strong enough to handle such a massive beast tide without proper preparation. Their only real advantage was Marquis Aron, whose undead soldiers fought tirelessly day and night, providing support for the other families.

The people in the city were aware of the beast tide but were still oblivious to how dire the situation was. Life continued almost as usual, the only difference being that no one could leave the city during the beast tide. Those who joined the fight were made to sign contracts forbidding them from revealing any information.

"So, when do I move out, and where's this new group I'm joining?" Amir asked.

Later that day, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Amir made his way to a large tent and stepped inside.

"Hey, Cathy, give me back my damn chips!" someone yelled.

"You can't hog them all to yourself, Robby," Cathy teased, dodging his attempts to reclaim the snack.

"Watch where you're going, Cathy," a muscular black man warned.

"Uh, hello?" Amir interjected, trying to get their attention.

The scene inside the tent was pure chaos. There was a buff, shirtless black man, a girl with blond and pink-streaked hair playfully chasing someone for cookies, a blond guy in a white t-shirt and glasses looking exasperated, and a girl in a purple ninja suit quietly meditating in the corner. This was definitely a group full of characters.

The man with glasses turned to Amir and spoke up, his tone nonchalant.

"Oh, it's the newbie," he said, giving Amir a quick once-over.

The buff man turned his head to stare at Amir, his expression skeptical. "I know Tabby said he was young, but this is a kid. What's she thinking?"

"Hey, don't be like that! He's such a cute little kid!" the girl with pinkish-blonde hair chimed in, flashing Amir a cheerful smile.

The man with glasses shook his head at her. "Cute isn't the word. He's just an average kid—you've got baby goggles on," he remarked, pushing his glasses up with a finger.

The muscular man interrupted, his voice gruff. "Enough with the chit-chat. Introduce yourself, newbie. Who the hell are you, and why are you joining this team?"

Amir was taken aback by their casual demeanor and the way they were dressed. Tabbatha had said they were the most powerful party in the guild, but their eccentric behavior made it hard to believe.

"You can call me Amir. I'm here because Tabbatha said I should join you guys on this mission," Amir replied plainly.

The man with glasses nodded, accepting Amir's explanation. "Well, if Tabbatha sent you, there's not much we can do about it. I assume you already know the plan?"

Amir nodded. "Yeah, we're going to take out a bunch of noble packs and search for a way to break through their line on the left wing."

"Good, so you're all caught up. Let me introduce myself—I'm Robby. The buff guy here is Griff, the girl with the sweets addiction and pink in her hair is Cathy, and the weird one in the corner is Ryla," Robby said, pointing to each of them.

Amir nodded again and greeted them. "It's nice to meet you all."

Before Amir could say more, Robby asked, "Amir, before we head out, tell us what elements you use so we can coordinate better."

Amir hesitated for a moment before answering, "I use fire and darkness."

Robby's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Now he understood why Tabbatha had sent Amir. The darkness element was highly valued for scouting missions.

"Two elements—that's pretty awesome!" Cathy exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

Amir shrugged. "It's okay, I guess."

Cathy was a little surprised by his modesty. Most kids his age would be bragging about having two elements.

Robby, now back to business, said, "Cathy, save your energy. We move out in an hour."

"Okay, my bad," she replied, her voice taking on a cute tone.

Flashing Amir a quick smile, she added, "Welcome to the team, Amir."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the cold, dark night settled over the city of Divitas. While the citizens slept peacefully, unaware of the bloodshed taking place just beyond the walls, the stakes couldn't be higher. If those fighting failed, the city would be breached, and millions would perish. The battle to survive was on, but the people remained oblivious, blissfully unaware of the danger.

"I've spotted a pack of eight Noble Liginite spiders on the right," Ryla called down from the top of a tall tree, her voice steady.

"Got eyes on a pack of seven Dire wolves and nine Grizzly bears to the left and up ahead," Amir reported from another tree, his tone calm but focused.

"Good work," Robby responded, quickly formulating a plan. "Griff, Cathy, take out the spiders first. They're trappers, and we don't want them setting up surprises for the other hunters. Ryla, Amir, you're with me—we're going after the Dire wolves first. We can't risk them alerting other packs."

With a burst of speed, Robby shot off toward the Dire wolves, catching a glimpse of them before lifting his hand and firing four rapid blasts of air. The projectiles tore through the night, slamming into the wolves and exploding on impact.

The startled wolves barely had time to react. In a flash, one of their heads rolled to the ground as Amir, cloaked in black, stood over it. Glancing around, he saw Ryla with two more dead wolves at her feet.

Amir was awestruck by their efficiency. They'd taken down seven noble beasts as if it were nothing. They were all B-Rank and above, this group was on another level. The fact that Tabbatha had sent him—a mere E-Rank—felt insane in comparison.

"Don't slack off, Amir!" Robby called out, snapping him back to reality. "We've got the Grizzlies next. Stay in the shadows like before and hit them when they're thrown off balance. You can't take them head-on."

They quickly moved to the next pack, only to notice one bear that was far larger than the others, its presence imposing.

'Damn, that's a Heroic beast,' Amir thought, staying hidden in the shadows.

Out of the darkness, a massive wind blade shot toward the Heroic beast, slicing into its flesh. The beast roared in pain, searching for its attacker. Robby sprang from the shadows, using a swirl of air to propel himself toward the beast. In response, the bear unleashed a beam of darkness, but Robby dodged it with an air blast, countering with a barrage of ten wind blades that killed three more bears. He propelled himself into the air again, narrowly dodging another beam that obliterated several trees.

As the Heroic beast recoiled, a wide wind blade flew toward its head. The bear fired a beam to block it, resulting in a small explosion. Robby immediately followed up with three more wind blades. The bear managed to dodge, but one of the blades sliced off its ear.

Suddenly, the beast felt a sharp sting, and a moment later, its head was severed cleanly. Ryla had moved in with precision, her twin blades of pure darkness emerging from her sleeves like hidden weapons.

As Robby descended, he unleashed multiple wind blades, swiftly finishing off the remaining noble-class beasts.

Amir was speechless. They'd dispatched a Noble-class beast like it was nothing—and even took down a Heroic-class beast without breaking a sweat. The speed, accuracy, and deadly precision of this party were terrifying.

"These guys are incredible!" Amir thought in awe, watching from the shadows.

"Amir, it's safe now," Robby called, casually wiping blood off his glasses with his shirt. "We're pushing further into the forest to see what their reserves are up to."

Stepping out of the shadows, Amir jogged over to them. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go," he said, his eyes fixed on the distant mountain where they were headed next.