The sun reached its peak, signaling the two familias to make their moves.
August turned to Denki, and the two shared a nod. He then grabbed Nadia and lifted her over his shoulders. "Sorry about this," he muttered with a chuckle.
Nadia's eyes widened; she knew the plan, but she did not expect August to carry her. Before she could protest, August sprinted towards the woodlands, and Nadia could only scream as the scenery blurred past her at extreme speed.
Denki, mouth agape, watched August and Nadia vanish from view. "Well, I did say they should take control as fast as they can..." He scratched his head and turned to Helga, who also gazed into the distance, her brow twitching.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Helga asked absentmindedly.
"Well, she's with the captain; I'm sure she's gonna be fine... I think?" Denki shrugged and turned around, facing the others. "Now then, let's move. Katty, you're with me and Helga; Jogu with Thorne. The two of you will act as our main support, place yourselves where you can reach everyone. Kiez, you're with Bors, set up traps; Ozwald, get to the high ground. You're with Eira; the two of you will act as our main artillery, and as soon as Nadia is done with her job, she'll replace Eira, and you'll join along with Lysander. Lysander, I know I said that we would be moving in pairs but I'm confident in your ability to move on your own, roam the outskirts of the wood. Since Katty would be searching for the crown with us, you will act as our scout. Engage if you see fit but be careful, I advise you to at least wait for Eira before engaging."
""Roger!!!"" Everyone nodded as they received their orders, and in a blink, they all moved to their respective roles.
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**At Nadia and August's side**
Nadia felt the wind slamming against her as August carried her like a sack of potatoes. It was the very first time she ever moved like this, and it wasn't a pleasant experience.
Everything then came to a sudden halt. "We're here," August's voice entered her ears as she felt her body being placed back down on solid ground. "Pretty quick if I say so myself." He smiled, looking happy with himself.
Nadia felt her knees shaking; she staggered, and August quickly caught her before she could fall. "N-Never do that again," she said with a shaky voice.
August smiled and answered. "No promises." He then made sure Nadia was on solid legs before letting her go. But then, August felt a sense of absolute disgust as his mana dome rose into action. He could sense the presence of multiple monsters inside the woods. "We got company." He said with malice.
"Apollo familia?"
"No... Monsters..." he spat as he gripped his spear tightly. "A lot of them. Set things up here and wait for the others; I'll clean up the surroundings."
Nadia could feel the coldness in August's voice. She nodded as she couldn't answer due to the slight killing intent that was prickling at her skin.
"Jogu and Thorne will arrive here first; guide them to their spot in the woods. You know your role." August walked forward while twirling his spear, making a whistling sound as it cut through the air. "And don't forget my only order... Don't die."
"R-roger." She stuttered, still feeling the oppressive killing intent August was releasing. She knew that it wasn't directed at her, but it still felt suffocating nonetheless.
And in a blink of an eye, August vanished from her view.
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**Jogu and Thorne's Side**
The two members of Heracles familia ran straight to the woodlands, aiming to arrive as fast as they could to set up their positions.
The others, on the other hand, took different paths, maximizing their chances of finding the crown first.
They could already see some trees along the way when suddenly Thorne pushed Jogu to the side while grabbing his dagger and slashed right in front of them, cutting an arrow in half.
Jogu quickly rolled up, grabbing his short sword and getting into his stance, facing the direction where Thorne was facing.
"What is it?" Jogu asked, quickly understanding why Thorne pushed him.
"Goblins... I sense 5, or 6... Maybe more," he answered, grabbing another dagger with his off hand. "We don't have time for this; we need to move quickly."
"Agreed." Jogu nodded, stabilizing himself and crouching low, getting ready to plow through the monsters in their path.
But before he could, he felt a shift in the air. He ran towards Thorne and raised his buckler behind Thorne's head, blocking the arrow that was aimed to pierce his skull.
"It looks like we're surrounded." Jogu clicked his tongue as he stood back to back with Thorne, facing another group of monsters, this time Kabolds. "Why are there so many monsters here?"
"Yeah... This feels strange." Thorne tightened the grip on his daggers as he glared at the monsters in front of him. "But as I said, we don't have the time to waste here."
"Tell that to those fuckers then." Jogu cursed angrily.
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**Kiez and Bors' Side**
"Arghhh!" Bors roared as he slammed his axe down on an incoming goblin. He then spun around and punched another in the face, forcefully pulling his axe out and slashing at the abdomen of the goblin. "Where did these fuckers come from?!"
Kiez weaved from side to side, desperately dodging the weapons aimed at him. Being level 1 didn't help. He was smart, though, placing himself between the monsters and Bors' back. "Denki did say that this area would contain monsters," he answered as he stabbed his spear forward, only to be blocked by the goblin with its wooden shield. "Shit!"
He then felt a kick at his side, sending him crawling on the ground. He saw a club falling straight at him, which he dodged by rolling to the side. He grabbed his spare knife and stabbed the goblin in the head, gushing out blood all over his body. "Fucking hell!"
"Yes, but they aren't supposed to be this aggressive!" Bors rushed beside Kiez and shoulder tackled another goblin away from the kid. He then slashed his axe upward, cutting the monster in half with one swing. "Get up and grab your weapon!"
Kiez did just that. He picked up his spear and stood behind Bors as they faced a horde of goblins, drooling as they moved slowly towards the two.
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**Eira and Ozwald's Side**
The two of them ran at a steady pace, which was slow, to say the least. It was expected as Ozwald was not the most athletic in the familia. But they made steady progress towards their destination, which was the cliff on the east, offering an overview of the woodland area.
As they made their way, Eira turned towards Ozwald and whispered. "We're being watched," her hand moving towards the short sword on her side.
"Yeah, they are not necessarily hiding. Looks like Apollo familia had the same idea as us," Ozwald nodded as his staff appeared in his hand.
The two of them stopped and readied themselves. Facing the trees on the left, Ozwald began to force his mana to move at his will as his staff glowed a bright blue hue.
Eira unsheathed her shortsword and faced the same direction. "I'll act as vanguard."
"Hmm..." Ozwald gave a curt nod, not taking his eyes off the trees.
"Well, well, well, lucky us, finding you two here all alone." A smug voice reached their ears as a man slowly emerged from the trees. Besides him were four others, all brandishing their weapons at Ozwald and Eira. "Heading for the high ground as well, huh? Too bad, we have you outnumbered."
Eira clicked her tongue; it looked like Ozwald was right on the money on this one. Apollo familia also wanted to get the high ground. After all, it's a strategic location.
"Can we take them?" Ozwald whispered to Eira.
"We must. At least hold them down here until Jogu and Thorne arrive to support us." Eira got into her stance; her eyes gleamed coldly as she looked at the five members of Apollo familia in their way.
The members of Apollo familia had a high grin on their faces; after all, they had them outnumbered. They slowly moved to circle them, a strategy mainly used in fighting monsters on the same level.
'Looks like the captain and Helga are right... They are treating us as monsters.' Eira's lips slowly rose into a smile. 'Well, that's a mistake on their part. One we could use to our advantage.' "Ozwald, aim for their backline!" Eira screamed as she rushed forward, not giving time for Apollo familia to finish their encirclement.
The members of Apollo familia did not expect them to attack suddenly with their number advantage in place. This made them momentarily panic, but they are adventurers. They know how to adjust.
Two members of Apollo rushed to intercept Eira, but she expected that to happen. Coming to a sudden halt, she extended her hands forward, where a staff manifested out of thin air. They did not realize that she is also a mage.
"Gotcha!" She smiled as her staff glowed a bright blue light, shooting out multiple laser-like projectiles towards the two Apollo familia adventurers who rushed to intercept her charge.
It would have worked if the other party were mindless monsters. Seeing the mana come forth as Eira launched her magic, the two quickly rolled out of the way, moving towards the left and right respectively.
But the thing is, Eira expected that as well. Being drilled in anti-personnel combat by August and Helga made them aware that adventurers don't move like monsters. She knew they would dodge as soon as they saw and sensed her weaving mana and using her staff, but that was the reaction she was looking for.
She rushed to the right, her staff vanishing into thin air. Her right hand that never let go of her sword was raised to the side, her aim was right at the moment he recovered from the role he did.
With a practiced motion, she slashed straight for his throat, killing him. He had a look of disbelief as he fell on his back, sending blood spewing everywhere.
"Fuck! You'll pay for that!" The other member of Apollo familia who rolled to the left recovered and rushed towards Eira. On both his hands, he equipped a pair of trench knives.
"Niko don't!" The man, who they assumed is their leader, hastily screamed for him to stop, but it seems like anger had blinded him at the moment.
He never saw the huge fireball that was flying in his path, and to be fair, Ozwald wasn't really aiming for him.
He screamed in pain as his body was engulfed in flames. He fell on the ground and rolled, trying desperately to stop the fire from burning him.
But then, a blue beam hit him on his head, which made it explode in gore. The others followed the beam and saw Eira, holding her staff once again, pointing it at the now dead adventurer from Apollo familia.
"You were saying about you guys outnumbering us?" Eira spoke coldly as a smile rose from her lips, making the three other guys shiver as they felt a chill run up their spines.
'Most people might think that after the executives, Lysander or Bors are the next strongest members of the familia.' Ozwald thought silently to himself as he stared seriously at Eira. 'When it comes to the stats, they are not wrong, but the thing is, Eira is much scarier than the two of them.'
He turned towards the three remaining members of the Apollo familia. 'He's like the captain after all, and though she might try to hide it, most of us in the familia know this already...' he sighed as he aimed his staff towards them. 'The reason why even though she's a mage, she's proficient at using a sword. The reason why she was paired up with me even though two mages isn't a good team.'
Eira tilted her head and faced the other three with a sadistic smile on her face, gone is the cold and emotionless look, it was replaced with a sadistic gleam, that of a killer.
Ozwald couldn't help bit shiver whenever he saw that look on her face. She had that look multiple times in the dungeon when they are fighting monsters. 'Honestly... How many of them are in the familia right now... I really don't get their types...'
"So... Shall we continue?" She asked as her staff again vanished, she crouch down, lowering her center of gravity as she placed her sword forward.
'I really don't get battle maniancs...'
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**At Apollo's familia side**
Hyakinthos stood at the same spot where the Apollo familia started on the mountains. Besides him is another individual wearing a mask.
No one knew who the masked individual is; all they know is that they recently joined the familia, four days ago to be exact.
And Apollo had made sure that this individual would be treated with respect; they were even given an executive spot on their first day in the familia, which irked some of the members.
But when they demonstrated their skills and strength, those thoughts died down. After all, they were strong, stronger than their captain when he was in the past, at least.
The masked individual goes by the name Kumo... They have a slender build, which made others speculate that Kumo is a female. But none of them were sure since Hyakinthos also has a slender build, and they never speak to anybody aside from Apollo and Hyakinthos.
"How are things on your end?" Hyakinthos asked, not looking at his conversation partner.
"Good, everything is running smoothly so far... Though a slight hiccup is happening at the cliffside area." They answered; their voice had a magical effect that does not allow you to discern their gender.
"Hmmm... So some pests are aiming for the high ground as well?" Hyakinthos smirked while shrugging. "No matter... We can take the high ground whenever we like."
"I could send some reinforcement to make the job smoother." Kumo asked as she grabbed a black orb from their cloak. The same orb that Buddha used to communicate with his man. It was a fairly common magical artifact after all, one that allows for users to talk with one another from great distance.
"No need... Let them have their victory on that one." Hyakinthos smirked. "Focus more on our goal."
"If you say so... Speaking of goals, the Gaé Bulg is making his move towards my pets... It looks like the information we received on him is spot on." Kumo pointed their hands towards the area where August is heading; it was the area where a large horde of monsters was stationed. "He really hates monsters with a passion, doesn't he? I can't say I like him."
"Hmmm... Like I said, he is mine." Hyakinthos growled as his mana spiked up in anger.
"Relax... You will have your time." Kumo chuckled as they stepped forward. "But for now, we move to limit the presence of Gaé Bulg on the battlefield, and those monsters would do their job well."
"How did you manage to tame all those monsters?" Hyakinthos asked curiously. "Even Shakti, who is considered the best tamer in Orario, would have a hard time controlling that many, and yet you are able to do it, as well as give them specific orders."
"It's a trade secret... One that is best kept secret." They looked at Hyakinthos as dark mana exudes out of their body. "I suggest you don't pry on my business."
Hyakinthos raised his hands and mockingly surrendered. "Oh... How scary. Fine, let Evilus keep their secrets."
Kumo nods as they relaxed their mana; he then turned towards the sky, where multiple flying monsters are keeping watch at the entirety of the mountain. This was the way for them to know exactly where each member of Heracles familia is moving.
"Well, I believe it's time for phase two." The mask individual chuckles as he pointed towards the outskirts of the woodland. "And there's actually a stray just moving all along for us to start with... How fun."
The flying monsters could see a lone person hiding in the treelines; while most adventurers, or even monsters wouldn't be able to see him, for Kumo, he might as well be standing on plain sight... Kumo has Lysander in their sight.
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Chapter 131 is now complete. How are you all enjoying the story so far?
Question of the day.
How is the wargames so far, and what do you think of Apollo familia using monsters to their advantage?
Anyway...
Please leave a comment, review, and feedback to help me improve this fanfic. Every little thing helps me understand your preferences and will contribute to writing a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.
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Have a good day, everyone. Love y'all.