That the forest was full of traps would at most be annoying but the issue of the current group was the lack of talents. Most of the scouts were C-class, they had no experience with array traps. As they had all already made evident…
"Archer, do you think you can get us across here?" Samuel asked the only expert in the party.
"Well… I am not too keen on magic but it shouldn't be impossible." Archer said after thinking for a bit.
Applying magic to archery wasn't exactly an easy task. At least not using just raw skill. Arrows made with mana-conductive materials could remove this skill barrier but not everyone would be able to necessarily afford it.
Archer's family were hunters. He had learned to use a bow from a young age but the same couldn't be said for his magic. His ability to detect mana was lackluster due to his lacking talents in that area.
A magician could help him out but magicians weren't necessarily agile or strong enough to face the brunt of these traps. One's affinity also meant that they were keener to certain elements more than others. After dealing with just one or two for so long it was inevitable.
Drake and Samuel were a better fit for the role but as neither of them were pure magicians, slips were still a possibility. Nonetheless, they didn't have much of a choice.
"I'll take the lead with you" Samuel volunteered himself.
"Everyone else should follow orderly behind us. Watch where you step." He addressed everyone else who in the blink of an eye, formed an orderly line. Nothing was more motivating than fear.
With everyone following closely behind, Samuel and Archer continued walking up the path. Along the way, there were multiple traps they had missed which some ended up triggering but there were no casualties. At most some people incurred light injuries.
Their cautious advanced slowed them down significantly but eventually, they saw light. Their eyes adjusted and in front of them was a settlement, exactly what they were looking for. What they weren't looking for however was…
"Stay behind me! Prepare to cast some defensive spells" Samuel yelled loudly enough to compete with the sound of cannon fire.
He pulled out his sleek green blade from its sheath. He gripped it tightly and with furious strength swung down.
Using the sword as what was essentially a wand, Samuel controlled the wind mana to form a wall of air.
With explosive momentum, multiple large boulders that had been fired out of cannons were obliterated. The sudden impact made it form into tiny pieces that fell helplessly to the ground.
Samuel shot an angry glare towards the top of the well-built settlement wall. There he saw a disgusting sight.
Many orcs of all shapes and sizes each in front of what appeared to be primitive magic cannons ready to make their life a living hell. Luckily, the cannon's attacks seemed to only be equivalent to a peak C-class spell at most.
'You won't have it easy this time' Samuel's expression turned serious after he heard a gloating voice inside his head. With labored breaths, he scanned the settlement's walls once more.
He was fearful of the possibility. The implications of the words couldn't be simply shrugged off.
There he saw an orc. A tall orc with a lean body. He confidently stood atop the walls gripping a battle axe. Somehow the orc managed to give him a sense of pressure. Worst of all, he had recognized that voice.
"The skeleton…?" Samuel disbelievingly muttered. No, could that really be it?
***
Ed could care less about what thoughts Samuel might be having at the moment. What he really cared about was winning this encounter. An 0-3 count was nothing to brag about! Never mind even mention! It was clearly time to make a comeback.
With all of the preparations they had set in place, that was the only acceptable outcome. The scouts' reports had helped them estimate a potential time of arrival which had also helped them set some extra measures.
Right now, all of the combat-ready personnel were waiting behind the settlement's gates. Apart from the ones manning the cannons, only a special few were left atop the walls.
"I am heading out" Ed told the others.
Currently, Vorgarag, Duma, Durgash, and Sharog were standing behind him somewhat out of sight.
But just because they couldn't be seen it didn't mean that they hadn't witnessed when the boulders were turned into dust by a simple gesture. That strength was something they had no confidence facing. Yet Ed wanted to go down there? They were dumbfounded!
"Why would you do something lik-" Cannon fire blocked some of what Sharog was saying. Ed still managed to understand her intent, however.
"I would love to stay here in the comfort of our walls but I am afraid the humans down there won't be too keen on that idea" Ed answered her.
The others had similar thoughts but it seemed that there was a reason for the madness so they simply accepted it. Well, Durgash still found it stupid.
But the others were right. Ed had learned that staying holed up wouldn't work on the previous floor already.
If he gave the humans time they would try to gather their mages to cast a powerful spell. The spell would obviously target their walls putting even the non-combatants at risk which was unacceptable.
"What can we do?" Asked Vorgarag. They obviously weren't going to go alongside Ed. That would be suicide! It wasn't that they were afraid but rather that they knew better than to throw their lives away.
"Wait for my signal. For now, cast som…!" Ed was initially planning to head out through the gate as the settlement walls were simply too tall but clearly that would take too long.
A loud tremor made many of the orcs' standing become unsteady. Some faltered in their steps and others fell outright. The reinforced wooden wall had been shaken by a large blast of air that likely came from Samuel.
"Adjust to the situation! If possible help me pin down their strong..." Ed yelled as he dashed towards the edge of the wall. He jumped.
The others didn't get to hear the latter part as Ed had run too far ahead. They were also still shaken so they couldn't react in time to stop him. Sharog for example was still getting up.
"Ed! Be careful!" Came a loud shout from somewhere further behind. It was the voice of Shel. It was unclear if Ed managed to hear her request.
The ground rose to catch Ed's fall. He skipped down and down pillars of earth, he was using them to catch his fall.
Ed was troubled. While his ability was much greater in his orc form, he wasn't confident in facing both Samuel and the fiery fists guy. If possible he would like for the others to help restrain them…
'Damn, on the first sign of them trying to cook something up I'll have to tell Vorgarag to open the gates…' The reason why he hadn't done so already was because the field directly in front of the settlement was laden with traps. Of course, wanting to preserve as many lives as possible also played a part in this.
The adventurers were still slowly approaching behind Samuel while casting all sorts of defensive spells. Not having to defend anything, Samuel was free to attack the walls. What occurred earlier was a result of this.
Their slow approach meant that they wouldn't clear the traps for the unaware orcs. The excessive amount of traps had made the adventurers far too cautious! This was not a desirable effect.
Ed's eyes sharpened, Samuel's blade had become coated in both blue and green. This had obviously put Ed on alert.
They were less than 100 meters from each other so Ed had no plans to let him do what it ever it was he was planning. The colors on Samuel's blade became more pronounced, the green hue shone particularly bright.
Samuel then yelled something to a person beside him before performing a familiar move. With a running jump, Samuel spun horizontally.
Water and wind started to appear and form into a tornado. It was a water spout! The raging tornado of water was fast! ...But not fast enough!
Ed had more than enough time to react. He swiftly brought out a crystal, the brown crystal shone brightly after Ed made it form contact with the earth.
A strong Earthquake, the ground shook fiercely as it suddenly rose. It was so strong that some of the traps activated themselves! This didn't matter though…
The wall had stopped rising but the earth didn't stop shaking! The collision between the sturdy wall of earth and the raging tornado of water, which happened right in the nick of time, was still shaking the ground.
Perhaps it was due to the magical nature of the water spout, but the wall was having a tough time! The water spout didn't immediately disperse after coming into contact with it but rather dug into it.
Chunks of the wall started to form part of the tornado itself.
But this was only temporary, the ground stabilized… The excess water flowed back towards Samuel and the adventurers in the form of a small yet strong wave, some were pushed off their feet.
The wall then crumbled. It crumbled slowly refilling the gap it had created on the earth.
Both sides were at a standstill with Samuel at the forefront staring solemnly at Ed, who was standing up from his kneeling position.
'I've got plenty more' Ed thought with a visible smirk. It was just like Vorgarag had taught him in his previous spar, nobody said it wasn't allowed after all, right?