The mana in the air dissipated and the meteors stopped raining from the sky. The only traces of their existence was the pandemonium of the survivors.
Corpses and injured on the battlefield, the gouged out holes, the burnt grass, the crimson floor. Carnage was a good word to describe the situation.
Ed was in the midst of the orc crowd with a tired expression. His mana was at this point near rock bottom. The loss of blood he had incurred was major. High vitality didn't mean total immunity. Now that the adrenaline that clouded his senses was gone, he felt lethargic.
'I need to go back…' Ed thought about going back to the settlement but he couldn't just let Samuel go either could he?
"KILL THEM!!!" Ed roared. His voice echoed across the battlefield instilling fear on some of the injured. It was a matter of course. In their injured state, their prospects weren't particularly bright.
The orcs who were initially shocked from the sudden rain of meteors regained their senses. Their bloodlust returned and their spirits once again rose.
"YEAH!!!" Yelled one of them enthusiastically.
[Eloquence has leveled up]
A message appeared on Ed's field of vision which he quickly ignored. How exactly was that eloquence? He simply shook his head and prepared to do some killing of his own. He ran towards Samuel's direction.
The rowdy orc crowd was very noisy. Nonetheless, the adventurers were able to hear a voice.
"Retreat! Watch for traps on the way back!" Samuel loudly yelled towards the remaining adventurers. He made the wind carry his words. His voice was like a sweet sweet message from the gods themselves. An irrefutable decree. Aaah… they could run now…
So some did. They forgot the injured and dipped.
"Hey! Get back…" Christian tried to acquire some help but the adventurers were, unfortunately, fleeing faster than his words could reach them. Well, no they actually just ignored them.
He gritted his teeth holding back his anger as he carried Clarys' limp body. She seemed to not have sustained much damage on the exterior but she had still fainted. It might have had something to do with overexerting herself.
"Le-Let me help" Offered a young man. He seemed to be a mage, a weak one at that. Christian appreciated his words but it was unlikely that he would be able to do anything. Regardless…
Christian hurriedly dropped her body on the ground and readied his blade.
"Take her away, quick! I'll hold some back" Christian told the young man as he looked at the approaching wave of green. They were running wildly towards them without any regard for the many holes and debris that separated both sides.
"But-" The young man was cut off before he could say anything else.
"You said you wanted to help, go! I'll catch up!" Christian rapidly said. He was a man of vanity. He certainly liked to put on airs. But he wasn't a bad person. Was he willing to sacrifice himself for others?
No. That was also part of his vanity. He believed himself to be a logical person. One of sufficient intelligence and standing. To promise to catch up was to ensure himself. He would catch up. Those words echoed in his head. Yeah, he would catch up.
The boy pretty much dragged Clarys away with him. His stature was not much taller than hers, it seemed a bit pitiful. But no one had any time to focus on this fact. Around the battlefield, similar cases were happening.
Some ran into the dark forest while others tried to help comrades and strangers. For some that led to their demise. It was a sorry sight. But even the ones that ran weren't giving much leeway.
Some perished at the hands of nefarious traps. Even the traps that could be survived turned lethal as no one was willing to help. Only in the face of adversity would the true values of a person be revealed.
But Samuel had no intention to chastise anybody. Good and bad were interchangeable. A matter of perspective.
The earth underneath his feet rose and he faltered in his steps. Samuel nearly tripped but managed to maintain his balance.
Ed was not too distant, he was tailing Samuel who had a haggard expression.
"Damn it…" Samuel quietly muttered with hints of remorse. How could he accomplish his vow if he died? He, therefore, had no plans to. He forced his battered body into a sprint as he headed towards the dark forest. His mana was pretty much depleted and any amount he could muster was insufficient.
"Damn it!" This time he angrily cursed as he sliced apart a chunk of earth that darted towards his person.
Some more ruthless and quick swings. With his grief-filled eyes, Samuel could see the sorrow and distress of the adventurers. He was against their entry into the place but… what could he do? Fight the kingdom? Beg them? The thought alone was laughable!
Samuel was then stopped by a weed which weakly took hold of his ankle. The earth then tried to turn him into a human skewer. He barely dodged the strike before being faced with more imminent danger.
A blade of wind!
Tempest. A nickname he had obtained from adventuring. A violent storm.
With fury, Samuel intercepted the blade of wind with his sword. His blade… held on.
The ground unwilling to let him go went in for another attempt. But the wind wasn't willing.
The air around Samuel acted on his behalf. He manipulated the air around him to slash apart the earth with a swing. It was the same brief feeling he had when faced against Augustus.
Samuel lashed out, this time towards Ed's nearing figure. Blades of pure wind were formed as Samuel swung his trusty blade. Without a trace of mana, these blades of wind flew towards Ed. Needless to say, Ed was amazed.
'You can do this? Without mana, you can do this?' This was beyond the manipulation of mana! It was manipulating the elements themselves!
Ed felt he had gained some important information on what was beyond mana manipulation. He could see it, a way to power! With sparkling eyes, he created a wall of earth to defend himself. The wind wasn't enough to penetrate it. It was especially so since this was Samuel's first attempt at this. It was purely on accident, a rage-filled attack.
But perhaps one day it would be a violent storm. And to do that, he needed to survive. Samuel was then aided by the wind to make a swift retreat towards the forest. Ed could only watch him fade away into the darkness no longer willing to continue the chase.
'That was my last bits of mana anyway…' He thought before glancing at how the orcs were doing.
A charming young man was fighting bitterly against a crowd of orcs. He retreated with each step. He was bathed in sweat and covered in cuts and bruises. Then…
"Argh!" He cried out as an axe dug into his shoulder.
From the thicket came an arrow which precisely shot the orc responsible. The charming young man barely had time to retreat as an archer provided cover for him. If Ed had mana he would try to finish the both of them…
Some orcs kept chasing but their speed was insufficient and were at times simply shot in the face.
Ed didn't dally any longer.
"Retreat!" He told them. Before turning to a sprint. Some of the orcs didn't really listen to his words but Ed didn't care.
He was heading towards the settlement. If there was one thing he was sure of it was that the fiery fists guy hadn't retreated. And he could not rest properly until he knew why.
'Vorgarag…' Ed thought back to his first encounter with the orc. He also thought back on his encounter with Shel. Somehow he ended up bonding quite a bit with the both of them.
'It's all good' He told himself as he increased his pace, his hurry betraying him.
***
Samuel panted heavily as he fought away his droopy eyelids. His steps were cautious yet hurried. The forest was unfortunately still full of traps.
Samuel felt his body become heavy. The air no longer aided his escape as his mind became muddled and drowsy. Suddenly an object cut through the air. Samuel basically threw himself on the ground to avoid yet another trap.
But even when laying on the soft ground he didn't fall to the temptation of falling asleep. He was afraid that if he did he would lose his way to move forward. He would lose the insight he had obtained!
"I can't…" He tried to move again but found that he couldn't lift a single-arm anymore.
He endured it however and summoned a potion from his ring. He endured and splashed it on his face. A waste of money by all accounts but without mana, it was the only alternative.
"I will master this…" He weakly yet determinedly spoke as he stood back up with much struggle.
He trotted away into the darkness of the forest again.. His sense of direction wasn't too bad so he knew how to head back down the path.