Forming a path of retreat was easier said than done, however. For Wiley to haul a knocked out person and secure his own path of retreat using a spear seemed impossible.
"Help the leader!" When he shouted for help the response was… weak… The three adventurers were ultimately outsiders. They were an afterthought when compared to their friends and long time comrades in arms.
But help did come, it just came in small number. The three or so arrows that shot towards Ed could not be considered a deterrent and the flimsy spells he could bulldoze through was not going to help Wiley get Ed off his tail.
Nonetheless, Wiley did try. He ran towards the cart which was now directly in front of him and didn't circumvent it, but reinforced his legs and jumped on top of it with a leap.
He firmly planted his feet on the cart and continued running forward. Some people like the archers had taken advantage of the cart's highest vantage point. Seeing Wiley and subsequently Ed behind him made them go pale.
One archer managed to keep their calm, however. They drew back on their string and lightning seemed to arc madly off the tip. In a moment of adrenaline, the arrow was shot off with great accuracy piercing Ed's eye anew.
[You've been dealt a direct hit. -288 hp]
Ed's mind blanked for a brief moment after the arrow punctured past his eye and struck his brain with great speed. He couldn't help but stumble forward dumbly and fall before the cart dazed.
'Wh- What the hell!?!' Ed asked himself as his thoughts slowly returned. His face hurt excruciatingly so but Ed was more surprised by the mere fact that the archer had landed such a precise hit on him.
Considering the distance it wasn't all that weird to poke out an eye but… That wasn't a small injury.
The small cuts from Agalia's attack healed quite quickly thanks to his vitality but at the moment, Ed was blinded from one eye and the arrow responsible for the maiming was still deeply inserted into his eye socket.
Ed clutched at his face wanting to pull it out but only for a moment. That was an arrow that embedded itself into his head. If it weren't for his broken attributes he would be dead. Pulling it out seemed like a sure way to suffer 200 more damage.
"AAAARGH!" Instead, he let out a mix of a battle cry and a pained roar. He jumped atop the cart himself and quickly tried to locate the person responsible.
The archer's back was what welcomed Ed. All the humans were retreating still on route towards the portal.
'What about this cart?' Ed asked himself before shaking his head. He dropped off the cart and stored it. He then also brought something out of his storeroom. It was the bow-shroom… Shroom-bow?
What mattered was that Ed knocked an arrow onto the string and released it within moments.
The arrow was made of metal and was quite pointy to say the least. It streaked through the air and zoomed past some orcs to land right onto the leg of the archer.
"Argh!" The lightning archer stumbled and started rolling on the ground. Once he came to a stop, he was met by a bunch of bloodthirsty orcs.
'Huh, that actually worked' Ed thought before putting away the bow and running forward. The bow had mixed with a mushroom. Mushrooms could acquire skills. It was a no-brainer what Ed was going to do.
At first, he had written off as useless but once this idea entered Ed's head he realized the bow had near limitless potential. Add skills to the mushroom bow!
Ed added things like pinpoint to help with accuracy and even some speed related skills. Many of them had to be converted to something more practical considering the bow shroom didn't move.
This worked out in the end as Ed's bow became easier to reload and fire. The arrows that were released even had the chance to transmit spores which Ed was sure was useful in some way.
'Just have to find a use' Ed hadn't only made the bowshroom work for him, however. The hook that he had been looking forward to was not a disappointment either.
The orcs were running towards the fleeing humans like a monster stampede and Ed who was at the back of this charge pushed his way to the front before summoning out the grappling hook.
It was revamped from before as Ed embraced the shroom and converted the entire thing. He also didn't forget to add back the screw from before.
"Get over here!" Ed shouted before the gray shroom hook he brandished shot off its tip towards one of the fleeing humans. This unsuspecting knight was forced to an unexpected halt. Confusion was hidden behind their helmet.
That was until a strong yank pulled them back towards the orcs they had been running from. At that point, the human became terrified as well as determined. You can't kill me just like that!
Carrying the momentum of the chain they attempted to spin and attack using their great longsword only to fall flat on their face right in front of Ed.
'Well, I feel bad for that one' But the revamped chain was partly to blame. Why did it have such nice skills? Who could be responsible for that?
Ed thought it was the fault of the cavern bugs and their silk related skills like String shot which was a completely original name for such a skill.
But while testing the gadgets Ed created was fine, the humans escaping was not. He focused on Wiley who was doing surprisingly well. The man was just about to mix into the crowd of humans though he and his party had been at the back.
'Dakgu, signal now' Ed transmitted to Dakgu who nodded from where he stood and diverted from the group.
He climbed up a tree rapidly with his lightning steps and then used the charge skill provided by Ed to turn himself into a radiant and eye-catching source of light.
The losses of the orcs had been great from the first skirmish alone but the battle hadn't lasted very long. There were still orcs to spare and these spare tires were of course kept towards the only path of retreat.
"Wh- What are they carrying?!" A knight asked both confused and afraid.
Someone squinted after hearing the words of their friend and couldn't help but have their heart chill. Those were mushrooms!
The orcs that were in front of them drew back their arm and started launching mushrooms towards the running humans.
"Mages! Archers! Do something! Everyone else survive!" Wiley screamed with panic and fervent emotion. He had a spear on hand but he couldn't defend himself while giving Agalia a piggyback. That directly promoted him to spectator and subsequently leader!
The mages listened but their spells would not make it in time to protect from the initial rain of shrooms.
The sound of explosions rang loud in that area of the forest as doom shroom after doom shroom continued to detonate one after the other. The humans were subjected to burns of varying degrees.
The more unfortunate ones were killed by the relentless assault. Even the orcs chasing on the other side had to force themselves to take a step back.
"Ho- How many?!" Wiley asked the person beside him. They could afford this leisure due to the shield casts of the mages. Some had perished but protection was ultimately set up.
"Ther- There are like 20 people now!" Someone responded back with an eyeball estimate.
"Grr, plan B!" Wiley said through gritted teeth. The knights all nodded and the mages who were keeping up their shields of myriad elements started to faze it away.
Their efforts united onto only a couple of individuals! These were individuals decided before the start of all the madness!
"Stay strong!" Wiley shouted as he disappeared away from the shield and into the dangerous explosions. He wasn't alone, approximately seven others did the same.
By the time the explosions started to dissipate and disappear, it became obvious that the human threat was still largely intact.
Humans fled forward dispersing in 7 different directions. They boasted their strengths and mustered a burst of power to push aside some orcs and attempt to escape into the forest.
The earth suddenly began to quake. Ed's spell caused WIley to stumble on his way past one of the orcs. The orc was able to understand what was going on and swung down their sharp axe.
Wiley's eyes narrowed after a close dodge. Unfortunately for him, other orcs were joining in!
Wiley was quickly presented with a choice. Continue to dodge and be passive or abandon Agalia and retaliate with his spear!
The knights did not have it easier either however. They, too, faced fierce pressure while attempting to escape.
"We'll never let you get the item!" Someone who squeezed past the encirclement shouted.
'The item?' Ed suddenly realized a problem. There was no guarantee that the item was in the cart! The man sounded confident as if he had the item himself but the humans were planning to disappear into multiple different reactions!
"I can't let any of you leave!" Ed declared but it was unfortunately too late. The humans who had sacrificed themselves during the barrage of explosions didn't do it for nothing.
In the end, with some small hiccups, the humans were able to filter past. That included Wiley with Agalia who tackled an orc as a method of escape.
Ed wanted to chase but at this junction only he and Dakgu could realistically chase someone and catch up.. But then who would they chase? It was a loss.