“Captain, what should we do?!” one of the Valkyries anxiously asked, having sensed just how strong the Roc was.
If they were to fight against just the Giant Eagles, then they wouldn’t need to worry about anything.
But things were completely different when facing off against a Rank 6 Sovereign, who was almost upon them.
“Aegis Formation!” Viola ordered, cueing all the Pegasus to fly closely together.
She knew that it was impossible to escape the Rank 6 Roc, which was one of the fastest flying Jinns in existence.
All the Valkyries had grim expressions on their faces. They were only of the Master Rank, and even their Captain, Viola, was a mere Grandmaster.
They were simply too weak to fight against a Rank 6 Sovereign, which was normally dealt by several Champions who specialized in fighting against flying monsters.
“Activate the barriers to the max!” Viola commanded.
All the Valkyries had been given special artifacts that created a barrier, which they used to block projectiles, as well as any kind of attacks targeting them from the air.
The barrier formed just as the Roc increased its speed, appearing only a few dozen meters from them.
A few seconds later, screams of fright reverberated in the sky as their combined barrier cracked after the Roc collided with it.
Viola’s face paled because their strongest defense was almost shattered with just a single blow from the flying monster, who had now circled back to attack them for a second time.
The Roc screeched in anger, and once again flapped its wings, creating a sonic boom behind it.
The sound of breaking glasses reverberated in the surroundings as the barrier of the Valkyries shattered, followed by a horrified scream.
The Roc had snagged one of the Valkyries off of her flying mount, making her friend, who was hovering beside her, scream in fright.
“Dive down. Now!” Viola shouted, snapping her Squad back to focus.
The Valkyries made a nosedive toward the ground, heading to the 69th Battalion, which was retreating as fast as they could from the battlefield.
They had no other place to go, and if they wanted to survive, they would need as much help as they could get in fending off the flying monsters who were using numbers to make a difference.
Alcapone had contacted Thirteen when the Flying Monsters were spotted, and their Battalion Commander had asked them to rendezvous at the coordinates that he set.
The majority of the 69th Battalion had seen how one of the Valkyries was eaten by the Giant Roc, making their faces turn pale.
Although they had fought several monsters in the past, they had never fought a flying monster, let alone one that was a Rank 6 Sovereign.
To make matters worse, there were also Giant Eagles in the mix, whose number made them retreat as fast as they could without second thoughts.
However, just as everyone was thinking that their situation couldn’t possibly get any worse, more flying monsters appeared in their vision.
“Vultures at three o’clock!” Piper shouted, informing the other Wanderers about the monsters coming from their right side.
The Dvalinn Federation banned everyone from flying in the sky, having learned the hard way that the Flying Jinns were very territorial.
They would not allow any other flying monsters in their turf unless these monsters were their allies.
At that moment, the ally of the Rocs and Giant Eagles, the Giant Vultures, also came to join the fight, drastically increasing the danger level of the battlefield.
While the Night Wolves were fast, the Flying Monsters were even faster.
A Giant Eagle tucked its wings and dove down from the sky like a speeding missile, aiming at one of the Valkyries who was desperately trying to escape.
Unfortunately, she was not fast enough. She was easily grabbed by the Giant Eagle’s claws and was whisked away in a heartbeat.
“Nooooooooooooo!” the Valkyrie shouted as she tried to free herself from the claws of the Giant Eagle. “Let me go! Let me go!”
The Giant Eagle screeched and increased the grip of its claws. The Valkyrie’s body was crushed, her bones broken, and she coughed out a mouthful of blood.
“How many are they?!” Alexis asked Paul, who was running beside him.
“Fifty in total!” Paul answered with a grim expression on his face. “One Rank 6 Sovereign and one Rank 5 Sovereign. The Vultures are Rank 4 Monsters.”
“Sir, more monsters are coming from nine o’clock!” one of the Wanderers shouted as he pointed to their left side.
“Damn!” Alcapone cursed loudly because they were being besieged from all sides.
He reported the situation to Zion, who was still hurrying to their location. “Commander, should we scatter and try to escape as individual squads?!”
Ever since the battle began, he had made sure to stay in contact with their Commander to receive his orders in real-
time.
“You don’t need to do that,” Thirteen replied. “The Jinns can’t see you guys properly. At most, they will only see hundreds of Night Wolves running together. Right now, their only targets are the Valkyries.”
“Sir, the Valkyries are headed in our direction!” Alcapone complained. “Even if they can’t see us properly from the sky, once they pursue them, our cover will be blown!”
“Calm down, Alcapone,” Thirteen ordered. “Do not break formation, and only run toward the coordinates I gave everyone. Just endure and believe in me.”
“Yes, Sir!” Alcapone replied.
Thirteen had activated their communicator’s group feature, so his exchange with Alcapone had been heard by the other members of the 69th Battalion.
That feature allowed him to simultaneously give orders to all of his soldiers in real-time, giving them equal chances to survive.
“All of you, stay calm,” Thirteen’s voice sounded through their communicators. “None of you are to break away from the formation. Those who do will certainly die, so travel together as a group.
“If the Monsters shift from targeting the Valkyries to targeting you, you have my permission to engage. However, until that time comes, no one is to attack the Flying Monsters. Again, only make a move if your lives depended on it.”
“Sir, how about the Valkyries?” Alcapone inquired.
“Just lead them to the coordinates I sent you,” Thirteen stated. “If you stop now and engage the monsters, more will come and trap you all in an encirclement. We will have massive casualties on our hands if that happens. So endure and run as fast as you can!”
Alcapone glanced at the battle in the sky and saw more flying monsters heading in their direction.
It seemed that all the flying monsters in the surroundings were being called by the Giant Roc to gather in order to coordinate an attack on the Wanderers who had trespassed in their domain.
Viola had already lost four of her subordinates despite everyone having done everything they could to evade the attacks from the Roc, who seemed to be toying with them.
If it wanted, it could have easily killed all of them. But, it seemed to find their desperation entertaining, further increasing its appetite.
The prettiest girl in the Squad could no longer see what was in front of her due to the tears blurring her vision.
She was completely dependent on her partner, who had fought countless battles with her in the past.
The Pegasus were all flying at their fastest speed, successfully distancing themselves from the Giant Eagles and the Giant Vultures.
But not from the Roc.
The moment it attacked, one of their sisters would surely get eaten, and they would once again despair.
“Noooo! Gretta!” Viola screamed as one of her close friends was snatched away by the Roc, who was picking them off one by one.
There had been twelve Valkyries, but they were now down to seven.
Viola was starting to regret her decision of giving in to the whims of her subordinates.
If they hadn’t toyed with the Giant Eagle earlier and simply eliminated it, the Monster wouldn’t have had the chance to make its final death cry, which had called out its brethren to avenge it.
Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets, and the Valkyries who had died wouldn’t return to life no matter how much she regretted her decision—one that she would never forget until her last breath. The only thing she could do was hope that a miracle would happen.
She and the remaining Valkyries flew low on the ground, following the 69th Battalion, who seemed to be heading to a specific location.
Suddenly, they heard a loud horn in the distance, making them look at a Humvee speeding at their location.
Alcapone and the other Wanderers instinctively felt a lot safer now that their Commander had arrived.
But with the situation they were in, even they couldn’t imagine how Zion would make a difference, when there were over a hundred Flying Monsters targeting them from the sky.