From what Damien could sense, none of these beasts were that special, all being around the same level as him, yet they still had the nerve to stalk him and Ruyue like prey.
In fact, there wasn’t even one among them with considerable strength to be called a leader.
‘Maybe this is just a small part of the pack?’
In the end, it didn’t really matter. The only thing these beasts were to him were levels.
As if realizing that they had been spotted, the group of 15 beasts stopped hiding and showed themselves to the duo in full force. They were feline, similar to the panther they were mounted on, but their fur was a dark orange color.
Damien looked at Ruyue, who nodded back at him before they both charged in opposite directions. They would split the beasts as such.
The battle started immediately. Ruyue summoned a blue fire atop her palm before slicing in a horizontal fashion, causing a wide arc of light to sweep towards the 7 beasts she had taken.
Meanwhile, Damien flashed forward with streaks of black lightning streaking across his body, making a similar motion.
Boom!
Two simultaneous explosions rang out along with the howls of the beasts. Although there were a few that were laced with pain, the rest were of rage.
These beasts weren’t weak by any means, so they were easily able to dodge.
Glaring ferociously at the duo, the beasts charged forward, flames erupting from their orange fur. The ones at the forefront opened their mouths and shot breaths of flame towards their opponents.
Damien deftly dodged what he could, creating a barrier out of lightning to block the rest. He let the lightning course through his veins before entering his muscles and tendons, boosting his speed.
He pressed his foot to the ground, causing cracks to appear as he flashed away. When he reappeared, he was directly next to the beast in front of the rest.
A ball of lightning was charged in his hand as he crashed it downwards, slamming it onto the beast’s head. Without suspense, it exploded, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.
The light dimmed from the beast’s eyes as it fell lifelessly to the floor, but before Damien could do anything else, two others pounced at him from both sides.
He twisted his body, avoiding their jaws, but a third beast stealthily appeared behind him, slashing its flaming paw at his back.
Even though his eyes had warned him about the sneak attack, he wasn’t in any position to dodge. If he tried to speed in another direction, he might break his back due to the uncomfortable angle he was currently at.
The claw sunk into Damien’s flesh, dragging scars along his back while sending blazing heat into his body.
“Argh!” Without any other choice, he discharged a massive field of lightning in every direction, attempting to push the beasts away.
The two at his sides were paralyzed for a moment, but the one who was still attached to his back received the worst impact. Its fur was singed and its eyes had rolled back, foam coming out of its mouth.
Finally having breathing room to move again, Damien grabbed the beast and ripped its claws out of his back, breaking its legs before throwing it towards the other four that were waiting for a chance to attack.
As for the two paralyzed beasts on his sides, he directly stomped on their heads, crushing their skulls.
Ruyue’s battle was a bit different. Rather than a close combat clash like Damien’s, hers was a battle of flames.
Her blueish white iceflames coursed through the surroundings, leaving a flaming trail of freezing cold in their wake as they met with the orange flames of the beasts.
She coalesced her new flames into spears, sending them towards the 7 beasts she was fighting with precise accuracy.
But the beasts didn’t have such control over their flames. Unlike Ruyue, they couldn’t form weapons or constructs using their elements.
They tried to combat her flying spears with their flame-coated paws and breath attacks, but they simply couldn’t compare. After all, Ruyue’s flames were much more concentrated than theirs.
The spears pierced through their defenses, impacting the torsos and legs of the beasts. Almost all of her opponents were immobilized, but there were still a few who dodged.
They surrounded Ruyue, growling in fury as they discharged waves of flames in her direction. With them coming from every direction, Ruyue was trapped within a dome of fire.
But her expression remained calm, the only emotion felt from her being the iciness of her gaze.
A silvery essence leaked from her body, combining with the ice flames surrounding her before she let out a similar wave of flames, mimicking the 360-degree attack that Damien released a few moments prior.
When the two flame waves met, a large explosion resounded through the area. The biting cold of her flames and the heat of the beasts’ met, causing the air to combust.
The 4 beasts around her were sent flying by the winds that were released by the combustion while Ruyue held her ground, using the spear she pulled out of her spatial ring as an anchor.
It wasn’t the spear she used when fighting Damien, however, it was a silver spear that was of an obviously lower grade.
The spear almost bent under pressure but managed to hold its ground. And when the dust cleared up, Ruyue walked towards the incapacitated beasts, ending their pathetic lives.
With her battle finished, she looked over towards Damien who was similarly finishing up.
Beams of lightning were being shot from his palm, accurately piercing the heads of the last 4 beasts whose legs had already been broken while she was occupied.
Waves of experience entered their bodies as they smiled at each other. It was the first time they had fought together, and even though they didn’t necessarily work as a team, they were able to fight efficiently without hindering each other.
It was definitely a good start.
As they regrouped and were about to mount the panther beast to continue their journey, a sudden scream stopped them in their tracks.
“Someone help, please!”
It was a girl’s voice, obviously immature. Damien spread his awareness in that direction, his mana sense being able to cover a massive area, and he was able to grasp the situation.
“There are about 40 more of these beasts over there, with one being even stronger than you. That must be where the rest of the pack is.”
Ruyue nodded. “And the scream?”
“The pack is surrounding a group of teenagers. There are 10 of them and none look over the age of 17. As for the scream, one of the girls is holding onto a wounded boy. Looks like he tried to fight.”
If they were kids as Damien said, they obviously wouldn’t have the strength to fight against an entire pack of 3rd class beasts.
“Should we save them?” Ruyue asked.
“Do you want to?” Damien questioned back. He honestly didn’t care whether they lived or died, but the beasts would be enough to push him into the level 120s, so he wouldn’t mind fighting some more.
Ruyue nodded once more. “They are just children. Even if I couldn’t care less if other people die, kids should be spared from such cruelties.”
Damien averted his gaze. He wanted to pretend as if he didn’t give those kids a death sentence in his mind only a second ago.
“If that’s the case, then let’s go. Either way, it means we get some levels.”
With the decision made, the two moved, intending to stop the soon-to-be massacre.