The radio was set to just above a whisper, so that Bob could hear if there were any nearby groups in trouble, and keep track of monster movements.
There weren’t enough Elites around to clear everything before it wandered into someone else’s zone, and most of the teams were doing what they had done, and working to eliminate the most dangerous group first.
If that one headed for the nearby villages, they would catch hell from their superiors, and the rewards for eliminating the more powerful groups were the reason most of them were here in the first place.
From what Karl could hear on the radio, most of the ones who had been forced to come out were the lower ranking Elites, the Awakened warrior classes, and they weren’t anywhere near where his group had been relocated.
He did wonder if someone was going to come across their tree fort and the spiders that had been left overseeing it. It would be unfortunate for the spiders, as they would probably be slaughtered, when they weren’t actually a threat to anyone, but most groups wouldn’t be brave enough to go into the fort.
The common sentiment regarding spider monsters was “Kill it with fire” so Karl really didn’t think that anyone would risk going into the fort to see if the creator was still there.
[Ogres ahead, two of them. Big ones.] Hawk informed Karl as he pondered the chances of the fort’s survival.
“Two ahead.” Karl relayed, then checked on Thor, who was rolling in the pond, using the stones to massage sore muscles.
[Thor, you can rest for a bit. Rae, come give me a hand.] He instructed.
Then he activated [Skill Master] with all three beasts as the target, hoping that at least one of them would learn a new skill either from the group or the monsters they were fighting today. A new skill or two would give them more options in a fight, especially when they were facing armoured targets, or new forms of monsters they hadn’t had much practice against.
Rae joined them, and Karl sent her up to take Thor’s spot, so that Bob understood what was happening without him having to explain the situation.
The mages prepared their spells once they saw Hawk circling, and the moment the Ogre pair came into sight, they unleashed on them, scorching them with fire before Rae and Bob moved up to finish them off.
One single combo attack was enough to take them out, and the Ogres died with an utterly shocked look on their faces that said they hadn’t expected to lose this fight at all, much less so quickly.
It was short and brutal, but another pair of Ascended Rank kills for their logs. Normally, everyone would make their own records of the fights they had been in, but Karl didn’t know that, and the group trusted Doug to make all the records for them.
Nobody would question the honesty of the cleric assigned to the group, as they didn’t get the same sort of financial rewards that the others did. The church frowned on its members trying to get wealthy for any reason, so the rewards they gave were non-monetary.
He would still be rewarded, though. With so many kills coming their way, he would be rewarded very well. Especially if he managed to make Commander Rank.
They were all supposed to be close to the break point, but for the church, Commander Rank would make him a High Priest of his Goddess, the Green Dragon, who represented the natural balance and growth.
[More coming from all four directions. They heard your fight.] Hawk warned.
“We’ve got incoming from all four directions. Hawk will update as they get closer.” Karl informed the others.
The golems were brought back, and a magical barrier ring was erected around the group, two metres tall. It wouldn’t stop the Ogres from getting over, but it also wouldn’t stop them from getting hit while they were trying.
Bob only had [Slash] as a ranged attack, the rest of his skills were melee, but the others all had plenty of range to attack past the barrier, while the four golems plus Thor and Bob would hold the front rank against the attackers.
[I think they have associated me with the attacks. There are some in the distance pointing at me and shouting.] Hawk updated.
[Fly off to see if they chase you to another location, then you can lure them back here after the fight.] Karl suggested.
“Hawk needs to relocate. The monsters are catching onto the fact that he’s hovering over fights. They might think he’s a scavenger, luring them to food he can’t kill himself. I sent him off to scout.” Karl informed the others.
“That’s fine. As long as he can keep updating us on the situation, he’s doing well enough as a scout.” Doug agreed.
It would be good to have his extra attacking power here, but not completely necessary, now that they had the time to prepare defences against the Ogres.
The first arrived only seconds later, and died as soon as it reached the barrier.
The same was true for the next six, but after that, they started to get more cautious, and gather in a group before charging.
[Ogres are still going your way, but the other stuff is following me to a furious Warbear family.] Hawk updated.
“His ploy didn’t work on the ogres. But everything else is following him into a trap.” Karl laughed.
There was no time for questions as they hurled skills at the Ogres, who were struggling to get past the barrier with the wood Golems whipping at their faces and arms.
There was another pause in the battle, and Karl ordered Thor to grab all the corpses and throw them into Hawk and Rae’s spaces. They could deal with them later, but they were starting to pile up against the barrier, and it was getting to be too easy for the new arrivals to jump over.
A short pause allowed everyone to rest for a moment, and Doug passed around some sort of crispy squares, something between a peanut brittle and a brownie. Karl felt his energy level begin to rise a bit faster as he finished eating, then washed it down with water from his canteen.
[No more Ogres coming. But I’m on my way back with what is left of the others.] Hawk updated.
“Hawk is incoming with the remainder of the other monsters chasing him. I guess not all of them fell for the trap.” Karl informed Doug, who was giving a sad look at his favourite sword hand glove, which had ripped during the battle.
Bob pocketed the glove for later repair and picked up his sword.
Hawk flew overhead, and right past them, leading an enraged crowd of monsters that were periodically throwing rocks and spears at the low-flying bird.
Whatever he had done, they were beyond enraged with him.
It was just the lizardmen left, which Karl assumed was because they were the smartest of the monsters that had been following him, but their rage made them slow to react, and they were nearly eliminated by the mages and the golems before Karl could even get a second Shred off.
Once they were gone, Hawk returned and vanished into his space to take a quick break and get a snack before continuing to scout.
[Are the rest of the monsters in the immediate area gone?] Karl asked, just to be certain.
[All gone. Fed them to an angry Warbear. Don’t go into the river bottom past the cliffs outside our zone. She is mad.]
“Hawk says he lured the others outside our zone to a Warbear den. They’re gone now, but the Warbear is not impressed with us, or life in general, so stay away from the cliffs and the river bottom.” Karl relayed.
Bob grabbed the radio to warn the team in the area. The Warbear was a native monster, and not the primary goal of the mission. In fact, they killed any other monster in their territory, so they would do the team’s job for them if anything strayed too close.
Even the bravest of teams didn’t like to tangle with them, as the bears were even more durable than most armoured monsters, and they were notorious for holding a grudge.
