The sound of their battle had alerted other groups of monsters in the vicinity that there was trouble, and the closest two drakes were leading their groups over.
None of them was above the Ascended Rank, but it was two dozen more of the Sand Yeti things, and perhaps a chance to learn a bit more about their combat abilities.
The first ones had died too fast to use more than one skill, so if these ones tried something other than their sandy version of Rend, Karl’s group would know more about what to expect from future encounters.
“Cara seems to really enjoy fighting Drakes.” Ophelia noted as the Void Badger flew in circles, waiting for the enemy to get into ambush range.
[All those stupid Divine Species think they’re better than us because Void Badgers don’t have a deity. But neither do Drakes, so who are they to act all arrogant? Not even their cooler cousins are as tough as a Void Badger.] Cara declared.
“Cara is annoyed that the Dragons are arrogant about having their own deities. The Drakes act like they’re a subspecies of Dragon, and she has an irresistible urge to put them in their place.” Karl translated for the group.
[If you were bigger, you could give them a power bomb.] Remi giggled.
Her little sister had a flair for the dramatic that the Naga Queen appreciated, even if Cara did usually act like the bigger sister.
Not the same way that Rae loved dramatic effects. Not at all.
Rae liked dramatic visuals, while Cara was emotionally volatile, like she had an on/off switch for combat mode.
This pair of Drakes seemed to be a bit smarter than the first one, and they teamed up on the Void Badger, ignoring the rest of the group. It wasn’t going to save them, but it was a good idea.
The battle was about to start, with the summons moving to the front as Dana stepped up into the sky so she could rain Magic Missiles on the drakes harassing Cara. It would only last a few seconds, but a mighty roar distracted Dana for a half second.
One of the Buffalo type Minotaurs from the nearby farmhouse was charging towards the battle, already bleeding and accompanied by four smaller Minotaurs, all similarly injured.
They had to be the local residents, and they were most likely under attack by one of these groups before the pained roars of the other Drake had drawn them away.
Dana didn’t hesitate for more than a second, as Cara was already hurling Disintegration enhanced Rend attacks at the Drakes. She wasn’t even trying to fight them this time, and Dana was pretty sure that she was actually preparing her favourite cuts to be roasted.
Before the Drakes were even dead.
The farmer and his children stopped at the scene of the battle as the Bodyguards toyed with the Sand Yeti for a few seconds to see if they would use a new skill. But they only used that one skill and then went for claw attacks when they were close.
Even if you kicked them away, they still used the same skill. They used it in different ways, but it was still just the one skill.
“Merchant, thank the Gods that you’re here. Can we pay you to save our farm? My brothers and cousins are holding the farmyard, but there are more of these things coming, and they won’t see sense.” The Minotaur pleaded.
“We could use some trade goods. You give us a discount, and we will help. Now, lead the way.” Karl agreed.
They could use the practice, and the goods.
Most of Karl’s team took off running after the Minotaur family, while Tessa and Lotus got back in the wagon. Thor was faster than they were over a kilometre or more, even with the wagon.
The others were at least fast enough to keep up with the Minotaur family, while Karl already knew where they were going because he could see the pair of Drakes and the large group of Sand Yeti attacking a farm.
There were other homesteads in the area that had been overrun, with the houses demolished, but a large group of defenders had gathered at this one.
There were Commander Rank Minotaur among them, but there were Commanders among the Sand Yeti here as well, and Commander Rank Drakes, which were much more difficult for the Minotaur warriors to deal with.
Dana turned to Karl as they ran. “Have Cara leave at least one of the Drakes for me. I want to fight a flying target so that I have the experience before we meet stronger ones.”
[Got it. I will leave hers alone. Or, you can practice artillery work, and just shoot at the others to improve your aim.] Cara suggested.
[Do you think that my aim needs work?] Karl asked, curious how she came to that conclusion.
[Of course it does. You’re not even a badger, how could your aim be perfect? Even Sister Rae still works on her targeting.]
Rae laughed as she ran towards the farm, startling the Minotaur family, who hadn’t realized she was there.
[Yeah, even the mighty Bloodbath Spider needs to practice.]
[Fine, Cara can attack things on the ground, and I will take out the other Drakes.] Karl agreed.
Cara raced ahead, a blur of black and white fur in the early morning light, as the hurried to intercept the attackers before anyone else could kill more of them.
“You know, the rest of us aren’t going to get much of a fight if you let Cara just go wild.” Ophelia laughed as the Void Badger approached the edge of the battle.
“While you do have a point. This is easier than arguing with her, and there will be more fights today, I can guarantee it. Once she has it out of her system, the rest of us can practice.
Now, Dana can pick her Drake, and I will distract the others.”
Rae wasn’t going to let Cara get all of the fun, but it would be even harder for the local farmers to identify her, as the Bloodbath Spider was working on her stealth skills.
She could blend with most things effortlessly, but her body wasn’t easy to hide. So, she had found that if she moved in spurts and pretended to be another object, in this case a hay pile, she might be able to trick her targets.
She started out behind an actual hay pile, and then Shadow Stepped closer with her body disguised to look as much as possible like loose straw.
But then her patience ran out, and she stepped into the group furthest from the farmers and went to work dismembering the Sand Yeti while her Golems circled around to attack the sides.
The Golems were more obviously constructs, so they shouldn’t be attacked by the defenders, while the presence of Rae would likely terrify them even more than the Sand Yeti force, given the power difference.
Cara was in no hurry this morning. She was playing superhero, rescuing the younger Minotaurs from the Yeti attackers and driving the monsters back, while making a big show of it so that everyone knew that they had been rescued and not tag teamed.
