Not long after, several more Gorthaks appeared. Their eyes were red, but somewhat empty. This time there were more than a dozen of them, and they immediately charged toward Crowne and Ronan. Both of them took their stances, ready to fight again.
"Isn't this too many?" Ronan complained.
Crowne felt the same. This was strange, but he didn't know what was causing it. His eyes kept moving restlessly. He let out a long sigh, preparing to fight again since two Gorthaks were already right in front of him. But just a few seconds later, from the south, a pair of crimson eyes could be seen staring directly at him.
"Do you need my help, Master?" Sylvara asked.
Crowne nodded.
Baam!
The clash of two Gorthaks sounded tremendously powerful. The ground beneath them cracked, forming a small crater. In just a split second, Sylvara was already in front of Crowne. She blocked the attack from two Gorthaks using just one finger.
Sylvara channeled mana into the tip of her finger. A second later, a powerful strike was unleashed.
[Blash Bam!]
A very thin water laser shot out at an incredible speed. It pierced straight through the head of one Gorthak. Another Gorthak tried to strike Sylvara, but the laser curved midair and pierced through the back of its skull.
With just a single attack, two Gorthaks were instantly killed. Sylvara then turned her gaze to the other Gorthaks. Her task was not over yet. She had been ordered by her master to slaughter every Gorthak present there.
"You all will become my food," Sylvara said.
**
Crowne ran toward the direction of those red eyes. But as he approached, the pair of eyes vanished. His gaze kept scanning around, trying to sense the creature again, but its presence had already disappeared.
Crowne clicked his tongue in frustration. "What was that? I wasn't imagining things, was I?"
When he turned back, he saw more than a dozen Gorthaks already lying dead on the ground. He wasn't surprised—Sylvara was indeed overwhelmingly strong. She was a water dragon. Crowne had spent seventy thousand market points just to summon Sylvara. It was an extremely expensive price.
But of course, with a high price came high quality. Everything Crowne had purchased from his system had never once disappointed him. In fact, it made his life less challenging. Almost everything could be handled by Sylvara or Velrisa.
That was exactly why Crowne set a rule among them: "Don't interfere too much unless I specifically request it or the situation is critical." Sylvara and Velrisa both agreed to that condition.
Sylvara rushed back to Crowne. "All done, Master!" she said cheerfully.
Crowne gently patted her head. "You did great. Thank you."
"Shall we cook that boar meat?" Sylvara asked, pointing at the Gorthak corpses lying on the ground.
Crowne shook his head. "Not now. There's something more important we must do first. I have a feeling something strange is happening in this forest. I need to find out what it is."
Sylvara looked disappointed, but she didn't protest. She simply nodded. Not long after, Velrisa jumped down from a tree. She stared at Crowne as if she knew something but chose not to say it aloud.
The three of them nodded to one another and began moving forward, continuing deeper into the forest.
**
"What… what is that girl?"
Ronan hadn't blinked for several minutes. He was utterly shocked by what he had just witnessed. More than a dozen massive Gorthaks had been defeated in mere minutes. Something that even an A-rank adventurer couldn't achieve.
His eyes were fixed on Sylvara, trying to guess who she really was. Unfortunately, he had no clue at all.
"Could those two girls be S-rank adventurers?" Ronan muttered.
That was the only explanation that made sense. But the S-rank adventurers he knew of did not have any resemblance to Sylvara. And besides, why would S-rank adventurers be following Crowne, who was known for having no talent? It didn't make sense to him.
But then he remembered how his master once summoned Jörmungandr. Although Ronan had never seen his master summon that monster again…
"Could it be…"
"Why are you spacing out? Do you want to stay here?" Crowne scolded.
Ronan snapped out of his daze. He immediately ran after Crowne, following him from behind. From his perspective, the two girls seemed very close to his master. Especially Sylvara—she was extremely attached to him. She clung to her master's arm almost all the time.
"Is this normal?" Ronan thought to himself.
**
Meanwhile, on the other side, Dorian and the adventurers had managed to slay many Gorthaks. But all of them were wounded, some had even lost their arms or legs during this mission. That wasn't the worst part—nearly twenty adventurers had lost their lives.
Dorian looked at the corpses of the fallen. His expression was grim, burdened with guilt. He clenched his fists tightly.
Suddenly, someone placed a hand on his shoulder. "Guild leader, this is not your fault! In fact, we are grateful. If you weren't here, the number of deaths would have been much greater. So, please stop blaming yourself."
Dorian nodded. "Thank you."
The adventurer smiled and nodded back. "But this isn't over yet. I have a feeling there are still more Gorthaks out there." He looked around, noticing the pale faces of the other adventurers. They no longer had the will to fight. "I think we should fall back for now. It might not be a bad idea to ask for aid from Lord Lucien or Lord Darius. We truly need help."
Dorian hated asking help from nobles, because it would create a debt of gratitude. The Adventurer's Guild was meant to be an independent, neutral organization. What Dorian feared most was that nobles would use that debt against them in the future.
He didn't like that at all, but this time things were dire. Nearly eighty percent of the adventurers were severely injured. They could no longer fight at full strength. Forcing them to continue would be no different than dragging them to their deaths.
Dorian nodded. "Perhaps you're right."
"AAAAARRRRGHHHH!"
Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the area. The sound was so loud it pierced their ears. A second later, the ground began to tremble violently. Dorian's eyes widened—he felt an ominous premonition. He quickly looked at the adventurers, who were all stunned by the terrifying roar.
"RUN!" Dorian shouted.
The adventurers hadn't even reacted yet, still frozen in shock. At the same time, dozens of Gorthaks came charging at full speed. But it wasn't just Gorthaks—several wild beasts were also stampeding.
They completely ignored Dorian and the adventurers. Instead, they looked as if they were desperately fleeing from something far more terrifying.