Cid had already taken down five of the eleven assassins—no surprise for a man who had survived countless life-or-death battles.
The assassins darted like shadows, but in a straight fight, their blows glanced harmlessly off Cid's defenses—his core stage and his activated skill simply suppressing them.
He hadn't even tapped into the depths of his skill—what they saw was just the tip of the iceberg.
But when Mark and the three he was "fighting" heard Joel's yell, their attention snapped to Cid.
Surrounded, pressured, and with Lain on the brink of being overwhelmed—Cid finally let go.
His body swelled as his skin flushed to a boiling red, fire coiling around his spear.
He slammed it to the ground. Flames burst outward in a sweeping arc, forcing his enemies to stumble back, wary.
Without hesitation, he glanced at the surrounded Lain and hurled his shield with a roar.
The enemy closed in again, and with Mark joining the fray, even Cid began to struggle.
Not far off, Elias had overloaded his body with mana.
Veins bulged beneath his skin as he clashed against three assassins, locked in a brutal stalemate.
Yet, he was aware of Lain's predicament.
Realizing Lain was getting cornered, Elias let out a thunderous roar: "Ahhhhhh!"
Enhancing its sound waves, the roar seemed to turn like a tangible sea that poured out of him, causing the nearby people's heads to ring with pain.
Lain, Joel and the other two weren't spared as they froze for a moment.
One of Lain's attackers didn't even get the chance to recover.
Cid's shield tore through the air and crashed into the side of his skull with a sickening crunch.
Brain matter splattered, and his body dropped like a sack of meat.
Elias had told Lain to be prepared for a situation like this when they chatted, so Lain's reaction to the sudden ring was better.
With a dagger lodged into his side, he darted towards Elias, a blue magic circle appearing beside him as he tried to help.
But just before Lain could even reach Elias and tell him to run, an arrow shot at Lain's back, causing him to stumble.
He fell, turning toward the source of the attack, bracing for the next one.
Suddenly, a breeze blew his dusty white hair forward, obscuring his sight. He blinked—and there she was.
A well-built woman with white hair and blue eyes stood menacingly, stabbing her hand into someone's chest as she glared at his convulsing face.
Captain… Lain almost relaxed as he smiled slightly.
But for the enemies, her arrival meant the world had declared their death.
As Kaida killed the archer, she moved to Joel and, recognizing him, swiftly went down and cut his legs with a dagger in her left hand.
At the same moment, a long reptilian creature with white scales, some blue patterns and wings hovered above the scene.
Its blue vertical eyes locked on Cid, whose aura was dimming.
Lain heaved a sigh of relief for the man, and recalled his other supporter.
But before he could stand up to help Elias, he heard Kaida's angered voice. "Sit," she said, rushing to help Elias.
How the hell did she get here in just two minutes?
As Lain wondered, he saw a potion beside him and mused, I love having an overprotective aunty.
Kaida had been watching this region from afar for a while and immediately she saw the bomb light from far, she darted here using the river for most of her journey.
He watched calmly as Kaida, a Light Platinum Stage, single handedly killed the attackers along with her winged salamander.
With Kaida going after those who ran, Lain sat, covering his healing injury after removing the weapons stabbed into his body—a painful experience.
Out of the attackers that were here, only Joel, Mark, and one other were alive.
Heh, she must've forgotten—they could be useful for interrogation...
Shaking his head, Lain noticed that Cid had collapsed, while Elias could barely move anymore.
He wanted to move to support Elias and give him a potion, then he heard footsteps from unexpected people.
Gritting his teeth, Lain forced himself to stand as he cast a spell, aiming towards their direction.
"Whoa, whoa. Young master, take it easy!"
Five people appeared one by one, from where had Kaida and her beast had come from.
One of the people walked closer, and a brown bearded man came into view.
He wore light armor made with reptilian skin, reflecting its high quality.
A short cape was attached to it with a logo depicting a blade stabbed into a sea creature's head drawn on it.
Lain recognized the squad based on his memories.
[Quest "Survive" has been successful.]
'It's over? I... survived!'
Seeing the notification and the familiar face, Lain eased once more.
"I'm the Vice Captain of the Leviathan Squad, Ray, here with members of team 4. You should know us"
The man said with a warm smile, "Captain Kaida led us here without telling us anything."
Lain gave them a nod and gestured towards the surroundings.
"This happened."
As the man and the others looked around to see multiple corpses, then Cid, they tensed.
"Go check up on, Cid," Ray instructed, his voice turning serious.
"Here, use these potions," Lain said, giving them his bag, then he gestured to Elias, "Please, attend to that young man there too."
Ray accepted the bag and gave it to the four members of team 4 to handle it.
He pointed at where Joel laid, not far from Lain, "What about him?"
Lain's eyes turned serious as he replied, "Apprehend the three that's left alive for interrogation and gather the corpses. While you do that, check for clues on their body."
Ray was taken aback by Lain's unusual actions, but he quickly recollected himself and said, "Yes, young master."
As Ray walked to Joel, Lain fell on the floor again and smiled slightly.
Young master, eh... Is this what it feels like to be alive?
Lain mused for a minute, before Kaida returned back on the back of her winged companion, two corpses held with its mouth.
Landing on the floor, Kaida gestured a good job to her squad mates and approached Lain, who was looking up, at the crown of trees.
In the midst of panting, her eyes were shaking as she asked, "Are you alright? Can you move? Damn it, I should have been here sooner!"
Moving his eye to look at the woman in her mid 30s, Lain thought:
'I see. She exhuasted most of her mana to get here fast. How protective.'
He proceeded to chuckle as he sat up.
"Captain, I'm living aren't I? And with all limbs intact too. I'm fine."
Seeing his face bright up, Kaida heaved a sigh of relief.
"We should still get you a better potion! Your mother will kill me if she sees you in this state. Are you ready to move now or you want some time to recollect yourself?"
Scratching his head, Lain said an excuse he had prepared for a while now.
"Actually, I have something to do in this forest."
Confused, Kaida asked, "Are there more people? I don't sense anyone nearby and Nari doesn't either."
Standing on a sturdy tree, the winged salamander seemed to nod its head in agreement.
"No. Somewhere in this forest, there's an artifact… it's calling me."
Kaida's eyes dimmed. "What?"