Chapter 41: Chapter 41 – Leave or Stay?

The beast pounced forward once more. Instead of relying on its tail to do damage, it relied on its bloodlust to charge forward. Astrid controlled the needles from her waist and fired them forward. The black needles lodged in its face and shoulders. She wasn’t expecting it, but the beast crashed to the ground with its legs twitching.

Leena bolted forward as her lance penetrated the underside of the chimaera’s un-protected throat. Blood pooled as the monster lost all of its strength. With a final breath, its eyes glazed over.

The other Wayfarers were far faster in dealing with their monster, as new creatures replaced them by the dozens. They backed themselves to the wall. Daniel and Brett moved like phantoms on the battle-field. They weren’t trying to kill anything; instead, they used as little energy as possible to injure them, to impede their movements.

Lisa, Astrid, and Rachelle bombarded the slowed beasts. Many failed to make it to their feet. Any of the stronger beasts that approached them were met with an iron wall of Rob, Losef, and Leena.

Wet trickles began sliding down past Astrid’s forehead as they licked her cheek. Using so much mana on [Crash] was taking its toll. Rob slammed his shield on the ground, sending cracks in the sand as they withered their way towards the chimaera. When they reached, it forced the beast to halt.

Astrid corralled the matter towards the beast's eyes and [Crashed] it. Two miniature explosions rang out as the beast roared in pain. It attempted to pry open its eyes, but only two mangled eyeballs were left. An arrow tore through the air. With a wet thud, the monster collapsed to the sand floor.

With the silence that the dead chimaera’s brought, Astrid downed a mana potion as she felt her mana container become invigorated once more. The ground rumbled as the holes in the sandy ground closed shut.

“Aw, was that it?” Brett laughed as he wiped the blood off his daggers.

Then the ground rumbled again. But this time it was violent. Astrid could feel the shaking of the floor as it shot up her feet and rattled against her spine. Slowly, the sand sank in the middle of the floor. An enormous red heart flashed into existence. It looked like a glazing fire had engulfed it entirely as the host slowly emerged from the hole in the middle of the sandpit.

Two-large spiralled horns were the first thing Astrid saw, then its head. It was encased within a form-fitting armoured helmet, and the same for its hulking torso. However, it was the lower half that stunned Astrid. The horned-armoured knight had four legs, the monster’s main body travelled back. It raised its hooves and stomped onto the sand, sending it sputtering around the surrounding area. With a huff, vapour left its mouth like a steam engine back home.

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