Chapter 106 The First Obstacle

Aldric and the four Shadow Soldiers headed deeper into the wild.

The area became much quieter with tall trees blocking out much of the sunlight. There was plenty of thick plant life covering the ground either side of the small footpath.

Aldric stayed aware of his surroundings.

According to the military’s report, Monster Beasts had been moving beyond their usual territories. Some had even approached areas where humans frequently traveled.

If what they said was true, they wouldn’t have to go far before finding their targets.

And they were right.

After heading off for a little while, one of the Shadow Soldiers suddenly stopped.

Aldric spotted this and quickly raised his hand to signal them to stop.

“What did you see?”

One of the Shadow Soldiers pointed towards a clump of bushes a few metres ahead.

A slight rustle could be heard.

Aldric furrowed his brow.

Suddenly, the bush’s parted to reveal a large creature.

It looked like a large wolf, but with dark hard scales covering its body. It placed its claws into the ground and let out a low growl.

Behind it another appeared.

And another.

Aldric studied the three.

‘Three Monster Beasts.’

They were fairly similar to what the military had described. Although their exact power level was unknown, their physical build and aggressive nature made them seem like they weren’t normal beasts.

One suddenly turned its head to look at Aldric and the Shadow Soldiers.

Its eyes locked onto them.

It then let out an angry roar.

The other two responded.

They all charged forwards.

Aldric remained calm.

“Form up.”

The four Shadow Soldiers moved quickly into position.

The first Monster Beast charged forwards with its claws swinging.

Aldric shifted his body to the side, allowing the attack to pass dangerously close to him. Before the creature could regain its balance, he stepped forward and struck it with a powerful blow.

Bang!

The Monster Beast was sent flying.

It struggled to get to its feet, but Aldric didn’t give it the opportunity.

He quickly delivered another attack to its head.

Meanwhile, the other two Monster Beasts had reached the Shadow Soldiers.

One of the beasts opened its jaws and lunged at a Shadow Soldier from the front. The soldier stepped aside at the last moment, avoiding the attack by a narrow margin.

Another Shadow Soldier immediately attacked from the creature’s exposed flank.

It was simple, but effective.

One drew the beast’s attention while the other exploited the opening.

The Monster Beast tried to turn around, but the second soldier had already landed another strike.

It stumbled.

Before it recovered, both Shadow Soldiers attacked and brought it down.

The last one let out an angered roar and charged.

This time the Shadow Soldier didn’t move back.

He waited for the Monster Beast to get close and then moved out of the way and landed a heavy punch to its exposed body.

The Monster Beast staggered.

It swung its claws wildly causing the Shadow Soldier to take a step back.

However, this gave them an opening.

The other two attacked from either side.

They landed their attacks almost at the same time.

The Monster Beast fell to the ground.

They had quickly taken out all three.

Aldric looked at the fallen Monster Beasts then at his subordinates.

“Scan the area to make sure there aren’t anymore in the area.”

The Shadow Soldiers moved quickly.

They scanned the area while Aldric walked over to the bodies.

Although the fight was quick, it had given some useful information.

The Monster Beasts had quite strong physical power. However, their attacks were fairly basic. Once they knew how they were attacking they could target their weaknesses and take them down quickly.

Most importantly the Shadow Soldiers obeyed Aldric’s orders.

They weren’t perfect, but they worked well enough.

Aldric nodded slightly.

‘This shouldn’t be a problem.’

He wasn’t getting too confident from one win. The military had specified that they needed at least the power of a late stage Martial Master. This meant there could be stronger threats further into the region.

These three could just be the start.

Once he was sure there was nothing in the area, he pulled out his communicator and began a short report.

Back in Silverwood City, Lucian was going through some information when he received a message from Aldric.

He quickly opened it.

It was a short report giving him an overview of the fight. How many Monster Beasts they had taken down, and how they were.

He read through it.

‘Three already.’

Lucian leaned back in his chair.

It had gone well. Aldric had analysed the situation, got his Shadow Soldiers into position and taken them down with no losses.

A good start.

But Lucian wasn’t interested in just how they had done overall.

He wanted to know how they had fought.

From the report Aldric had given, the Shadow Soldiers had reacted quickly to commands. They had worked well together throughout the fight. They hadn’t just run in and attacked.

Their teamwork had allowed them to take the Monster Beasts down quickly.

Lucian smiled slightly.

‘Not bad.’

He had expected them to be strong fighters, but it was different seeing them actually go on a mission.

There were many things to consider that couldn’t be known unless they actually went on a mission.

How fast would they react to an unknown opponent? Would they obey orders under pressure? Would they be able to adapt?

This had given them some answers.

Of course, three Monster Beasts wasn’t enough to know their full potential.

Lucian tapped his fingers on the desk.

‘See how they do against stronger enemies.’

He sent a short message telling him to continue with the mission and stay alert.

He then returned to his work.

For now there was no reason to intervene.

Aldric had finished scanning the area.

Behind him were the three Monster Beast bodies and the Shadow Soldiers had made sure there were no more in the area.

“Move forwards.”

The Shadow Soldiers formed up and moved forwards.

They had taken down their first targets, but their mission wasn’t over. The military had given them a large area to cover. There could be more Monster Beasts roaming the area.

They needed to find and take down as many of the targeted threats as needed.

As they moved forwards, Aldric stayed alert.

Although the fight had been quick, it had confirmed there were Monster Beasts in the area.

It had also shown that…

The deeper they went into the wild, the more cautious they would need to be.

Aldric looked ahead.

“Stay alert. We still have a ways to go.”

The four Shadow Soldiers moved forwards in silence.

Shadow Genesis had taken down their first targets and moved deeper into the mission area.

Their first hurdle had been overcome.

But the real test was still to come.