Chapter 109: Going After The Horde

"Is-Is he walking on air...?"

The village chief could not believe her eyes. She recalled the name of the student, trying to place the image she had of the boy with the one she was seeing right now. The way the boy fired his two silent guns like they were an extension of his arms was mesmerising.

It was as though the boy wasn’t even trying.

He would sometimes flip his guns behind his back and fire without even looking, flawlessly hitting his targets every time. It was the most beautiful marksmanship she had ever seen.

Were all the North Star students this talented? The village chief could not help but wonder.

Adam continued to press forward after Aurelius from 15 metres above the ground, creating compressed air platforms wherever he stepped. His eyes darted around as he marked and killed the rampaging beasts.

’There are so many of them.’ He thought with a serious expression, swiftly emptying the magazines and replacing them with new ones from his system storage. ’Where the hell are they even coming from?!’ 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

When the alarms had gone off, he and Aurelius had been part of the first response team. The horde had been coming from the mountains in large numbers, tearing through the greenhouses, structures and crops like they were nothing.

It was absolute pandemonium.

The two engaged the horde without hesitation. Adam was surprised to see Aurelius pull out a long sword. He had assumed the beast master would use claws to fight along with Ranger.

But it made sense. Why bloody his claws when a blade could do that for him?

Aurelius moved with blinding speed, his figure a blur of motion. Wherever he passed, blood sprayed like a fountain. He would charge into whatever horde he found, cleaving through them like they were nothing but motionless bags of meat.

He cut down Second Realm beasts with the same ease he did with those at the First Realm, his strength undeniably high. But there were just too many rampaging beasts. They could not hold all of them in that section of the farm.

Adam had jumped and landed on a compressed air platform from the very start, rising higher for a wider view and aim.

"Don’t shoot down any peak Second Realm flying beast!"

Aurelius had informed Adam when the flying beasts came into play, making Adam keep an eye out for the birds of prey. He gunned down all flying beasts below that rank without hesitation, his almost silent and highly efficient Magnum Desert Eagles never missing a target.

He and Aurelius were like a team of highly skilled killers, overshadowing the farmers and workers with their high combat kills and efficiency. Any beast that dared get too close to them was reduced to bloody messes.

Evolved beasts with huge bodies like boars, jackals, vultures, vipers, wolves, and bears came at them with their tough hides, gleaming claws and fangs, but to no avail. They killed and killed and killed some more, leaving a bloody trail wherever they passed.

For several long minutes, they fought without rest, cutting down the beast horde as much as possible.

"Where are they heading?!"

Adam had asked at some point during the fight, soon learning that most of the beasts went after the livestock on the western side of the farms.

When the beasts in the area decreased while the rest ran away, some of the farmers and workers took off in various directions, some aiding those who had been unfortunate to end up injured. They were smart in the way they fought, never engaging when the beasts clustered and moved together.

Adam and Aurelius had been impressed seeing how the farmers, workers and officers manoeuvred the horde. They made sure to keep their distance when they could not save portions of the crops or structures.

"Let’s follow them."

Aurelius said as he chased after the farmers, while Adam followed from his vantage point in the air. They kept killing any beast they found along the way, with Aurelius taking a detour to help a few struggling farmers.

’They’re after the livestock more than the crops, huh?’

Adam realised coldly, his fingers never resting. Some of the beasts were running off with pieces of their kill in their maws. Their strange behaviour made no sense to him. Beasts did not usually behave this way... something was at play.

’And there is so much loss...’

Adam could almost feel the stinging emotions himself. He could only imagine what the people were going through seeing so much destruction. This was the kind of trouble they were dealing with.

Looking around, he spotted the out-of-breath village chief. The woman looked a bit out of it, like she was seeing something unexpected. Adam did not descend from the air just yet.

Aurelius came to a sudden stop before the village chief, slightly out of breath.

"You never mentioned they would be this many, Chief!" he said in a loud voice, looking around.

"As the mission stated, the intensity has been steadily rising!" The village chief replied, equally raising her voice over the noise. "Tonight happens to be the highest intensity we’ve received so far!"

The raid was slowing down at this point, the remaining beast turning around and fleeing with what they could claim. Aurelius acknowledged the response and looked around, whistling to call back his SilverIce Wolf.

Ranger appeared in a flash, his maws and claws bloodied.

"Whoa!"

The sight of him made the village chief and the others take a few steps back.

"Hehe. Don’t worry about him. He’s harmless."

Aurelius said, unaware of the expressions on their faces. Only he would feel that way about his tamed companion.

Ranger looked at the people around for a moment before sinking into the ground, disappearing into Aurelius’ shadow.

"You’re a beast tamer, huh? That’s a rare affinity." The village chief said, staring at the spot the wolf sank into.

"Yeah..."

The beast master looked up to see Adam approaching, drawing the attention of the others. They watched as Adam leapt from the compressed air platform and landed before them with a soft thud.

He tucked his guns into his dual holsters and said, "We’re going after the horde."