Chapter 100—Of the

Chapter 100: 100—Of the Lucen cast his gaze ahead, but he could see everything around him. The light of the halo made the grass glow; the green sea was parted by rapidly moving forms. The grass rustled in his ears, their forms were still hidden from his eyes. But not his [Mana Sense]. He pointed his spear at one of the quickly moving forms, activating [Starfall]. The spear flared, turning into a bolt of pure white light, and then shot from his hand with a bang, shaking the carriage he was standing on. Liam yelped, grabbing the hoop rings beneath the canvas with one hand. His other hand snapped out and caught his quiver before it could roll off. "Can you not do that again?" Liam yelled. He quickly notched an arrow and tried taking aim. "Wait till they get closer," Lucen offered. "Their carapace is a bit hard." Liam raised an eyebrow. "Carapace?" Lucen flexed his hand, and the spear returned, ripping the creature it had pierced from the ground. A creature the size of their carriage soared into the air briefly. It was a huge crab with four legs. Its body was bright red and purple, and it had two abnormally long arms that ended in razor-sharp pincers. Its most striking feature, however, was its four eyes on either side of its body—red orbs attached to its flat head by tentacle-like appendages. The creature crashed back into the earth with a rumble and a cloud of dust. Lucen clicked his tongue. "Red snappers. Most of them seem to just be Fledglings, but I sense Stalkers biding their time in the back." Liam’s frantic eyes snapped between different shapes cutting the grass. His bow pointed in different directions uncertainly. "Relax, you idiot," Lucen scolded. "Choose one to shoot when it gets close enough. Elle and I will handle protecting the carriages." Set and the other Squires had spent extensive time planning how they would engage different monsters. Red snappers were durable and fast, especially when trying to escape. But brute force could crack the shell and deal internal damage. Lucen glanced to the third carriage in front of them. A young Knight jumped onto the roof, grinning wildly. His black hair whipped in the wind, his frame was wide and powerful. Lucen watched him leap into the air with a grunt. A black, stone hammer appeared in his hand. Its weight was so tremendous it instantly forced the Knight’s body to drop through the air, right on top of a Red Snapper. The Knight roared and swung his hammer down. A heavy bang shook the earth, dust rose around the Knight in a circle, and the grass was flattened by the force. The Red snapper exploded under his hammer, blood and shell scattering over the grass. The other snappers rushed at the Knight. He raised his hammer, eyes mad with excitement. That was Garin—one of Duran’s peers. He was a new Knight that had already tempered his body. Lucen had heard a lot about him during the Bull Wolves attack, mostly about how he fought three Stalker Wolves at once. Lucen marvelled at his physical power. It was greater than even Thomas’ strength. It must have been the difference in enhancement spells or how strong Garin was before tempering his body. Lucen wondered how strong he would be once he tempered body. He sighed impatiently and pointed his spear at another Red Snapper. This time he didn’t fire it off while he was on the carriage, to avoid shaking Liam. He threw the spear and activated [Starfall] after it left his hand. The spear accelerated and pierced the shell of another snapper. He yearned to use [Serpent’s Call], but he would probably topple the carriage. Liam squinted his eyes, focusing on a single shape tearing through the grass towards them. Lucen left that one to him, but he hoped Elle was watching in case Liam was unable to kill it. "The soft spot at the center of the shell. Shoot where it will be, not where it is—" "I knowwww!" Liam snapped. The shape drew closer. Liam lowered his bow to the spot just before it would break through the grass. He held his breath to steady his arms. Lucen knew he had been trained by his father, but this was still going to be a hard shot to make. He needed to hit the soft spot or his arrow would just bounce off the hard shell. Lucen rushed to kill the other snappers approaching. His spear zipped through the air like a shooting star, lighting up the wild grass. There were still three snappers rushing towards their carriage. Liam would kill one, while Lucen had to quickly kill the other two and help if needed. The snapper erupted from the grass, a blur of red and purple. Liam released his arrow, its form whistling as it shot towards the snapper. It bounced off the shell harmlessly. "Shit!" Liam cursed, quickly trying to draw another arrow. There were two snappers approaching their carriage to run them over. Lucen’s spear returned to his hand with a flash of light and rushing wind. He could only kill one and hope Elle sensed the other. He threw the spear immediately. The air was split with a sharp crack as it shot forward. The ray of light slammed into the cruncher’s clicking mandibles. Its face exploded into a mess of blood and crushed shell. The second snapper rushed forward dauntless, raising its arms to slam into the carriage. Lucen braced himself and called back the spear. A blue shield appeared on the side of the carriage. The snapper slammed into it with bone-crunching force and flipped over, bouncing off the ground with a cloud of dust as they left it behind. Lucen grinned—until he glanced down at Liam. His face was red and his jaw was tightly clenched. Lucen slapped him over the head, grinning. "There’s more where that came from. Notch your arrows, idiot. This is practice time." Liam glared at him, but his lips cracked into a little smile. He notched his arrow and drew his hand back, mastering his breath. Lucen imbued his spear with more mana, trying to control the flow to make it spin. If the bolt of light could pierce right through the snapper, then it could return faster. This was also a good time for him to practice his mana control. His eyes were drawn by Set climbing his carriage—the first one in front. Set glanced at him and nodded. He raised his voice so all eight carriages could hear him. "No point in running on uneven ground! We’re stopping to fight!"