249 The Herd

The sweltering heat often made it difficult for them to get proper rest. So they switched it up, choosing to travel in the day on some days, and during the night on others. On the fourth day, they decided to travel through the day.

Vy's past experiences have made her fearful of the unexpected dangers that lurked in the wild. Despite their best efforts, they encountered a herd of Lephants. Their footprints and steps were muffled by the sand. 

But a herd was easy to spot from afar. As soon as Vy caught sight of them, she quickly signalled to her brother. They ensured that they steered clear of the herd's path and observed them from afar. 

The Mammoth sized creatures trudged through the sand. Vy observed their movements and the way they moved. From where they were, it was difficult for her to tell just how many of them there were in the herd. 

Though it was risky, Vy was keen to observe them a little closer. She told Lycster to stay where he was with their desert deers while she went out alone. Lycster was not going to allow that to happen. He trailed behind her closely with their deers in tow. 

It was at this point that Vy realised the herd was not made up of just ten or twenty lephants. There were at least a hundred or two hundred. Maybe even more. Some of the larger members of the herd guard and guide the herd from the sides as they moved. 

The younger and smaller members of the herd primarily moved at the front, while the elder slower moving members were at the back, Towards the back of the herd, Vy noticed that there was a small baby lephant lagging behind. 

It did not seem to have it's parents by its side either. The further they moved, the further apart they got. Vy could see that the baby was trying desperately to keep up with its herd but it was getting left behind. 

"Oh no, it's getting left behind," Lycster commented with sadness. 

For some reason, the scene before him hit close to his heart. Was this how he felt deep down each time Vy left for a mission; leaving him behind? It might have been that way in the beginning, but over time, he realised that his sister would always return, no matter what. 

There was something else. Something far out and distant in his mind. But before he could dwell on it any further, sometime far out into the distance caught his eye. As soon as he saw the shadow forming above the sand dunes, his heart sank. 

The little elephant was in danger. 

"Maybe it's just one…" as soon as those words left her mouth, a few more showed up. 

This was a planned hunt. 

As the baby lephant strayed further and further away from the main herd, the creatures were on the move. Vy wanted to help, she was ready to jump in on her own. But when she turned to look at her brother she saw the fire in his eyes. 

"Lycster," she whispered to him. 

He turned to her. 

"We can save it together," Vy declared with a grin. 

A smile formed on Lycster's face as he nodded gleefully in agreement. Together, they came up with a plan to fight off the creatures. But Vy knew without proper knowledge on what they were up against, they would not be able to fend them off. 

"We just need to distract them long enough, while one of us gets the lephant to catch up with it's herd." Vy theorised. 

Her brother agreed with her. 

"I won't have the strength to pick up the lephant and carry it," Lycster confessed, "So you would have to be the one to do it."

Vy nodded in agreement.

"That means you would have to be the one to distract them," Vy continued.

They had their plan. They were ready to execute it. Lycster rode on Nanma and tied Minky's leash onto his own. Together, he rode off to execute the first part of their plan. Lycster retrieved a one-handed crossbow from his spatial storage. 

He aimed at the creatures before releasing the trigger. The one-handed crossbow was fueled by magic based arrows. The arrows to fly through the air at lightning speed. But from the distance they were at, it was difficult to get an accurate shot. 

Lycster was not aiming for one either. He just needed the attention of the creatures. With a bit of luck, the arrow landed right next to the feet of one of the creatures. The surprise attack caught the attention of one of the creatures. 

He knew it was not enough. So he released his arrows again, and again. Lycster shot another three arrows through the air. From where he was, he noticed that there were a total of five creatures in total. They were covered in rough dark brown scales, resembling giant lizards about the same size as their desert deers.

When Lycster successfully got the attention of most of them, he sent his sister a signal before nudging Nanma to begin to run. Vy got his signal and begun her part of the plan. As she made her way across the desert, she noticed that two of the lizards continued towards the lephant.

Without wasting any time, Vy took to her Titan wolf form and sped through the sand. She sped through the desert terrain and inserted herself between the incoming lizards and the struggling lephant. 

She intimidated with a snarl as she barred her sharp white teeth. Upon meeting Vy, the lizards hissed and keeled their scales. Their scales keeled upwards like thorns. They were thorn lizards. 

When threatened, these creatures could release their thorns in a widespread ranged attack. Thought not poisoned, she still needed to be careful of them. Vy also relayed the information to Lycster. 

-Be careful.- she reminded him through telepathy. 

-You too.-