Chapter 138: Reluctance

Even if Shane were to collapse while fighting, Aisha was confident that she and the Valkyries would be able to rescue him in the worst-case scenario.

While Aisha hoped that something like this wouldn't happen, she was also aware that Shane was already going over the top right now.

If he were to continue to fight alone, with all his might against every single centipede, which was a race that was innately at a higher cultivation rank than Shane, he could face a big setback.

To her and the Valkyries, it was obvious what his biggest flaw was and they also felt that Shane himself knew it, but that one major factor was what hindered him to fix it.

From the beginning, everyone knew that Shane was more of a lone wolf with the courage and determination to solve everything alone, without the need of others.

However, in Aisha's and the Valkyries' opinion, this was an inefficient strategy to fight, a thing they had learned when they started to form their military unit.

While fighting together, they were able to defeat opponents which they innately labeled as much stronger than themselves.

Shane, however, fought against stronger beasts by overexerting his body and it was obvious that he couldn't take it any longer.

Aimy and Olivia also noticed this, and Aimy wanted to walk towards him to ask him if he was fine, when she remembered his harsh words which caused her to halt in her tracks.

'Does he even need me?' Aimy asked herself, biting her lips, as she noticed that Olivia had already walked next to Shane.

"Hey Shane, are you fine? You don't really look good right now" She asked, worriedly without her innate enthusiasm.

Standing up from the ground he sat before in order to replenish his mana slightly faster, he took a few deep breaths before he stared into her eyes for a moment.

"If I were to say that I'm completely fine, it would probably be a lie...Both of you fought much better in your second fight!"

Shane gave her the faintest of smiles, and Olivia began to jump around overjoyed, as she heard his words.

"Really??" She asked once again to make sure that Shane was indeed praising her, which caused him to lift his eyebrow as sweat poured down his forehead.

"Considering that you two were bothersome when we walked through the forest and unable to fight against the first batch of elementalö subterra centipedes, the second fight was definitely better."

Olivia's mood immediately plummeted, when she realized that he was teasing her and she stared daggers at him.

"Can't you be nicer to me?"

Shane didn't know what to answer, as he was reminded about his aunts, uncles and father's behavior when he made a mistake.

His lips twitched involuntarily which the two girls noticed, and Aimy gathered her courage to come closer to Shane.

Thinking about Olivia's question, Shane looked at her seriously, before he answered

"No!"

This caused Olivia to frown and Aimy stopped in her tracks, unsure of what to do next.

Seeing the two girls nearby, Shane also had to overcome his pride because he was fully aware of his current state, and it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to fight several dozen more fights against the centipedes with his current strength, mana consumption, and efforts he had to exert in order to defeat a single elemental subterra centipede.

Clearing his throat, he looked at the two girls and asked uncomfortably.

"Should we team up for now? It would be easier to fight against the centipede groups without the need to use up too much energy."

Hearing Shane's offer astonished Aimy because she thought that Shane could trust neither her nor Olivia, but after sizing him up, she noticed how exhausted he was after only two fights.

However, it was also obvious that Shane only reluctantly offered to team up with the two girls, and they thought that it was most likely because he couldn't trust them completely, which was painful to note.

Nevertheless, after thinking about it, they could also understand Shane to a certain degree, even if they thought that he was a little extreme in certain aspects.

In the end, they could fight against the centipedes relatively well, and it was only one time that they were petrified, which shouldn't be much of a problem for their first time entering a dangerous, and narrow cave.

Olivia was about to throw a fit when she saw Shane's serious face as she remembered how useful the two girls were over their whole short journey.

This caused her to halt in her tracks, without throwing a fit as she concluded that they were more of a burden than a serious help until now, and during their last fight, the two only defeated three late elite stage centipedes which were several ranks below their own cultivation rank.

Biting her lips, she retreated a step before looking at Aimy who was also uncertain what to do, when the three noticed Aisha approaching them.

"Aimy, Olivia you two fought much better than before and if you two continue like this, your combat prowess will soar!" Smiling lightly she directed her gaze towards Shane, as she seriously said.

"Shane, you fought extremely well, but don't overestimate yourself and slow down, otherwise, you'll end up as a burden."

Nodding his head, Shane accepted his fault, as he looked at Aimy and Olivia once again.

Sighing deeply, Aisha intervened in their awkward situation as she said.

"You three will form a team now, don't throw a fit and just try to work together. If you three are incapable of fighting as a team, we will change something, okay? In the end, the Valkyries and I are still there and we can rescue everyone!"

Aimy and Olivia nodded their heads and Shane's gaze followed Aisha who walked back towards the Valkyries.

Looking at the two girls in front of him, Shane shook his head, before the three began to discuss how they should fight against the centipedes in order to emerge victorious without any injuries and with as much energy as possible.

The atmosphere around them was still awkward but everybody's reluctance slowly dissipated after Shane started to create a basic formation for their team.

It was a simple tactic, most would label it as crude or even iditotic but after thinking about it for a second, it did seem to be one of the most efficient ways to defeat the elite stage centipedes.

As such, the two girls nodded in agreement and it seemed like the other students also started to form groups to increase the overall combat prowess without being forced to use more energy.

Aisha smiled at this sight and it was almost always an advantage to work in groups instead of fighting alone.

There were obvious disadvantages like fighting against an extraordinarily strong opponent that could defeat the whole group at once, without many problems.

Another problem would be establishing clear communication.

For instance, an archer or mage was forced to not only observe the foes but also teammates, who sometimes suddenly advanced in the direction of their targets, only to be shot in the back, which was not unlikely to occur with bad communication in the infant phase of a team-building process.

It would be weird if a team of several humans would be able to establish perfect teamwork right off the bat without the need to establish a good way to communicate with few words, and have enough trust to rely on their teammates, and also to figure out how strong everyone was and what their capabilities were.

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