Chapter 123 - Encounter

Myrtle is a close combat fighter. She'd rather use her gauntlets in a fight instead of swords or spears.

However, getting close to the Centaur is very dangerous. Unless she's physically stronger, she had to be really careful getting close to them.

"I'll pin him down… Finish him as soon as I'm finished." Luna suddenly said as she pulled out a Magic Crystal Orb.

Earth Swamp!

The Centaur hiding behind a tree and planning to shoot them failed to balance himself and fell.

Without waiting for Luna's signal, Cyril and Myrtle rushed to the Centaur and rained him down with several slashes tearing up the creature's skin and muscles.

"The other one is coming hurry and kill that now!" Luna reminded.

Cyril was actually experimenting with how much strength would he need to cut through the creature's skin. However, after hearing Luna, he realized that he should end it here and cut off the Centaur's neck.

Soon, a bright fire landed next to them allowing them to clearly see the terrifying face of the Centaur. Just like the one they read in the books, Centaurs were half-human and half-horse.

'But this guy barely looks like a human at all… More like a burned human instead…' Cyril thought as he looked at the centaur next to them.

The fire, on the other hand, was sent by Sylvian to assist them in the fight. The man probably thought that they have no way of fighting properly in such a dark place.

Gaaahhh!!

The other Centaur shouted as he rushed towards their location. He saw how they beheaded one of his friends so he must've been really angry.

Nevertheless, Cyril and Myrtle didn't show mercy. Luna was tasked to use her Magic to pin them down while the two would deal the finishing blow.

Soon, only one Centaur was left and it is now being tied by Sylvian.

"What are you planning to do with him? Can you understand them, leader?" Cyril curiously asked.

Right now, the Centaur is actually cursing them but only Cyril could understand him.

"Hmm… I'm still not sure. If possible, I want this guy to bring us to their base. I'm thinking of freeing him then following him as he returns to their base." Sylvian answered.

"Ohh…" Myrtle nodded after hearing the explanation. It does indeed make sense. She initially thought that their leader can actually communicate with this species.

"Yes… It's difficult to find the enemy base after all. This forest is quite a maze… There are also a lot of man-eating plants around here. Having a guide to lead us to their base is a lot easier. They might've also collected the Bead Artifacts."

Cyril agreed with that as he let Sylvian decide about their next course of action.

Anyway, blindly looking for the Bead Artifact in the vast forest is quite a troublesome task so this sounded really a good idea.

Neigh!

The Centaur was finally freed after a while and run away immediately…

Cyril even heard the Centaur calling Sylvian stupid for freeing him.

Nevertheless, after the last Centaur started running, Sylvian told them to be as quiet as possible before giving an order to follow him.

Sylvian made sure to keep more than a hundred-meter distance from the Centaur…

After about 20 minutes of patiently waiting… They finally arrived at the simple settlement of the Centaurs.

The place is quite simple and they are using glowing flowers as a light inside the forest!

It's quite a beautiful sight from a different perspective. Aside from this, the Centaurs appear to be quite tired!

'What's going on here?' Sylvian mused as he couldn't help but shiver after seeing that some Centaurs are heavily injured and missing arms.

It feels like they have all just been in battle!

'No wonder they're trying to keep us out. They're too weak right now! Haha!' Sylvian finally understood…

He then pulled out a nail size crystal. Its purpose was unknown.

However, it suddenly turned to ashes allowing Sylvian to gather information about the settlement. It appears to be a one-time use Arcane Artifact.

"There are only 24 Centaurs inside… 25 if we include that guy who helped us to come here."

"They're too many…" Cyril commented. If he was alone, he would have no issues at all... However, a group of trained Centaurs might be too much in this case.

"Haha! Don't worry, I think they faced the other Exploration Team… Most of them have injuries and bruises on their bodies already."

With this in mind, the five of them realized that this is indeed a golden opportunity!

Since the Centaurs are weakened, then they will have an easier time!

"I will use an Array… So that no one will be able to escape…" Luna suggested as they arrived on top of a hill overlooking the Centaur's settlement.

"Good… Set it up now. Myrtle and Cyril, I will let you both guard the eastern part of the village."

There shouldn't be many Centaurs that would escape in a fight so Cyril knows that it will be a peaceful task.

"Kyle and Kian… Prepare your large-scale magic as well."

"Understood, leader."

Kyle and Kian were the two veterans from the New Frontier Team… They were experts with swords but they are also known as the possessor of a powerful Artifact capable of casting large-scale magic.

Soon, a battle ensued as they started the slaughter in the small settlement!

Sylvian showed his might… Though he was being hit by the Centaur's kicks and swings of their weapons, the man remained standing up as he relied on his B-Rank Armor to protect himself from being heavily injured.

"Hahaha! Come!" Sylvian shouted as he continued fighting against the mythical creatures.

Meanwhile, Cyril and Myrtle were actually looking at a couple of Centaurs quietly leaving the settlement.

"Please, let us go…" One of the Centaurs said to the two after being stopped by Myrtle.

Of course, Myrtle didn't understand any of their words. She looked at Cyril briefly but suddenly, she heard Cyril speak with the Centaur!

How incredible!