Chapter 846 Securing The Zones

/ CURRENT MISSION: SECURE OUTSKIRT ZONES C 2L1A, 2L2I, 2L4J, AND 4LJ1.

Lee Seng and Team Zephyr landed in a random location. Their bracelets all lit up with a green and red color, indicating they were now on mission. Lee Seng pulled the map up on the bracelet, noticing the clean UI.

"Vitals, cardinal directions, different types of maps… Ally location, enemy detection, quest box… Farago's tech really did take 'video games' to a whole 'nother level…" Ritsuka whistled. He twisted his bracelet as the group trekked uphill.

"The nearest point seems to be 2L2I. Should we try going there first?" Liz suggested.

"Should we split up to save time?" Keng asked. "I bet Lee Seng and I could take a point by ourselves." They looked towards Manny, who shrugged.

"I don't have to worry about you two, but there might be high ranking monsters that come around. What if we get hit by one? What'll you do?" Manny asked.

"He's got a point." Evan pointed at Manny. "You two are our biggest threats. If we were to get into a pinch while you're off somewhere else, it'll be harder for you two to come to us."

"We could just fly there." Keng shrugged.

"I think we should refrain from doing that as much as possible." Lee Seng inserted his two cents. "Wouldn't want anything bad to happen with the current situation we're in, right?"

/ ZONE C 2L2I IS COMING UP. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

"C'mon, let's focus." Manny roped everyone back together. Team Zephyr slowed down, keeping a lookout for anything out of the ordinary. Shade and sunlight fought against each other. Shaded spots grew larger as the group wandered deeper into the forest.

/ ZONE C 2L2I IS A HUNDRED FEET IN FRONT OF YOU. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Lee Seng and Keng hung a bit further back than usual. Marks on trees, foot traffic, and the occasional weapon embedded into the forest made them alert. Leaves rustled on the top before arrows sailed through the air. A howl erupted through the silence, shattering it in an instant as six bi-pedal wolfmen rushed out in heavy armor.

[Pack Tactics has been triggered by the enemy!]

Lee Seng threw his hand up, watching the arrows slow to a stop. The arrows flipped, firing back into the trees. A couple wolfmen archers fell onto the ground, revealing the others as a purple shield flew up.

'Observers, too.' Lee Seng thought.

[Keng's Runicweaver: Defensive Runes has been triggered. The entire team has now been buffed with the following runes: Protection, Magical Defense, Haste, Mental Defense.]

'Hmm, Runeweaver can do that?' Lee Seng thought as Keng, Evan, and Ritsuka flew past the twins.

"Nature Conversion." Olivia whispered, reaching for the ground. The trees around them fire out needles, attacking the group as the trees slowly shrunk in size. The wolfmen lifted their shields, blocking the splinters from their faces and chest. Splinters impaled themselves into the wolfmen's legs and arms, cutting them down.  Liz grunted as she threw bolts of lightning at the nearest wolfmen. Two wolfmen blasted backwards, crashing into trees as another howl erupted.

[Berserking Howl was used!]

Two wolfmen lowered their shields, rushing forward with their swords. The wolfmen swung at Evan and Ritsuka. Evan watched as purple energy flared through the wolfmen, enhancing the speed of the monster. The sword flew fast, barely giving Evan time to summon his shield. Kinetic energy flared around him, forming a prismatic shield. The shield shattered, slashing Evan's cheek.

Evan summoned his shield, slamming it against the wolfmen and pushing the monster backwards. Ritsuka, on the other hand, flew backwards, getting caught by Lee Seng. Lee Seng launched Ritsuka forward at the wolfmen. Obsidian Glass appeared in Ritsuka's hand as a smirk grew.

"Voidless Touch." Ritsuka swung the sword at the wolfman's head, appearing behind him. Black and blue dust flew out from the wolfman's head, dropping it in an instant.

"Mages!" Lee Seng shouted throwing his hand up.

"Shield!" Lee Seng and Keng shouted in unison. Arrows flew at the group, slamming against the shield and immediately exploding into vine tendrils.

"Runeweaver: Multi-Fireballs!" Keng scribbled the runes quickly, slashing them. Silver wisps ignited all around Keng and Lee Seng, growing into silver and golden flames. The fireball wisps launched themselves outwards, hitting a couple wolfmen and catching them on fire.

The forest burned as Lee Seng blasted the trees. Leaves and sticks flew through the air, taking a couple Wolfmen with. Keng swung his hand in the air, putting out any fires while Manny and Evan made work of the next wolfman. The wolfman held its shield up as Manny and Evan tried to hit it. The wolfman gritted its teeth as it slammed its shield forward, pushing Evan backwards.

Manny launched himself forward as the wolfman swung its sword at him. Manny ducked, punching the wolfman's armor. The wolfman swung, again, catching Manny's shoulder as he pulled backwards. He hissed in pain, lifting his hand to heal himself while Evan moved in front of Evan.

Arrows sailed straight for Ritsuka, who retreated behind a tree. Ritsuka turned Obsidian Glass and released it. He watched it enter the ground and watched as the void merged with the shadows.

'Complete Black Void.' Ritsuka thought. The voids pulled closer to Ritsuka as he peeked from behind the tree. 'Who do I need to take first?'

"ARGH!" A large Wolfman stepped forward from the shadows. The wolfman had four arms and two heads. "Die!" Void swords flew from the ground, missing the large wolfman. The swords pierced two archers out of the branches, dropping them in an instant as Evan slammed his shield into the smaller wolfman. A blast flew out of the shield, crushing the wolfman's chest.

"What do we do about that?" Olivia asked.

"Blow it to bits." Keng replied, summoning Hydrosphere. Keng rushed forward, leaving the safety of the back and running past Manny. The large two-headed Wolfman grunted as it pulled out four large swords.

'Four swords.' Keng observed. The two-headed Wolfman readied itself for Keng's attack. 'We can beat this. Altered Art: Dragon's Dance.' The two-headed wolfman launched itself forward, swinging two blades straight for Keng's head. Keng dropped to the ground, feeling the swords move overhead. Two more swords began to move straight for Keng. Hydrosphere glimmered as Keng jabbed the daggers forward, releasing a water shield. A water dragon filled the shield, quickly spinning as it blocked the first attack. Keng pushed himself backwards, throwing his head back as he flipped, pulling the dragon with him. The second attack flew straight for Keng's feet, hitting his shoe with a loud thud as he he fully flipped onto his feet.

"Gravitum: Cosmic Ray." Lee Seng fired a multi-colored ray at the two-headed wolfman. The wolfman raised tow swords, blocking the attack as it pushed him backwards. A large void sword appeared from the shadows, slashing horizontally. The two-headed wolfman pulled his two remaining swords over his back, feeling the void sword slash its back.

Keng launched himself forward, wrapping himself in the water dragon. He lifted Hydrosphere and pulled the dragon forward, letting a grin escape.

"Dragon slash!" Keng shouted. The dragon roared as the two-headed wolfman pulled his swords upwards.

"Lee!" Evan shouted. He turned his shield, raising it. Lee Seng fired a blast of gravity at him, fully charging it. Evan turned and ran for the two-headed wolfman, watching Keng fly backwards as the two-headed Wolfman screamed.

[Bloody Cry has been triggered!]

Keng and Evan's eyes grew red. Keng flipped in the air, flying straight for the two-headed wolfman. Evan and Keng threw themselves at the two-headed wolfman while the others watched more wolfmen appear from below the two-headed wolfman.

"What're they doing?" Lee Seng asked. He pulled Keng and Evan backwards, barely saving his friends from the surprise attack. Evan and Keng shouted as they tried to shake Lee Seng's hold on them.

"Alchemical Balance: Nature's Wrath!" The earth around Olivia erupted, turning to vines. The vines shot past her friends, piercing and slamming the wolfmen as they flew out of the two-headed wolfmen.

"Electric Current!" Liz threw her hands forward, releasing a cone of lightning. Wolfmen charred to death while vines continued to push the wolfmen backwards.

"A little help!" Olivia shouted. Lee Seng focused his attention onto the wolfmen, forming a wall.

"Argh!" Evan and Keng shouted.

"What's wrong with them?" Manny rushed over. He tried to grab Evan, who immediately kicked him. Manny stumbled backwards, checking for any signs of what might've happened. Ritsuka returned to his friends.

"Hey! Wake up!" Ritsuka shook Keng. Keng growled, pulling his arm out and reaching for Ritsuka. "Wh-whoa!" Lee Seng yanked Keng's arm backwards. The wolfmen slammed against the shield, tearing the vines away.

"What do we do about that?" Liz asked.

"Gra!!" Evan and Keng shouted.

"Oh crap! Keng's getting out!" Manny shouted.

"Well, I hope this works!" Lee Seng wrapped his hand around Keng in the air and slammed him into the ground.