Hund just followed Erend's footsteps. This situation was completely unexpected and caught them off guard.
Now their party was scattered and that was the worst. Hund knew how great their party was when it came to killing monsters together.
Their party composition was quite good and even though there were only four people, they were able to defend well as adventurers.
It's all because of cooperation. They help each other out under Jan's command so their battles usually end well.
Unfortunately, they never tried to fight individually. Their individual strength could not be expected at all because they were already dependent on each other.
Hund regretted all that. He didn't think that the time would come when they would have to separate like this.
Erend continued to run forward through the thick bushes and tree roots.
He walked as if he could clearly see what he was going through. As for Hund, he could only stumble following Erend's pace.
'As long as I follow him, it will be alright.'
Hund decided to continue following Erend without saying anything. He didn't want to disturb the Dragon.
"I found her!" Erend shouted.
Hund immediately cast his gaze forward. Then he saw Annette lying on the ground.
Two Shadowchilds were surrounding her.
Annette creates a blue dome. The dome blocked the attacks of the two Shadowchilds from reaching it.
But, despite being in the dome's protection, Annette's condition didn't look all right. She fell to the ground with a grimace on her face.
Annette held her leg as if that was the source of the pain.
"Come on!" Erend rushed towards Annette.
The two Shadowchilds looked surprised to see Erend's arrival. They shouted in the voice of an angry demon child because Erend had interfered with their hunting.
The two Shadowchilds changed their targets. The two of them charged toward Erend with daggers drawn in their little black hands.
[ Skill activated: All Fire-based Power (Lv.1) ]
Erend created two fireballs in his palms. Then while he was running, Erend threw the two fireballs at them.
*BWOOOSSSHHH!*
*BWOOOSSSHHH!*
"KRRAAAA!!!!"
They both let out screams of pain. The two fireballs hit them, throwing them several meters back.
Then Erend snapped his fingers, willing the flames that hit the two Shadowchilds to expand.
*ZWOOOSSSHHH!*
The fire grew instantly as if doused with gasoline. Enveloping the bodies of the two Shadowchilds. Sending them in unfathomable pain before death follows.
Annette looked at Erend. Her eyes sparkled with relief. She also felt happy because Erend would indeed come when big trouble occurred.
The dome surrounding Annette's body disappeared.
"How are you?" Erend asked.
"I just sprained my ankle," Annette replied.
Erend nodded. "Good."
Without waiting long, Erend immediately ran past Annette.
Annette widened her eyes, dumbfounded. He just went through her without saying anything else.
"We're in a hurry. You're not badly injured anyway!"
Hund's voice awakened Annette.
"A-Ah, that's right," Annette said. "Is he looking for Esther and Jan?"
Hund helped Annette to her feet. "Yes, of course."
"He can see their tracks?"
"It seems so. After all, he is a Dragon."
Annette looked at Erend's back which then disappeared behind the thick bushes.
"You are right."
Hund helped Annette walk by wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
They tried to run as fast as possible to catch up with Erend. Erend noticed that the footprints were slightly smaller than the others. If Erend wasn't mistaken, these must be the footprints of a girl.
Erend saw that there was a collection of fallen trees in front of him.
The trees fell across and blocked the way. The only way to get past that is by crawling.
Erend also noticed that there were handprints in front of the footprints. That means the girl also crawled past it.
'I don't have time for that!'
[ Skill activated: Dragon Scale (Lv.1) ]
Erend's body was covered in red and black scales. Then he sprinted towards the group of fallen trees.
Erend broke through it like a bulldozer. Destroys most of the trees that get in his way.
Behind the crowd of fallen trees, Erend found her. The girl in the blue robe was fighting two Shadowchilds.
She threw a lightning bolt at one of the Shadowchilds. But the little black monster was able to dodge it.
It was all because Esther was too slow. Also, her movement when she wants to cast the lightning bolt can be seen clearly.
Esther gritted her teeth. She knew that she couldn't fight alone like this.
When she was finally in that state of her own, Esther felt that she would be finished any minute.
But suddenly someone came. The black monster that charged towards her and prepared to stab the dagger, had to cancel its intention.
Because its antler was suddenly held by a hand wrapped in a red and black scale.
Erend lifted the Shadowchild. Then he swung his clawed hand.
*CRAAAT!*
Erend's claws tore apart the Shadowchild's neck with a single swing. Separating its body and head.
Then Erend threw the body in a random direction. The remaining Shadowchild looked terrified.
It was a natural response because it had just seen its friend mutilate in front of its eyes.
Erend didn't wait until the Shadowchild could come back from its trauma. He immediately lunged at it.
Taking the chance that the Shadowchild couldn't react, Erend immediately stabbed his claws into its stomach.
*CRAAT!*
"Ghhhhhhhh..."
The Shadowchild let out a low moan that only Erend could hear. The voice seemed to indicate that the soul was leaving its body.
Erend pulled out his claws and asked Esther. "Are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh, Y-Yes. I'm fine," Esther replied.
Erend nodded. "Good. Wait for your friends here. I'll find another friend of yours."
Without waiting for Esther to say anything, Erend immediately ran through the bushes.
He disappeared from Esther's sight. This time it wasn't too hard for Eren to see the traces of the other adventurer.
That was because apart from his footprints, Erend could also see traces of blood.
"He must have lost a lot of blood!"
Erend's worries grew. He had seen the blood from the start. And he didn't see any bleeding wounds from the three adventurers he had saved.
That meant, the only person bleeding was the person he was looking for.
That's a good thing. Also a bad thing.
It wasn't long before Erend saw him. The man was wearing clothes that would allow him to camouflage well in the middle of the forest. If he didn't use [Dragon Eyes], Erend definitely couldn't find him.
He was prone on the ground. Ahead of him, three Shadowchilds were looking for something while muttering their language.
But soon they noticed Erend's presence. The man also noticed his presence and he looked back.
'The Dragons?!'
Jan was shocked and relieved to see Erend's presence. Before he could say anything else, Erend instantly charged toward the three Shadowchilds.
The three of them immediately decided to run. As if they felt that Erend had indeed come to bring their death.
But Erend of course wouldn't allow that.
[ Skill activated: All Fire-based Power (Lv.1) ]
Erend threw two fireballs at the two Shadowchilds. The fireball grabbed them and threw them several meters. Just like what happened to their previous friends.
The one Shadowchild in the middle was still running. Depending all its life in its little foot.
But that wasn't enough to run away from Erend. Erend suddenly landed in front of him. A smirk appeared on his face.
"You're not going anywhere," Erend said.
Then Erend caught the Shadowchild. Fear made the monster unable to move.
[ Skill activated: Fire Breath (Lv.1) ]
*ZWOOOSSSHHH!*
Erend spit fire from his mouth. The flames enveloped the Shadowchild and instantly scorched him.
One of the Shadowchilds hit by Erend's fireball got up again and started running.
Jan who saw him immediately rose from his hiding place and drew his bow.
*SHUUUT!*
*CRAAT!*
Jan shoots an arrow that goes straight into Shadowchild's back. Erend threw the Shadowchild he was holding. Then he snapped his fingers.
[ Skill activated: All Fire-based Power (Lv.1) ]
*ZWOOOSSSHHH!*
The flames that were still burning from Erend's fireball instantly enlarged and enveloped their entire bodies.
[ Progress: Shadowchilds killed (7/10) ]
'Okay, three more.'
The work isn't finished. Erend who was still activating [Dragon Eyes] spread his eyes around. Looking for the remaining Shadowchilds.
It didn't take him long to find the remaining three Shadowchilds. They hide behind bushes.
Then as if knowing that Erend had seen them, the three Shadowchilds scrambled.
"Where are you going?" Jan asked.
Erend turned and saw his situation. On his stomach was a red spot surrounding a tear in his clothes.
"Your friends are behind you. Go to them and ask for help!" Erend said. Then Erend chased after the three remaining Shadowchilds.
Erend hit the bushes and trees in his path. That way he could catch up with them quickly.
[ Skill activated: Dragon Wings (Lv.1) ]
After the wings appeared on his back, Erend immediately jumped up.
He flapped his wings and propelled himself to shoot straight at the three Shadowchilds.
Erend sped up quickly. In the blink of an eye, he was already behind them.
Then he immediately swung his claws and killed the three of them.
~~~