Chapter 270: I Am Strong Enough
<span style="font-weight:400">Atropos tapped her finger impatiently as she stared at the gate of the partition from the temporary refuge they made for the freed citizens. Her brother standing close by but making sure to survey the area and help where he could with the growing number of people.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin had been working tirelessly with Anima, spreading his aura to help heal and recover the people as well, doling out food where he was able.
<span style="font-weight:400">The three had heard many thanks as well as horrid traumatic stories more times than they could count.
<span style="font-weight:400">And although small, they had also done as Drake asked, rounding up all the guards that had surrendered. No matter how much some of the freed wished them hard, it wasn’t their job to judge.
<span style="font-weight:400">The teens on more than one asion since Drake had left nearly half an hour ago had stopped one another from cutting down the guards of the city. They obviously taking advantage of what Drake had ordered the teens to do and surrendering to save their own skin.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It is taking some time for Lord Drake to return… Howrge do you suspect this city is?” Atropos asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin wiped sweat from his brow with his sleeve, kneeling down to pat Anima as she continued to spread out her AOE heal, “Not sure, but the guards were pretty much pushovers. So maybe pretty big? Unless there’s someone stronger here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Strong enough to give Lord Drake trouble?” she asked, dubious.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin shrugged, “The people who came out of the tutorials are miles ahead of us, even with Drake helping us along. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few crazy strong people like himying around. There was about what, close to ten billion of us when the integration happened.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ten billion? What is this number?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Let’s just say its a very big number,” Landin chuckled wryly, “How many people were in your world?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Atropos turned to Landin, “I do not know. The tribes on our were always territorial, but the Ice Wolf n had several thousand nsmen before the Great Wolf Gods took us.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin stood up, “Hmmm… sounds like you didn’t have cellphones or much technology, you guys were surprised when we showed you the tv and games afterall,” he mused.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Cursed pink ball of endless gluttony…” Atropos grumbled, Clotho grumbling in agreement.
<span style="font-weight:400">The ground suddenly shook, breaking off their conversation and the people within the small camp stirring with confusion and fear.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What was that?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I knew it was too good to be true!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“The great Tree has forsaken us!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin tried his best to calm everyone but failed to do so until Clotho roared above them all, spreading out his aura and silencing the crowd.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Jeez, excessive much?” Landing coughed, “It’s fine! That’s just Drake, I think… He’s the only one I know that can make something like that happen… Why is he letting loose?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“We must go to him! What if he is in danger!” Atropos shouted.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin grabbed her by the arm, “Please. You think we can do anything if Drake is in trouble? Besides, our job is to make sure nothing happens to these people.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Interrupting their conversation once more, they heard a familiar whistle through the air, the teens turning their head towards the gate, seeing Quetz along with a mass of soldiers and citizens of the city droves farrger than the one that was already there.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We won’t have enough room for them,” Landin grimaced, “Bring out anything you can to make shelter. Sorry Anima, you’re going to be working overtime today.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Anima shook in understanding, waving a bushlike hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hey, hey!! Quetz brought more people. Drake said you can order around the annoying soldiers however you want,” Quetz chirped.
<span style="font-weight:400">“He did not say that, god damn it,” Hudson sighed, “But we’ll help however we need ta. This city is the worst thing I’ve every damned seen…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Another thunderous boom forced the ground to shake around them, startling the crowd of people once more.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Damned idjit! sted man can make earthquakes now?!” Hudson grunted.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin and the rest of the teens just smiled at Hudson’sment, ushering in the new group of people. Soldiers began running around setting up tents and spaces for them to sitfortably as Anima stretched her area of effect thin to epass all of them.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hudson began walking around the small camp, silver magic circles beginning to form small turrets straight out of a sci-fi movie en mass as well as onerger circle summoning a type of Automaton they had never seen before.
<span style="font-weight:400">The thunderous quaking they assumed was from Drake fighting had finally ceased, leaving them more assured for several minutes as the camp began to calm down.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin ran around as Clotho and Atropos continued to stay vignt of the surroundings. Landin searched and found several people who were healers among the freed people, giving them instructions to do what they could to help. While doing so he also found several other support sses and range sses that could help with setting up a first line of defense of the area.
<span style="font-weight:400">A few minutes of doing this was more tiring than fighting in the tournament, Landin wiping his brow and exiting the tents just to cool off with the falling rain.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hmmm….” a voice cooed next to him, “A hybrid support ss? Guess you die first!”
<span style="font-weight:400">On instinct, Landin snapped his fingers, his head barely turning in time to see the gleam of a knife mere centimeters from his eye. Before his surroundings changed and he was inside the tent.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Enemy attack! Clotho, Quetz, Atropos! It’s a stealth user!” Landin cried out, Ifirit, Bahamut, and a new Anima materializing next to him as he ran back out of the tent.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ignoring the startled people around him, Landin flipped the tent p up, seeing Atropos and Clotho already engaged with what looked like a Mage. The stealth user that attacked Landin nowhere in sight.
<span style="font-weight:400">Atropos began using her own spells to counteract the spells of the Mage, but she was at a disadvantage. The mage was strong and specialized, and was using several elementspared to her single element.
<b>[Otarrah Breaker Level 18]</b>
<i><span style="font-weight:400">I can’t let Ifrit help. We still don’t know where the stealthy went. Bahamut is underleveled but…</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Landin cursed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Bahamut! <i><span style="font-weight:400">Overload! Gale re!”</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Landin shouted, spreading out his aura, his passive buffs activating for his summons.
<span style="font-weight:400">Bahamut shot off Landin’s shoulder, skirting around Atropos and getting in position on an unprotected side of Otarrah.
<span style="font-weight:400">pping his raven ck wings, Bahamut began summoning an intense tempest of wind, building it up to a visible gale.
<span style="font-weight:400">Otarrah, still preupied with Atropos, only eyed the crowzily as spells continued to contest each other between them.
<span style="font-weight:400">Bahamut released a high pitched shriek, letting loose the gale in a turbulent tornado.
<span style="font-weight:400">But the result was not as they expected, Bahamut’s skill mmed against a bluish shield around Otarrah.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Do not take me for some naive welp, boy…” Otarrah said, in a surprisingly female voice under therge reddish-brown hat that covered her face.
<span style="font-weight:400">A moment after, Clotho grunted, pulling with both hands against something, the sound of snapping wire sending out loud pangs.
<span style="font-weight:400">Revealing themselves with a sneer, a wolf-like man with gray colored hair and fur looked back them, his dagger only a few inches from Atropos’s side. Stopped by Clotho’s wires.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, you have some skill there! Yahaa! This is going to be more fun than I thought! A supporter ss that can teleport! And a mute that can use strings!” Maeughed, his dagger hand struggling against the wires.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mae suddenly dropped his dagger, picking it up with his other hand and disappeared, two arrows sliding into the ground where he had just been.
<span style="font-weight:400">Reappearing next to Otarrah, he flipped his dagger in his hand, frowning, “Little birdy is a ranger too… At least the information we got is correct.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The exchange broke the magic spell contest between Atropos and Otarrah momentarily, allowing the teens to regroup.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s two against four, we have the advantage,” Atropos said, her scythe suddenly enveloped by dark purplish mes.
<span style="font-weight:400">“But they have the level advantage, and they know our skills…” Landin whispered, suddenly regretting using almost his entire kit during the fight in ReUnite.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Quetz can take on the gloomy looking wolf. She made plenty of colorful bullets for the trip,” Quetz chirped.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fine, Atropos and I will take on the mage. Quetz, Clotho, we need you to keep the stealth user busy,” Landin suggested.
<span style="font-weight:400">Clotho grumbled, but Landin went into more detail.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Clotho is the only one who has a chance against him with his kit. Anyone else is in danger of instantly dying if we fight him. He’s level 20 after all.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yay! CC and Quetz are teaming up!” Quetz cooed, raising her hands, her bow dematerializing and two pistols reappearing in her grip.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oi, oi! What the hell is this!!?! MAEEEEEEEE!!!!!!” a booming voice shouted from the gate.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mae turned visibly displeased, his yful attitude disappearing as he stopped idly tossing his weapon.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Great… The disgusting city head is here…” Mae grumbled, “Fuck off old man! Go back to your little sex dungeon and let <i><span style="font-weight:400">real</i><span style="font-weight:400"> fighters take care of everything, like always!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Walking from the gate, arge man with graying blond hair, and a scar running from his eyebrow across his face strutted forward with an ear to ear sneer.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Shut up mutt! Don’t you forget who’s in charge here! Your little pussy bat leader might be making us all good money, but this is still my legacy! And what a mess you’ve made of it!” Xavier growled.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What did you say, Lesser!? I’ll cut you from ass to mouth if you utter another-”
<span style="font-weight:400">But Mae was silenced, Xavier moving so quickly the teen’s thought they were looking at Drake for a moment.
<span style="font-weight:400">Xavier grabbed the wolfman by the throat mming him into the ground several times before lifting him once more.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I can’t kill you, stray, but you piss me off any more and you might have a little ident!” he grinned, dropping Mae to the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mae coughed up several pools of blood, struggling to get to his feet, as Otarrah watched silently.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We might be in deep shit…” Landin muttered seeing the man.
<b>[Xavier Thornsworth Level 18]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">“He just trashed a level 20 with speedparable to Sarah, maybe even Drake. <i><span style="font-weight:400">He’s using concealing equipment for his level</i><span style="font-weight:400">, I’m sure of it,” Landin muttered warily, his eyes drawn to the new people walking through the gate as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">A line of elven women walkednguidly through the gate, their ears noticeably cut except for one at the front. Her condition leagues above the rest, even wearing a clean maid outfitpared to the thin clothing of the others.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Did this guy really bring an entourage of… sex ves to a fight?” Landin said in disbelief, only to hear shouting from the tents behind him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“T-Tanya!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin swiveled his head, looking behind him and seeing the dwarf woman Drake had first freed, huffing and puffing as she tried her best to yell.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Tanya! It’s going to be o-okay! They’vee to s-save us! <i><span style="font-weight:400">He’s</i><span style="font-weight:400">e to save us!! We can finally g-go…home!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Xavier looked over displeased but didn’t move, “Who?” he asked, “These pussies? Ha! They won’t even be a warm up!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Mae downed a red vial, rolling his shoulders with a scowl.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fight whoever you want. But we were here first.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Xavier scoffed, “Then run off somewhere with your tail between your legs, I won’t stop you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin had turned back around, watching Xavier, Mae, and Otarrah’s exchange while also ncing at the girls that were lined up. The only one he saw whose expression changed he assumed was Tanya, the other women seemingly like dolls without emotion or any real semnce of where they were as if drugged.
<span style="font-weight:400">Y tried once more to call out to Tanya but was cut off by Xavier.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Will you shut up already! None of these dirty little skanks even want to leave! Isn’t that right?!” Xavier shouted, the women in line saying nothing, “See! They’re perfectly happy right here! Hahaha!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin clenched his fist, tired of hearing the absurdity from this deranged man.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Listen,” Landin whispered to everyone, “Our only shot is for you three to fight and beat the other two, then get Drake back here as fast as you can.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“What will you do?” Atropos asked over her shoulder.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll keep big, tall, and ugly busy as long as I can…” he answered wryly.
<span style="font-weight:400">A brief silence hung over them, Atropos gripping her scythe before sighing with a nod.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Clotho, we must give it our all here. Let us meet once more, safe and sound.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Clotho gave a small grunt, leading Quetz to the side, Mae smiling as he followed them.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Huh? Are we going? Hey, are we going now?” Quetz asked being ushered to the other side of the partition, in the direction the guards originally were leading them.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hunt well, Landin,” Atropos said softly with a small smile on her lips, “We will return quickly with Lord Drake.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin gave a small smile back, raising a hand with a thumbs up.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Don’t count me out just yet, I’ll beat this guy before Drake even gets here.”