Chapter 23: The Battle of Chaos
"F-Formation!"
Hunters moved immediately, running and grouping up. It didn’t matter if the formation was perfect. What mattered was being together. Alone, they would die quickly. In a group, they had more of a chance to fight back.
Arah and his team joined the closest hunter squad. The strongest among hunters, Rank 3s and 2s, took the front, cutting down the fishmen that approached. But a few still got through.
The fishmen were fast, and their screams didn’t stop as they ran at them. They stabbed and slashed around without pattern.
Arah stayed in the rear with Terent and Sofise. It was the only smart choice. They weren’t strong enough to hold the line. But here, they could kill the ones that slipped through without being too overwhelmed.
Arah used his spear to keep a safe distance from them while he observed them. If a fishman got too close, he would block before he killed it and push soul energy through his limbs. The enemies weren’t that strong. Weaker than expected. For beasts producing red discs, they were underwhelming.
’They were out of their element.’
If they had been fighting underwater, this would have gone differently. But the parasite had forced them onto land, where they were slower and less coordinated.
Still, they were dangerous.
One jumped at him from behind. Arah twisted his body and blocked with the shaft of his spear. The impact pushed him back, his feet sliding on dirt. His hands shook.
Another came from the side. He reacted just in time, catching the attack and parrying it.