With every step that the monster took, the ground would also shake. The vibrations even caused some of the stones to be displaced. Nina was already behind Cygnus while the butler stood beside them.
"Lieutenant Lisbon, take some of our men and assess the current situation. Report to me immediately." Major Ginehart strode towards the other group. His face looked grim and yet there was still a sense of confidence coming from him.
"What are we going to do now?" Cygnus asked while making sure that Nina was tucked safely behind him. He thought that they were already safe since they did not encounter any monsters since they entered the forest but now, they were faced with this kind of situation.
"Prepare to leave. We don't know what kind of monster is coming our way. We will ride fast. Your carriage will go first and we will take the rear. We need to move fast." Ginehart pointed at their carriage so Cygnus nodded. He pulled Nina followed by the butler.
"I'll stay out. I'll act as a support if that monster would really come after us." Astrophos used a floating spell and floated beside the carriage.
Once everyone was ready, they left. The horses were running as fast as they could and yet the roar's distance seemed to be coming nearer. They only rode for a couple of minutes when one of the scouts the major sent returned. He rode one of the horses and guided the horse near Ginehart.
"Sir, they are ogres and it's not only one, according to what we counted, there are five of them moving towards our direction and the lieutenant suspects that there may be others hiding," the soldier reported.
The other soldiers remained calm after knowing what monster they were about to face. The only woman in the group on the other hand started to get hysterical after hearing that ogres were coming their way.
"Brother! What do we do? There are ogres! I don't want to die yet!" She started to yell and shook his brother who was a bit stunned at the information.
Ginehart looked at the floating mage but he saw no reaction from him. "What do you think Grand Mage Astrophos?"
"If it is a group of ogres, I believe that your men can take care of them. Although they can think for themselves, they're still a little bit slow. Just hit them in the eye or in the head and they'll be down." Astrophos shrugged his shoulders as he raised an eyebrow towards Ginehart.
The major's smile faltered for a moment before he sighed. He nodded at the soldier who reported the situation and the soldier left. He returned to where the lieutenant was to relay the command that they will fight the ogres.
Roars from behind them started to get chaotic and the farther they got away, the lesser the shaking was. Lieutenant Lisbon together with his men fought the ogres. Just as Astrophos's words, they easily took down three ogres. They were continuously jumping up and down on the ogre's body while avoiding their attacks. Using their swift skills, they could easily reach the ogre's head and inflict damage on their eyes with only swords.
After the last ogre fell down, the soldiers were finally relieved and were about to return to the main group. They were about to leave when one of the soldiers was suddenly thrown and hit a tree so hard that they could hear his bones breaking.
"Retreat!" Lisbon immediately commanded. "Get away from those ogres now!"
They leapt away from the supposedly dead enemies and watched as the ogres they thought they killed slowly stood up. They also saw how the wounds they painstakingly inflicted healed. Ogres do not have the ability to heal. They can defend against magic but they can't use magic, so healing was impossible.
"This is not good," Lisbon mumbled to himself as the five ogres they fought let out another roar which was stronger and more intimidating. He whistled twice and two of the soldiers came to him. "Return to the major and inform him that the situation has become dire." He addressed the first one who left after receiving the order. "And you, form a group of three and scout the area, find if there are any magic users around and dispose of them if there are."
Once the commands were received, they acted instantly without any hesitation. Lieutenant Lisbon together with the remaining soldiers, fought the ogres once again but this time no matter how they were able to wound the enemy, it heals instantly.
After the silence, as they thought that the fight was already done, they heard the roars once again and this time it was louder and fiercer. They were already halfway from the exit of the forest but the monsters were not defeated yet.
Astrophos who was floating turned around with a frown. He was looking at the direction of the fight. "Magic users or maybe mage hunters. Someone is using mana and is controlling those ogres." His discovery made Ginehart's face black.
One of the scouts also returned and confirmed their suspicion. Ginehart looked at his remaining men and thought hard on how he would move. Before he could decide, Astrophos already made his move.
"Where are you going?" Ginehart stopped the man before he could leave.
"Stay here and I'll go deal with whoever is controlling those ogres. If a mage hunter is here, I believe that you can deal with them given your reputation," Astrophos slightly turned around to give the man a look of 'you can do it' before he left.
"Mages of the tower are really willful," Ginehart rubbed his face before he addressed his men. "As you've heard mage hunters might be involved so sharpen your senses and be on alert."
The soldiers scattered around the carriage as they continued to move but now, they were moving a bit slowly so that they could react when they encountered a surprise attack. Ginehart maneuvered his horse and stayed closer to the carriage.
"Since mage hunters might be involved, you should prepare to defend yourself," he instructed, which earned him a harrumph from Cygnus.
"I thought you were going to protect us?" He retorted. He was the one who promised them that they would protect them and now he was telling them that they should prepare themselves.
"Yes, but we will need your magic powers as support since I don't have my full company traveling with me and my men are currently divided into two." Ginehart gave him a big smile.
