Linius saw the small interaction and he knew that his soldiers were worried. Like him, they also had their families so it was a human's nature to worry for someone who looked weak and ordinary. It was ingrained in their blood to protect those who couldn't defend themselves.
"Don't worry my brother isn't as fragile as he looks. He is actually strong and even though he grew up in luxury, he is also used to a simple life. He'll be fine." Linius spoke from behind them with his gaze on the master.
The soldiers saw that he was looking at his brother's direction and believed his words. They did not hear the young man complain throughout the journey and he was not picky with what he ate which was actually a relief. If it were the child of other aristocratic families, they would have already heard several complaints. Luckily the general's brother was not like that.
An early meeting was convened the following day. Linius together with his three captains and lieutenant were planning the arrangement of the exploration. They even marked certain places on the map they drew where each group would reach.
Their task was to clear out any remaining monsters and put up a flag of the kingdom after the area was cleared. It was their way of saying that the place was already claimed. After clearing those places they will return to the base and rest.
Once the plan was finalized, they called their people and arranged them on their teams. There were five groups that were formed. The general briefed them of their task and reminded them to report back immediately if they encountered any monsters that were beyond their capabilities. With the last bit of reminders, they moved out to their areas to perform their duties.
Cygnus managed to sneak inside one of the teams and joined them. Of course, Linius knew about this but he did not stop him. There was no way of stopping him because he would not listen to anyone.
The soldiers saw that the young master was with them. They debated amongst themselves how they should deal with the young man because the general might get angry. One of them cautiously approached him.
"Young master, why are you suddenly here? Shouldn't you be at the base camp right now? The general might be looking for you," he asked. His forehead was wrinkled and his brows were together.
"Oh, don't worry. My brother knows that I followed you guys. I won't be a nuisance and I am only here to observe and if something happens, I can protect myself. So, no need to concern yourselves with me." He was grinning and the confidence in his voice made them chuckle.
"Just make sure you do that. If a monster attacks we won't be protecting you." One of the heroes who were with them spat in anger.
The soldier who talked with Cygnus whipped his head back and glared at the man. "Then we will protect him. You don't have to concern yourselves with the young master."
"Go ahead. If you die protecting that weakling, then that's your fault." The hero pulled the reins of the horse and led it to the direction where they were going. The three other heroes followed behind.
The soldier's frown deepened before he calmed himself and looked at the young man again. "Don't mind them. They've been prickly ever since you managed to burn their tents. Well, they have always been prickly even before that, so just ignore them."
Cygnus nodded obediently and followed closely behind them. It took them almost two hours before they reached the area assigned to them. Cygnus could already see the mark that the general left and the carcasses of the monsters they've defeated.
They all alighted from their horses and started to spread out to make sure that there are no monsters within the perimeter of the area. Cygnus was advised to stay in the middle, where the mark was left and to wait for them. He did not complain and just followed their arrangement.
While waiting for them, his eyes suddenly glinted after thirty minutes of sitting there and doing nothing. A wide smile appeared on his face when he felt that there was something big coming his way. He did not stand up though and waited for them to appear.
Several people burst out from the tree line while defending from a monster that was after them. The monster that was chasing them resembled a rhinoceros the only difference it had with the normal ones was that it was bigger and instead of having one horn, it had two small additional horns on the side of the main horn. It also has spikes on its back and on its tail.
Magic was coming out from its horn which it used to attack the heroes. Aside from its magic, it also used its tail to attack. It flicked it to the direction of the heroes which hit one of them and sent him flying. It fired magic to the hero it hit which made the man unable to move.
This angered the heroes as they continued to fire magic at the monster. When magic was having no effect against it, they resorted to their weapons. A sword, a spear and a bow were drawn and used to attack the monster. Cygnus watched as they sloppily used their weapons to wound the monster. It was so boring because the hero who used the bow couldn't even land a hit. Even the one who uses a spear couldn't pierce the monster.
"That's understandable master, the rhinoceros's skin is too tough for their weapons. They'll need at least a 'Unique Rank' weapon," Ari spoke in Cygnus's mind since she was also observing the fight from where she was.
"They're heroes and yet their weapons are not in that rank yet?" Cygnus was baffled at the information.
"That's because they are covering it up with their magic," Ari answered. The heroes were at least at the rank of a High Mage so their magic was strong but with them relying solely on their magic, they neglected to practice their weapons.
"They are really confident with their magic, how arrogant. So, they must have been facing monsters weaker than them these past months…" Cygnus mumbled to himself and he did not expect anyone to answer.
"That's not true, we've faced monsters as strong as that one but we did all the work. They would only assist us using their magic and yet they claim that they were the ones who defeated the enemies." Marcus, the soldier who had been talking to Cygnus from the very beginning, spoke from behind.
"That's messed up," Cygnus raised an eyebrow at what he learned. In retrospect, heroes should be stronger than any normal soldier because they have magic and they could use weapons.
"Yes, it is," Marcus nodded. He looked behind him and nodded to his comrades. They too joined the fray and fought the monster.
The heroes retreated to the back and even angrily shouted at the soldiers. "Why are you all late!?" one of them couldn't contain his anger.
"We need to deal with the monsters that appear in our area too. All of you are heroes, subduing a monster should be easy for you," one of the soldiers frowned and glared at the angry hero.
This angered the even more but he held himself back. Instead of backing them up with magic, the hero stopped. The others followed his example and retreated from the fight. The soldier noticed this and all he could do was curse.
Marcus also joined the fight and signaled that they should focus on defeating the enemy. The soldier did not even have the time to get angry because of what they did because they needed to focus on the monster in front of them. Cygnus was amazed at how well they were fighting against a monster that uses magic.
Their movements were in sync with each other and every slash of their swords would have an effect on the monster. They were attacking the same spot over and over again until they broke the skin. Although it was an effective strategy, it was still draining their energy and exhausting them fast and without the magic support by the heroes, their hard work would be wasted.
Marcus knew this but he did not intend to stop because if they did, then they would all die. They gritted their teeth and continued but it had been going on for too long that one of them slipped. It caused the rhinoceros to have a window for an attack. It flicked its tail and was about to hit one of the soldiers but an invisible shield protected him.
A magic bullet also pierced the wound that they had created and it even passed through the other side which directly killed the rhinoceros. Cygnus also made sure to add some lightning to the bullet he fired to make sure that the monster would die. After the rhino fell down, all eyes were then focused on him.
