Territory War (Part 2)

The Hobgoblin and the Dire Gray Wolf survived the Tier III Fire spell, but not without injuries. Hobgoblin suffered burns around his arm and leg whereas the Dire Gray Wolf had his shaggy fur burned down to his exposed skin where that also got burned.

"Grrrrgh!" the Hobgoblin growled in anger as to see that the three people was responsible for stealing his prey. He picked up his large wooden club and ran after them. The wolf regained his senses and see the Hobgoblin chasing after his newer prey. He began running to intercept.

"Here it comes!" Flint said, readying his sword.

The hobgoblin raises his giant club and strike down at the barrier.

*SHINKT!*

As soon as the Hobgoblin strikes down, the Dire Gray Wolf intercepts him, biting his neck.

"GYAAAGH!" The Hobgoblin screams and flails wildly to shake the wolf off. The Hobgoblin smashes trees and rocks in a fit of rage to shake off the wolf's jaws.

"Using another! Flame spell!" Elliea said.

"NO! You'll really piss off the Forest Guardian for real!" I yelled inwardly.

"Raging Flames..." Elliea said as she began chanting. The ground shook which stopped her chant.

"Why'd you stop?" Flint said. Only for another rumble to shake the ground even stronger.

*BREEP! BREEP!*

An alarming sound went in my head and showed an orange screen with black letters.

[Warning. A powerful monster detected.]

I activated Perception so I can find where that powerful monster is and much to my worry, it is confirmed.

A towering animal resembling a bear with chunks of stone covering its back, arms, and head. Its eyes are deep green and ferocious. Its jaw can crush rocks and thick wood branches. If it can break stones, it can break bones. This...this is a Rock Bear!

"System...check its stats."

[Attempting...completed.]

Hot damn! Evolved from Wood Bear which is at rank E, but a regular Rock Bear is at Rank C at best! Rock Bears are nasty when it comes to strength and defense, but are slow compared to other C ranked beasts like Greenwood Deer, Black Owl, and Dire Wolves. Also, they have Earth Magic at tier II. The reason for it to be at Rank A+ is the Nature's Blessing. Boost stats by leaps and bounds and their rank by 2 or 3. However, they must remain in the forest biome for it to work.

"I can't stay here." I said and began sprinting while I am invisible. I can get the crystals for EP later, but with them around including the Rock Bear, it's out of the question.

"WHO DARES HARM THE TRANQUIL FOREST!?" A deep booming voice thundered across the Nolten Forest which made the trees and vegetation tremble, the birds fly away in terror where other animals at the ground run away. The Hobgoblin covered its ears while the Dire Gray Wolf was paralyzed from the sound. The adventurers also were frozen from the booming voice and appearance.

Me on the other hand, a chill went through me, causing my body to stiffen and making me fall over. My translucent body reverted back into its original state.

"This feeling...Intimidation." I said, trembling. It was as if I was being held down by a boulder on my back. However, another alarm went in my head.

*BREEP! BREEP!*

[Warning. Camouflage and Concealment has been cancelled due to status aliment. Individual Rock Bear is still near.]

"No, I can't get caught yet! Come on, move!" I said, struggling to get up again. I got up and kept running and reactivated Concealment and Camouflage.

[Notice. Tenacity acquired.]

"Now that you guys brought the Forest Guardian, I'll be surprised if any of you return alive." I thought to myself. I continue running until I reached the bridge and saw Ezo and Tuya speeding by.

"This roar, there is no doubt." Tuya said with a serious tone.

"We must calm the Forest Guardian!" Ezo said.

"So, they got a bit of relation towards the Forest Guardian. Seeing that they're S ranked, it should be doable. I hope nothing goes wrong." I thought to myself as I pass over the bridge.

I go back to the village and unsurprisingly, the entire village is restless. Although, my two skills are still active. I think about Hyoran since she is definitely affected since she is a Beastkin which have better hearing than I do.

I enter the hut and deactivated my two skills.

"Hyoran? Hyoran, are you alright?" I called out to her.

"Kain!" Hyoran yelled and shortly after, she dived right at my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I looked at her to see her ears are tucked in and her body is shaking. She is visibly scared.

"I was so scared...Gris passed out and you weren't here since you went out hunting!" Hyoran said with her trembling voice. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I was worried you'd be caught by the monsters from that big roar!"

Well, she's not wrong. If any monster was nearby, it would've ran from the roar.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. All the other monsters scattered away." I said, reassuring Hyoran as I pat her head and wolf ears.

Hyoran's tail that was tucked between her legs, trembling loosened up as she is beginning to calm down.

"Where's Gris?" I asked.

"He's in our room, but fainted from that roar." Hyoran said. I picked her up so she could stand and went to check on Gris.

I see Gris on the corner, crouching, trembling. His tail tucked away, his ears tucked away, and couldn't move. He's worse off because he's at Rank F.

"Gris. Hey, it's alright. We're here for you." I said to him to calm down. I reached my hand out to pet him, but Gris whined and scooted backwards, even though he couldn't go further.

I didn't retract my hand and began to pet him and slowly, but surely, he began to calm down. Seems to me that naming Gris made things easier since it's a form of bonding. Now that I'm back and these two are heading out, everything will be good. I hope things blows over before the Forest Guardian starts its rampage.