I wonder how Cyrus is doing, Lilie mused.

She had been watching the canaries playing in the air when the sudden thought popped up.

Oh, no. She frowned. They're flying off again.

She whistled a command tune as they drew close to a cluttered mess of giant walking palm trees wreathed in thick fog. The canaries immediately stopped their trajectory and turned around. Once they drew close, she shattered a few life runes and activated her mind-speak glamour.

A vibrant aura wrapped around her person and the canaries. It was a convenient spell, to be sure. While it wasn't true telepathy, it had its proper moments when speaking to animals.

Stop trying to play in the trees, she thought, waggling her finger at them. Scary monsters are hiding in there. Do you want to scare me to death?

Indeed. Team Breeze was now following the river in the shifting forest, and they'd best be careful. It was bad enough that these creepy trees looked like they'd sprouted legs and walked around whenever no one was watching them. Maybe that's where the 'tree-men' reports came from?

In any case, these trees were the least of their problems. It was more on their thick canopy, specifically what hid in them. Those damn stalkers. Sneaky little devils that were always waiting for their next meal.

"You're such a mother hen," Morgan said behind her, chuckling.

"What if something bad happens?" Lilie muttered, tugging at her wrist cuffs. "It's not like any of us are healers."

But their little moment soon ended.

"Quiet." Wayfarer Anari's curt voice abruptly cut in. "Position three."

The command was more than enough. At lightning speeds, they dropped their packs and formed a triangle: Anari and Lilie stood parallel while Morgan positioned himself next to the river.

"Teamleader?" Lilie whispered, drawing her repeater rifle.

"Above. One hundred thirty degrees." Anari said, brandishing her straight sword that shimmered with a thin, gray light.

Morgan nodded and lowered his hand to the river. With a flick of his wrist, he drew a rushing stream of water and shaped it into a floating sphere above his palm. Meanwhile, Anari whistled a command to the canary to take cover near the river and remain there unless told otherwise.

Now, they were ready for battle. And just in time as well. Anari looked toward the canopy on the right. It shifted and shuffled before five quadrupedal, stocky, and broad reptiles dropped to the ground, landing mere meters away from Team Breeze. Upon a closer look, they were covered in thick green and muddy brown scales. Their thick and sharp claws began to dig at the ground, ready to tear and rip at a moment's notice.

The two groups locked eyes and remained at a standstill, with neither party willing to break the peace just yet.

All except for one. A stalker, one head taller than the rest, raised its head and flicked out its purplish-pink tongue to lick its blunt snout. Beneath its long, scaled body, the grass began to sway without wind.

A spirit beast? Lilie lightly tapped the ground and activated her druidic powers.

Before her very gaze, the root system of the grass between the two groups and the sacrifice of three runes extended her power's range to beneath their very feet.

The grasses told her the lizard's weight and if there were any invisible enemies, which there were not. More importantly, the closest swaying strands proved their movements were caused by...

"The alpha is a wind beast," Lilie whispered, taking aim.

Anari nodded. "Then, start."

Bang

A whizz cut through the air, followed by the yelp of a stalker as a round pierced through its skull. It tumbled forward and crashed onto the ground, lifeless.

And so, the fight began. The alpha roared as the stalkers charged forward, clawing into the dirt. Unperturbed at the sight, Morgan merely snorted. With a wave of his hand, the water ball split into four and shot forward, flash-freezing as it pierced through the air, along with the rounds Lilie fired alongside him.

But the alpha roared again. From its mouth, a squall shot forward, forming a barrier. Its strength easily shattered the ice, and while rounds penetrated through it, they abruptly broke their trajectories and crashed onto the ground.

Anari tsked. "Lilie, support Morgan while I handle the alpha."

She then ran forward as her shimmering blade extended its edge with cyan energies. Then, she swung. Air churned around her blade, and three sharp crescents shot forward. They crashed into the barrier as turbulent winds formed from the impact. But it was useless as the crescents fell under the might of the aero-shell. And with it, the stalkers bulldozed forward.

"Specialist!" Anari yelled, launching one crescent after another. "Lilie."

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"Yes!" Without hesitation, Lilie pressed her palms downward. Mana surged through the roots and up the grass blades. And in that moment, they thinned and strengthened into something dangerous as blades.

Several yelps sounded out as the stalkers' feet were shredded. With it came the disappearance of their barrier as the grass strands grew and tangled around several beasts. Now was the time to strike. Morgan, daggers at the ready, swiftly maneuvered to the left as slushy water tendrils formed on his back to fight the lesser beasts. Meanwhile, Anari launched more wind crescents at the alpha.

Morgan's steps were silent. He sprinted towards the first stalker and leaped over it as a water appendage moved downwards to its head. It's point flash-froze into a knife that plunged directly into the lizard's neck. And in a single stroke and twist, the beast collapsed as it gurgled its last breath. Yet the man wasn't done. Morgan wasn't finished as he sped toward the next stalker.

The latter struggled with all its strength, ripping away from the entangle holding it down. With a resounding roar, it suddenly hurled a burst of wind directly at Morgan. While surprised, Morgan instinctively reacted by coalescing his tendrils toward his arm, flash-freezing it into a shield to take the brunt of the damage.

The force was enough to knock him back a few steps and shatter his shield. But Morgan remained calm. The next moment, the shards quickly melted and reformed into appendages.

"They're all spirit bea—" But Morgan's voice was drowned out by the waves of gales unleashed from the alpha's roar.

The brewing tempest was powerful enough to toss bodies. And it forced Team Breeze to use their own means to protect themselves. Anari conjured her own wind barrier while Lilie and Morgan secured themselves with thick roots and icy anchors. But their worries heightened to new levels once the alpha stopped and roared toward the far distance.

Reinforcements will arrive if Team Breeze doesn't finish this soon. But bad news came in droves. The alpha launched another gale that shredded through the grass snares and freed the remaining stalkers.

They charged toward Morgan as he was locked down by his icy latches. While somewhat helpless, Morgan released some of his tendrils and formed a shield to take the brunt of one of the lizard's attacks as it aimed to bite his throat.

Yet he was open to the other stalker. Angry and frothing at the mouth, it ran around to attack from behind. It ran faster and faster until lunging towards him with a howling roar and claws wide op—bang.

Lilie, who was waiting, made her shot. The next moment, a round pierced the attacking stalker's temple, and it was sent tumbling dead sideways, barely missing Morgan.

At the same time, the latter pressed for the attack. He transformed his shield into coiling snakes that wrapped around the remaining lesser stalker. They then suddenly froze into icy chains and trapped the stalker as Morgan retreated.

At that instant, Anari was distracting the alpha. She launched wind crescents one after another at the alpha's wind barrier, yet none could penetrate it. There was no doubt about it: her wind attacks were useless here.

So, with a frustrated tsk, Anari flourished her sword. Time to change domains. Tightly gripping her sword with both hands, she swung once more. Her sword's edge shimmered gray as an arcane crescent effortlessly sliced through the barrier and into the alpha's shoulder. Blood splattered as the stalker roared in pain, releasing its hold on the air around it. But it didn't stop there. The next moment, two projectiles in the form of ice shards and bullet rounds struck its side.

Already having dispatched the lesser stalker, Lilie and Morgan joined in the fray! And this marked the end of the overwhelmed alpha. Team Breeze worked in a coordinated assault, using roots, ice, and blades to pin it down and attack until it finally crashed onto the ground, blood sputtering from its wounds.

But the job wasn't done yet.

"You know what to do," Anari said, pulling a dagger from her boot. "And be quick about it."

The two nodded. They brandished daggers and efficiently carved into the slain beast's hides.

"How long do we have, Team Leader?" Morgan asked, digging into the chest of a stalker.

Anari responded by closing her eyes.

"Five minutes," she eventually said. "I don't hear anything nearby. What about you?

Lilie channeled her mana and stretched her senses into the plant life around her. Indeed, it was as she said. Be it her invasive abilities or Anari's incredible hearing, nothing would come close without notice. Something to round out the canaries. And speaking of canaries, once Lilie received permission, she whistled to signal Tuula and the others to emerge from their hiding place.

"Wash up when you're done," Anari ordered. "The last thing we want is to leave a trail."

The two nodded in response. After a minute or two, Morgan and Lilie sighed and retreated to the river.

"No crystals here."

"None here either."

Anari nodded and focused on her task. The alpha's scales proved more challenging to penetrate compared to the smaller lizards. But thankfully, her efforts were not in vain, as two lights gleamed from within its rib cage—one cyan, the other green.

Success. Without disgust from the blood and meat, Anari tore out two bloody runic crystals from the alpha's heart. After a quick watch, they scrubbed the blood off and any other lingering scents before moving forward.

The bloody mess they left remained untouched. Such as it was to attract beasts toward it than them. And the stalkers were akin to walking trash cans. The meat of their kin was fair game. In the end, the slaughter would attract more and more beasts, in turn, bringing more battles. But this had nothing to do with Team Breeze, who were already further down the stream.

Once far from the bloodshed, they distributed the spoils. Anari tossed the life crystal while keeping the wind crystal for herself.

"Don't worry, Lilie," Anari began, gracing her with a reassuring smile. "The next crystal is yours."

"It's okay," Lilie responded with a smile of her own.

She truly didn't mind it. And why would she? Lilie was the daughter of a city lord and could have almost anything she wanted, even if the city itself was a bit poor. Moreover, to her, what was more important was that her partners were safe.

The conversation lulled as Team Breeze pressed on. On and on, they went up the river until the team decided to pause as Anari pulled out the map.

"It'll take a few more days until we reach the cache site," she said as she studied it. "We'll conserve as many crystals as we can until then. And Lilie, keep your senses attuned to the flora."

"Is something wrong?" Lilie inquired.

Morgan nodded. "Team Leader found a report of a spirit beast born of a dangerous plant."

Now, that was interesting. It was one thing for beasts to gain insights from the domains they were born in. But for an actual plant to gain animal instincts? That was something, as they usually just transform into unique plants that bear insight fruits.

In any case, what mattered was finding the bunker. So, after reaffirming their responsibilities, the group resumed their journey, occasionally encountering more battles throughout the days.

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