"Oh damn…I thought I will get to play dead till the end"
Yuna with a slight bewildered expression look at the youth who was being knocked unconscious when Ozark made its appearance the first time. They are the one who lose 'consciousness' when the Ozark Howler gave its piercing howl.
The youth nudge at his friend beside him "Yo, stop playing dead or you will really be burnt to death by the Cockatr"
The other youth who was still playing death stir up slightly at his friend relentless nudging "Tsk, thought I could lie down and win"
"Pretty dreams, I was already dissatisfied with you two paying dead before me, rendering me to fight reluctantly" One teenagers who was rubbing the blood flowing down from his nose sneered.
"I even damage my shoes to act a bit weaker" Enyo tone laced with displeased as she tug at her brother sleeves.
Yuna who was looking at the sudden change in demeanour of the younglings couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
So…. All the intense fight earlier….was an act?
Damn….
Yuna knows that Austin hide his true strength so as to not attract unwanted attention but these other children as well..most of them seems someone of higher status, do they need to act so cautious?
Isn't it the case for noble children to flaunt their strength??
Does she generalize them too much?
"I thought I could pull off like the main character Roy"
"Me too"
"Hais…Its really hard for this young master to hide his amazingness" The youth sigh dramatically.
Roy?...
Hah….. Now Yuna could slightly understand what was churning inside this bunch of teenagers head.
The main character Roy they were talking about is from the recently popular novel 'Powerhouse from the shadow' entailing story about a main character who hid his strength and operate from the shadow—much like a tiger masquerading as a pig to let others think that he is weak and easily butchered but in reality, he is a strong and ferocious tiger.
A face slapping genre is quite popular in the novels published this days.
Their act of obeying the Crown Prince command and even thanking him was nothing more than their attempt to reduce their presence and strength.
That sly crown prince should also be aware of it but he play along with them.
In the end, it was only Yuna who thought they are having hard.
Teenagers nowadays…. Yuna the old zillennial could not keep up with it.
While the teenagers was having their fit, the air boiled with heat as the Cockatr swooped down, its enormous wings fanning the ground into an inferno. The monstrous hybrid—a grotesque fusion of draconic might and barnyard madness—stood at least fifteen feet tall, its charred feathers shimmering with ember-like veins. Flames leaked from its beak like saliva, and its talons, each the size of a grown man, could slice through steel with ease.
Looking up at the beast, Yuna moves, hiding herself tightly behind a thick tree.
This bunch of teenagers…they seem so untrustworthy, can her safety be guaranteed with how haywire their brain are?
Still, Yuna who choose to hide behind a tree have no right to criticize them when she was not the one going to fight it.
The Cockatr, what made it truly terrifying was the fire it breathed—not just any fire, but a corruptive flame that melted armor and seared human flesh on contact.
"That thing just melted a boulder," One youth muttered, gripping his sword. "Remind me why we're fighting this again?"
"Because it will burnt us to death," The archer called from her perch, knocking an arrow. "And because it insulted my mother before doing so!"
"Wait, it can talk?" Another youth exclaimed, glancing up at the archer.
"Not really," She replied. "But it did cluck in a really disrespectful way."
Before they could argue more, the Cockatr shrieked, flapping its wings violently. A wave of superheated wind blasted toward them, instantly warping the metal of the youth sword and singeing another youth cloak.
"Alright, we kill it," The mage growled, waving her staff. With a swift incantation, arcane ice laced her fingertips, countering the rising heat. "Formation! Or we're getting roasted alive."
This time, the crown prince didn't even need to instruct them.
The Sword user, danced between the Cockatr scalding talons, his reforged sword striking wherever he could find an opening. His movements were quick, precise—a lethal flurry of cuts aimed at tendons and weak spots. But the monster's hide was like tempered steel, and his blade barely left a mark.
The Claymore user, his friend, relied on brute force. He swung his towering blade, unleashing massive shockwaves with each strike. One colossal swing finally landed, cleaving deep into the beast's side—only for his blade to start melting from the contact.
"You have got to be kidding me!" he roared, shaking the half-melted weapon.
"Did I forget to mention the corrosive fire?" The mage called, her tone far too casual as she unleashed a barrage of icy bolts, the spells hissing as they struck the Cockatr burning feathers.
"YES, VELRA. YOU DID!" The claymore user shouted, barely dodging a molten swipe.
The Arryn siblings, Alaster and Enyo, took their chance.
They reached out, their hands twisting the blood spilled from claymore user earlier strike. The liquid surged unnaturally, morphing into barbed tendrils that lashed at the beast's legs, tightening like chains.
The Cockatr shrieked, its flaming body struggling against the unnatural bonds.
"Hold it!" Enyo pretty face knit into a tight frown, veins darkening as they amplified their control.
"Why do we always have to use our own blood for this?" she groaned, clearly feeling the toll.
"Because the chicken is made of fire, and we don't exactly have a water supply!" Alaster replied.
"You're annoying when you're right." Enyo frown deepen further, her red lips pouting.
The archer, took her cue. From her vantage point, she fired explosive arrows, each one striking the Cockatr softened joints. The beast thrashed, now bleeding liquid fire, its movements erratic.
"See? This is why archers are the superior warriors," she said smugly, firing another shot.
The Cockatr, now enraged, unleashed a devastating wave of fire, burning away the blood tendrils and sending the sword user and claymore user reeling.
"New plan!" The crown Prince chimed in, slamming his staff into the ground.
He muttered a complex incantation, his eyes glowing with power. Frost crawled from his fingertips, rapidly forming an icy dome around the beast. The flames flickered, fighting the encroaching cold.
"NOW!" He yelled.
The claymore user, still furious over his ruined claymore, grabbed a massive boulder and hurled it at the Cockatr head. Cailum followed up, driving his sword into its exposed neck, and the archers' final arrow struck home.
The beast gave one last, ear-splitting screech, before collapsing into a smoldering heap.
The battlefield reeked of burnt feathers and scorched earth. The teenage warriors stood in exhausted silence, catching their breath.
"Well," the sword user, the one who pretend to be unconscious wiped the soot off his face. "That was miserable."
Velra coughed. "At least we won?"
The claymore user held up his half-melted claymore. "Did we? My sword says otherwise."
"You should be honored," his friend smirked. "Not many people can say their weapon was melted by a chicken."
Enyo flopped onto the ground, groaning while her brother pats her back as if consoling her. The chicken constant vaporization of the blood they control makes controlling the blood strained, letting her expand unnecessary energy.
She was still not as good as her brother in bending blood and even instilling blood runes into it. If she is as fast as her brother, the blood should not have vaporized, losing a lot of blood to control in the process!
"Next time," Wheezed one mage "Can we fight something that doesn't set itself on fire?"
Velra dusted herself off and surveyed the wreckage. "Depends," she mused. "Will another beast come out again?"
Silence.
And then, from the darkness of the ruined battlefield…
A deep, ominous gobble.
A reptilian like creatures emerge from the ground.
"Damn Velra! You jinxed!"
"What do you mean?! Things that will happen will happen. Don't point finger at me" Velra retorted, pointing her finger.
The reptilian like thing, it has been hiding all along, deciding to strike when both the parties are weak.
But they are quite powerful, so the reptilian like creatures forked it tongue and lashed it out a the person who seem like the weakest as she was hiding while others fight the Cockatr.
The person is none other than Yuna.
Damn.
Yuna quickly churn her wind ability to fly off but even before she did so, she heard a person shouting her name—panicked. The reptilian like creature does not even have time to reach her before it was brutally cleaved by a sword energy.
Yuna slowly look at Austin who have a frantic and fierce expression.
He has passively assist the teenagers in their fight, never involving deeper.
But now, in his panic state of seeing her getting attack unveil his hidden fighting technique.
The sword energy that was split into three hover in the air, none doubt the strength and sharpness hidden in the sword aura.
Retrieving his sword and dissipating the sharp sword aura, Austin make his way toward Yuna, grab her and pull her in his embrace.
"I can fly up, now you are showing our hidden technique" Yuna grumble quietly but she let herself be hugged seeing Austin unsettled expression.
He is always so excessively concern about her.
.....It's a bit annoying and sometimes quite unbearable.
Austin remain quiet, just silently hugging her. He just cannot stand the idea of any harm befalling Yuna.
He don't need her to be strong and capable, just depending on him is enough. Such twisted thought; thankfully or maybe tragically, Yuna is not a mind-reader.
"Damn…what kind of powerful technique is that?"
The sword user mumbles in amazement. His friend beside him exclaim "He is more like the powerhouse in the shadow than I was before"
Yuna look at the bunch of teenagers who peered at Austin with unconcealed look of interest and amazement, she does not miss the Crown Prince narrowing his eyes at Austin either.
Great, he sure is going to attract the eyes of the high class children with that move.
Yuna has repeatedly told Austin to remain low-key and used the ten thousand sword control technique as their trump card, now it's ruined because of a damn giant Gecko!
Should she be glad that the sword aura that float is only three and not eight which is his max potential right now?
That's it, Protagonist are always meant to shine. Their luster can't be buried.
The damn protagonist aura.
She just hopes for herself to not be bothered by Austin likely popularity in the future. You know, someone trying to use her to get close to Austin.
Yuna sigh a bit sadly as she reminisced of the past, her life in Huin town. Little girls used to approach her with love letters, flowers and candies because Austin accept things only from her hands. There are also those little boys who want to buddy-buddy with the cool and strong Austin but he was too cold so they try to used her as an errand girl to bridge friendship between them and Austin.
It was not a very pleasant thing to be disturb all the time just because she looks weak and easy to bully. That's why, Yuna became even colder than Austin, never interacting with them and with her infamous title of lazy student, they stop approaching her.
Oh well, let's not think about her sad history of not making a friend yet in the fantasy world.
Let's ignore Austin in the realm of friends as he never truly embodied or act as a male friend. Sigh....