'We’re surrounded. If they all attack at once, we have a much higher chance of losing. Besides, I’m not even sure if I’m in any shape to fight. It’s been a while,' I thought to myself.
"Kill them and bring me the head of that man," the leader commanded.
"Wh-why me?!" Clark bubbling, fear evident in his voice.
"Tch! Let’s do this. Don’t leave any openings for them," Mika ordered.
"Roger!"
"Copy that."
"I-I got it!"
The enemies charged at the five of us all at once. Mika was the first to rush forward, meeting the oncoming attackers head-on.
With her two normal-grade weapons in hand, she attacked with incredible speed. She moved so swiftly that her enemies couldn’t react in time.
Mika took down two of them without breaking a sweat. The other attackers quickly followed, rushing at her one by one. She matched their swordplay, but there were too many of them.
She couldn’t defend every part of her body. Mika was struck on her side and arm by the enemy’s weapons. She swiftly retreated, trying to avoid the next wave of attacks.
'Damn it! I got hit! ' she thought, wincing.
At this point, Mika decided to use her magic. As a fire element user, she unleashed a series of fiery blasts from her arm, hurling them at the attackers.
The enemies dodged her fire spells and launched a rapid counterattack. They were so quick that Mika was caught off guard and couldn’t react in time.
I intercepted the blow with my curse-grade dagger, surprising the enemy with the speed at which I moved to where the fight was unfolding.
"You brat!" one of the enemies shouted as they charged at me.
Before the attack could land, Mika intercepted it, parrying the strike and swiftly slicing through the attacker. Another enemy down.
Meanwhile, Carl was struggling against a horde of cannibals.
"Ah! Get away from me!" Carl yelled.
He summoned two guardians to aid him in the battle.
"Hear my call and help me fight!" Carl shouted.
Seconds later, two magic circles appeared in front of him, and the guardians emerged. With their arrival, we gained more allies on the battlefield.
After summoning, Carl started using wind magic to create distance between himself and his enemies.
"Cyclone!" he shouted.
A powerful whirlwind formed in front of Carl, tearing through the enemies paths. Those caught in the cyclone were carried away while the others quickly dodged.
The remaining enemies who avoided the cyclone charged straight for Carl's position.
"Ah! Time out!" Carl yelled in panic.
Before they could reach him, the two guardians Carl had summoned stepped in. One of the guardians threw a powerful punch that the enemy narrowly dodged, causing the ground to shatter upon impact.
While the enemies were off-balance, the second guardian struck, sending one flying. The two guardians wreaked havoc, attacking any enemies they encountered while Carl provided support from behind.
Meanwhile, Jarred and Kyle were fighting side by side. Jarred, a skilled swordsman, directly engaged the enemies with his elite-grade double-edged sword.
It was clear how adept Jarred was with his weapon. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the enemies' sight and reappeared behind them, slashing at their legs to make them lose balance.
As soon as the enemies fell to their knees, Kyle, the group's marksman, shot them in the head.
Kyle didn't use magic spells. Instead, he wielded guns, coating his bullets with mana and eternal energy to make them stronger and capable of penetrating even the toughest armor.
Fortunately for us, the enemies weren’t wearing any armor, making it easier for Kyle to target different parts of their bodies.
Kyle's attacks began to frustrate the enemies, who decided to target him first, knowing he was weaker in close combat. But before they could reach him, Jarred stepped in to block their path.
Jarred gave no openings, using his swift movements and heavy strikes to take down the enemies one by one, ensuring none of them got close to Kyle.
But it wasn't easy for Jarred when the leader of the cannibals suddenly joined the fight. The speed of his attacks was overwhelming, and Jarred struggled to keep up. 
"Argh! What... What kind of strength is this?" Jarred grunted.
The enemy relentlessly unleashed a barrage of attacks, leaving Jarred with no opportunity to strike back. Meanwhile, the other enemies took this chance to charge at Kyle.
Five cannibals rushed toward Kyle simultaneously, their faces filled with excitement, believing that a marksman like him would be weak in close combat. However, they were mistaken.
With a single wave of Kyle's hand, countless sharp stones rose from the ground and pierced the advancing enemies.
In an instant, Kyle wiped out all the attackers without breaking a sweat. Everyone who saw this, including their leader, was left in shock.
Jarred simply smiled, confident that Kyle could take care of himself. As an expert in earth magic, Kyle could create various defenses and offensive strategies in close combat situations.
Holding his rifle in one hand, Kyle raised his other hand, summoning large, jagged rocks. He aimed them at the remaining enemies and released them. Many were struck, while others managed to evade the attack.
Seeing this, Jarred refocused on battling the cannibal leader. However, no matter what he did, the enemy's attacks were overwhelmingly powerful.
I saw an opportunity and positioned myself behind the leader, launching an attack. However, the leader managed to catch my arm and slammed me into the ground, shattering it beneath me.
Using this brief distraction, Jarred launched an attack, but the enemy successfully parried his blow. As soon as the leader blocked Jarred's strike, I stood up and launched another strike.
I leapt high into the air and unleashed a powerful burst of wind magic. The force struck the leader directly, pushing him back slightly, but he quickly regained his balance.
"It looks like we need to attack him together," I said.
"Good idea," Jarred agreed.
With just a few words exchanged, Jarred and I launched a coordinated assault, targeting every possible opening. I struck from above while Jarred attacked from below, and then we switched positions, with me going low and him going high.
We executed our attacks with speed and precision, leaving no opportunity for a counterattack. The leader began to struggle, unable to defend against our combined strikes. 
Frustrated, he unleashed a powerful aura that sent both of us flying backward. As we regained our footing, he suddenly appeared in front of me and kicked me hard, slamming me into the ground with such force that I was buried deep in the dirt.
Jarred, caught off guard, watched in shock as the leader appeared before him in an instant. The enemy grabbed Jarred’s face and forcefully slammed him into the ground as well. 
At that moment, Mika rushed in and tried to strike the leader's hand, but her normal-grade weapon wasn’t strong enough to inflict a significant wound.
"Nice try, little lady," the leader taunted with a smirk.
"Tch! I am not little!" Mika exclaimed.
After finishing off her own enemies, Mika had come to assist us, but all she could do now was buy time for us to recover.
The force of the blows made it difficult for us to stand. The damage we took was evident in our battered appearance. Jarred’s face was bloodied from the attack.
I raised my hand to release some wind magic to help Mika, while Jarred began healing himself with his magic.
"Ugh! That hit was too strong!" Jarred muttered.
"Wind Scyther!"
I unleashed a flurry of wind magic to distract the leader, giving Mika a chance to find an opening. I remained on the ground, clutching my side, supporting Mika with every gust of wind I could muster.
In just a few seconds, a white halo suddenly appeared above the enemy's head.
“Huh? What’s on his head? ”I asked, startled.
“Angel Ring. It’s dangerous! ”Mika replied.
‘Angel Ring? What is that? I have a bad feeling about this,’ I thought to myself.
Moments later, various parts of the enemy’s body developed holes and started emitting smoke.
“How long do you think you’ll last in this smoke?”The leader of the cannibals taunted.
Without hesitation, Mika charged at the enemy and plunged into the smoke created by the opponent.
At this point, Mika was inhaling the smoke and trying to keep up with the enemy's attacks, using various fire magic spells to counter them.
Meanwhile, Jarred’s condition had improved, and he managed to stand. He came over to me to use healing magic.
“What do you think this smoke is? ”I asked.
“I don’t know either, but he seems confident fighting in it. This is bad; I have a strange feeling about this smoke,” Jarred replied.
“I feel the same way,” I agreed.
At this moment, Kyle and Carl were still fighting other cannibals, so only the three of us were left to face their leader.
After a few minutes, I was feeling better and managed to stand as well. But I could sense my mana running low, so I put away my dagger.
I decided to bring out my Elderstaves, though I wasn’t sure if I could use them properly. I tried to concentrate as I used to.
We saw Mika slowing down, and the enemy seized the opportunity, kicking Mika with tremendous force. Mika was sent flying far away, crashing through the trees.
“Mika!! ”Jarred shouted.
Jarred rushed in recklessly, entering the smoke to confront the cannibal leader.
“Come on, fight me here, and you’ll find what you’re looking for! ”The enemy taunted.
“Jarred, wait! ”I called out.
Jarred matched the enemy’s speed, and it was remarkable that despite all our previous battles, he still didn’t seem to tire.
I focused again on my Elderstaves, and when the ends lit up, I unleashed a wind magic spell.
“Beast Wind Cyclone! ”
A whirlwind of bamboo leaves shot from the ends of my elderstaves toward the enemy. Jarred noticed it and quickly dodged. The enemy, caught off guard, hastily created a barrier with one hand to block the attack.
Though he managed to catch the attack, the force was so great that he struggled to defend himself. The bamboo leaves and wind were destroying the ground where they struck.
Despite the power of the attack, he managed to defend against it, but he merely smiled, indicating that while my attack was impressive, it wasn’t enough to defeat him.
In the brief moment of opportunity, Jarred charged in to deal damage.
“Ha! Get ready! ”Jarred shouted.
Jarred landed a direct hit on the enemy’s body, and with its pure force, he created a massive wound.
“Urgh! Ah! Not too bad,” the enemy grunted, blood pouring from his mouth.
The enemy then released more smoke, obscuring him once again.
“Now I’ll finish all of you!”The enemy declared.
The enemy appeared in front of Jarred and kicked him into a large rock, burying him inside it. The enemy reappeared in front of Jarred and delivered a powerful punch to his face, smashing the rock.
Without hesitation, I listened for the sound of the enemy’s attack and unleashed strong wind magic.
“Gust Execution! ”
Sharp gusts of wind cut through the thick smoke, hitting the enemy and sending him flying. Despite this, he quickly restored the smoke from the holes in his body.
“Ugrh! I’ll finish you off, kid! ”The enemy roared.
The enemy rushed toward me, and I prepared to defend against his attack and counter. But before he could get close, two guardians punched him, trapping him in the middle and spinning him rapidly in the air.
While in mid-air, a powerful wind magic hit him and sent him crashing down.
“Ha! Direct hit! ”Carl shouted from the air.
After a few seconds, I felt myself growing weak. I realized I had been inhaling the smoke from the enemy’s body since earlier.
'Wait a minute, I know now. This smoke weakens anyone who breathes it in. It also slows down breathing—it’s dangerous,' I thought to myself.
“Carl! Cover your nose and don’t breathe in the smoke—cough! Cough! It weakens and slows you down! ”I shouted to Carl.
Hearing this, Carl quickly covered his nose and went down to the ground.