"Remember, lads. Hit them, and hit them hard!" the captain of the airship, Gil Rogers, shouted. "If any of you start slacking, I’ll throw you off my shi—ackk!"
Something white and soft hit the captain on the face, interrupting his speech.
"What in the tarnation is happening?!" Captain Gil asked as the unidentified object which had hit him now perched itself on top of his steering wheel.
"Huh? You look oddly familiar."
"Ah, yes. You are the Oathkeeper’s companion. What are you doing here?"
Dim Dim then began to explain Alex’s plan, prompting the captain to use his telescope to look at the battlefield.
When he spotted the person whom Dim Dim was talking about, he whistled and gave an order to his crew.
"Change of plans, boys!" Captain Gil shouted. "All hands, prepare to strike. The target is that bastard wearing that black cloak over there!"
Looking in the direction their captain was pointing at, the Catkins on board the airship noticed the suspicious individual oddly under the protection of the Goblins and the Orcs.
"That rascal is the mastermind of this monster stampede," Captain Gil explained. "Let’s show him the might of the Clawford Tribe!"
The resounding affirmation of the warriors on the airship spread on the battlefield, as their captain spun the steering wheel to the right, making the ship circle around the battlefield.
"Fire at will!" Captain Gil ordered the moment they came within range of their target.
A barrage of arrows and spells rained down from the sky, catching the cloaked person by surprise.
Using their magic, they created a barrier to defend themself from the attack, not caring about the lives of the monsters around them.
Screams of pain, anger, and frustration reverberated in the surroundings as monsters died one after the other.
The Goblin Shamans, Goblin Archers, and Goblin Mages retaliated, but Captain Gil was already prepared for their counterattack.
"Don’t underestimate my ship, you bastards!" Captain Gil shouted and activated the barrier of his ship. "I fought in the great pirate wars during my prime. Do you really think that my ship can’t handle a beating?! Boys, get them!"
Dim Dim, who was right beside the captain, also raised its small hand, imitating the captain and shouting as well.
"Hahaha! We’ll make a pirate out of you yet, little one."
"Oh, your best friend is a pirate and owns a ship bigger than mine?"
"Hahaha! She sounds like someone incredible."
"Ahem!" The Dim Sum God raised its body proudly because its best friend was truly someone incredible.
Captain Gil chuckled and once again turned the ship so his forces could unleash their second barrage at the suspicious individual, who had started to escape from their line of sight.
It was then that the captain saw three airships heading in their direction, and the flags they bore made him smirk.
"It looks like the Kingdom treats this place of great importance," Captain Gil muttered.
The three airships were, in fact, battleships from the Kingdom of Avalon.
They had traveled from the Capital City of Harmonia after getting a report that the Town of Thaloria was about to face a monster stampede.
The moment the three ships started their aerial bombardment, the defenders of the city cheered in unison.
The Orc Juggernaut that Cairo was facing wasn’t spared from the ship’s bombardment.
A Fireball Spell hit it just in time before it landed a successful blow on Cairo, who had been momentarily distracted after getting hit in the arm by a stray arrow from a Goblin Archer.
The swordsman had been forced to use his arm to block the attack, for it would have otherwise hit his chest, which would have led to a serious injury.
Cairo immediately distanced himself from the monster and watched as more spells rained down on it from above.
He had only fought the Orc Juggernaut because he hadn’t wanted others to get hurt fighting it, so the moment help arrived, he was more than happy to leave the rest to the reinforcements.
Since his battle was already over, he glanced in the direction where his disciple had stood earlier.
He frowned when he didn’t see the young man.
"Have you seen Alex, Elder?" Cairo asked.
"Huh? Isn’t he just over ther—" The Elder was about to point in the direction of the shelter, but their Oathkeeper was no longer there.
"Did any of you see the Oathkeeper?" Cairo asked the rest of the Catkins, who were busy fighting around them.
Due to how intense their battles were, they didn’t have time to pay attention to their surroundings, so no one saw Alex leave his spot.
Cairo no longer hesitated and jumped on top of a roof to get a better view of the town.
Half a minute later, he saw his disciple running down one of its alleys with Elaine and Efa by his side.
Narrowing his eyes, Cairo looked in the direction where they were headed and noticed a cloaked individual who was running toward the South Gate.
’A Demon Worshiper!’ The Catkin immediately felt his passive ability activate after setting his sights on the suspicious person trying to escape.
Without a second thought, he ran toward the person whom Alex was chasing instead of regrouping with his disciple.
If he could subdue the enemy before his disciple arrived at the scene, then the young man wouldn’t have to endanger himself again, like he had done in the Etherion Domain.
Although he didn’t say anything, Cairo felt that he owed Alex a debt for saving his sister, as well as the other Catkins, inside the domain.
Because of this, he didn’t want his disciple to endanger himself again, at least not until he became strong enough to protect himself fully.
’This brat is acting reckless again,’ Cairo thought, apparently forgetting the fact that Alex was only a year younger than him.
While Cairo ran and jumped from roof to roof, Alex, Elaine, and Efa were forced to slow their advance because they kept meeting groups of Goblins and Orcs along the way.
But now that the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Avalon had arrived, Alex no longer had to worry about protecting the other shelters, and could just focus on gaining experience as he fought all the monsters that stood in his way.