Chapter 24: Soren’s Plan!
Of course, their faces were as black as the bottom of a pot, as Soren once again called them ’idiots.’
But Soren didn’t care about their feelings, as he had already realised that fighting a flying-type fire monster was really difficult.
And besides, since they were right in the nest, he doubted the monsters would let them go. It was a battle of life and death from the beginning.
If he didn’t want to get injured and kill both of these monsters, he needed to fully utilise his party advantage.
But looking at the clueless yet anxious expression on Evan, he knew he was still immature.
After all, this was only Evan’s second day at the academy, and he was a better fighter than a leader.
Not to mention, in the original plot, he was supposed to fight these monsters all alone with his life on the line, finally saving everyone.
Fortunately, Soren had been a core gamer in his previous life and had already made a plan before coming here.
"Evan, can you distract that Blazing Hawk for a while?"
His plan involved exploiting every bit of power the protagonist had. After all, this guy was a monster in strength. He would be a fool not to use him.
"Hmm? Yeah, for a while. But I don’t think I can kill it. It’s too agile."
Evan nodded lightly while effortlessly cleaving another blazing inferno. But that only managed to make the Falcon angrier.
He really was a protagonist, alright. While others struggled to defend themselves, he alone looked suave with the sword in his hand.
None of that ember even came close to him without his approval, as if some kind of protective field surrounded him.
"Good! Then, Evan, use your power and help me distract it for a while. Be careful."
Soren casually gave an order, even though he wasn’t a captain. Then he finally looked at Aurelia, who appeared somewhat injured.
"Aurelia, after Evan distracts it, immediately get behind that Golem and reunite with the others. Sylvia, heal her immediately."
Aurelia lightly nodded. From their practical class before, she knew he had been praised by Professor Lyra for his presence of mind.
So she had no complaints about his order, as long as it was reasonable.
"What is your plan?"
Evan didn’t really care about the flimsy title of captain. Rather, after Aurelia left, he was straining to hold the Falcon all alone.
He asked for the plan, knowing he couldn’t make a mistake.
"Swish!"
Soren shot another arrow, forcing the Falcon to dodge. He quickly hid behind the Golem to protect himself. This monster was intelligent and had already begun countering his moves.
"Plan?"
Despite the situation, Soren still looked relatively relaxed.
"The plan is to kill one of them as soon as possible. You see, right? They will never leave us alone, and if this battle drags on..."
He didn’t need to say more; the state of the Golem below him spoke volumes. Aria was already strained from the fight and definitely wouldn’t be able to summon anything once the two Golems were destroyed.
So his plan was simple: kill the Blazing Falcon in front of him with one precise shot.
For that, he needed the help of Sylvia, Aurelia, and Aria. In fact, he was already slowly returning to their location.
"Okay, be careful then..."
Evan understood immediately. Soren was probably about to use the same arrow he had used to kill the Flamewing Hawk before.
So Evan exerted more force, continuously slashing at the Falcon and forcing it to separate from its partner.
"Aurelia, cast that barrier of yours again."
Once he was near, Soren ordered, to which Aurelia immediately covered everyone inside a shimmering dome, except for Soren.
"It won’t hold against much."
Although she hated to admit it, her barrier really wasn’t enough to save everyone, especially since its effect was already reduced by 20%.
"Don’t worry, I have a plan. But first, let’s trick this Falcon into coming near. It is too far and too agile, I can’t aim like this."
Soren spoke bitterly.
This monster was too intelligent. It had already seen that they were weak against its aerial attack, and the only thing that could damage it was the arrows.
So it was maintaining a safe distance from him. How could he aim like this?
But waiting for a chance to appear wasn’t a solution at all.
So he finally gritted his teeth, resolved himself, and looked at Aria.
"Aria, when it attacks next time, de-summon the Golem below me when I ask."
After giving the order, he aimed his arrow once again before shooting directly at its wings.
"Swoosh!"
Sure enough, the arrow missed again, and the Blazing Falcon once more released a blazing inferno toward him in fury.
Soren quickly hid behind the already tattered stone Golem just like before, as if barely managing to escape its wrath.
"Now!"
But this time, just as the crimson flames engulfed the Golem, he shouted at Aria to de-summon it while he himself rushed toward Aurelia’s barrier.
By now, Aurelia, Sylvia, and even Aria had realised what he was trying to do, their eyes widening in shock.
Still, since it was his order, Aria clenched her fists and de-summoned the Golem at the exact moment.
"Bang!"
"No!"
From the outside, it looked as if the Blazing Falcon had completely shattered the stone Golem with its flames, the blazing inferno still chasing Soren’s retreating figure.
Even though he had started running beforehand, the distance was too great. Soren was just a step too late and was directly blasted by the remaining fire.
"Ugh... fuck..."
He couldn’t even properly scream as the scorching heat tried to devour his entire body. He had no artifact, no skill to nullify the fire or suppress the pain.
Fortunately, he managed to throw himself into the barrier, which Aurelia forcefully expanded at the last second.
Even so, he looked badly injured, his clothes charred, and parts of his skin burned red.
"Soren... are you alright?"
Sylvia rushed toward him in panic, distress and anxiety clearly written in her eyes at his miserable state.
She could tell his condition was far from good.
But just as she was about to heal him, Soren forcefully pushed himself up and lightly pushed her aside.
"Go heal Aurelia first. Aria, use the remaining Golem to block its next attack. Aurelia, cast your barrier again."
His eyes lifted toward the raging Blazing Falcon, still circling above them, burning with cold resolve
"Next time, I will kill it in one shot."