Same type of monster, different strength. That's what I learned today as I killed more and more monster.

The first Cyclops I killed today was easy. But I think that must be the weakest Cyclops among all the Cyclopes during this stampede. After all, other than that first one, the other Cyclopes I attacked, still alive after one hit. Their necks are harder than the first Cyclops's.

I still managed to scratch them, and it seems to be a fatal hit to those Cyclopes. But they still able to live and chasing after me. It means that those cut doesn't mean much for them even though they are bleeding from the neck.

I thought I could fight the monsters easily here, but that doesn't seem to be the case. So most of the time, I just running around the area and making sure that all the monsters are chasing after me. Then after there are a lot of them following me, I made them follow me away from the city. Then once they stopped chasing after me after a bit away, I killed some monsters that still chasing me.

As for the rest of the monsters who returned back to the city, I left some of them to other hunters as I took a rest. Then I do that again.

Repeating the same thing over and over again seems ridiculous, but as long as it works, I'm fine with it. Everyone also get used to my tactics. They know when to rest and when to attack. They don't know about my identity, but they seem to think that I'm a reliable ally.

And that's all I need for them to know.

"Roy. Aren't you bored doing the same thing over and over again?" Victoria asked.

"Not at all. The tactic is working and that's the most important thing." I replied.

"Can't you just fight them all without running away? You should be able to do it."

"I can't."

"Of course you can! Don't make an excuse like you are too weak! With your vision, you should be able to see the slightest movement of a muscle and predict your opponent's attack! If there are enemies you can't kill in one hit, then do it with two! If not two, then three! Just keep attacking!"

Victoria seems to be angry about the way I fight. She is right that I can slightly predict my opponent's move by reading their muscles, but fighting this way is the safest option.

"Don't think some things like this is the safest option! You should think of something like the fastest option! If you know the fastest way to defeat these monsters, then do it! After that, you can go anywhere and safe the others. Kayla and the girls are fine thanks to you, but we don't know about Kron, Hill, Candy, and Wendy's situation. Just because Sonia isn't here, mean we can conclude that they are fine. You should help the others before something happened."

…yeah. I'm just thinking about myself aren't I? There are other place that I need to help. Although Candy said that she will be fine against the governor, doesn't mean she is indeed fine. There's also another expert level mage that I encounter today. What if they found someone of that level near the governor? I need to finish things here quickly.

While I was thinking of a way to defeat the monsters in the quickest way, Sonia appears.

"Roy. Kayla said that you've done well. You can regroup for now and take a rest for a while. You might not have taken any damage, but some healing magic should be useful for your body. The numbers of injured people also decreased so you can go to her for some rest."

…yeah. I should do that. Resting my body should make my mind clearer. Then after some rest, I can fight however I want later.

"Alright. I'll return soon. Also please check on the other as well. Candy should be fighting the governor soon, right?"

"Last time I checked, they are doing fine against his guards. But I will check again."

"Then what about the other cities? Are they doing fine?" I asked about the condition of other cities.

Because of the delay caused by me, the stampede that should have happened to Melk city first and another cities later, should make it happened at the same time with another city in this time. Are they doing okay?

"Well… not as efficient as Melk, but they are doing fine. The other cities don't seem to have any expert level mage. That's what I heard from the one in charge. But because unlike here, where you can notice the cult members hiding among the people and killed them, the other cities don't have you. Casualties are unavoidable, but they seem to be able to minimize it."

I guess they are doing better than I expected then. But does it mean their real target is Melk? They have two expert level mages sent here. Or maybe that's just coincidence?

I don't see any reason why they would target Melk other than showing their strength. There's no secret treasures here. At least from what I can see. Maybe the governor and the other expert level mage that I killed were here by chance. Well, the governor is here because he's the governor.

As for the other guy… maybe it wasn't long since he broke through to expert level. That's why the cult doesn't notice him yet. And he wanted to gain some credit here and prove his strength to the cult. But he failed since he was killed by me.

That's just a guess. For now, let's regroup back and get some rest.

Sonia disappear to check on the others, while I returned to where Kayla is after checking that no more monsters chasing after me.

"Roy, you can lay over there. I'll heal you soon."

As soon as I arrived, Kayla has just finished healing someone. I lay on my back and rest my eyes as Kayla soon approaches me and casted a healing magic on me while holding a wand.

"Hmm? That wand is cracked. I guess it will reach its limit soon." I said to Kayla.

"Really? I didn't see any crack here."

"The crack started from the inside. My guess is that wand should reach its limit after two or three more times."

"I see. Thanks for telling. I won't use it again unless it's necessary."

Kayla pocketed her wand and casted another healing magic on me without using the wand. I should look for more wands when I'm diving next time. Or maybe just buy them in bulk.

While thinking so, Sonia appears again in front of me. She has a panicked expression on her face. I raised my upper body from the ground and listened to what's happening.

"Roy. Candy is in big trouble. Most of the agents trying to capture the governor died. Only Candy, Wendy, and few others survive. All the other guards had been killed and the governor is the only one left. He's too strong for everyone over there. The ones who still alive are thanks to Candy protecting them. The stocking she wears can affect those near her. Soon she will be exhausted of her magic and…"

"That's enough. I'm going there. Let's go, Victoria. Kayla too. Candy might need some healing."

I stopped Sonia from telling me any further. Candy is in danger. That's the only thing that matter to me.

I only had a few minutes of rest, but that's enough. Candy's life is in danger. I have to safe her. And for the governor to be so difficult to handle despite our preparation… don't tell me that he has two elements that have reached expert level! Why is he a governor?

I stand up on the spot, and piggybacking Kayla on my back. Then I told Sonia to inform Angela, Sophie, and Shirley who are still fighting that we are entering the city to help Candy.

"Kayla, you might need to use that wand again after all. And use your other wand and grab as many sand as you can! Sonia, tell me what other element the governor has!"

I gave the order and as soon as Kayla grabbed a lot of sand with her earth wand, I left and entered the city again. I quickly jumped from building to building to reach the location where Candy is.

"Roy. The governor has fire element, ice element, and lightning element! All of them has reached expert level!" Sonia told me the elements the governor has.

"Damn! No wonder Candy and the others are having trouble! What about his guards?"

"All of them have died. He's the only one left!"

"Does he have a family we can use as hostage?"

The one who answered my question this time was Kayla.

"No. His family has left the city with that migrating mission. There shouldn't be any more of his family in this city. And even if they are here, I don't think that we can use them as hostages."

She's right. They are from a cult that doesn't mind killing themselves. Being taken as hostages won't change anything.

In any case, we need to hurry to where Candy is.

I had Victoria transformed as a rifle so I can shoot him as soon as he's in sight. I don't think that it is enough to him, but it should be enough to distract him from Candy.