Outside of the snow cave, gradually, the snow storm begins to die down. The winds are getting slower and the snowing is letting up. The visibility remains low, but it no longer looks like a world of bleak, pure whiteness outside. As I watch from the mouth of the shelter, I feel a slight elation at the thought of being able to reach the end of this journey. However, I must hold onto my heart and not let myself get over-excited. A calm heart is a heart that endures all hardship, that is what I believe.

While watching the outside, I also happen to be resting my head on Timothy, the [Snow Liger]'s body, as he is the one lying in front of the entrance, guarding it. It would have been a pain for him to move so I just have him stay there, not to mention that he was comfortable and warm to lie on, and so I just thought, "Why not?"

As I proceed to crawl back into the cave, suddenly, Timothy lifts his head and his entire body become stiff and tense. He had sensed something, and with a delay, I start sensing it as well through the Summoner's skill [Shared Senses], which allows me to detect what my summoned creatures had detected.

It seems like a small group is heading our way. They came from the opposite direction, the direction of the enemy camp. In other words, the group Timothy is picking up is likely made up of [Demons].

So they have the same plan as us after all, and to think, they even took the same route as us. I guess it's true what they say about great minds thinking alike, not that I find my mind to be particularly great.

Swiftly but quietly, I informed the others of the enemy presence and they were immediately ready to spring into action, even the princess, who was the slowest, got ready within the minute.

While Initially, I wanted to leave the snow cave as soon as possible to avoid the enemy trying to collapse the thing on top of us, one of the soldiers stopped me, saying that the enemy may not even be able see us in this snow, and that perhaps it is better for us to wait and see. In the end, it was as he had said, the enemy did not notice and passed us by. It seems like the soldiers know how hard it is to spot a snow shelter in a snow storm better than I do.

Now that they have passed, the question is, what should we do? Should we keep moving on according to plan? Or do we diverge from the plan and intercept the enemy? But one of their Champions might be amongst them, either the Warrior or the Sorcerer, or even both. Considering the strength they displayed, if even one were able to flank the fortress then it's all over. We're going to have to take them down here.

I announce my decision to the rest, and all agree on the course of action. My worry now is that the low visibility caused by the storm will hinder our combat.

"There's no problem."

"Why is that?"

"The Beastkins has keen senses, especially we who have been chosen to come on this mission with you, we are born to the climate and we will be able to keep track of our enemies and allies even in this snow."

Of course, I have completely forgotten that the Beastkins are different from humans. Even if I can't quite see anything in this snow, doesn't mean that they can't.

"One last thing. Princess, you stay back, got it?"

"Of course, I will provide support from a safe distance. I have no intention of causing you trouble."

"Good."

Right now, [Demons] suspects nothing and have their backs turned against us. We have the advantage and so we'll make it count. Having summoned Michaela, and making sure to tell her to make her entrance discreet, without all that pillar of light gimmick, I had her cast [Holy Weapon] and [Holy Ward] on everyone, and after applying both defensive and offensive buffs, we were ready to strike.

With my fingers lifted up high, I start counting down.

One...

Two...

Three...

And with dramatic flair, not because I want to show off but because I wanted to make sure everyone can see, honest, I swing my hand down, signaling the start of our assault.

Those on the offensive spring immediately from their positions, and are swift to strike down the targets we have marked beforehand, mainly the ones looking like spell casters and healers of the [Demon] party.

The cries of their fallen comrade quickly alerted the rest of the [Demons] but they are too late, we are already upon them. The initial party of twelve [Demons] were reduced to five in an instant thanks to the swift and expert killing of Merida who had taken down two, the three soldiers who have each taken down one, and Timothy who tore one apart with his claws and crushed another in-between his fangs. Meanwhile, the princess and myself remains on standby, and I searched via Timothy's senses for a very specific target. It did not take long for me to locate him.

There he is, stepping forward as soon as he realizes that his party is under attack, and immediately I knew, I had to stop him.

"[Bind Circle]!"

I rush forward, till he is just in my range and cast my spell, and though I knew very well that crowd control skills are less effective on him, I need only to stop his movements for a little bit in order to interrupt the use of his skill, [Warcry].

It is fortunate, fortunate that only one Champion is present. They probably thought that sending both their Champions would be too risky for this mission. If only we have at least two Champions on our side, this whole thing would be much easier on me too. However, if I can take out this Champion here, then maybe, provided that they don't have more than two Champions here, we could even the playing field here a little.

Having interrupted his skill, even when hidden beneath his helmet, I can feel his gaze, his glare filled with animosity towards me. Good, because I too have a score to settle with the bastard, though I doubt I'll be the one delivering the finishing blow, not only because I have low offensive capabilities, but also because Merida is right behind him, teleported there with her [Assassination] skill, and is ready to deal the deathblow while he's distracted by his hate towards me. However, before Merida is able to connect her strike, a small [Demon] came leaping in, tackling the Champion to the side while taking on the blow himself. Merida easily cut down the vile creature, leaving a trail of sacred fire from [Holy Weapon] across its torso. Counting the Champion, the numbers of [Demons] have been reduced to four.

Watching the small [Demon] hit the cold snowy ground, the Champion lets out anawful roar. At first I thought it was a [Warcry], but it does not appear have the effect of the skill. Does that mean it's a genuine cry?

With great rage, the Champion charged at Merida, wielding his greatsword with deadly force, sending clouds of snow up into the air each time it was swung, and even if Merida was able to dodge the swings, she struggled to maintain balance from being hit by the explosion of snow. Finally, after the fifth swing from the Champion, Merida found herself losing her balance and falling towards the ground. After hitting the ground, Merida scrambled to get out of her opponent's sword range, but due to the deep layer of accumulated snow, she simply could not move fast enough to get away as she watched the towering blade coming down upon her.

"[Bind Circle]!"

Just before the giant blade cuts into Merida, the Champion's movements have been sealed by yours truly in the nick of time, and not only that, I also had Timothy move into position for a follow up. By the time the Champion is able to shrug off the [Bind] status, Timothy was already flying at him, hitting the Champion with a high speed body slam and sending him flying.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine."

I reached my hand out towards Merida, pulling her back up, but as soon as she got up, she quickly pushed me away as a [Demon] swung his weighty club at where I once was. It seems that one of them was able to break away from the soldiers.

Immediately after the failed attack, Merida drove her sword into the [Demon]'s wide torso while Timothy mounted the [Demon]'s massive back, digging his claws into the flesh for a firm grip and tore into the [Demon]'s neck with his fangs.

While the two deal with the [Demon], I check on the Hp bar in my vision and notice one of the soldier's Hp in the red; the [Demon] must have gravely injured him to break through. He's still alive though, and I can see the bar slowly rising. The princess should be applying healing on him right now.

With the number of [Demons] reduced to three, we now have the upper hand. Just a little more and we could wipe them out.

Leaving other two [Demons] to the soldiers, Merida and I focus our attention on the Champion who is staring down at us with great menace. I don't even need to look into his eyes to tell, because right now, right in front of me, I can see him, shaking in terrible anger as he looks at us. However, I'm not even afraid, for we now hold the absolute advantage, with Merida, Timothy, and myself, it's three against one. Even if he uses [Warcry], even if he has [Gladiator], if we strike from three separate angles, he'll be completely helpless, or at least, that's what I thought.

All of a sudden, he went and dropped his greatsword into the ground, raising a small cloud of snow as the heavy piece of metal slammed into the snowy surface. Then, reaching his hands towards his back, the Champion drew out a pair of short swords with the quality matching that of his greatsword.

The bastard, did he just changed weapons in the middle of a fight!? I can't believe it! Of course he can do that, this isn't a game and we're not restricted by the system, he can switch to as many weapons as he can carry. Damn, why didn't I think of this!? Even if this body is young, it appears that my mind is still that of an old man's, being dull and inflexible.

Switching to two swords must mean that the Champion is skilled in dual wielding as well, which either specializes in taking on multiple opponents at once or doing massive damage to a single target in quick bursts. Seeing as he had taken them out at this timing, his specialization must be the former. Of course, that is only assuming that everything is the same as in Elysium Online, which I have now realize very clearly is absolutely not the case in this world. If I just rely on my knowledge of the game, I am really going to get myself killed one of these days for some very stupid mistakes.

***

End of Chapter 10