Elemental Cats

When the mammoth first charged, Toz had moved out of its way, but now with the plan he had in mind, he moved back in its path, but behind it this time. He stayed as close to it as he could without being burned or trampled by the mammoth.

It didn't take long for the mammoth to reach the area where the other third level beasts were waiting for it, ready for battle. The hound had covered its fangs and claws in fire. The wolf had summoned a moon that sprinkled streams of fire on the other beasts, giving their mana a boost. The lead deer had filled the air in between the two parties with flaming spikes of mana.

Seeing the eager resistance in front of it, the mammoth showed signs of hesitation, slowing down just barely. Toz, upon noticing these signs, pulled out a short spear and sent it flying into the left flank of the mammoth, the same side the deer had access to.

Feeling the sharp pain, the mammoth grew infuriated. Just when it was about to slow down, someone had attacked it.

'If they're that impatient, they need an extended beating to learn about patience!'

Although the mammoth wasn't observant or shrewd enough to notice the plots of a tiny human, jumping about behind it, it was smart enough to distinguish different means of attack and what they would feel like. What it felt just now seemed to be a spear, about the same size as the ones hovering in the air in front of the deer, that at a second glance, looked insufferably arrogant.

The mammoth's raging fury allowed for no further deliberation as it charged, even faster than before. But instead of heading toward the glowing orb, it changed directions and aimed for the deer.

The lead deer, upon noticing this grew slightly angry itself, and sent the hovering spikes at the mammoth before stepping forward, preparing to face the charge. The other one, aware of its weakness, scampered away to a safer location.

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While the mammoth easily charged through the hail of flaming spikes with only a few scratches, Toz did his best to dodge any that missed or hit the ground and sent up splinters or magma. The mammoth's huge body gave him some cover, so he survived the shower of spikes with only a few burned areas on his clothes.

And as the mammoth and deer closed in on each other, his plan would require quick thinking and for him to adapt as the situation developed. Currently none of the beasts had noticed him since he was hiding behind the mammoth, but that could soon change as they continued forward.

Fortunately, the deer, being positioned furthest to the right, allowed him to slink past several of the beasts. The wolf and the hound were on the other side of the fight between the mammoth and the deer. And the smaller deer, that had backed away, was fully focused on the brawl between its leader and the charging behemoth.

Toz moved the moment the biggest deer and the mammoth collided. Although the deer was the biggest of the three that had come to the mountain, it was almost laughably small when compared to the mammoth. It was small enough to fit between the tusks, so the mammoth bent its neck and used its forehead to press down against the tiny antlers on the deer's head.

As the deer was the one closest to the fourth level, it was confident in its strength, but it was still no match as the mammoth collided with the deer and just kept on moving. Although the antlers pierced through the skin, they didn't get any further than that and only forced a grunt out of the mammoth.

The hooves left tracks in the ground as the mammoth continued pushing the deer back with almost no signs of stopping, at least until the hound entered the fray.

Toz took this opportunity to sneak past the fight and moved toward the deer and wolf guarding the orb. The two beasts were busy keeping watch over the orb, the fight, and one another, so when covered in darkness and crawling close to the ground, none of them noticed Toz.

Since they had to make sure the other wouldn't take the orb before they could stop them, the wolf and deer stood close to each other, but without standing too close since they could be attacked without time to react. This subtle distance made it possible for Toz to put himself in between the two beasts.

Sweat dripping down his brows, either from the heat or from nervousness, Toz slowly, slowly gathered his mana and summoned three blades. One of the wolf's ears twitched.

Toz got up in a sprinting position. The deer's nostrils flared.

The mantle of darkness covering him disappeared as he struck down with the blades on the deer and started running toward the orb. Since he had to attack without either of the two guarding beasts noticing, he did it from as close as possible, and fortunately his attack landed before either the deer or the wolf could react. However, after he revealed himself he was too close to them, and the wolf leaped at Toz with its claws stretched out, reaching for his fleeing back.

As the deer barked at the pain, the other deer, who had previously stood behind the lead deer, noticed what was going on. Hearing a whine, it turned around to look at its companion. Seeing the three gashes on its flank, it turns to the wolf in anger, only to find traces of glistening blood on its claws.

Although it is angry, it knows it cannot deal with the wolf since of the two, this one is responsible for direct combat and the other for support. But it can at least take revenge. Even if its companion is injured, it should be able to protect itself or run away since the injury isn't that deep.

With those thoughts in mind, the lone deer wasted no time in charging toward the wolf that had summoned a moon.

The wolf, busy supporting the hound and the big deer, doesn't notice the attack until it's too late, looking to the side, it takes a pair of hooves to its face. The summoned moon and the smoky, almost invisible tendrils of fire connecting to the hound and the lead deer dissipate.

The wolf, after getting knocked to the ground, continues getting stomped on by the angry deer. It's already getting dizzy and losing consciousness after the repeated blows to its head.

The mammoth, which had almost been stopped by the hound and deer's cooperation, could feel them losing a bit of strength, and although it had several impressive gashes on its legs it pressed forward with renewed vigor.

The deer, having lost the boost that made it powerful enough to withstand the mammoth, gets pushed to the side, and the hound is forced to keep the mammoth's attention.

Both the deer and hound noticed the support from the wolf had disappeared, but with an angry mammoth trying to tear their faces off, they can't afford to be distracted. They could only do their best and hope the wolf only took a short break. Since the second strongest deer was guarding the orb, they weren't all too worried about it, but it still forced them to try and distract the mammoth for long enough to figure out the situation.

At another place, the wolf guarding the orb was left with a difficult choice, chase after the human that had attacked the deer and was currently headed straight for the orb, or protect its mate from the raging hooves of a crazy, impulsive deer.

It didn't take long to make a decision, it threw a bitter gaze toward the injured deer before heading toward its mate, leaving the deer to do as it pleases.

The deer ended up in a similar dilemma, go after the orb or fight with its friend against the wolves.