My Brother Is The Hero Of Earth 24 Chapter 24 - A Cry For Help

The day drolled on without any real problem. They only creatures brave enough to try and pick a fight with us was a group of seven Nimerigars. They were about the size of a five year old child, with mangy hair covering most of their bows, and carried a bow with poisoned dipped arrows. Although they caught Terri, Katye, and I off guard since they gave off similar energy to a wolf and were clearly not, Katye scared them off easily with a few fireb.a.l.l.s lobbed at their feet. Aside from our first stop for the mithril, Lesedi was also able to collect a large deposit of orichalc.u.m and adamantine. The sun was starting to lower in the sky while Lesedi dug for vein of coeles when Terri had to check in with everyone to see if we would be trying to grab another deposit from night fell.

"Do you have an ETA down there?" Terri asked through the ear cuff.

"About ten minutes less than the last one I gave," Gustavo's snarky, static-fill reply came a few moment later. "Why are you so impatient today?"

Terri chuckled and could only respond with, "Made a bet... Can't go into detail."

"With Gustavo and Lesedi underground, I'm guessing your made it with Becca. Just what are you two betting over?" Sophia asked, chiming in.

"The nature of the bet will remain a secret, no matter who wins or loses," I said sternly. I was already on track for losing it, so I certainly didn't need everyone, especially Katye, hearing just what the penalties for losing were.

"Why didn't I hear about the bet?" Katye asked aloud.

Terri started laughing, to the point tears started forming in her eyes, while I sigh and turned to her, replying, "We made it while you took Kiara back up to the ship during our first stop."

"I want to be included next time, I could always use more 'favors'..." Katye said, but her voice cut-off when a screech erupted from the tree line, not too far below.

All of us turned our heads in that direction as the screaming continued, but only Katye seemed effect as her face was full of worry.

"Try to tune it out," Terri said quietly. "It's probably just some beasts fighting."

"But they are screaming for help!" Katye exclaimed as she turned back to face us, her face pale and her eyes darting around.

"Katye... no one is calling for help..." Terri said confused.

"They are!" she said stomping her foot down.

The sound changed into something more mournful than fearful which seemed to push Katye to her breaking point. Her wings appeared in a flash and she zoomed down towards the trees with amazing speed.

"F***, Katye come back!" Terri yelled.

"Gustavo, raise your guard! Katye just ran off and we have to go after her!" I sent through the intercom as I took off running after the fast, little fairy.

"G.o.d d.a.m.nit," Terri swore as she chased after her as well.

Terri had already set up a defensive ring of traps around Lesedi's pit, so they weren't in too much danger, but who knows what Katye was heading into. We broke through the tree line and were only able to follow Katye by the trail of Chaos Energy she left in her wake as she boosted her speed with her magic. She had already crossed hundreds of feet within a minute, despite that most of that distance was covered with trees that she would have to dodge.

"I swear I need to learn speed-boosting magic," Terri wheezed behind me since she wasn't much faster than a professional runner which actually made her one of the slowest of the combatants, barely beating out Gustavo in his full plate armor.

"You've had four years... what's your excuse?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm lazy!" Terri laughed between breaths.

A loud boom exploded from deeper within the forest and it bathed the region ahead of us in a violet light. With an obvious beacon for Terri to follow, I pushed my speed to the limits of my 'human' form, my scales forming on my arms and legs. I launched myself through some bushes that were covered in orange flames that still had a few wisps of violet throughout and tumbled down the side of a ravine before splashing into a icy cold, shallow stream. I looked around, finding Katye hovering over something brown and furry, facing off against ten Uktena that were being led by an icy-blue variant that was twice the size of the other horned snakes. Three looked to have been at the impact zone of Katye's spell as they laid motionless in a smoking crater while a fourth, although it was 'standing', was covered in a number of wounds, including a snapped, crude spear. I managed to control my fall well enough to land between the two groups and, once my feet were firmly planted, I launched myself at the snakes. It didn't matter what had drawn Katye here at the moment, only making sure we got out of this alive was my sole focus.

"Use your lightning! Any creature with dragon blood has a natural resistance to fire, even if they have an ice affinity!" I yelled to Katye.

"It will hit you as well!" Katye warned.

"I'll be fine," I said as I jumped over the tail swipe from the injured snake.

The other seven snakes weren't idle as I charged the injured one and completely gave up on Katye and whatever she was guarding to focus solely me. They were attracted to my bloodline, my charm unable to mask it this close, since my dragon blood was 'purer' than theirs. Only a True Dragon would be free of the compulsion to eat me, but they would still likely try and kill me since it was in a dragon's nature to destroy all threats.

Before any of the other snakes could strike, a familiar burst of violet lightning smashed into the large head of the blue variant snake then it splintered out, hitting the other snakes and myself, although nowhere near as strong as what the first snake got. To my surprise, the variant only took a little damage, losing a few scales above its eye. I used the shock of Katye's attack to close the distance on the injured Uktena while pulling out one of my spear. Since my claws could only do so much damage, I was going to have to rely on the spear and my speed. I drove the spear through the head of the snake, just under its horn, killing it while the others regained their sense.

"Keep up your attacks! Even if you don't deal a lot of damage, the electricity will build up in their bodies until they are paralyzed," I said.

"Got it!"

A series of smaller bolts violet lightning started shooting into the group of snake that only jumped to one snake instead of all of them which was quickly joined by gray glowing arrows.

"Good of you to join us," I said as I summoned my Chaos Lightning and infusing into my body. "Careful not to hit me."

"When have I hit you on accident?" Terri chuckled through the intercom.

With my Chaos Lightning channeled through my limbs, my speed was multiple many times over to the point where my mind had trouble keeping up, but only in this state could I pull of some amazing moves: Flash Step was an instant movement technique that allowed me to travel anywhere within a hundred feet of me with a thought and a little energy while the other was Lightning Barrage which allowed me to strike out with ten thrusts of my spear in an instant, although I could only manage a tight grouping, unlike One who could release a hundred on the exact same point.

I appeared behind the farthest snake with my Flash Step and unleashed a Lightning Barrage on the back of its long, exposed neck. There was a crack of thunder as I struck out and ended up nearly bisecting the creature. I checked my charm and noticed that the two moves had cost me an extra point of my charm. Ella could repair it a total of nine times, but I couldn't waste them all in one day. I dashed between the strikes of two snakes, but took a hard from the variant's tail, sending me tumbling to the side. When I foot touched the ground, I executed another Flash Step and landed above one of snakes before dropping down, pinning its head to the dirt with my spear.

The icy-blue variant gave me an enraged roar as it watched me kill another of its subordinated. It lashed once again with its tail, but I jumped back out of its range, leaving my spear behind. Terri managed to take another down with a well placed arrow to the eye that ended with a small, b.l.o.o.d.y explosion due to her wind magic. I pulled out another spear and hurled it at one of the regular Uktenas who body was locking up under Katye's repeated attacks then repeated on another with my last spear. Both spears. .h.i.t their marks in the skulls of the snakes while Terri finished off the remaining snake with another arrow to the eye, leaving only the icy-blue variant.

"Where are you guys?" Gustavo asked through the intercom.

Although I didn't see her do it, I knew Terri had pulled out a beacon crystal and tossed it up in the air as it shined with a bright white light. The variant flinched at first, expecting an attack, but when none came, it returned to hissing at me. I walked forward slowly, locking eyes with the giant snake, then stopped and ripped my spear out of the head of a snake. Its tail struck out once again, but I Flashed Stepped and appeared above its head. The snake had already seen this trick once before, so it lifted head and opened its mouth to swallow me, but I struck out with my Lightning Barrage. Thunder rang out as I turned its head into a pin cushion and I landed on the ground, collapsing the moment I released my Chaos Lightning.

Gustavo and Lesedi reached the edge of the ravine where Terri was standing just as I collapsed, but Katye was the one to race over to my side. I was covered in blood, my scales were still out, and I was exhausted which all added up to me not wanting her close to me at the moment, but I couldn't say that gave she gave me a concerned look while she knelt down next to me.

"Are you okay?" Katye asked as she reached to touch me.

I couldn't help, but shy away from her touch since I didn't need her mana acting up and... complicating matters. Fighting like this always put me in a heighten state and something like her strange energy could tip the scales at this moment. "I'm fine, I'm sorry, but please don't touch me right now..."

"Becca has some issues after an intense fight due to her bloodline, just give her a little bit of time to collect herself," Gustavo said as he, Lesedi, and Terri walked up.

"Oh, sorry," Katye said as she stood up.

"Never mind that. Now, tell us what brought you out here?!?" I said, breathing heavily.

"They needed help," Katye said, pointing in the direction of where she had been guarding.

The 'something brown and furry' turned out to be several somethings, all carrying crude weapons and wearing snake hide armor over their chests and thighs. They stood upright and covered from the tips of their long rabbit ears to the bottom of their round feet in brown fur. Without a doubt, these were the Bataie, the rabbitmen of Tsitsuyi Mountain.