First Fight!

Rustle

Such sounds could be heard from all directions. Evan knew they didn't have much time. He had to decide whether they should run away or stay and fight.

Running away is always better when you don't know about your enemy and there is no loss and the priority is to get home safely.

But that's not the case right now, if they decide to run away, they will have to leave the bag behind because it is too heavy and will reduce their running speed.

'Sigh, I would have chosen to run away if it was not for the backpack and I don't even know whether we will be able to run away from the monster, so we have no choice but to stay and fight.'

Evan sighed as he chose to stay and fight the monster, the fortunate thing is they are still in the outer area of the forest where only Initial knight-grade monsters live.

So, every monster approaching them should also be around the same level, this means they still have some chance as long as they use everything to their advantage.

Evan put down the backpack and took out a rope that had a metal ball attached to it from one end.

'Generally, we use it to climb up the trees or pull down its branches but if I use it properly then I can use it as a flail to keep attacking the monsters while maintaining some distance.'

Evan looked at his surroundings and he ascertained that the clearing was the best location for them to fight the monsters ensuring their visibility as well as no place for monsters to sneak attack.

"Luna, I am sorry but we can't run away and will have to fight the monsters and I can't do it alone so I will require your help to defeat them. You will help right?" Evan asked as he picked up Luna.

Kiyuu!

"Good, now listen to me carefully ...

Evan explained the plan to her quickly making sure she understood everything, a slight mistake from her could endanger their lives.

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Rustle

Screech!!

Evan turned to the source of the screech, only to see a black claw coming out of the shrubs. Soon a black oversized mouse came out completely and it screeched as if announcing its arrival.

It's a Black Plague Rodent, they are around the height of my hip but that is not their main focus it's their saliva and sticky claws; if they scratch you then you get paralysed within an hour. Another thing is they live in groups.

'Fuck, the threat is greater than I imagined, if that thing manages to injure me or Luna then we will get in trouble. If the rest of the monsters are als..'

Before Evan could finish thinking he heard more of the rustling noises from three directions.

When he looked around, he saw three additional Black Plague Rodents had also surrounded them as they also screeched. Evan did not hear rustling noises anymore.

'Seems my guess was correct. These rodents are the patrolling monsters who keep an eye on the nearby regions but they were attracted by my shouting and decided to check it out by themselves.'

'I just hope they don't have their nest nearby if…NO! I can't jinx it. Let's focus on the fight first'

The Black Plague rodents growled as they moved slowly towards their "cornered" pray. Evan also tied the sword to his hip and slowly began to swing the rope with the metal ball on its end in a circular motion building up the momentum.

The rodents moved towards them slowly and once they reached at a 5-meter distance from them they stopped their advance and just kept growling and glaring at Evan with their red eyes.

'Currently, the situation is in equilibrium and as soon as someone makes a move, it will break the equilibrium. I also know it, and that's why I have already decided that I will be the one who makes the first move; it is a risky gamble and if I fail to turn the tables on the monsters, the chances of survival will drop to the bottom. '

As soon as Evan felt the ball had gained enough momentum, he closed his eyes as he shouted.

"Luna. Do it!"

Before the rodents could react to Evan's sudden shout.

BARK!

Luna who had been sitting on a tree branch barked loudly as she released the mana she had concentrated which soon transformed into a white ball.

The moment the ball touched the ground it exploded and released a bright light, lighting up the entire clearing.

SCREECCCHHHHH!!

The rodents screeched in pain as their eyes bled, they are monsters that thrive in darkness and the light released after Luna's Flashbomb had essentially blinded them.

Luna had awakened light element one month after she hatched, which had taken me by surprise because light element is a rare and well sought element by the healers.

Evan opened his eyes after hearing their screeches. The light was so strong that it still hadn't faded out completely.

Without wasting any time Evan and Luna chose to attack the defenceless monsters.

Evan whirled the metal ball at the rodent who was closest to him, just like he had planned they had blinded the rodents and now they were completely defenceless.

The metal ball moved in the direction it had been released and then it met with the skull of the rodent and then there was no then...

Bang

As it collided with the rodent's skull it was smashed apart into pieces, and it died before it could even scream.

When he pulled back the rope from the other end to retrieve the ball, he saw it covered with all the gory stuff and his nose was inflicted by the nauseating stench; his stomach churned, and he felt a lump in his throat as he was about to throw up, but he forcefully swallowed it back as he moved to the next target.

Luna also jumped down from the branch and started to attack the rodent who was the farthest from the Flashbomb and had already started regaining its sight.

Meanwhile, Evan once again hurled the metal ball toward the next target, but it managed to dodge it and avoid the incoming attack; these rodents are quickly regaining their sight and if they don't kill at least one more of them before their sight is completely restored, they are dead.

Not wasting any time, he once again swirled the metal ball without caring for conserving his strength and hurled the metal ball at it; this time the metal ball flew at far greater speed, so the rodent was unable to dodge this time resulting in its demise.

Evan was just about to retrieve the metal ball once again when a rodent charged at him, enough time had passed since they were blinded by the light, and it had already regained its sight. By the time Evan noticed, it was too late to dodge the claw the only option was to defend against it.

Evan held the rope tightly to defend against the surprise claw attack, Evan's heart gripped in fear as he saw the rope being slowly cut due to the claw's sharpness.

But Evan did not give up! before the claw cut through the rope completely; he twisted the rope, wrapping it around the rodent's arms and then he pulled the rope and smashed the rodent into the base of a tree.

Bang!

The rodent screeched in pain due to being smashed into the tree with such force.

While it was still squirming to free itself from the rope, Evan dropped the rope and rushed at it with his sword.

Jumping over its body and pinning it down in one place Evan went for the blow.

Stab!

It did not stop struggling even after being stabbed once, so Evan just kept on stabbing it repeatedly until it became a bloody mess. Evan finally came out of the trance and got up.

Huff..huff...

Kiyuuu!

Evan had just gotten up when he heard Luna's call. When he turned back his body trembled as he clenched his teeth in anger due to what he saw.