God of Tricksters

"You should be aware of your surroundings first… If I weren't here, Ellen would have been attacked…" Theo shook his head helplessly, looking at this group. 

The group fell silent before Alea made a joke but a bit more serious. "Ahaha, but look… We can kill a Hero Rank Monster again. Though I believe this one is a Normal Hero Rank since I don't particularly sense any difference from the others. That's why this one is a bit weaker compared to the mammoth… And without the extraordinary defense, once you cut it down, it will die." 

Theo squinted his eyes as Ellen and Alea gulped down, wondering what he was thinking. 

Theo simply recalled what happened and knew that they should be able to kill another Hero Rank Monster like the mammoth in one month from now. However, he wanted Sihan and Phyrill to reach Champion Rank first before attempting it, so he thought about going to Eilric Family's Artificial Nest to increase their level. 

The assignment looked doable this time as he would explain the agreement after signing the contract later.

"Anyway, don't focus on one monster at a time. This is a chaotic battlefield. Monsters can come from all directions." Theo fell silent and observed the group's expression. Satisfied, he continued, "If you understand this, then let's go." 

"O-oh!" Ellen jokingly raised her hand and cheered like a fangirl. 

"And stop that one over there." Theo pointed at Ellen while sighing. 

The group chuckled and continued hunting the monsters. 

Like Theo's instruction, they became a bit more careful. 

Still, as one would expect, monsters sometimes slipped past other parties, making Theo keep switching their position to kill them. He had a hard time doing it continuously because he needed to formulate one plan after another. 

It was a different feeling when he guided the group to fight a nest or something. After all, he already knew that those monsters would attack them one way after another. But in this place, the monsters were fighting against other people first before they went to them.

He needed to act fast and carefully because there might be other monsters in another direction.

Theo was sweating the whole time and it gradually became worse. If not because of the Endurance Training his master forced him, he might have fallen unconscious after an hour. 

This was the first time Theo felt it. His mind became fuzzy and his eyes started to blur as if he lacked oxygen despite using his Breathing continuously. 

Seeing his condition, Alea suddenly stopped, stunning the others. 

When they turned around and saw Theo's tired and pale face, they remembered how Theo had been ordering them the whole time. 

They didn't feel any pressure because they just followed his order.

"Sihan, Phyrill, Laust, you three will go with me and watch out for the four directions. Ellen, grab Theo and retreat to the wall. We will stop the hunt for ten to twenty minutes." Alea commanded.

They nodded in succession as the group retreated from the battlefield, despite seeing the humans slowly pushed the monsters back to the forest.

Theo waved his hand, telling Ellen he was alright and could go alone while looking at the monsters. He thought they were about to win this battle before a brown root emerged from the ground. 

That ten feet wide brown root instantly became the center of attention as almost all people on the ground and the wall stared at it. 

The root pierced through the sky, reaching as close as twice the wall's height. And the rest gradually made their appearance.

"What is happening?"

"Why are there huge roots appearing from the ground?"

"Uah!" 

The shouts of confusion began to fill the battlefield as some people got distracted by the roots before dying in the monster's hand. 

Theo and the others looked at their surroundings before Alea looked down and shouted, "Not good. Everyone jumps to the wall!" 

Everyone was confused, but they saw the ground cracking and hurriedly followed Alea's instruction, jumping to the wall. 

Another root emerged from their position and would destroy them if Alea didn't warn them. They quickly made their way to the wall to avoid any more confrontation until they knew what was going on.

At the same time, the hunters and students tried to return to the city because they were afraid of death. 

This created an unorganized army that made the monsters regain their superiority, killing the humans one after another.

Meanwhile, Theo and his group also found ten monsters coming to them. They thought they would need to kill one or two at the same time, but no, it was ten. No one bothered to form a line to destroy the monsters anymore, so this was the result. 

Yet, they found that this nightmare hadn't stopped. The roots swirled before extending them to the top of the wall, becoming the bridge for the monsters to come. 

Some roots pierced the metallic wall, showing its prestige by creating a hole in them. 

Theo narrowed his eyes and looked around, but when he slightly raised his vision, he saw a huge tree gradually standing tall inside the forest.

The tree reached as far as two hundred feet to the sky, which was basically the same as the wall's height. The tree didn't have a face but seemed to be able to see its surroundings. 

The root that appeared in front of them suddenly moved and pierced through the wall right above them. Some metal pieces fell as Alea warned them, "Watch out." 

They raised their heads and quickly leaped to the side to avoid the falling pieces of metal.

When they thought everything was over, they couldn't be more wrong. The tree's branches finally began to extend to the ground, becoming a bridge for the monsters to reach the wall.

Those who were at the top of the wall gasped and tried to cut or burn the branches, but they were surprised that the wood couldn't be cut or destroyed by any means.

"What is this?" 

"What is happening?" 

"Is Art Beats City going to fall soon?"

The people panicked as they tried to destroy the branches before finding that the monsters began to climb the branches, making their way to the wall. If they fell here, Art Beats City would surely fall into chaos.