Chapter 456: Getting Lost?

"Here you go, Ma’am." A person brought out a suitcase and a backpack.

The first suitcase contained Song Xue’s armor, but as one would expect from someone who fought from long range, she only had a pair of boots and gloves. She fought in a way that ensured her enemy couldn’t even reach her.

Of course, there was a gun with a long barrel. It looked like a customized gun with a few more parts stored in the backpack. This way, she could change this assault rifle into a sniper rifle or something else.

The backpack also contained some other equipment such as a compressed backpack in case Auric decided to go out of his way to get artifacts.

She checked her rifle first before smiling at Auric. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. I’m ready."

Auric nodded, feeling slightly impressed. Katarina’s fighting style was supposed to be derived from Song Xue’s fighting style before she found her own style.

He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of abilities Song Xue would show on the way.

"Shall we go then?"

Auric extended his hand. "Let’s go!"

Song Xue finished signing off on a few documents before the soldiers cleared them to leave the safe border and enter the beast territory.

Since they couldn’t afford to waste too much time, they began speeding up.

"It will take us about an hour to reach the base. If we calculate the time we need to take to kill the beasts, then I believe we will arrive in two hours," explained Song Xue. "Looking at the team composition, I believe that Mr. Mathias will need to be in charge. I’ll try to spot as many beasts as possible."

"There’s no need for that. Auric will remain as the leader of the team." Maya shook her head.

"I don’t mind." Mathias nodded. He didn’t know why Maya supported Auric, but since she had done so, he believed in her.

Of course, Mathias didn’t want to give the leadership position to others because he had enough experience to make the journey safe. However, Maya didn’t seem to just give blind support like that of a teacher. Although Mathias didn’t know anything about Auric, he knew that Auric was someone special.

"Yeah. Auric can take charge from here." Stella agreed without hesitation.

Song Xue was startled, not understanding why they pushed Auric to be in charge.

If they used seniority, it would start with Mathias, then Maya. Auric would be the last person.

Yet Stella agreed so easily.

Katarina chuckled and said, "There’s no such thing as an obstacle with Auric."

Song Xue was confused. This was the first time she had seen Auric in action. Even when they visited ruins the previous day, the road was relatively safe, so they didn’t do much fighting. There wasn’t even a need for a leader.

However, her doubt was soon answered when Auric suddenly said, "Stella, four are coming from your two o’clock."

"On it!" Stella activated her power and boosted her speed. She slipped away and found four beasts.

"!!!" Song Xue—even Mathias—couldn’t help but widen their eyes in surprise.

Even though Mathias was a Rank 6 and Song Xue was a sniper, both of them couldn’t sense the beasts at that distance. Besides, the area was filled with trees, so it was hard to keep track of those beasts if they weren’t close.

That was why Song Xue suggested that Mathias be in charge. Mathias had his Rank 6 power to guarantee that nothing would happen to them.

Yet Auric surprised them by simply showing that no beasts could escape his eyes.

Katarina said with a smug smile, "I told you. When he asks you to handle some beasts, just deal with them. Speed up and regroup. Simple, right?"

If Auric could provide such detailed information every time, they only needed to adjust their pace, and they would arrive at the military base in an hour, not two.

Song Xue sucked a cold breath. If this was the case, basically no assassins would be able to ambush Auric.

Song Xue took a deep breath as her expression turned solemn. "No wonder why you want him to be in charge. I got it."

"In that case, mind taking care of a dozen beasts in that direction?" Auric asked while pointing his finger to the left. "I need to know what I should expect from you."

Song Xue couldn’t reject this order. If she didn’t show anything, it would be the same as Auric not being able to trust her when it mattered.

"Sure." Song Xue didn’t move away. Instead, she simply locked her gaze, trying to locate the beasts from there.

To her surprise, Auric’s senses seemed to be even sharper than she had originally thought. Even when she waited for a few seconds, no beasts were in sight.

"..." Song Xue thought Auric could see everything in thirty to fifty meters, but she realized she was wrong. Auric could easily find all beasts within one to two hundred meters from his location.

That was why he could find artifacts or ruins.

Song Xue locked on to the twelve beasts. She didn’t stop. Instead, she kept up the pace with the rest of the group while aiming her gun toward those beasts.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The gunshots weren’t as loud as the normal gun as it used magical energy as bullets instead of gunpowders.

Still, Auric could finally understand why Katarina said her fighting style was following Song Xue.

Song Xue didn’t aim much. Instead, the moment the bullets flew out of her gun, they moved past all the obstacles on their paths as though they were alive.

One beast saw the incoming bullet and leaped to the side to avoid a bullet, but the bullet curved and hit the beast in a way that prevented it from making another maneuver. Then, three more bullets hit its body and head, delivering a killing blow.

The same thing happened to all twelve beasts. They were simply overwhelmed by a large number of bullets and died without being able to travel for more than ten meters.

Auric was amused. Katarina could do something like that, but she formed her bullets first before firing everything in one go. On the other hand, Song Xue focused on rapid fire, which meant her workload in controlling the bullets kept increasing as she continued firing her gun.

He knew it wasn’t all she got. The fact that she did it with ease meant that Song Xue could practically handle several times that number.

In a way, if she actually stood on top of a wall as the city was hit by a beast outbreak, Song Xue’s firepower would easily kill thousands, not to mention the fact that she could also release a more powerful bullet.

Auric couldn’t help but think of how he was going to fight her. If Song Xue was standing far away from him and possibly on high ground, he might not be able to even reach her before she overwhelmed him with her firepower.

Still, with Song Xue’s firepower, they could continue their journey without any problems. All the beasts in the vicinity were eliminated by them. Sometimes, Auric paired them to take care of the larger group, but it wasn’t that dangerous.

After all, he was the weakest in this group. There were two Rank 4 humans, two Rank 5 humans, and even one Rank 6 human here.

Without a large group led by a Rank 6 beast, the beasts simply had no chance of stopping them, let alone defeating them.

Song Xue might end up being so focused on Auric’s ability that she didn’t realize that they had deviated slightly from their original path.

She only noticed it when they actually reached another city.

"Hmm?!" Song Xue narrowed her eyes. "We’re not supposed to find this city."

"Don’t tell me I’m actually lost?" Auric acted as if he was surprised.

While walking down the city, Song Xue explained, "There used to be fifty thousand people living in this city. However, there were more than a million people who died in this city."

"A million?"

"Yes. This city was a primary evacuation route. A lot of people went through this city before settling down in what is now our current territory. With beasts all around them and without the ability to fight them, many people died." Song Xue nodded.

"So where are we going next?" Auric asked. "This way? That way?"

He pointed in a few directions, showing visible confusion.

"We have to get back to our original route, so that way." Song Xue gave direction, but when Auric turned back to the front, he suddenly halted his steps.

Song Xue and Mathias were confused and became alert. This was the first time Auric had stopped, so they thought something big was going on.

Auric suddenly raised one finger. "One second. There is something interesting in this city."

"Something interesting?" Song Xue tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh, boy. Here we go again." Katarina facepalmed, even though she and Auric were acting.

Auric pointed to two buildings. "Stella, secure that building, especially the fourth and tenth floors. Maya, please handle that one. They are gathered on the top three floors."

"Got it." Maya and Stella actually demonstrated something else, which was also according to Auric’s plan.

Maya and Stella jumped into the air. Normally, they would need to kick the ground hard so that they could jump ten to twenty meters into the air, but they had an easier time this time.

Instead of going back down, they actually started flying.

"!!!" Song Xue was startled and immediately pointed at the two of them. "W-Wha—?! What are they doing? They’re flying? Wait. How? The boots?! Are those boots the same as that flying sword?"