Chapter 176

Finding their men proved easier than expected. Too easy, in fact, as they only needed to follow the hoots and hollers of the gnoll pack intent on hunting them down.“Do you think we should step in?” Nick asked, looking down from the hill they had just climbed. The battle appeared fairly balanced, with a dozen men pushing back against about ten gnolls, but from what he could sense, he suspected that this apparent stalemate was more about the beastmen wanting to prolong the fighting rather than an actual balance of strength.

The humans were dressed in heavy uniforms, so Nick was tempted to think they were soldiers, albeit ones who had deserted their posts. They were dirty, unkempt, and wore a disordered medley of items that made little sense.

Either they were the weirdest band of adventurers, which was saying something, or they had gotten their hands on a large bounty from somewhere and had yet to figure out how to sell it off.

The gnolls, on the other hand, were possibly even uglier and dirtier. They cut an impressive figure, standing at least seven feet tall.

Their furry hide was a dark brown hue, marked with lighter stripes, and was matted with dirt and darker patches that Nick suspected were blood. Their clothing was evidently scavenged, consisting of mismatched leather armor, cloth straps, and the occasional steel patch.

“If we don’t, they are going to get eaten. Gnolls can be somewhat reasonable when separated from their pack and out of combat, but negotiation becomes nearly impossible when a whole group is present, especially after our men killed one of them.” Elia commented, staring at the six gnolls casually circling the human camp, while four others aimed their slingshots.

That they weren’t using their wicked-looking black bows gave credence to his first impression. They could have probably ended the fight, but they were enjoying toying with the men.

Rhea's expression was conflicted. Not because of any particular kinship with the humans, if Nick knew her at all, but rather from a desire to be the one to hunt them.

“I still want to get the one who threw away the dagger. I have questions for him.” She eventually said that, and that sealed the deal. They couldn’t exactly demand answers from a mangled corpse, after all.

“Is it even legal for us to attack? The gnolls might have the law on their side. They haven’t done anything but harass the men so far, and we did discover the body of their fallen companion,” he finally muttered.

Although beastmen were generally regarded as second-class citizens, they were still part of Berea and bound by its laws. While Nick doubted anyone would notice or care if they eliminated a gnoll hunting pack, they weren’t monsters.

Elia rolled her neck, seemingly uncomfortable. She had been quiet since the discussion about Ogden and didn’t seem to like this situation any more. Still, she was the resident expert in all things beastkin, so the ball was in her court.

“Yes, we can. Most sub-races of beastmen have integrated with human society, but gnolls have deliberately kept away. Though you may find the occasional one in larger cities or places with especially high concentrations of beastmen, they are considered little more than monsters to be exterminated when they form this kind of hunting pack. While they might have a reason to be mad at these men, I doubt that they would change their behavior otherwise. I don’t see a matriarch that might be guiding them, so this is probably a pack of rogues.” She eventually said.

It was interesting to hear her discuss the internal differences within her community, but now was not the time to explore the topic.

Nick had heard enough. “Alright, should we run them off? I can probably just pick them apart from here.”

Elia nodded. “That’s probably for the best. The only time gnolls retreat is when they are faced with overwhelming force. So it’s either that or killing them all.”

And while Nick wasn’t particularly squeamish about violence, these gnolls hadn’t done anything to him to deserve such treatment. He would still take action if they ignored his warning shots and attacked them, but lethal force shouldn’t be the first resort when facing intelligent beings.

“Should probably give them a chance at first, right?” He murmured to himself before manipulating the air so that his voice would reach both groups.

“HALT! I do not care what grudges you might have; slaughtering each other is not an option. I am warning you, gnolls, retreat now. Humans, lay down your weapons.” He made sure to give his voice a bit more oomph, shaking the ground just enough to give the impression of power.

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Though he no longer had the squeaky tone of a child, he still unmistakably sounded like a teenager.

His intervention had the expected result of interrupting the hoots and cackles from the gnolls, but only for a moment. They quickly turned to where he was standing, showing remarkable senses, and when they saw it was a relatively short human who had just interjected, they began cackling. Not snorting, not chuckling, but full-on hysterical laughter.

“Run! Stupid kids, they’ll tear you apart!” One of the men shouted, while the others seemed more confused by their presence than anything, looking around for others they might have been with.

That was a reasonable reaction. Nick had almost forgotten that not everyone knew who he was. To people outside Floria, the three of them probably looked like children. Very foolish ones, to have gotten so close to a pack of gnolls.

“We’re feasting tonight, boys!” One of the gnolls cackled, its long snout twitching and barbed tongue lolling out. They hadn’t even pretended to consider his warning.

“I have a feeling these guys won’t be any more reasonable than a band of goblins,” Rhea grumbled, already retrieving several vials from her bag. “You can’t gather any ingredients from gnolls either. Perhaps we could try to turn in their remains to an adventurer's guild. They probably have a bounty.”

Nick sighed, feeling somewhat exasperated. He had been so proud of himself for not resorting to violence. It seemed as though the universe was conspiring against him.

Knowing that further verbal warnings would likely be ignored, he decided to be more direct. A formed at the tip of his finger before anyone could react, and he shot it off into a boulder sitting just before the closest gnoll.

BOOM.

Shards of rock rained down on the two groups, interrupting the cackles. This time, they regarded him much more seriously, evidently not having expected such power from a kid.

“I am not joking. This is your last warning. Anyone who doesn’t comply will suffer the consequences.” His voice came out very cold, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was saving the men, yes, but that wasn’t out of a feeling of duty. They were here to get answers for Rhea, and he doubted the humans were particularly nice people anyway. Just looking at them made that much clear.

The humans were suddenly very willing to comply. They had to know that it was only a matter of time before the gnolls grew tired of their game and began jumping into their camp to drag people out, probably to tear them apart before their companions.

The sudden appearance of a mage was confusing, but now that Nick had demonstrated enough power to crush a man’s chest, they knew better than to push back.

The gnolls, on the other hand, seemed to recover from their initial intimidation very quickly. had been strong enough to destroy a boulder, which meant that if they were hit, they could sustain serious injuries. However, their bodies were stronger than those of the average man, and additionally, gnolls weren’t known for willingly giving up their prey.

No, if anything, they suddenly became much more dangerous. Nick’s senses told him that the four archers had let go of their slingshots and taken hold of their arrows, just waiting for the right moment to strike, while the other six had mostly abandoned the men in favor of approaching them.

The way their eyes flitted to the girls didn’t inspire any confidence in their peaceful intent. Still, a temporary stillness settled over the battlefield as each group waited to see who would act first.

Nick didn’t waste the opportunity, already beginning to prepare several spells in his channels.

There was another option. He had not yet managed to derive anything practical from his vague sensation, but he felt that he was slowly progressing toward a new type of magic. Something that had less to do with his elemental affinities, and more in common with his old instincts, and yet it kept escaping him.

It was like smoke, drifting away as soon as he tried to pin it down. Frustration bubbled inside him as he attempted to coalesce the vague magic into something solid, and for an instant, he thought he had it before it faded away as soon as he tightened his grip on it.

Surprisingly, the one who broke the stillness wasn’t one of the beastmen, nor was it Rhea, who was almost vibrating with the number of questions she wanted answered.

Filled with confidence from their sudden change in fortunes, a man thrust his spear forward and yelled, “Take this! !”

A ghostly reflection of his spear erupted from the steel tip, flying into the nearest gnoll, who had turned to pay attention to Nick and had made the mistake of leaving his back exposed.

The beastman demonstrated once again why gnolls were so feared. Upon hearing the shout, he instinctively moved away, jumping nearly ten feet to the side and avoiding most of the attack. He was still grazed, and a spurt of black blood fell onto the grass from his flank.

Chaos erupted.

The gnolls howled in anger, launching themselves in every direction. The ones closest to the group of men turned and crossed the distance in an instant, confirming Nick’s intuition that they had deliberately prolonged the fight. The four archers seized the moment to draw their black bows and unleash their arrows, aiming to strike Nick and the girls down in one go.

The other men reacted almost instinctively. Nick could see signs of military training in how they moved; although they had not expected the hostilities to explode so suddenly, they fell back into a bristling spear wall, activating skills and defending their line.

It was remarkable how quickly they resumed fighting; nevertheless, both groups found themselves in the presence of someone who surpassed them in power and range of options.

Nick made to grab the arrows out of the air but quickly realized that they were coated in a skill that made them extremely slippery and difficult to grasp. The fact that the gnolls chose such a tactic instead of the more common piercing enhancements indicated they had taken his use of wind magic very seriously.

Despite the minor setback, it took Nick only a moment to abandon his attempt and set up a dense wall of air in their path. The arrows smashed into it, disrupting some of the compressed wind, but were stopped before they could penetrate more than halfway through.

The gnoll archers were already reloading, but by then, it was too late. Four erupted from the cracked wind wall as Nick reused the already compressed air, ending their lives.

A blazing leash shot out from his side as Elia showcased her greatly improved control over her foxfire, slicing through three gnolls that were trying to jump over the spear walls with their teeth bared.

Rhea threw two vials, and Nick ensured they struck true with a quick wind manipulation. Two more gnolls fell, frothing at the mouth.

The last one should have really known better than to continue its attack, but it had been injured and had gone mad with anger. Nick put it down with a well-placed to the head.

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