God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 401: Returning through the Rift (15).

Stamina stood to be one of the most important stats when facing enemies...

One of the most common ways to preserve stamina when facing numerous enemies was to retreat briefly in order to recover as much energy as possible.

However, in the unlikely case where running away or taking a strategic retreat was not possible, it was advisable to do one thing,

Destroy the enemies before they destroy you...

Was it a good idea? Not necessarily...

To put it in simple terms, it was a gamble. Cain knew exactly how strong the {Abyssal Realm Walkers} were. Defeating them was not going to be easy. Borderline impossible, in fact. However, it wasn't completely impossible. If he was the only one, then he would undoubtedly fail.

'But they are here this time...'

The first time he had entered the Rift, he had been cautious. He had taken measures to prevent Susan and Jenny from being harmed. In doing so, he had almost gotten himself killed by an {Abyssal Realm Walker}.

'At the time, I thought it was a good idea. But now...'

He could without a doubt realize that he was being arrogant. He wanted to take on everything himself. Because that was how he had done it since the beginning.

He thought they would be burdens should he encounter a terrifying enemy. However, the truth was that they would have made his battle with the {Abyssal Realm Walker} much easier.

The number and strength of the {Abyssal Realm Walkers} that appeared in the rift were based on the number and strength of people present in the rift at a certain time. Hence, Cain was forced to face an {Abyssal Realm Walker} with the power of three people as a single person.

This time, he was going to rely completely on the others. Because he had no choice...

***

'Damn it! Damn it all!'

He truly believed the fight was going to go much smoother than this.

Jenny had an intense look on her face as she gritted her teeth. Through the heavy gunfire and loud screams, her voice still managed to get across,

"Is there really no end to this?!"

A blast from her rifle tore through an empty void and embedded itself into the skull of an {Abyssal Realm Walker}. However, the {Abyssal Realm Walker} didn't die immediately. Instead, motes of darkness leaked out of the hole in its head. Although it was now much slower, it was still very alive.

However, a swift arrow from Susan who had equipped her bow of light put it down finally...

Susan had a grim look in her eyes,

"Continue with the attacks. Do not stop for even a moment. We need to cull their numbers so things will be easier for the melee fighters."

For now, they were still holding the numerous {Abyssal Realm Walkers} back with ranged attacks. Arrows and bullets drew paths in the emptiness as they struck the strange creatures.

The Realm Walkers were very... unique creatures to say the least. Some of them were humanoid, while others were not so much. They didn't look like beasts either.

Instead, they looked like alien amalgams of insectoids, humanoids, and bestial creatures in one, embodied by layers of darkness that left little to the imagination.

They were the very embodiment of nightmare creatures. Some were big, others were small, the size of the Beastmen. However, what they all had in common, was that they were equally harrowing.

They charged at them, letting out shrill roars and shrieks filled with intentions of ripping them apart.

Hunter was hanging onto a chain that held a despondent Beastman with Floki and Galip attached to chains at his side. He stared at the approaching Realm Walkers with a disturbingly chilly look in his eyes.

"Men, prepare to fight!"

Floki let out a deep breath. He was beginning to curse his luck. However, there was only one thing he could do at this point.

Survive...

"SHIELDS!"

In his deep baritone, he yelled out, causing the Shieldmen to form a circle around them.

"Swordmen and Lancers, to their sides!" Floki barked out another order.

There was no time to protest at anything as the gravity of the situation had long set in. A single moment of hesitation would lead to countless deaths in the blink of an eye.

"The marksmen are almost out of ammo." Galip, whose head was turned back spun his neck around to face Hunter.

Hunter nodded, "In that case, you both should be preparing."

"To what... Die?" Galip said with a bit of sarcasm. Much to his horror, Hunter nodded.

"Yes. You both might just die off if you aren't careful. Just because you have this little bit of power doesn't mean you are infallible." He said in a cold voice.

Galip shook a little but calmed himself down. A sneer appeared on his face,

"There is absolutely no way I'm going to die here. None at all..." He spoke with utter confidence. However, Hunter just shrugged and turned around.

Soon, his body began transforming, becoming larger. He was already a bit bigger than the Beastmen, but now, he completely towered over them. He was now just as tall as Floki, although not as muscular.

Holding onto the chain in his grasp with his two hands, he positioned his legs in between his arms and crouched down horizontally.

Keeping his feet at an angle, he let go of the chains with his arms, allowing the chain to be sent back with only his weight.

The poor Beastman at the end of the chain was treated as a balancing weight by Hunter as he continued increasing the force at his feet, allowing the chain to be drawn back further and further.

His eyes glimmered, as he shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. Areiving before his first target, his most slammed forward at lightning speed, straight into the creature's chest. Before any sort of resistance could be formed against him, he tore the body in half before immediately moving to his next victim.

Floki and Galip weren't too far behind. Although they were attached to chains, they could freely unentangle themselves from the chains whenever they wanted. However, only Galip did so.

This was because Floki wasn't a speedy fighter. He also wore heavy armor and carried a heavy shield and war hammer, which would make him fall like a steel bar the moment he was released from Cain's chains.

However, that didn't mean he was restricted to one area. The chains Cain had created were long enough to give him enough freedom for mobility. And he was going to take advantage of that.

Using his weight to swing the chain as far back as possible, he borrowed the inertia of the motion to slam against the wall of approaching {Abyssal Realm Walkers} the other Beastmen copied his moves, and with loud war cries, the spilling of blood began...

Galip followed behind Hunter, cutting down numerous Realm Walkers as well. Jenny provided them with cover fire from the back of the Golden Devil Wyrm. However, that wasn't enough to hold the Realm Walkers back.

Dazzling lights were produced from numerous weapons as the ten Beastmen who often accompanied Cain on his hunts began to show their battle progress. Amongst the Beastmen, they were the most dazzling besides Jutè who was a killing machine as well.

Their numerous battles with Cain made their teamwork incredibly strong, such that any {Abyssal Realm Walker} that approached them was made short work of rather quickly.

Still, they were being measured from all sides. This was where stamina came in...

Energy was a limited resource. Once their Ki was depleted, their fighting strength would plummet as well. It would be worse when their stamina reached dangerous levels.

Hence, they had been instructed to go all out, not spring their stamina at all. What they needed to do the most was change the flow of the battle. Right now, they were fighting on enemy turf.

The battlefield needed to be changed. They needed to get to Urbus as fast as possible...

That way, they would stand a better chance...

'Fifty... No, forty minutes! As long as they can keep this up for twenty minutes, we will have a shot at this. Even sooner if Evangeline finds the enemy commander and finishes it off.' Susan thought to herself.

She turned to stare at Cain,

"How are things looking?" Cain asked all of a sudden.

Susan spoke the truth, "If they can't last an extra forty minutes, things will get very difficult."

Although it took his concentration, he still had to ask,

"How's the death rate so far?"

Susan shook her head, "Not too bad. Could be worse if I'm being honest..."

To go into a battle without expecting death was like to go into a risky business venture without being prepared to lose some money. The height of folly...

That was why Cain wasn't too bothered by Susan's words...

"In that case, we better speed up."

With that, he increased his concentration even more.

They had to leave here as soon as possible. The Astral Avatar's body wriggled like the undulating waves of the ocean, swimming through the void with the help of the {Wind Weaver} ability.

Suddenly, the speed of the illusory creature's travel increased. In turn, vekns popped up on Cain's neck and forehead.

Susan threw him a worried glance, but decided to keep her words to herself. She couldn't tel him not to push it too far. If he could get them out sooner, she had no complaints.

However, if he was trying so hard, then it meant she would also do more than what was expected of her...

With that though in minds a look of determination spread across her face,

'It's almost time, huh...' Her facial expression was the epitome of I different beauty as she pulled a unique item from her inventory.

"Let's see..."

What she pulled out...

"... What you are made of!"

Was an emerald alter etched and engraved with hundreds of runes and strange images...

Her eyes shone with a bright, frightening light,

"Let's get to work, shall we..."

With that, the short, yet arduous battle had truly kicked off in full...