Chapter 173: Class Mission Complete [2]
"Loko, buff refresh on Elen! She’s using a lot of mana!" I directed, noticing her breathing becoming heavier.
"Already on it!" Loko’s hands glowed as he channeled enhanced stamina recovery into Elen, helping her maintain output.
The third and fourth Bicorns had now fully committed to the fight, both charging from different angles in a coordinated pincer attack.
"Elen, can you handle the left one’s charge?"
"Yes!" Her confidence had grown significantly from the previous two successes.
BARRIER! REDIRECT!
She raised a angled water wall that forced the left Bicorn’s charge to veer off course, buying crucial seconds.
I engaged the right one directly, my blade work precise and controlled. Each strike forced the creature into defensive positioning, preventing it from building momentum for another dangerous charge.
"Loko, watch Elen’s right side - fourth one’s circling!"
"I see it!" Loko had learned from his earlier mistake and maintained proper awareness of all battlefield elements.
The coordination was flowing smoothly now. Elen manipulated water to control spacing and momentum, I created tactical openings through direct engagement, and Loko maintained our combat effectiveness through buffs and battlefield observation.
The third Bicorn made a desperate lunge toward Elen, but I was already there, catching its horns with blood-enhanced grip and forcing its head down to expose the belly.
"Finish it!"
STRIKE! PENETRATE!
Elen’s water jet pierced through with precision now, having executed the technique successfully twice before. The third Bicorn collapsed, its soul power flowing into her.
Only one remained.
The final Bicorn, seeing its entire herd eliminated, bellowed with rage and fear mixed together. It charged with reckless abandon, all caution abandoned.
"Together!" I commanded. "Elen, barrier to slow it! I’ll force the opening! You deliver the kill!"
COORDINATED EXECUTION!
Water barrier slowed its charge, my sword strikes forced it off-balance, and Elen’s finishing technique penetrated the exposed vulnerability with lethal efficiency.
The fourth Bicorn fell, and silence returned to the creek side.
"Combat complete," I announced, sheathing my blade. "Excellent work, both of you."
Elen stood there breathing heavily, staring at the four fallen beasts with obvious shock on her face.
"That was... so much easier than I expected," she said with disbelief. "Four mid-Elite beasts and we handled them without anyone getting injured."
"That’s the power of coordination and clear tactics," I explained. "Individual strength matters, but team synergy multiplies effectiveness exponentially."
She nodded slowly, then her eyes widened as full realization hit. "I can feel myself getting stronger! The soul power from four mid-Elite kills - that’s significant advancement!"
"You did well," I confirmed. "Both of you executed the plan properly."
Loko approached with obvious relief and satisfaction. "Sorry again for that positioning error early on."
"You recognized it and corrected immediately," I said. "That’s what matters. Leaders provide direction, but good team members adapt and learn."
We spent a few minutes harvesting the Bicorn horns - valuable materials that would serve as proof of our kills and could be sold or used for potion crafting. Each horn was substantial, and collecting all eight would represent significant material wealth alongside the soul power gains.
"Four down, six more to go," I noted. "And we’ve only been hunting for about thirty minutes. At this rate, we’ll finish well before sunset."
We continued trailing along the creek, using the water source as our navigation landmark. Elen periodically scanned ahead with her detection abilities while Loko maintained light buffs to keep us combat-ready.
After about twenty minutes of searching, Elen suddenly froze.
"Wait," she whispered urgently, her hand raised in a halt signal. "There’s something ahead. Movement near the treeline, but... it’s strange. The presence keeps disappearing and reappearing."
I immediately focused my eys in the direction she indicated. At first, I saw nothing but trees and shadows. Then a flicker of movement - something tall and pale that vanished the instant I tried to focus on it directly.
"What is that?" Loko asked nervously, clearly sensing the unnatural quality of whatever was ahead.
Elen’s face had gone pale, her academic knowledge apparently providing unwelcome recognition. "I... I think that might be a Hidebehind."
"A what?" I kept my voice low, not taking my eyes off the area where I’d seen the movement.
"The Hidebehind," Elen explained quietly, her voice carrying genuine concern. "It’s a nocturnal, forest-dwelling, specter-like beast that specifically preys on humanoid creatures. It can shift its shape and possesses natural invisibility, allowing it to hide behind almost any object regardless of size."
That explained the flickering presence - the creature was using its abilities to remain partially concealed even in broad daylight.
"Combat capabilities?" I pressed, wanting tactical information.
"Those who’ve survived encounters describe it as tall with silver hair, similar to a skinny bear but able to contort its body into different shapes to better lurk behind objects. It’s patient, intelligent, and prefers ambush tactics." Elen’s hands were trembling slightly. "Its prey of choice is specifically humans and other humanoid species."
"Weakness?"
"That’s the problem - there isn’t much documented information because most encounters end fatally for the prey. The ones that were previously spotted were all at commander rank, but this one seems weaker. It must be really young and ventured outside then got lost."
I continued observing the treeline, catching another glimpse of silver-gray fur before it vanished behind a tree that was far too narrow to conceal something that large. The shape-contorting ability was clearly active.
Then something else occurred to me - something that made this situation far more serious than a simple hunt.
"Elen," I said carefully, "you mentioned it’s a ’specter-like beast.’ This isn’t a natural beast, is it?
Her face somehow went even paler. "No. That’s what makes this so concerning. Hidebehinds don’t exist naturally in the world. They’re only created through deliberate breeding between a Demiguise and a ghoul - two completely different species that would never mate naturally."
The implications hit immediately.
"Someone is breeding these things," I stated flatly.
"And breeding them near the city," Loko added with growing alarm. "This forest is within vicinity of our city. If Hidebehinds are appearing here..."
We all understood what that meant. This wasn’t just a dangerous beast we’d stumbled upon - this was evidence of illegal magical creature breeding operations close to the capital, deliberately creating predators that specifically targeted humans.
"We need to inform the instructors immediately once we’re done here," I decided.
Elen nodded "But first, we need to deal with this one. It’s already detected us, and Hidebehinds are persistent hunters. If we try to leave, it’ll follow and ambush us when we’re less prepared."
"Can we even fight something with invisibility?" Loko asked nervously.
I considered our options. The creature had significant advantages - invisibility, shape-shifting, ambush instincts, and specific adaptation for hunting humanoids. But we had advantages too.
"Elen, can you sense its position through water detection? Everything living has moisture in its body."
Of course, I had similar ability using my blood control, but once again. I was trying to ensure that Elen was able to critically think and act.
She concentrated, her eyes closing briefly. "Yes! It’s harder than detecting water sources, but I can track it. About forty meters ahead, moving slowly to our right - probably trying to circle around for a better ambush angle."
"Perfect. That’s our counter to its invisibility." I turned to Loko. "Maximum buffs on both of us. This fight is going to be faster and more dangerous than the Bicorns."
"Already channeling," he confirmed, his hands glowing brighter as he increased the enhancement intensity.
"Here’s the plan," I said quickly. "Elen tracks its position and calls out movements. I engage directly to prevent it from targeting either of you. Loko maintains buffs and healing readiness. Elen, once I force it to commit to attacking me, you use water manipulation to physically reveal it - drench it completely so it can’t maintain invisibility even if it tries."
"Like throwing water on an invisible person to show their outline?" Elen asked.
"Exactly. Once visible, we use the same tactics as before - I create openings, you deliver finishing strikes to vulnerable points."
I drew my sword and began advancing carefully toward where Elen sensed the creature.
"It’s moving again," Elen warned. "Thirty meters, shifting left now. It knows we’re tracking it somehow - it’s getting more aggressive."
"Good. Aggressive means it’ll attack rather than playing patience games." I kept my stance ready. "Call out its position continuously."
"Twenty-five meters... twenty meters... it’s stopped moving. I think it’s preparing to charge."
The forest had gone eerily quiet, that unnatural silence that preceded predator attacks.
"Fifteen meters and closing fast! It’s coming straight at you, Adrian!"
I saw it then - a barely visible distortion in the air, like heat shimmer but moving with predatory intent. Silver-gray fur flickered in and out of visibility as the Hidebehind abandoned stealth for direct assault.
Its prey of choice was humans.
Unfortunately for it, I was a vampire.
"Now, Elen! Drench it!"
Just as the Hidebehind charged with terrifying speed, a thought struck me that made me instantly revise our approach.
"Wait - change of plan!" I called out urgently. "Don’t kill it! We’re subduing this one!"
"What?!" Both Elen and Loko responded with shock, clearly thinking I’d lost my mind in the face of the charging predator.
But my reasoning was sound. Killing a Hidebehind for an academy examination would be foolish - wasteful even.
This creature was evidence of illegal breeding operations near the kingdom. It was rare, valuable for investigation purposes, and represented a threat that the instructors and authorities needed to know about immediately.
A corpse would provide some information. A living specimen would provide far more.
CHARGE!