Adventurer of Many Professions-Chapter 85: Rescue!

"Do you think we should help them?" Lorene asked, worry etched across her face. As a priest of the Sun Goddess, her first instinct was always to help those in need, but she was also mindful of their own mission.

Raymond glanced at her and then at Sylph, who seemed equally eager to join the fray. But he held up a hand, signaling them to wait.

Before they could discuss further, one of the Jungle Cats lunged past the injured assassin, its claws poised to strike the female magician.

Suddenly, a ’whoosh’ filled the air as an arrow flew from the shadows, aimed at the Jungle Cat. The creature leaped and rolled mid-air to dodge the attack, but it wasn’t fast enough to avoid the female warrior’s massive sword. With a roar, she swung the blade with precision, catching the Jungle Cat mid-dodge. The impact sent the creature flying, blood spraying through the air. It didn’t split in two, but it was clearly finished.

As the warrior turned back to face the rest of the battle, Raymond’s eyes widened in recognition. It was ’Kris’! The same Kris he had encountered during his earlier travels.

"Help!" Kris’s voice rang out in desperation.

Without a second thought, Raymond sprang forward, sword in hand, charging into the fray. The decision was made. They couldn’t just stand by and watch.

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Kris’s heart sank as she watched the group of Jungle Hunting Cats encircle them. Despair began to seep in. This wasn’t supposed to happen. They had prepared for everything; new equipment, fresh skills, a solid team, but now, it seemed like all of that had been for nothing.

She and her team had set out on what seemed like a simple mission: to retrieve the ’Fire Scale Stone’ from the depths of the Moonlight Forest. It had seemed straightforward enough. The team; Kris, the warrior; Sotoler, the archer; Drona, the magician; and Griffin, the assassin had been promoted to Black Iron level not long ago. Their equipment was top-notch, and the mission reward was too generous to pass up.

At first, everything had gone smoothly. They encountered a few monsters, but they were easily handled. Even when danger crept closer, they had managed to navigate through it all. But then, they found the ’Fire Scale Stone’ and that’s when things went south. The stone was in the territory of a pride of Jungle Hunting Cats, and the moment they grabbed it, the cats pounced.

The team should have been able to handle them. A group of Black Iron adventurers could easily deal with a few jungle cats, or so they thought. But the truth was, they had already drained most of their resources fighting other creatures on their way here. Drona, the magician, had barely enough magic left for one more spell, and they didn’t have any magic recovery potions to top off her energy.

The ’Jungle Cats’ were incredibly fast, and their agility made them near impossible to hit with spells. One by one, the team’s members began to fall behind. Griffin, the assassin, was the first to be wounded by their sharp claws. Drona, exhausted and nearly out of magic, couldn’t do much more than watch. Only Kris, the heavily armored warrior, and Sotoler, the archer, were still standing, but even they were struggling to hold their ground.

Kris gritted her teeth, her heavy sword feeling almost useless against the nimble, quick-moving cats. She swung it at them, but they danced out of her reach, their claws swiping just inches from her. Sotoler, positioned further back, was providing support with his arrows, but even his shots weren’t enough to stop the tide. The arrows flew fast, but the distance was too great, and the Jungle Cats were far too agile. The only thing they had going for them was the unspoken coordination between Kris and Sotoler. Whenever a cat got too close, Sotoler would shoot an arrow to force it back, giving Kris just enough time to strike.

It worked, at least for a while. She managed to land a few blows, each one more desperate than the last. But victory was slipping further from her grasp. The final blow she had dealt to one of the Jungle Cats had been just that: the final blow. Sotoler was out of arrows, and there were still ’nine’ more Jungle Cats circling them. The situation was becoming hopeless.

Kris tightened her grip on her heavy sword, the reality of the situation crashing over her. She glanced back at Sotoler, shaking her head slightly. He shouldn’t come any closer. There was nothing more he could do.

Suddenly, Griffin’s voice broke through the chaos, his voice raspy with pain. "Kris, don’t worry about us. You and Sotoler should leave now! Save yourselves!"

Drona, her face streaked with tears, choked out, "Kris, please, you and Sotoler... just go! We’ll hold them off as long as we can."

Kris’s resolve only hardened. Her heart may have been weighed down with despair, but she wasn’t going to leave her team. She couldn’t. She was their protector. It was her job to keep them safe, no matter what.

"No!" Kris said firmly, her voice cutting through the air like the blade of her sword. "I won’t leave you. We’ll fight together, or we don’t fight at all!"

Before anyone could say another word, a Jungle Cat lunged at her, its eyes gleaming with hunger. Kris barely had time to react. The cat’s claws flashed through the air, aiming directly for her throat. Without Sotoler’s arrows to guide her, she had only her own strength to rely on.

"Go to hell!" she roared, swinging her broadsword with all the force she could muster.

The Jungle Cat was fast, but it wasn’t fast enough. It dodged her sword, its claws coming within a hair’s breadth of her neck. But Kris wasn’t finished. With a fierce grunt, she swung again, this time at the creature’s side. The cat danced away, its claws still slashing at the air, but it was getting closer and closer.

Then, with a blur of motion, another Jungle Cat leaped at her from behind, its claws aimed at her exposed neck, her most vulnerable spot.

Kris’s mind raced. She couldn’t fight them all off. Not like this. Not without help.

Kris’s heart raced as the Jungle Cat’s claws surged toward her throat. Her instincts screamed to let go of the broadsword and raise her arm to block, but it was already too late. The cold, calculating eyes of the jungle predator locked onto her, and she knew, she was going to die here.

Desperately, she turned her head to glance at Sotoler, wanting to see him one last time. But to her shock, his face was filled with surprise, not fear. What was happening?

Before she could fully process what was going on, a blur of motion caught her eye. A figure, moving faster than she could track, came rushing toward her from the corner of her vision. A long sword swept through the air with a silver streak, aiming directly at the Jungle Cat.

Swish!

The blade cut through the Jungle Cat’s neck as though it were paper, severing its claws just inches from Kris’s skin. Warm blood splattered across her face and neck, and for a moment, she almost thought she’d been struck too. The blood was so vivid, so close.

But no, it wasn’t her. The Jungle Cat collapsed lifelessly to the ground, its body twitching for a moment before going still. Stay connected with novelbuddy

When Kris looked up, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Raymond?" she gasped, almost unable to believe what she was seeing.

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It was him; the same Raymond she had met at the dwarf craftsman’s shop, the dual-class worker who had helped her back then. But when had he arrived? How?

Raymond shot her a quick, focused glance, frowning slightly. "Stop staring. Protect your teammates, and don’t forget Sarifi and the others!" His voice wasn’t harsh, but it was commanding, firm.

Kris barely noticed the tone, too stunned by his sudden appearance. Without hesitation, she snapped out of her daze and turned toward Sylph and Lorene, who were right behind Raymond. She didn’t waste another moment, moving into action.

Raymond, meanwhile, was already charging into the fray, his sword raised high, ready for the fight.

The Jungle Cats, not used to prey fighting back with such skill, quickly regrouped. They lunged at Raymond all at once, their sharp claws flashing as they attacked from every angle. But Raymond didn’t flinch.

He moved with calm precision, his sword cutting through the air in an effortless arc. The first Jungle Cat to strike was gutted in a single swipe. But the rest of the pack was smart, too smart to be intimidated. They didn’t rush in blindly; instead, they surrounded him, attacking from different angles, planning to overwhelm him.

One of the cats jumped high into the air, its claws reaching for his face and neck. Another darted toward his sword arm, hoping to disable him. The third aimed at his left leg, determined to cripple him.

"Raymond, be careful!" Sylph and Lorene shouted in unison, but it was clear they couldn’t reach him in time.