The leader commanded through the ripples for the scouts to take shelter under protrusions among the sides of the houses. The moment they did, he ran through the paths before arriving within a narrow route.

The moment he arrived, his right hand shone with blue radiance, increasing in length to thrice his height. When he pulled his hand backward, the blue radiance retracted into it, forming a thin outline on his clothes.

The leader punched diagonally towards the sky, aiming at the ceiling of the house on his right. The blue projection shot forth like a whip, curving mid-air as the hand at its forefront moved to grab hold of a tile on the ceiling, breaking it before grabbing hold of the stone forming the ceiling. The nails in the hand dug into the walls as the whip-like body arched in the air.

The leader pulled his punch, retracting the projection. Since the hand part of the projection held the ceiling, the contraction of the projection pulled him, lifting him to the air. Forming a small arc, the leader landed on the ceiling.

The hand left its hold of the ceiling as the projection retreated into his arm, looking like a glow over his clothes once again. The leader removed his mask, gazing at the sky with his eyes. He had landed on the ceiling to prevent seeing any Kalhas.

"A Pakou?" The leader was shocked when he saw the beast that had killed the scout near the eastern gate. He then noticed its size, muttering in shock, "How come it is so big? Even the Clan Head's Pakou is not this big."

"Is it a Pakou that drifted from the wild?" The leader muttered; his expression crumbled as he noticed the Pakou circle the air, trying to create a line of shot to take out another scout.

"I won't allow you!" The leader shouted; his projection shot forth, grabbing the ceiling of a farther house as he pulled his hand backward. His body shot forth, leaping as he controlled his projection to coil and cushion his fall.

With a single jump, he crossed more than twenty houses. After four jumps, he arrived near the targeted scout, using his projection to slam at the water down, causing a ripple, transmitting the message.

The two scouts in hiding sprinted straight towards Re'Kha, uncaring if she headed to the exit. They planned to catch her outside if necessary. The Pakou saw their actions, turning around to fly towards them when the leader jumped at it, brandishing his projection mid-flight.

The projection extended to a length thrice his height, its maximum capacity, shooting towards the Pakou. The Pakou folded its right-wing, using the instability and its body weight to swerve towards its right, dodging the attack.

The projection missed its aim; the leader bent his hand around the wrist, making the projection curve in the air as it slammed at the underside of the Pakou. The Pakou grunted, condensing a water sphere in its mouth before shooting it towards the leader.

The leader pulled his hand backward, instantly retracting the projection into it. He punched towards a nearby house, grabbed the ceiling before pulling his hand backward once again. The force instantly lifted him and sent him flying towards the house.

The leader cushioned his fall by coiling his projection into a spring, watching the Pakou's breath attack slam into the place he previously stood upon, seeing the tiles be blown into smithereens while the ceiling cracked. Part of the roof caved in, allowing the rainwater to pour in and kill the Kalhas that came into contact with it.

His projection disappeared as the time was up. His Pranic Art, Hand-Whip Projection could only exist for three breaths in time before it disappeared. Each activation cost him 7 units of Water Qi, so it was a tremendous expenditure.

The Pakou flapped its wings, increasing its altitude, proceeding beyond his reach as it began to fly towards Re'Kha. The leader immediately summoned his Pranic Avatar, a Nerou, mounting it. The Nerou hopped from one building to the other, running along the combined stretches whenever possible.

It possessed enough agility to do so. The Nerou chased behind the Pakou, jumping from one roof to another. As it didn't see the ground or peer into any entrances, it was unaffected through sight. But, it was getting affected through the nose that the leader blocked immediately.

His vision whirred as he gave chase, unwilling to see the Pakou reach the scouts first. As they were on the eastern region of the settlement, most of the houses were clustered, giving the Nerou enough ground—ceiling—to build up momentum.

Once it had built enough momentum, crossing the houses became easy. Soon, the Nerou crossed the last building, leaping as it landed on the ground. Without any changes, it sprinted towards the eastern exit. Re'Kha and the other two scouts had already exited the settlement and were sprinting through the meadow.

The Nerou accelerated as the leader tried his best to remain conscious. His hands were already itching, beginning to slowly move towards his eyes. The moment the Nerou arrived before the exit and began to pass through, the Pakou declined its wings before bending over, curving its neck until it faced its back.

"Shit!" The leader cursed, watching the Pakou send a massive water sphere flying his way. Due to the size of the entrance, and the short passage it formed, his Nerou didn't have enough space to dodge and fully evade the attack.

The leader made a backward jump while his Nerou slapped the ground hard with its legs, causing a splash of water as its body shot forward, meeting the water sphere head-on. The collision obliterated its head, sending its body flying backward while the water in the sphere spilled out.

The leader dispersed his summon right at this time, rolling on the ground a few times as he stopped, coughing out a mouthful of blood. He used his Pranic Avatar as his meat shield while jumping back to avoid the blow, surviving the attack.

"Huff…puff…" The leader wheezed as the Pakou continued to fly without giving him a second glance, rushing to the rescue of Re'Kha.