The rabbits hopped into combat, choosing Noah as their first target. Due to his size and monstrous appearance. If they could take him down, then they could win.

Damian decapitated a rabbit in his path as he began to corral the rabbits hanging on the outside. Every few seconds, a new rabbit corpse found its way onto the count. Damian danced past them in a macabre fashion, blood coating his blade and body.

Wura went after small groups of rabbits, each swipe of her spear leaving faint silver traces in their fur. The rabbits soon fell down spasming and going still light fading from their beady little eyes. Wura disabled many groups of rabbits leaving behind no survivors.

The rabbits began to realize they bit off more than they could chew when shrieks of pain bellowed out from the rabbits attaching themselves to Noah. White-hot spikes shout out from his body, piercing the rabbits and cauterizing the hole as they pass through. Noah carved at them with teeth, claws, and spikes.

The rabbits started running away when a circle of red and black flame surrounded everyone. Rabbits that made it too close to the fire found themselves consumed by teeth and claws. Smoke rose from their remains with signs of being burned. Outside the wall, Nico and Asela stood in heavy concentration burning through their mana rapidly.

The slaughter ended with an absurd amount of rabbit corpses made inedible in various fashions. Everyone save for Damian collapsed where they stood. As the drain finally hit them.

Everest, Kiara, and Kyrion came running into the brush in a hurry. Kyrion held out the map, which seemed to have been updated quite a bit.

“We have a problem. Four really big and tough looking rabbits are ahead. They seem to be guarding something important.” Kyrion looked around, panic being replaced by confusion. “Why is everyone on the ground?”

“There was a big fight.” Damian said bluntly while he observed his map. “Nico. Any chance it has already hit practitioner rank?”

“It is probably really close. Four defenders in the fledgling rank are normal around rank five. This means that we were right in getting rid of that mushroom. The defenders will be around the early fledgling ranks. If we’re lucky we may even get cores from them. Each one we take out should weaken them reasonably well. We should be able to take them out in groups of four.” Nico pushed up his glasses.

“Sounds like a plan. We’re using the groups I created earlier. My group will have the mounted rabbit and the one with a small army. Noah, your group can fight the pugilist and archer since your group is good at restraining enemies.” Damian cleaned his sword and stretched.

Damian, Wura, Kiara, and Nico found themselves standing in front of a small adorable squad of rabbits with swords. Their leader was quite a bit larger, around eight feet tall with broad rabbit shoulders and a sharp-looking carrot paired with a wooden shield.

“I’m gonna feel guilty for killing these monsters.” Kiara muttered.

“I already do. These things have weapons though. Not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.” Wura looked at them as the rabbits got into a wedge phalanx formation, carrots raised like spears, ready to stab.

Nico raised his hand, and two small balls of condensed fire appeared in his hands. “Well I can start when you’re ready.” Nico stated as the balls became small wolf heads.

Wura absorbed her shield and made her weapon much longer, adding a blade two each end, turning it into a double-ended scythe, around ten feet in length. She then let it fall to the ground and stepped back quite a bit. “I have an idea, and you don’t want to be in the way when it goes off.”

Kiara draws her bow, knocking multiple arrows at once, sacrificing accuracy to hit more targets.

“I’ll go engage the leader, don’t want to get caught up in all of that fighting.” Damian circles around the rabbits, almost vanishing all but entirely from sight.

Nico sent his attacks forward, commanding both at the same time. The left wolf tore into the rabbit leading the formation, taking an arm out before continuing onward in a meticulous fashion. The wolf on the right went hog wild, rapidly attacking anything in its path and changing direction whenever it wanted. Unfortunately, Nico controlling was giving him too much credit. He looked more like a kid holding onto the leash of two rabid dogs who have decided that rabbit tastes really good.

Wura’s scythe began to rotate, cutting into the rabbits and disabling the group significantly as it advanced. Before falling into a puddle thirty feet away. “Damn.” Wura tried to recall the liquid metal, but it was stuck where it was. The rabbits advanced, passing over it, and Wura retreated behind her other group members.

Kiara’s arrows struck the rabbit squad, freezing quite a few where they stood and slowing down the advance. Then, when Wura lost control of her power, Kira started aiming for the ground, covering it with a thin sheet of ice while she retreated.

Nico stepped back, pulling his fire with him. The balls passed over the liquid metal, turning a red, as an odd smell wafted through the area. “Retreat now!” Nico let go of the balls. Causing them to go wild as he fled from the immediate area. The other two followed as well, but not before they noticed one of the rabbits just fell dead without any visible help.

“What happened?” Wura asked worriedly.

“We have a lot to talk about your power. I had my suspicions but now I know for sure. That’s mercury, and it is a very toxic element. Mix it with fire and things start to die.” Nico pointed to rapidly dying rabbits. “It won’t work that fast on fledgling rank spirit masters, but it will hurt us if we stay in there too long.”

Kiara watched as the last rabbits died off. A dissatisfied expression on her face. “That’s great and all but shouldn’t we help Damian?”

“Lets circle around then. Damian is pretty good in a fight, but everyone needs help from time to time.” Nico led the group around the smog that had formed.

Noah, Asela, Kyrion, and Everest were face to face with a speedy rabbit. It seemed to have noticed their approach and met them where instead of waiting.

“Restrain it!” Noah yelled as he started transforming.

Everest ran under its legs and dashed behind a tree, a thick woven cloth tying its left leg in place. He then ducked out of sight.

Asela let out a whip of fire that burned the creature but was quickly shaken off. “I tried. Kyrion, do the thing!”

Kyrion looked to his sister. “What thing?”

“The root thing you did to the boar!” Noah yelled as he held the rabbit in place.

Kyrion stopped and began to think, remembering what he did with confusion. “I did that? How!”

Kyrion was slapped with the backhand of the rabbit. He flew into a tree that seemed to bend in response, almost fading from consciousness.

Everest reappeared, tying the second leg down as Asela assaulted it with fire. Noah had gotten behind the rabbit and started pinning it to the ground. Everest returned, tying the rabbits remaining arms with the weave.

The rabbit balked at the restraints knocking and flailing wildly. The thread began to grow much thinner as though it was being stretched. Oddly enough, the rabbit started to bleed through the cloth wraps as they became tighter. The end of the fight was made known when Everest held out a clawed finger and cut something thin and shiny. All at once, the restraints tightened, and the rabbit found itself tied to the ground. Its left leg was removed altogether.

The rabbit wasn’t done fighting yet, as its ears flexed and extended. Whipping around at Noah, knocking him off of his feet. A second ear raised to deliver a finishing blow.

Kyrion let out a blood-curdling scream, hands digging into the ground as he tried to move. Rage filled him, and he fell into unconsciousness.

Damian was fighting the rabbit knight, its blade deceptively sharp and shield surprisingly durable. He swung his sword up from his back right. The rabbit knocked it aside with its shield and countered with a thrust, in which he responded with a sidestep the choreographed attack and moved it for an upward thrust. The rabbit hopped back quite a bit, losing a whisker.

Damian grunted as the two began to circle each other. The rabbit moved first with an overhead slash which was a bit too obvious. He intercepted the carrot, which was a mistake as Damian was sent flying. He twisted mid-air and brought his sword into the ground to anchor him before rolling to the side. Barely dodging the rabbit that landed where he was previously creating a small thump combined with a crunch as the rabbit’s sword got buried into the ground.

Damian rose to his feet and ran towards his foe, swinging for the rabbit’s head, which is moved in response as it tried to pull its sword from the ground. Ufortualty the strike was faint as he severed one of the rabbit’s tendons in its shield arm, forcing it to drop the instrument.

The carrot sword swung towards Damian’s neck as he ducked and back-flipped out of the way. “Very fast reflexes and attacks, but lacks the training and experience to use it. It’s a shame that you have to die.”

Damian conjured a second sword and surrounded his body in a yellow aura. Before he disappeared. Damian slashed at an artery, and the rabbit began to bleed a lot. The rabbit got angry and began to bulk up trading speed for power.

Damian danced around the rabbit’s attack, making minute and precise cuts that made the creature bleed more and more, which fed its rage. Finally, the rabbit stomped, knocking Damian off balance, and moved it to capitalize on the vulnerability cutting the boy in twain.

The rabbit watched in confusion as no blood coated its carrot sword. It continued to watch as Damian’s body disappeared and the ground rushed up to meet it. Its eyes looked up, noticing that its body was standing up without it. The light faded from the rabbit’s eyes as a splitting sound echoed through the forest.

Damian stood there holding a spherical gem. “I wonder what this is worth.” Damian muttered to himself.

Nico, Wura, and Kiara burst through the brush, ready to fight, finding Damian alone over the corpse of that rabbit.

“I can see why they made him a leader.” Kiara said in surprise.

“I knew he was strong but that rabbit looks like it never stood a chance.” Nico observed the situation as he ran towards the corpse.

“Boss, after this mission can you teach me how to fight like you!” Wura said with excitement.

“Uh…I…umm…Yeah.” Damian shrank back into his shell, embarrassed.

“To the next fight then.” Kiara gripped her bow with adrenaline pumping through her body.

Damian’s group made their way back on the trail covered in blood and a bit more worse for wear.

Kyrion woke feeling great, aside from a drain on his mana. The injuries he sustained in the collision with the tree were all but gone. Kyrion looked around, noticing a giant red needle-like root sticking up in the air. He followed the root down and saw that it pierced through the rabbit’s chest, pushing it against the wires and turning into something that looked better skinned and cooked.

His other group members were fine. Save for a few minor cuts and scrapes. Kyrion stood up and approached his friends.

“Sorry about that. I think I let my guard down. What happened?”

“What happened. What happened! You happened! Do you understand what you did?” Everest was exasperated, or at least he pretended to be.

“You pierced the creature’s heart with that root. It was quite a brutal sight to behold. I assume you can do that again?”

“I don’t know how I did it and I doubt I will figure it out. But, I’m lucky it worked this time.” Kyrion rubbed the back of his head, finding somewhat dry blood.

Noah looked at them and stood up. “We should continue forward, we have another enemy ahead.”

Asela looked at her brother with a puzzled expression on her face. Saying nothing but watching him closely.

“Yes let’s go, I should be more helpful in the next fight.” Kyrion said.

“You killed the thing, accident or not, it’s dead now. You helped a lot.” Everest said.

The group continued forward two rabbits down. Two down, three more to go.