Jack didn't respond with words. He acted.
"Love!" He shouted. A simple command.
Reina didn't need any further instruction. She was already a step ahead. She blinked beside him, grabbed his shoulder, and disappeared along with him. Only to appear in front of the escaping hyenas.
The two were a synchronized hunting unit. Jack was on the first great hyena in a flash. He didn't bother with chains to stop it. He simply charged, sidestepped, and shoulder-slammed into its side. A solid, yet strange tackle.
The hyena cried outas it was thrown out sideway. As it fell, Jack's steamrune shotgun was already aimed at its skull. BOOM! Explosive sound rang. The beast's mangled head exploded. It went rigid, then collapsed. Lifeless.
The second hyena veered from the path. Attempting to use the uneven terrain of the amber-leafed forest to its advantage. Dodging Reina's chase erratically. Pink fireflies scattered everywhere. Disturbed by its passage.
Reina used her [Absolute Blink] again. She shimmered into existence just behind its forelegs. Her handguns barked as bullets flew to the targets. BANG! BANG! Precise, brutal shots to the back of its knees.
The hyena shrieked. Its leg buckled. It stumbled forward. Tumbling gracelessly. Before it could completely hit the ground, Reina moved.
Her handguns sang its song of destruction again. BANG! BANG! Two shots. Both penetrated the base of its skull. Clean. Efficient. The hyena hit the ground with a final, shuddering thud. Its life force extinguished.
Jack and Reina returned to the group. Their expressions were calm. The other guards were already assessing the scene. Checking for injuries. Though none were serious for the professional fighters.
The students were shaken. But they were mostly unharmed. A testament to the guardians' speed and skill.
Chloe looked at Jack. Her brow furrowed. "Mr. Night... Why didn't you just let them go? They were fleeing."
Jack looked at her calmly. "I would have let them run away, if I had been exploring alone, or just with Reina. But currently, we are your bodyguards."
"We need to ensure your safety." He explained further. "Which means we need to reduce possible threats. We know close to nothing of this realm. These creatures are aggressive. We cannot assume they won't return."
He paused. Letting his words sink in. "We shouldn't underestimate the danger they could bring." He continued. "They could gather more of their kind. They could lead something worse back to us. Or they could simply harass us from the shadows. Making every step we take a potential ambush."
Reina added. Her voice was practical. "Leaving a fleeing enemy alive is fine for situation we completely understand. In a place where everything is relatively unknown, it's an invitation for future trouble. It's a fundamental principle of survival in hostile, unknown territory."
"They are right." Leon Drake commented. "Out here, unsupported assumptions get people killed. We should assume every threat is a threat until it is completely and utterly neutralized. No exceptions."
The students, though still somewhat pale, nodded slowly. The brutal practicality of the guards' words made sense. Chilling though it was.
The silence that followed was broken only by the strange chirping of unknown insects, and the whispers of the amber leaves in the breeze. A reminder of the alien world they now inhabited. The threat was gone. But the lesson remained.
"Right!" Professor Enderson said. Clapping his hands together. Creating the sound that was unnaturally loud in the quiet.
"We're not here to linger." He said. "Samples. Observations. Students! Do your task. Team A, catalog the beasts' dental structure and claw composition. Team B, gather soil and moss samples from the immediate area. Guardians, maintain defensive perimeter. Come on!"
The students jumped to action. Their academic training was overriding their shock. They took out tools from their spatial bags. Scalpels and specimen jars quickly appeared.
Jack watched them for a moment. His own senses were stretched taut. Listening through the ambient noise for any sign of another approach.
Rune perched on his shoulder. Pulsing a steady, calm cyan. Signifying safe environment. The immediate danger had passed.
He looked around. The portal to the Lonestone Academy had long disappeared. But he didn't mind it. Professor Enderson had informed him that both he and Dr. Crafton brought some consumable items that could open the portal to Lonestone Academy. Besides, he himself could use his [Nine-Anchor Portal Ring] to return back anytime he needed to.
Reina moved to Jack's side. "They aren't ready for this yet, Dear. They need to learn fast." She murmured. Her voice was barely a whisper.
Jack understood what she meant. The students were completely focused. Doing their tasks in full concentration. This might be good in controlled locations like the academy or the laboratory. Doing so in the wild...
"They have to learn fast." Jack replied. "Slow learners die out here."
The work was done with a new, grim efficiency. Within twenty minutes, the grisly biological sampling was complete. The specimens were stored in reinforced cases.
Jack held back his desire to lecture these students about their lack of vigilance in wild area like this. He would share his mind later... when they had reached 'safe' location. If there was any such kind of things here.
The decision on direction was made quickly. The red grassland to the west was chosen. It offered the best sightlines and the least immediate cover for ambushes.
"Move out!" Professor Enderson called. "Double-file formation. Guardians on the flanks. Stay sharp."
The trek through the amber-leafed forest was a five-hour lesson in escalating tension. The initial, open wonder at the alien flora quickly faded into a state of hyper-vigilance. The forest was alive. And not all of its inhabitants were friendly.
The first new threat came from above. A sound like clashing metal echoed through the trees. Followed by two ridiculous yet nightmarish shapes dropping from the canopy.
They were a pair of geese. Or a horrific parody of them. Each of them was the size of a large horse. Their feathers were not feathers at all. They were layered, jagged plates of dull metal that scraped together as they moved. Their eyes were tiny, furious red dots. And their beaks snapped with the force of mighty, industrial shears.
"Ambush! Ready for combat!" Jack yelled. Not exactly surprised. Rune had given him warning a few minutes ago. He was prepared. His steamrune shotgun was ready to sang its song of destruction.
Chaos erupted. Leon Drake met one charge head-on. Already clad with his draconic armor. He used his own supernatural armor to deflect a savage peck with a shower of sparks. His floating grimoire glowed as he prepared for a destructive lightning spell.
The other metal-feathered horror zeroed in on a cluster of students.
Jack didn't hesitate. The [Chains of Vengeance] snaked out from his bracers. Black chains, flaming with fiery blaze. They wrapped around the beast's thick, metallic-feathered neck. Strangling and restraining it in one action.
He pulled hard. His muscles strained instantly in his powerfully built human form. Jerking the creature off its course. It stumbled. Its furious honks blared... like a malfunctioning factory whistle.
Reina was already there. She didn't fire her handguns. Instead, she raised both her hands. And a localized fog bank condensed around the creature's head. Thick, blinding, disorienting, and burning the oxygen inside.
The goose thrashed blindly.
A moment later, a [Lightning Strike] crashed on the goose. Professor Enderson had joined the battle. The lightning was his grimoire spell. A very effective magic that fried the horse-sized goose to death.
Jack deactivated his chains and looked at the other beast. Leon Drake, Dr. Crafton and a couple of the mercenaries handled it fine. Annihilating the beast just a few seconds afterward.
It was over. The two berserk avian beasts lay dead. Their metallic feathers were motionless. The group took a few moments to collect themselves. And the biological samplings.
The second wave of assaults was smaller. Yet, it was more insidious. As the group caught their breath, a skittering began. It came from the blue-pulsing fungi. From under the red moss.
Dozens of small shapes emerged. They were the size of rats. With the twitchy and hairless bodies, eight multi-jointed legs, and carapaces that shone with a dull, brassy finish. They moved with nauseating speed. Clicking and chittering.
"Watch your feet!" Dr. Crafton yelled. Stomping one that got too close. Its brass shell cracked with a satisfying crunch.
The fight was messy and chaotic. The critters were weak. Easily disposed. But there were many of them. And they seemed to be fearless of death.
The guards and more pragmatic students like Nick Glaiver used their boots to stomp on the creatures. Some more timid ones used [Magic Missiles] to crush and dismember the creatures from further away.
Jack found them almost pitiful. He flicked his wrist. And a wave of [Chains of Vengeance] lashed out. Not restraining the target this time. Instead, they swept out. Crushing and disintegrating a cluster of the creatures into piles of dust and twisted brass with their touches.
Reina employed precise, razor-sharp illusions. Making the creatures see barriers where there were none. Causing them to pile up confusedly for easy disposal.
Soon, all of the critters were disposed.
The expedition members suffered no serious casualties. Only one student had a nasty bite on his ankle. Quickly bandaged by Dr. Crafton and healed by several [Healing Chants].
The attacks were harrowing but manageable. They were, as Jack observed dryly to Reina, 'a good warm-up'.
...
Finally, the crowded trees began to thin. The scene changed. The constant, rich colors of the forest started to shift. Into a pervasive, bloody hue.
The team emerged from the forest's edge and arrived at the red grasslands. It was a vast, rolling plain of tall, crimson blades that swayed in a wind that didn't seem to reach the forest. It was breathtakingly beautiful and terrifyingly open.
The air changed. Becoming drier. Carrying a strange, spicy scent.
"Finally..." Muttered one of the students. Slumping with relief.
"Don't get comfortable." Leon Drake warned. His eyes were constantly moving across the sea of red. "The grass is taller than what I'd expected. It could hide dangerous threat."
They ventured out into the grass. Which came up to their waists. Their movements turned much slower. Their footing was unsure.
For ten minutes, there was only the sound of their movement. And the whisper of the grass. But peace wasn't stay long.
Rune's glow turned red again. Danger!
The ambush this time was sudden and unpredicted. One moment, the plain was empty. The next, a dozen figures erupted from the grass around them.
They were humanoid. Short and wiry. Their skin was covered by scales with the color of dried blood. And their heads were dominated by large, reptilian eyes with vertical slits. Each of them wielded crude but wickedly sharp obsidian-tipped spears and clubs. They were crimson colored lizardmen.
"Ambush! Battle mode!" Jack roared.