Summoned and Unwanted

After the person leading and the people assisting him saw everyone was ready to leave, they ordered to move out. Step after the other, the large group left at a hurried pace.

“Good thing I have exercised after losing weight, or I might need to be carried.” Said Lilith while walking and glancing at her legs.

“Talk to me if you ever become interested in dancing.” Ester offered with a beaming smile.

Lilith promptly shook her head. “N-no need, hehe...”

Lupa became interested. She looked at Lilith with a pair of puppy eyes and offered, “I could teach sister Lilith how to run fast.”

“Is it because you want to win?” Lilith questioned with a sly smirk.

*Gasp* Lupa averted her gaze while her tail dropped after her intentions were discovered.

Jun Ye Rim watched silently from behind. She noticed Iris glancing at her as if she wanted to start a chat, but she frowned and looked the other way.

.....

‘Does Jun Ye Rim want to talk to me? She has been peeking and glancing at me since we left. Should I talk to her?’ *Gulp* ‘... what should I say? I do not want to feel awkward?’ Iris thought nervously.

“HAHAHA!” Lupa started laughing out of the blue.

Everyone looked in her direction and started to stop moving. They questioned why she was laughing so loudly and frowning unhappily.

The cold temperature of the winter and the forest with unknown dangers were keeping most of the soldiers on edge, yet the group of women they were requested to bring with them acted as if they were walking in their garden.

“Lupa. What is wrong with you? Why are you laughing so loudly?” Ester questioned while her fingers prepared to pull Lupa’s ear.

Lilith blushed. “Please do not attract too much attention to us.” She requested.

“Do you smell a rare herb?” Iris questioned. Her heart began fluttering at the thought of hearing yes.

“Hehe. Sister Iris was close.” Lupa answered.

“More herbs?” She asked in an excited tone.

“No. It is better than plants. I smell six wolves approaching us. I can have a great fight while going to my mate.” Lupa expressed a beaming smile. “It’s it exciting? Hehe.”

The people leading took Lupa’s words seriously. A royal mage rushed to Lupa and demanded, “Tell me if this is a joke or not. I do not need the people I am leading to be misleading. We were ordered to protect you, but I will not stand this kind of behavior.”

Lupa shrugged her shoulders. “You human are not like my mate. You do not know how to lead.” She mocked.

“Lupa!” *Smack* Ester’s hand was smacked away. She couldn’t pull Lupa’s ear like usual.

“No, sister Ester. This human needs to know I am great at hearing enemies in the distance.”

Lilith agreed with Lupa on this matter. She stepped forward, gulped, and said, “A beastman’s hearing is an asset. Moreover, a beastman who is planning to participate in the judgment by combat.”

“That is way... ” Lilith placed her hand on Lupa’s shoulder. “Everyone needs to prepare for combat unless you want us to fight in everyone’s stead.”

The royal mage frowned, yet he couldn’t deny what Lilith told him. He raised his hand and ordered, “Prepare to form a defensive formation.”

Ester, Lupa, Iris, Lilith, and Jun Ye Rim were placed in the middle of the defensive formation along the medic team.

Ester looked at Lilith’s hand. She saw her grasping her sleeves nervously. She realized Lilith was feeling anxious about attracting everyone’s attention.

Ester moved beside Lilith. She leaned her head and whispered, “We are beside you. Do not feel anxious after gathering everyone’s attention.”

Lilith revealed a faint smile. She felt reassured that she wasn’t alone. There were four other women she knew beside her.

“Thank you.” She responded.

*AWOOO!*

“Everyone. Do not let your guard down. The royal soldiers will fight close-range, and we, the royal mages, will assist them. The soldier with no ranks will need to protect those inside the formation at all costs.” The royal mage acting as a leader commanded.

*Step. Step* Footstep after the other could be heard approaching their location.

Many of the soldiers felt a chill rush down their spine. They became afraid the five royal soldiers and five royal mages were not enough to overpower six wolves of unknown levels of power.

There were going to be fatalities today, and no one wanted to be part of the fatality list. They wanted to return home to their families safe and sound.

The first wolf to make an appearance was a great snow wolf. Its white fur was covered in numerous patches of red. It was injured in multiple areas, and the wounds appeared to be bites and lacerations.

The snow wolf growled at the people in front of it. *Bark, Bark. Bark.* It started to bark while viciously contorting its face.

“Do you know what it is saying?” Ester asked Lupa.

Lupa nodded. “Go away. You will be warned once.” She translated.

After Lupa stopped talking, the snow wolf strangely shook its head, lost its balance, and fell to the ground. The snow wolf didn’t move a muscle after falling, as if it had fainted.

“What is happening?” The soldiers started to question.

The soldiers heard Lupa mention six wolves approaching. Even if one instead of six wolves approached, Lupa was correct in guessing the enemy.

The soldiers opened their eyes on high alert and keenly looked at their surroundings. If Lupa’s warning was correct, five more wolves had yet to make an appearance.

The temperature began to drop, and everyone felt chilly. The sounds of a body being dragged on its feet could be heard clearer by the second. Shortly, five silhouettes could be seen a few moments later.

“Prepare for combat!” The royal mage leading everyone commanded.

“Jun Ye Rim. Can you check our surroundings? We will protect your body.” Ester told Jun Ye Rim.

“I... I don’t have a choice.” She complained before doing as Ester requested.

Lupa removed her shoes and placed them in Iris’s hands. She winked and said, “I will fight for the two of us.”

Iris became a little comforted by hearing these words, even if she still felt useless because of the need to hide her class as much as possible.

Iris couldn’t use Seed Guardians willy-nilly unless her life was on the line because many people had different intentions besides her. All it would take was one bad person for a rumor about her to circulate around the city that a goblin was ordering plants.

Iris noticed Ester glancing at her. “I will fight for Iris and Lilith too.” She heard Ester stating. It made Iris feel both reassured and useless at the same time.

“Humph! Then I will fight for all of us.” Lupa pouted while crossing her arms. She didn’t want to lose to Ester.

In the past few days, Lupa had trained very hard with Lucas as her teacher. After training as much as she could and growing as much as she could in a short time, Lupa didn’t want Ester’s dancing to outshine her.

Lupa wanted to win against everyone. She wanted to beat the approaching enemies, and she also wanted to have all the attention of being the best fighter on her as well.

“Mages. Prepare for a coordinated Wind Arrow. Royal soldiers. Prepare to intercept any incoming ice-based projectiles.”

The five royal mages started casting Wind Arrow spells while the five royal soldiers moved in front of the mages to protect them.

“I can see the large snow wolves. They are moving awkwardly, and they look strange. On their fur is a yellow sticky substance. I can also see... a little steam?” Jun Ye Rim said while looking from Blemish’s eyes.

“Anything else?” Asked Ester.

“I think they are wounded...”

Lilith became worried when Jun Ye Rim suddenly stopped talking. “Are you seeing more strange details about the wolves?”

“I do not know how magic beasts work, but I am not seeing them breathing... I think. There is no frosty breath coming from their mouths.”

Everyone became on high alert. When everyone’s gaze moved on to the returning Blemish, they saw five large great snow wolves appear beside the fallen wolf.

Each of the five snow wolves went to sniff the fallen snow wolf. Each then bit the fallen wolf once before moving their gaze at the people in front of them.

“Wind Arrow.” The five royal mages said, casting a powerful wind arrow at the wolves each.

The five snow wolves were hit easily. One lost half of its face and fell. Two lost a leg. One received a deep wound in its shoulder, and the last wolf was deeply lacerated from shoulder to rear.

“Huh?” Everyone started to question with puzzled expressions.

The four great snow wolves didn’t moan in pain. Furthermore, the two heavily injured wolves didn’t give the impression their life was about to end soon.

A mysterious scent surprised Lupa. *Sniff. Sniff.* Lupa looked at Ester and said in a low voice, “It smells very little like my mate. But the tiniest bit.”

The royal mage leading everyone noticed strange steam rising from the wounds they inflicted. It made him confused about what was happening. However, he wasn’t going to let this opportunity go.

Just before he was going to order another use of Wind Arrow, the wolves started shooting a barrage of icicles from their bodies. While doing so, they opened their mouths, and more Ice Shards shot at their prey.