KINETIC

The chains created by the defender from squad one could only last for a short amount of time. After ten seconds the chains would dissappear and it would take ten seconds before the chains could be used again.

Even if only one set of chains is being used, the wait time stays the same. The chains all disappear at the same time regardless of when they were summoned in the ten second period of use.

Because of this, the ice horses that were being kept back earlier in the fight were technically still able to participate for ten seconds at a time.

The ice horse wasn't a particularly fast or flexible creature, so after being trapped by the chains it would take almost the entire ten seconds for them to get up from the ground and start moving towards the fight.

The wind wolves were a completely different story in this regard, they seemed to specialize in speed and were capable of getting up within a second after the chains disappeared.

Thankfully, ten seconds was more than enough time for the squad to kill the captured wolf while some of them defended from the rest.

Using this method, the wolves were dealt with after some time and Nila managed to defeat one of the ice horses on her own.

"I'm impressed." Cain said as he and Nila walked towards the remaining ice horse that was currently trapped by chains.

"So am I. Your squad is surprisingly capable." Nila replied.

"Well, to be honest I was faster than the others when choosing who I wanted. I ended up with most of the best fighters." Cain chuckled.

The chains around the ice horse began to disappear at that moment and the conversation ended. Cain had three other members of his squad still capable of fighting.

Some were injured of course but there were those who had simply drained all their Energy while dealing with the wind wolves. Cain himself was down to the last bits of his Energy as well.

This was the case for everyone that remained able to fight, they were all running on fumes and had very little attack power remaining as a result.

As the ice horse got up from the ground, taking abut six seconds to do so, it lifted its front legs and immediately stomped them to ground.

Previously it needed to get up and then try to run towards the fighting, but now that everyone was closer it could attack immediately.

Ice spears erupted from the ground in a semi-circle shape in front of the monster. Rather than aiming for anyone specific, the ice was just hitting randomly within that area.

This made it slightly easier to dodge and for some it was as simple as taking a step to the side. For others it wasn't so easy and several spears came at them.

One of the three squad members helping in this fight was stabbed through the leg by a large piece of ice that was similar in size to two fingers next to each other.

His leg was rendered useless and he was unable to attempt another dodge. The monster lifted its legs again, preparing for another stomping ice attack.

The injured Infernai knew he wouldn't be able to do anything against this attack and would most likely die from it. His ability wasn't able to help him in any way either.

Just as the stomp was about to occur a set of chains wrapped around the monster and shoved its body to the ground. A different member of the squad that was out of Energy rushed forwards and started dragging the injured Infernai back to the others.

Nila, Cain and the remaining two Infernai all began attacking the monster as it was trapped and helpless.

One of the remaining Infernai had the ability to summon spectral arrows and shoot them towards a target. The other could shift his body so that It mimicked an animal.

Of course, he would be able to gain more power and speed from his transformations than the original animal could posses, as long as he had the Energy for it.

In this case he was limited and only transformed his hands into bear like claws and used them to slash at the monster.

Cain used his hammers and slammed them into the monsters head over and over again. Nila stayed at a distance and shot Energy blasts from her hands.

All their attacks were dealing damage but because they were so low on Energy, none of them could produce a powerful attack at the moment.

They were forced to use their most basic attacks, also referred to as their weakest attacks.

After the ten seconds was done and the chains disappeared, the monster had not been killed yet and everyone was forced to pull back from it.

As the monster stood to its feet, it's body was full of spectral arrows, burn marks, claw marks and a part of its head that looked caved in with blood pouring out.

It was slower to its feet and produced auch weaker attack compared to last time. There was half as much ice and the speed of its stomp was much slower too.

All this gave the Infernai plenty of time to react and successfully dodge to attack without issue. This back and forth continued and the monster managed to survive two more rounds of this back and forth before it finally died.

With heavy breathing and sweat covered bodies, the four who fought and the defender that created the chains all dropped to the ground and tried to catch their breath.

Healing was offered but they all refused, claiming the other injured needed it more, there was only one healer present at the moment and their Energy would be better used on more serious injuries.

"We probably would have died...if not for those chains..." The shapeshifter said amidst his panting.

There was complete agreement from the others. "I'll have to remember...to thank Rene... for sending Frey to my squad." Cain said while trying to catch his breath.

The Infernai known as Frey was an average looking girl around 1.7 meters tall. She had long and curly brown hair and light freckles going over her cheeks and nose.

She blushed at the praise she was given but didn't say anything in response and looked away from the group to hide her embarrassment.

As the name 'Frey' was said, Nila suddenly realized something. " Frey? As in Frey Damfir? The daughter of the former Baron Damfir?" She asked with a curious tone.

Frey, who had turned her back on the group, slowly turned back around and looked Nila in the eyes "Yes... That's me." She replied with a solemn tone.

"I was sorry to hear about your father's passing, he was a good man and he was always willing to lend my father assistance when needed. I wanted to say this years ago when it happened but you never came to any of the noble banquets after that." Nila replied, somewhat matching the solemn tone.

" Yes well...I had my own circumstances that prevented me from going." Frey replied. She then got up and walked away from the others with he held held low.

" Did I say something wrong?" Nila asked the others.

"I don't think so... Maybe she's just tired from the fight or doesn't want to talk about her family." Cain answered.

"Maybe..." Nila continued to watch Frey as she sat down with the injured and Energy drained members of the squad.

***

Connor and those who weren't injured started helping the rest of the squad leave the area on Leo's order.

As they disappeared into the trees behind him, Leo checked his Energy and was glad to see that he still had plenty left over.

[Energy 240/310]

'Should I fight it or just try and avoid it. I've never fought anything higher than an uncommon tier like those ice horses. This thing is at least rare tier and could be even higher than that...'

As Leo pondered his next move the monster behind the trees emerged, walking out into the clearing with him.

*Ding

[Quest - Save squad 3] (Complete)

[New quest]

[Kill the Elite tier monster]

[Rewards]

[Authority level up]

Although the rewards for the first quest were shown, he ignored them upon seeing the new quest, as well as its reward.

'If that's the reward then I might as well give it a try. If I can kill this thing then I'll get another boost in power!'

'I can't hold back for this like I did with the wolves and horses. I need to go all out or I might actually die.'

[Combine]

[Fire Bolt + Wind Blade]

He decided to attack first, hoping to gain some sort of advantage over the monster by injuring it with a surprise attack.

'Alright, let's get this over with so I can get that reward!' Leo thought as he launched a blade of fire towards the monster.