The Homeseeker: Elemental Adventurer LitRPG [Isekai] (Series Complete!)

Zalan looked down at the walls, then the Elemental Dragon circling above. He knew it was preparing another attack, but couldn't get a good look at its eyes to know what Elemental it would be attacking with. Zalan was certain that the monster was the same one that attacked Libreville the night before. It was smart. It had deliberately attacked the city of Libreville without getting too close. Now, it was doing the same with Wollstone. The fact it was able to break down walls on its own and in broad daylight made Zalan shudder to imagine the kind of damage it could do when the full army arrived.

"I hate that infernal creature with all my heart," Gorb said.

Rep and Zalan glanced at one another with their eyes alone, knowing Gorb's hatred stemmed from the Elemental Dragon that killed his sister.

"Some Grimfangs look to be charging," Dimak said.

"With all of us together, these monsters breaking away from the group should be child's play," Slauson said confidently.

"No monster is child's play to the people in this town," Gorb said, serious. "The majority of the people never reach heights beyond Level 3 or 4. And of those, even fewer are trained for combat. We can not let a single one get by. It would be a slaughter of innocents."

"This is obscene. The Elementals kept things in control," Dimak said, disturbed at the sight of the army. "I remember when I was granted my Elemental Earth Power, the Stone Elemental was in the middle of two separate groups of monsters. They would never cross the place where the Elemental lived, keeping them from forming such alliances."

"You think all Elementals lived in strategic places like that?" Zalan asked.

"I think they all ensured that something like this would never happen. And if they caused a storm, it would surely bring the monsters together while they fled the weather," Dimak said, pointing out to the dozens of Grimfangs racing in their direction. "I can not imagine many towns could withstand something like this."

"What are you doing in this town, again?" Moss asked.

"No time for idle chatter," Gorb said. "Incoming."

Three Grimfangs made long strides to get ahead of the rest, bounding over. Now that they were closer, Zalan got a better view of the creatures. They moved with a deceptively fluid grace on spindly legs, their ten-foot frames casting grotesque shadows that writhed like tortured branches. Their long, gnarled arms hung loose, ending in bone-white claws at the fist, like brass knuckles were fused inside. The rest of their body was disturbingly lean, muscles knotting beneath skin stretched thin like parchment. Their skulls were oversized for their spindly bodies, and their eyes flickered like dying embers. And their mouths looked like they were chewing nothing but blades, strangely shaped teeth pointing out at several angles from their mouth.

Zalan imbued his arms and shot out several blasts of light. The Grimfangs were at a far enough distance that they weren't even slightly wounded. With a frown, he realized he would have to wait for them to arrive to fight them head on.

"Gorb, help me down. I've never fought a Grimfang and want to figure them out before the big group gets close," Zalan said.

"And I as well. If you think it is wise," Rep said.

Gorb looked between the three monsters, then back down to his friends.

"It would be safer for you to remain up here, but it would be a valuable battle to understand them," Gorb said.

"I'm not worried about the danger," Zalan assured him.

"You should. The Healing Rest is gone," Gorb said, his face contemplative. "However, it would still be worth the understanding you may gain. There will be hundreds upon us and knowing them before we are overwhelmed is worth the risk."

He nodded to himself, as if agreeing with his own point.

"You may go. Be safe. And return to the wall when you are done with those three. We will be in need of your assistance immediately," Gorb said, serious.

Rep and Zalan sprinted and dove off the wall, a blanket of air sweeping them away from the hungry claws of gravity. Zalan and his friend were launched forward and landed gracefully on the floor, immediately breaking into a run. The three Grimfangs focused in on the two of them.

Zalan let out two spears of Elemental Light at two different Grimfangs. To his disappointment, his Elemental attack did little damage, even at close range. Burn marks, but no holes like he had bored through the Nargs. Rep cut the air and sent out a slice of flame, cutting the third monster with a burning gash, but not enough to take it down. One of the Grimfangs dove forward, going in for a tackle. Rep lurched out of the way, but was struck by the outstretched fist, sending him sliding back several feet. Rep unleashed his fury in his sword, imbuing it with white hot flame and slicing through the creature, leaving a burning husk dead on the ground.

The remaining two Grimfangs swarmed Zalan together. Zalan ducked and raised his imbued blade, shining it with enough light to blind both monsters. They flailed at random, and Zalan was able to cut off both the arms and head to one Grimfang, but was hit in the chest by the other.

Zalan fell hard to the ground, as though thrown down and indenting the earth. He coughed, his world filling with pain. It felt like his chest had imploded and he would know nothing but the throbbing of his ribcage until he died. The Grimfang blinked, its ember-like eyes restored of its sight. It threw another fist forward, but was stabbed through the back by a flaming sword.

Rep cut the creature in two, kicking its corpse aside and helping Zalan to his feet. Zalan was grateful to find that his chest hadn't caved in, but he would definitely get a bruise based on the pain he felt. He looked around at the monsters, feeling they were much more formidable than he originally believed. He could take on plenty now that he understood them, but he had no confidence against an army. He had to make sure they couldn't get close to Wollstone.

"Back to the wall," Rep said.

"There are two more incoming!" Zalan pointed. "They're close, we can take them on a lot easier now that we know how they fight."

"We should really regroup," Rep said.

"Come on, we can take them. We don't want them getting close to the city," Zalan said, running toward them.

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Rep groaned in frustration and chased after him. Zalan drew his sword, extending a long line of light out from the imbued blade. The two Grimfangs caught sight of Zalan and Rep and jumped powerfully. Zalan blinked in surprise. They sailed high over, arcing down and landing on the other side of them. Zalan and Rep had been totally cleared by the monsters, and they continued running toward the walls.

"Hey, wait!" Zalan exclaimed, throwing a lance of light at one of the monsters.

It jumped again before it was struck, closing the gap between it and the hole in the wall. The two Grimfangs were less than a hundred feet away now.

"I told you we should have gone back!" Rep said, frustrated as he ran after them.

"We can still catch them!" Zalan said.

"We had better hope!" Rep said.

The limber creatures jumped again and again, like the floor was a trampoline park. Rep and Zalan ran as hard as they could, the distance between them getting further with every impressive leap. Zalan threw an array of lights at them, but nothing was direct enough to do significant damage to slow them down.

One of the Grimfangs landed at the hole in the wall and took a step inside. Then had a massive stone appear from the sky and crush it like a cartoon anvil. The other Grimfang stood frozen in place, ice gripping it from the chest down. Another rock shot down and sliced its head clean off, the chunk of ice at its base shattering as the rock fired through it. Dimak and Slauson stood above the hole, watching intently to see if either Grimfang survived. Zalan and Rep ran until finally reaching the base of the wall.

"Thanks for stopping them!" Zalan called, catching his breath.

"If you are outmaneuvered by a Grimfang, it is no wonder you lost the Elemental Rage Tournament," Dimak said.

"Is this really the time for that?" Rep asked.

"No," Dimak admitted. "But it does not make it less true."

Gorb boosted both Rep and Zalan back to the wall, his face red with frustration as they landed gently in front of him.

"We already know the monsters have the propensity to learn!" Gorb snapped. "They are working together. It is not a stretch to believe they can watch how we fight and adapt. Listen closely to what I say!"

"Yes, Gorb," Rep nodded.

"Sorry. I thought I could save us some extra effort," Zalan apologized.

"There is no time for this," Gorb said dismissively. "No more rash maneuvers. More monsters approach. Prepare to strike on my command."

Zalan looked out, but his gaze was caught by what looked like a tsunami pushing away hundreds of monsters at once on the western front. Gorb's dad could single handedly take on a third of the monsters without letting one slip by. Zalan couldn't even manage five without losing track. It was humbling to see the difference in their power. He suddenly felt warm, ashamed at not having listened more closely to Gorb. It could have ended up a lot worse.

Focusing back down on the battle, Zalan saw a long string of Grimfangs approaching, only a few hundred feet away.

"Take these," Moss said, placing several small, sharp sticks he conjured into Zalan's hand. Zalan squinted at them, thinking they looked a lot like arrows.

"I don't know how to shoot a bow," Zalan said, looking up.

"So?" Moss said, stepping away to create more ammo.

"On my call!" Gorb called out.

Zalan looked around for a bow, then realized that the others surrounding him were imbuing the sticks with the respective powers. They weren't meant to be arrows at all, but something to be thrown. Quickly conjured javelins. With some respect, Zalan noted that Rep was able to imbue his stick without burning it up, redirecting the flame around the stick as he held it.

"Hold!" Gorb said.

Startled, Zalan imbued his stick and aimed it at the closest Grimfang, their focus on the open hole in the wall that Dimak and Slauson were working on repairing with Elemental Earth and Ice, respectively. The hole wasn't close to being sealed, and there were about fifteen Grimfangs approaching the walls. There was no telling the destruction they could cause within the walls.

"Now! Release everything you have!" Gorb demanded, firing three of the small javelins. Zalan joined, leaning forward in his assault on the Grimfangs, putting all his weight and Elemental Power into the toss. The projectile shot true, guided by the surrounding Elemental Light and shot through the chest of a Grimfang, followed by a flaming stick after that. The Grimfang fell, twitching on the floor. But nine remained.

"Do not focus on the same Grimfang!" Gorb announced. "Announce your targets before firing!"

Moss ran around, distributing more ammunition to Zalan and the others, plastered in sweat. Conjuring up so many weapons was sapping his energy at an alarming rate, and he was already running around sluggishly, stumbling between steps.

"Zalan!" Gorb barked. "Get on the inside of the hole in the wall! Stop any monsters that break through!"

Zalan had about half a dozen questions flow through his head, but he grit his teeth and nodded, determined not to waste a moment of Gorb's time. He ran on the inside end of the wall and jumped off, assisted to the ground on a wave of Elemental Air. Spinning as he touched down, he looked on to the large hole in the wall.

Slauson and Dimak's ongoing patchwork was shoddy at best. Ice glued together chunks of earth that hung off haphazardly in different places, like giant jagged teeth that sat at erratic angles. Through some of the transparent ice, Zalan could see the Grimfangs approaching quickly. One raised a fist to bash through, then was sniped through the skull with one of the projectiles. Another monster wasted no time, sliding behind its downed kin and bashing through the wall with a single powerful blow. Rocks and ice shattered and scattered across the ground at Zalan's feet. The monster stepped through the wall and Zalan raised his sword.

"Zalan! Face down on the floor! Now!" Gorb exploded.

Zalan hesitated, looking at the Grimfang stepping right up to him. To lay on the floor would be to accept death. His heart panged with indecision and he let out a hiss of frustration before going prone. The Grimfang's muscular foot stomped right next to him and he cringed in fear and confusion. Why couldn't he just fight the monster?

Suddenly, a shadow passed over Zalan and everything became clear within a fraction of a second. Without seeing the full outline, he knew the shadow belonged to the Elemental Dragon swooping down toward the city. With a potent roar, it unleashed some power from its maw.

Zalan's hair stood up on end as a shaft of crackling electricity passed just over him, consuming the Grimfang in such an overwhelming blast, that nothing above its legs remained uncharred. It was cooked inside out in a moment, and its body fell to the side, dead.

"Zalan! Up!" Gorb announced from the wall.

Zalan immediately jumped back up to his feet, searching for any other Grimgfangs that made their way into the town. No monsters loomed over him, but he saw that the hole in the wall around the city had been blasted even wider. The Elemental Dragon was precise, targeting a specific spot in order to make way for the incoming beasts. Zalan looked out through the window of the broken barrier.

Hundreds of Grimfangs were making their way to Wollstone. They weren't synchronized like a battalion, but looked like a swarm of hungry, rabid animals. Zalan wondered if they would even be able to stop them. Even with Gorb's parents, it seemed like a daunting task. Dimak and Slauson dropped down next to him, gliding down on a slide of ice.

"There is no hope in repairing the wall. We will defend it from those that break through," Slauson said.

"Together, we should put up a good fight against any that come through." Dimak nodded confidently. "Try and keep them contained at the hole, not allowing them to come all the way through to flank us."

"Bottleneck them at one point," Zalan agreed.

"I do not know the word," Dimak said.

A blast shook the earth under the trio's feet, turning their attention to the right. The Elemental Dragon had blown another, smaller hole in the far side of the wall. Grimfangs immediately broke from the main pack to pass through the new entrance into the city.

Zalan gripped his sword tightly, feeling less confident that they'd pass through this battle without casualties, both from guards or civilians.