My Beast Evolution System-Chapter 55. Sylvan Glade.

Aaron rode Thunder and Glimmer scouted the area ahead of them while her holograms did the same.

Aaron activated his {Scout’s Insight} skill to cover more ground as well and this made it easier for them to avoid any demonic beasts that might prove to be too difficult for them to handle.

As they neared Sylvan Glade, Aaron and everyone else came up on a clearing. The ground was littered with decayed vines, there were huge paw prints on the floor, and claw marks were etched into the ground.

But then, suddenly, a low growl echoed throughout the trees and everyone spun around with their hands firmly gripping their weapons.

"Hold your positions!" Diana barked as she slowly drew her sword when a pack of dark hyenas emerged from the shadows.

Their red glowing eyes were fixated on everyone; meanwhile, miasma could be seen hovering around their bodies.

The hyenas lunged first with unnatural speed and Aaron raised his sword to strike back. "Glimmer, the left flank, blizzard, you’re on the right, and Thunder, you’re with me."

His beasts responded instantly and moved into position. The elven warriors also formed a defensive line and Diana guided them on what to do.

Glimmer struck first, and her inferno Strike engulfed two hyenas in flames. Blizzard released a terrifying ice howl and froze a group of hyenas mid-attack, allowing Aurora to cast a rain of fire arrows on the immobile targets while Thunder charged forward to stun the remaining hyenas.

Aaron brought down his sword on all the stunned beasts before watching every single one of them turn to ash.

Meanwhile, the warriors spread out, and their blades flashed as Kain charged forward, and the rest of the elves followed behind him to take down the remaining disoriented beasts.

The battle against the hyenas was quick but intense, and as they all regrouped, they began to breathe heavily, however, their spirits had been lifted even more.

Aaron and Diana acknowledged their efforts before surveying the surroundings one last time.

With that out of the way, the group pressed on, and everywhere around them began turning dark as they went deeper.

The trees became more twisted and stunted, and deep claw marks could be seen on the various trees around them.

"Stay close," Aaron ordered when he noticed that some of the huge claw marks actually looked fresh.

As they moved deeper into the glade, Aaron and everyone else came across the remains of what appeared to be an elven village.

There were broken structures and scattered belongings everywhere, and a few of the elves felt sad because this village happened to be where they used to live before the demonic beasts arrived.

Kain walked forward and knelt beside a shattered piece of pottery with a grim expression on his face. "This was my home."

A few other elves felt the same way and many remained silent because memories of what happened to the Village began flashing before their eyes.

After a while, Aaron called out to them and everyone had their attention brought back to reality by his voice. "Let’s move," he ordered and everyone followed behind him and his beasts.

As they ventured further, everyone noticed the location of the elven shrine in front of them; however, getting close to it was extremely difficult due to the obstacles standing in their way.

Aaron dismounted from Thunder before activating his Scout Insight skill to get a precise number of the beasts before them.

But while he was doing this, Aurora, who was standing beside him, muttered to herself.

"There are about forty of them," She said, referring to the beasts inside the shrine.

"Can you make use of that shrine to purify this place?"

"I can."

"Then, we’ll have to get past the hyenas first," Diana drew her sword and Aaron turned to his beasts and the elven warriors.

He signaled for them to get ready and everyone tightened their grips around their swords.

Once they were ready, the group positioned themselves strategically around the glade.

Diana and Kain led the warriors and ordered them to form a defensive perimeter while Aurora prepared herself mentally as well.

Aaron knelt before his beasts and explained the plans to them in a calm voice.

Once he was done with this, he drew out his sword and everyone moved out into their positions.

The air around them was filled with miasma, and the hyenas prowled the area, but Aaron raised his hand to signal that the group should remain still.

Aaron turned towards Glimmer and moved his fingers a bit.

Seeing this, Glimmer instantly vanished into the shadows and her fiery tails dimmed as she moved silently through the corrupted forest. Moments later, she returned and yipped softly while motioning towards her left.

Aaron nodded and whispered with gratitude before turning towards Kain and Diana. "Thank you, Glimmer."

"Diana, take Kain and the warriors to the left. Hit them as hard and fast as you can, but be subtle while doing it," he said before turning towards Aurora. "Your Highness, stay close to me and focus on supporting the group. Thunder and Blizzard, you two are also with me."

Everyone nodded with a determined look on their faces before setting out to carry out the plan.

Diana and the elven warriors were the first to strike and their coordinated attack drew the attention of the hyenas.

The creatures growled with fury before charging towards them, but the warriors held their ground and defeated all the hyenas that charged at them.

Meanwhile, Glimmer darted between hyenas, using her Inferno Strike to set the demonic beasts ablaze. Then Thunder unleashed a lightning strike that stunned a lot of the hyenas which helped to give the warriors an opening to strike.

As for Blizzard, the huge Frostfang wolf let out a bone-chilling ice howl that froze a group of hyenas that had been trying to sneak an attack.

Aurora cast a spell and a barrage of ice spears and arrows rained down on the beasts.

Aaron fought at the center of the chaos, and his movements remained fluid and precise as he slashed and cut down one hyena after another.

Just as the group seemed like they were about to gain the upper hand, the ground beneath their feet began to shake and everyone’s eyes flew wide open when they heard a deafening roar echo through the glade.

A massive shadow hyena emerged from the darkness of a tree and its body was wreathed in miasma.

The warriors stepped back a bit with fear in their hearts.

Aaron noticed this, and his voice echoed within the warrior’s mind. "Stay focused or you’ll all be killed."

The large hyena let out another growl that reverberated through the glade and momentarily stopped everyone from moving.

Actually, it was more like their movements were a lot slower than before, and the huge beast leaped towards them, going in for the kill, but Aaron swiftly turned towards his beasts.

Glimmer darted towards the huge beast, and her rain of large fireballs forced the beast to stop mid-attack and stay back.

Meanwhile, Blizzard used {Frozen domain} to create patches of ice, which helped limit the beast’s mobility.

As for Thunder, the huge stag unleashed a powerful lightning strike that crackled across the huge beast.

Aurora also launched long-range attacks, and each attack weakened the beast significantly, but Aaron charged forward while making use of the distraction created by his beasts and Aurora to land several strikes on the beast’s flank.

The creature roared with fury and suddenly teleported behind Aaron to tear into him with its claws, Aaron barely dodged the beast’s attack before rolling away to safety. Meanwhile, Blizzard lunged forward to sink his icy fangs into the huge beast’s hind leg.

The huge hyena cried out in pain, and its movement became more erratic, so Diana, Aaron, and his beasts seized the opportunity to launch a final assault on it.

"Glimmer, Thunder, Blizzard, now!!!"

Glimmer unleashed a fiery inferno Strike that engulfed the huge beasts while Blizzard followed with Ice Howl, which froze the creature’s legs and held them in place, then Thunder charged forward and delivered a devastating lightning bolt straight at the Hyena’s chest.

The huge beast let out one final, earth-shaking roar before collapsing to the ground with its body slowly disintegrating into ashes.

While everyone had been battling the beast, Aurora had reactivated the shrine and this allowed the air around the huge hyena to become purified, thereby weakening the beast in the process and giving Aaron and the rest the opportunity they needed to end the huge beast.

Once the shrine’s purification reached its peak, light began to spread through the glade.

The air around them became purified and all the remaining demonic creatures lurking around ran away.

Aaron and the group stood in the now clean glade, trying to catch their breaths, but there were smiles across their faces.

"We did it," Aurora said in awe. She was still finding it hard to believe that they were actually able to succeed with their plan.

"Yes, we did," Aaron smiled and patted Thunder.

Kain approached Aaron and bowed deeply before him. "On behalf of all the elves who once lived here, I thank you, Lord Aaron."

"Thank you, Lord Aaron," The rest of the warriors said, bowing down as well.