Chapter 402: Manticores [2] The Manticores charged as one, four tons of muscle, fang, and venomous death, launching toward three opponents who stood their ground with weapons drawn and magic gathered. The four Manticores split their attack, two converging on Alissa while the others targeted Kipp and Elara separately. The creatures moved with terrifying speed for their size, muscles rippling beneath their resistant hides as they closed the distance in seconds. Alissa met her attackers head-on, her sword flashing as she deflected the first Manticore’s massive paw strike. Her face contorted slightly as the impact sent vibrations up her arm despite her strength, forcing her back several steps. The second creature immediately capitalised, its scorpion tail whipping forward toward her exposed side. "Alissa, left!" Kipp shouted, launching a compressed wind blade that intercepted the tail mid-strike, deflecting it just enough that the venomous stinger missed by inches. "Thanks!" Alissa called back, using the momentary reprieve to create distance and reassess. Her heart pounded in her chest from the surge of adrenaline. The fight had just started, yet she had almost been caught by a dangerous attack. These creatures were fast, coordinated, and powerful enough that even blocking their attacks was tough. Kipp found himself dancing between strikes from his opponent, wind magic swirling around him defensively as he tried to find openings. The Manticore’s tiger head snapped at him with jaws that could crush his skull, while its claws raked the air where he’d been standing milliseconds before. WHOOSH! His wind-boosted agility kept him alive, but barely. "Their hides are tougher than I expected! I need even more power behind each strike," Kipp panted, frustration evident as another wind blade skittered harmlessly off the creature’s flank. Elara had erected multiple barrier layers around herself, buying precious time as her Manticore circled looking for weaknesses. She launched fire bolts that scorched fur but failed to penetrate deeply enough to cause serious damage. "Noah was right—half measures don’t work! We need to commit!" The princess gathered more mana, preparing a more powerful spell that would drain her reserves significantly but might actually hurt this monster. One of Alissa’s opponents lunged suddenly, its massive weight crashing toward her with claws extended in an attempt to shred her to pieces. Alissa rolled aside, her sword lashing out at the creature’s passing foreleg. This time, she put real force behind the strike, and her blade bit deep into muscle beneath the resistant hide. The Manticore roared in pain and fury, blood flowing from the wound. But the injury only seemed to enrage it further. "Got one bleeding! But it’s making them angrier!" Alissa reported, breathing hard. The wounded Manticore’s partner immediately moved to protect it, positioning itself between Alissa and the injured creature. The coordination was remarkable—these beasts fought like trained soldiers rather than animals. Kipp saw an opening as his opponent overextended during an aggressive lunge. He shaped wind into a drilling spear of compressed air and launched it with everything he had. The attack finally penetrated the tough hide, punching into the Manticore’s shoulder and drawing a pained snarl. The creature’s tail lashed out in retaliation, moving too fast for Kipp to fully dodge. The young catboy threw himself backwards, but the stinger grazed his leg. Immediately, paralysis spread from the contact point. Kipp’s leg went completely numb, causing him to stumble and fall to one knee. "Kipp’s hit!" Elara screamed, seeing his vulnerability. The wounded Manticore lunged for the kill, jaws opening wide to crush the temporarily disabled prey. Alissa abandoned her own opponents instantly, sprinting with all the speed that her legs could muster to intercept the attack approaching her brother. Her blade came up in a desperate parry that deflected the Manticore’s bite away from Kipp’s throat, though the creature’s momentum bowled her over. "I’ve got you!" Alissa shouted, positioning herself protectively over her brother as he fought to regain control of his paralysed limb. Elara released her charged spell—a massive bolt of concentrated lightning that struck the Manticore, threatening her friends with devastating force. The electricity coursed through the creature’s body, causing muscles to seize. The beast collapsed, alive but temporarily incapacitated. "Kipp, can you move?" Alissa demanded, fending off snapping jaws while keeping her body between the Manticores and her brother. "Almost... almost..." Kipp gasped, feeling returning to his leg with agonising slowness. "Five more seconds!" The remaining conscious Manticores pressed their advantage, sensing wounded prey. They attacked with renewed fury, claws and tails striking from multiple angles simultaneously. Noah watched the chaotic battle unfold with a slight smile on his face, his arms crossed as he observed from a close but safe distance. Despite the genuine danger his companions faced, he remained confident that none of them would actually die—he was ready to intervene instantly if necessary. "Kipp’s elemental control is excellent, but he’s still thinking too defensively," Noah commented to Lola and Valeria standing beside him. "He’s using wind primarily for evasion rather than creating offensive opportunities. He needs to be more aggressive about controlling the battlefield." Lola nodded in agreement, her ruby eyes tracking the battle ongoing. "He has the skill to immobilise those creatures with compressed air cages, but he’s not confident enough to commit that much mana to a single technique. Fear of exhaustion is limiting his effectiveness." "Alissa’s instincts are good, though," Valeria observed, wincing as the cat-girl barely deflected another claw strike. "She immediately prioritised protecting Kipp over her own positioning. That’s the mark of someone who understands team survival over individual glory. Although his status as her brother might have played a role in that, hah." "Agreed," Noah said. "Her swordsmanship fundamentals are carrying her through situations where raw power would fail. But she needs to keep evading, that leather armour isn’t providing nearly enough protection against master-rank claws." Lola’s tail swished as Elara’s lightning spell connected spectacularly. "The princess has excellent spell power and timing. That lightning bolt would have killed an adept-rank opponent outright. But look—she’s breathing heavily now. She dumped too much mana into a single attack instead of maintaining sustainable output." "She’s used to fighting from behind protective forces," Valeria added. "Noble mages are trained to deliver overwhelming power because they expect allies to handle sustainability. She needs to adapt her combat style for extended engagements." Noah nodded thoughtfully as Kipp finally regained mobility and rolled away from danger. "They’re learning, though. Watch, Kipp’s adjusting his tactics now."