The ground trembled, as Nik unleashed a barrage of punches that buried the Flying Tiger deeper into the ground with every punch that he unleashed.


    Several earth spikes had jutted out of the ground and shredded the Alpha-Ranked Deimos Monster''s wings, preventing it from flying away.


    The monster was unable to mount any counterattack and was forced to endure Nik''s one-sided blows that brought it closer to death.


    "Die!" Nik shouted as his right hand shed for a brief moment before he smashed it into the Flying Tiger''s head, shattering its skull.


    The monster gave onest unwilling roar of frustration before itpletely stopped moving.


    Nik faced Lux and gave him a thumbs up, which the Half-Elf returned with a thumbs up of his own. A momentter, the giant body of the Flying Tiger disappeared.


    The middle-aged Dwarf looked down on a baby, blue Slime that was jumping happily on the ground, looking very pleased.


    After Eiko took the body of the Deimos Monster using the Enchanted Beast Ring in her possession, she hurried back to her Papa, and crawled up on his body, until she was snugly perched on top of his head.


    "Eiko, you''re too excited," Lux said softly. "The monster was already ours. It was not going anywhere."


    "Pa." Eiko nodded her head in understanding.


    "The Beast Core is yours, but the monster parts are mine, okay?"


    "Pa!"


    "Good."


    Nik watched the exchange between Lux and the baby Slime with great interest. At first nce, the baby Slime was just an ordinary Slime that could be seen anywhere in the Kingdom of Gweliven. But, he believed that Eiko was different from the other Slimes that he had seen in the past.


    As someone who had achieved his rank, he trusted his gut instincts very much. And his gut was telling him that the baby Slime that was perched on the Halff-Elf''s head was a creature that could perhaps one day, rival a dragon.


    "Thanks for your help, Rookie," Nik said as he walked towards Lux. "Although the Flying Tiger had been dealt with, the battle is far from over. You can return to the ramparts, but be wary of the Monster that leads the horde. It is something that even I will not be able to fight alone."


    Lux could sense the trace of concern in Nik''s voice which had surprised him. If a C-Ranker was feeling weary, it only meant that the opponent was stronger than him.


    "An Argonaut Ranked Monster?" Lux inquired in a voice so low that only Nik was able to hear.


    Nik nodded. "Close, but not quite. The Monster leading the Horde is an Alpha-Ranked Argonaut Monster that is known to us Rankers as a Lesser Demogorgon. If this was a full-fledged Demogorgon, I would have already ran away because that monster is simply too powerful for someone like me to handle.


    "But, even though I say it''s a Lesser Demogorgon, it is still a Demogorgon. Only Holy, Life, and Divine Magic can pierce its defenses. Right now, we don''t have someone like that here in the city. The best thing I can do is fight it to a stalemate and prevent it from advancing towards the city."


    Lux could see the worry on Nik''s face, which told him that the monster was not as simple as he described it to be. Even so, this was something that was far from his reach.


    Deep inside, he wondered if Keoza was stronger than the Lesser Demogorgon that the middle-aged Dwarf told him about. He could only summon the Crystal Dragon two more times, and it was his life saving trump card.


    Unless he was pushed in a corner, Lux wouldn''t use the Dragon Token to fight against the Lesser Demogorgon if he could help it.


    "Don''t worry, even though I can''t beat it, I am confident that I can keep it at bay," Niks said after seeing the trace of anxiousness in the Half-Elf''s face. "Also, it is the only Argonaut-Ranked Monster in this Beast Tide. all the other threats haVE been dealt with, so as long as we endure thISst wave of attacks, we can count this as a victory."


    Lux nodded his head in agreement. Thinking about these things that were outside of his control was just a waste of time. If push came to shove, he would just retreat alongside his friends, as well as the Eternal Guild.


    "I''m going back to my friends, Sir Nik," Lux stated.


    "Go," Nik replied. "Leave the troublesome things to the adults. We are old enough to handle these things."


    Lux gave the middle-aged Dwarf a brief nod before heading towards the City Walls.


    Nik watched him go with a sigh before looking towards the sky.


    "I should have asked his Majesty to bring one more ranker with me," Nik said with resignation. "If there are two of us here, we might find a way to beat the Lesser Demogorgon."


    What Nik didn''t tell Lux was that the Demogorgons were not only as strong as dragons themselves, but were capable of casting magic, in addition to being able to fight in closebat. It was proficient at both, and deadly on both fronts.


    Having two heads, one that specialize in magic casting, and one in physical fighting, it is one of the opponents that even Rankers like him found to be too troublesome to fight.


    Nik had fought one in the past, but he wasn''t alone. There were two more rankers with him, but even with the three of thembined, the only thing that they managed to do was to make the monster flee.


    It was simply too powerful for C-Rankers to handle, and only A-Rankers and above could effectively deal with these beasts that hade from the Abyss.


    "I just hope it goes away on its own," Nik muttered as he made his way back to the Mayor''s side, who was also on the ramparts,manding the city guards. "If not, may the Gods help us all."


    —-