Chapter 53: You've been denied by Thena

Thadius sighed in resignation, then he and other men followed their squad leader deeper into the mists.

They were on high alert as they trudged through the marsh, taking care not to step into a pond or trip from the soggy ground. Every so often, Elroy would take out the map to ascertain their location, but they didn't stop for any other reason.

Thadius turned on his Concentration and strained his hearing. In the silence of the mists, the range of his enhanced hearing was extended, so he didn't miss the opportunity to use it to his advantage. He didn't want to be caught off guard and any early warning he could provide could be lifesaving.

"Anything out there?" Thomas whispered. Thadius jumped. With all his focus on his hearing and Sense Presence, Thomas' voice was like a dog barking after hours of silence.

Thadius gave Thomas a look that made Marcus chuckle.

"S-sorry. I was only curious. You seem to be lookin' for somethin'..." Thomas said apologetically.

"I'm listening for anything sounds of life, as well as sensing for any nearby presences."

"How far out can you hear?"

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"If it's quiet, I can hear pretty far." Thadius smiled, then his eyes narrowed. "So I'd appreciate it if you could tap me on the shoulder instead-"

Thadius stopped in his tracks as several presences entered his range.

Everyone stopped with him. Even Elroy looked at him in concern. "What is-"

"Shh!" Thadius hushed the squad leader as he strained his hearing.

The thick mist was playing tricks with his spacial awareness, so any forms he could make it were distorted. But he listened, and further in the mists came a low guttural that could only be described as...croaking.

"Thadius?" Thomas whispered.

Thadius removed his shield from his harness. "Croaka." he said solemnly. "About ten of them. And they'll be on us in seconds."

"Do they know we're here?" Elroy asked.

"They're spreading out. They seem to be trying to surround us." Thadius said as he looked toward the gaps in his aura, then he looked at Elroy. "We could back up, try to cut down their numbers as they spread out."

Under normal circumstances, Thadius would have let the monsters surround them, but now he was a part of a team, which required him to think about someone other than himself. And the fact that he didn't know the fighting purposes of his peers had him on edge.

The sound of muffled croaking reached the ears of the squad, and everyone began readying for battle. Banon had his two-handed battle axe in hand, Marcus gripped his staff, and poor Thomas drew his sword with shaking hands.

Elroy drew his sword with a fierce hunger in his eyes. "We'll stand our ground here."

"Sir, they outnumber us-" Thadius tried to make the young noble reconsider, but was interrupted by him.

"I gave my orders! Now you will either follow them or get out of the way!"

At the sound of Elroy's shout, the croaking grew louder, and it seemed to come from every direction. The squad gathered in a circle with their backs to each other as their foes made their entrance.

Out of the mists walked 12 gangly creatures that were more frogs than man. They had pale blue skin and stood on two long legs with equally long arms holding green spears. Their backs were hunched, and their frog heads swiveled as they communicated to each other with the vocal sacs on their throats, tightening their formation around the lone squad.

"Amazing..." Thadius whispered under his breath. Every time he encountered a creature that couldn't possibly exist, he was astounded at how Sonsoft managed to bring it into reality.

He analyzed the croaka's gear. The spray in their hands seemed to be some sort of rolled up stalk while the armor they wore was clearly made from a large plant. The equipment didn't look too threatening, but there was a reason they had given the Kingdom of Todos so much trouble in the past.

"Stay in formation! Remember what you were taught in basic training!" Elroy yelled.

'Marcus didn't have basic training! He's fresh out of the Church of Thena!' Thadius thought as he assessed the situation.

He looked behind him to find Marcus chanting in between Banon and Elroy.

"-Thena, smile upon us! Goddesses Favor!"

Light shined on everyone except Thadius.

[You've been denied by Thena.]

"I don't understand! It's always worked before!" Marcus cried in surprise.

Thadius couldn't resist a chuckle. "Thena won't bless me Marcus. Save your mana for the others." he said. Then he looked at Thomas beside him, who was shaking like a leaf and staring at the croaka in fear.

"Thomas!" Thadius yelled as he slapped a hand on his shoulder. Thomas winced, then he looked at Thadius wide-eyed.

"Y-yeah!?"

"Remember what you've learned, and don't let the fear take control." Thadius said calmly, trying to keep Thomas' attention off the scanning advancing monsters.

Thomas visibly relaxed for a moment, but then he looked over Thadius' shoulder and cried out in terror. "Look out!"

Thadius had felt the frog-man leap long before Thomas' warning, and he had waited to unsheathe Serenity for his first opponent. He ripped Serenity from its scabbard in a wide arc, directing at the airborne croaka.

A blade of wind rushed from the orihalcum blade. Thadius didn't know how powerful Wind Cutter was, but he hoped that it would at least deal moderate damage.

Everyone watched as the unfortunate monster was cut in half. And as it fell to the ground in two, so did Thadius' jaw.

With the sudden death of one of their own, the croaka closed in cautiously. A few flinched from Thadius' Fighting Spirit, but with their superior numbers, the frog-men ignored the danger.

There was a brief moment of stillness as the squad and the croaka measured each other. Then silence quickly escalated into violence.

Two of the monsters were on Thadius immediately, while three went for Thomas.

Thadius fell back into the Dragon Scales stance, with tip of his sword next to his heart and the edge of the shield just below his eyes. Then he parried the two attackers as they thrust their spears by knocking their weapons up he ducked.

He slashed out low with Serenity, aiming to for the ligaments he'd been taught to target. However, the new attack power of his sword, on top of his strength, caused him to miscalculate.

Wind damage extended the swords range, and it cut through one of the the right croaka's front leg from the knee down. Thadius was so surprised by the lack of resistance that he cut clean through the second croaka's leg by mistake.

'Mercy!' he thought while he looked at his sword in awe. He truly didn't think that the attack of his weapon made so much of a difference.

He finished off the crippled croaka and attacked one of the three enemies that had approached Thomas.

The rookie had managed to keep himself alive during the first exchange with his opponents, but he couldn't close the gap and deal damage.

Thadius attacked the croaka who had yet to engage Thomas and stabbed it in the heart before it could react. Then he moved to take down another, but he felt a croaka jump behind him.

Having already predicted the monster's landing point, he turned around and pulled the distracted Marcus toward him, and then the enemy landed precisely where the priest had been moments before. Thadius rushed forward and quickly dispatched the monster with Dragon Claw that ripped through the amphibian with ease.

Elroy glanced back at the mess behind him. "Stay in formation!" he shouted.

Thadius glanced at the dead croaka at his feet. "The formation won't hold! They'll just-"

"Hold the formation!" Elroy repeated as he turned back in time to defend against the next attack.

Thadius surveyed his surroundings. Banon had already killed a few croaka, and continued to swing his battle-axe with frightening ferocity. Elroy more than proved that he could handle himself, but as Thadius looked at Thomas and Marcus, he knew they wouldn't last at this rate.

Thomas had only taken down one foe, but he was already breathing heavily. And Marcus couldn't even be counted as a combatant.

As if that wasn't enough, Thadius detected another wave of the same size coming from the south-west. Wherever the monster were coming from was in that direction.

"Damnit..." he muttered under his breath. Marcus hurried past him to retake his position.

"Thanks Thadius. I don't know what would have happened if-"

"It's fine, just keep your eyes open."

Thadius said as he returned to his position.

Once he reached his place, however, he kept going, and headed toward the coming wave.

"Thadius! What are you doin'!?" Thomas cried.

"Damnit, Thadius! I gave you an order!" Elroy bellowed as he turned to look.

Thadius took a deep breath and sheathed his sword as he moved towards the advancing croaka.

They were eager to take down a lone fighter, and they began to circle around him like they did before. Ten of them spread out around Thadius, with one of them eyeing the other members of the squad with hungry eyes.