The magical peach technique, as Prana has taken to calling it, had been working especially well for the group that night, drawing attacks every few minutes, and almost all of them targeting Levi, to the point some barely fought back before being butchered.
According to Laura the best part of it was that they were in a region with mostly feline and bear-based magical creatures, ones that were on the highest end of her taste to difficulty scale. Particularly the Purple Leopards.
By dawn, they had taken over two dozen of the creatures and still, they could hear the howling of the cats in the distance.
"Don't you think that there are just a few too many of them tonight? I know you have a theory that they increase every night at midnight, but most groups only manage to find one or two a night. We fought over thirty. Even if we drew everything close enough to scent that peach dripping down Levi's arm, there shouldn't be that many Mythic Beasts in the area." Prana pointed out.
"That's true. Though we are further out than most of the hunting groups go, maybe the game has just been scared off by the strength of the farm, so hunting is slim in the areas that we patrol? If we were only seeing the nightly increases and not any sort of animals trying to enter the area it would make sense that our numbers were so much lower." Erin suggested, tapping her chin with the tip of her tail as she sank into deep thought.
That was actually a good point. If they had truly cleared every natural target from the area, then they would only be seeing the new arrivals when the hunting parties went out, and anywhere else they went would have a huge increase in monster density.
The more concerning implication was that anywhere not near a city, or near a city that didn't clear their surroundings would be dozens of times more dangerous than hanging around the farm. That was definitely something that they should warn the others about before more groups started wandering in search of prey to keep the group fed and trained.
"There's a city just a few kilometers from here, why don't we ask them?" Levi suggests, taking a bite out of the now mostly smushed Peach in his hand.
He had taken a single scratch in the last attack and had decided to slowly eat the sour, but incredibly effective fruit in retaliation. If he could eat it all before they noticed, he wouldn't have to be bait anymore. Of course, that didn't account for the fact that he had the juice splattered all over him at this point, but it was better than nothing.
"Alright, let's go meet new people and see how they're doing. We might even get some news about the prevalence of the call for Champions that we can share with the group. I hear a lot of them are training hard to win a city's selection and take up a salaried position for life." Cain agrees, making Prana laugh.
"Who wouldn't want it though? It's a good job, great pay, recognition and it's a field we're already trained in." The demon points out, her more humanoid right hand waving to emphasize her points, with the green skin shining in the morning light.
The yowling of big cats only got louder as they got closer to the city though, and it was giving Cain the impression that the place was under siege by Mythic Beasts.
When they got to the clearing around the city walls, that fear was confirmed. There was an orchard with magical fruit, used to boost the power and levels of the city guard, that was planted near the wall. The Leopards were intent on getting to it and were putting in work to try to get past the defenders and into the city. A quick count showed over a hundred of them in total, and they seemed to be winning.
Despite Mythic spells and mana totems to keep their reserves full, the guards and adventurers were having a tough time of it, being snagged in powerful jaws and pulled down one by one to be eaten by the mob.
Since he was already in a form that would work for [Ancient Resistance] Cain called a full set of Lamia Scourge Casters, increased to Mythic Quality by [Versatility]. Fifty Four Lamia appeared in the clearing, nearly giving the new members a heart attack before Cain could even signal the attack.
"Lamia, forward and clear out those cats. The highest kill count gets group headpats." Cain called, knowing just the best way to motivate his summons.
The Lamia loved physical contact. Ordering them to fight would make them fight without holding back, but for a prize, they would take extra initiative and stretch their combat capability to its maximum. It was one of the peculiar things about summoning that Cain had learned as he leveled up, that Absolute Obedience was not actually the best that the summons could do. At least not the more intelligent ones.
The cats smelled the new attackers instantly when they appeared, thanks to Cain's attack coming from upwind, and the back half of the group turned to face the new threat, thinking that they were here to steal the prize that the pack had worked so hard to get.
They had the guards very nearly on the retreat now, and they weren't about to give up the fruits of their labor.
Cain activated [Superior Mental Domination] and looked into the Leopards' rather simplistic thoughts for an answer as to why they would launch an attack on a city like this. They had never done it before, even the Crazed rarely launched an attack on this scale.
What he found was a desire to survive. Everything around them was increasing in power so fast that they were afraid of being overtaken. Therefore, anything that could give them an edge was essential to survival. If the fruits could give them a few extra levels, and bring them a little bit above the competition, their pack could live on for a few more days and drive interlopers from their territory.
The new arrivals had enraged them. They didn't know where all these beasts had been before, but they were not willing to share their territory with so many beasts that weren't even part of their pack.
The Lamia's magical blades, now enhanced to the same level as the Leopards, flashed through the sky in brutal arcs of shining gold, creating a glowing effect in the morning mist like dawn had come from two directions at once. Then the blades reached their targets and the golden glow was soaked in the red blood of the big cats, turning angry howls into pained hisses and the wheezing rattle of magical beasts taking their last breath.
The sudden change in balance did not escape the notice of those who were attacking the walls, and the cats quickly broke off and ran for the forests, saving as many of their pack as they could. Being a bit stronger was meaningless to them if they didn't have enough numbers to protect their homes anymore.
While the cats fled and the guards on the wall stared in shock an intense discussion was brewing among the Lamia. They had been promised pats, but they only got one attack each. How could they tell who won? A single attack couldn't take out a Purple Leopard, so the dozen or so that they killed were all a group effort. But since it was a group effort, that meant that they all got the reward, right?
With that in mind, the Lamia swarmed the group, making Cain and Prana both laugh, since they were the first to understand what was happening. They reached down to give the snake-bodied summons as much attention as they wanted, and slowly a cheer went up from the walls, realizing that they had been rescued by this odd group of wandering demons.
"Welcome to M City heroes. You came at just the right time to save lives, even though you didn't have to. Might I ask, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" A loud voice from the wall calls down to the group, causing the Lamia to turn their way in annoyance at being interrupted.
"I am Cain, from a farm well to the northwest of here. We extended our hunting region for the evening to test a theory on the increase of Magical Beasts and heard the commotion." Cain explains, giving the summons one last tickle before dismissing them.
The Lesser Golems don't remember things from one summoning to the other, but Cain did consider that they might with their quality increased, so him having kept his word might be valuable in the next battle.
"In that case, please do come in for breakfast on me. I have a proposition for your group." The mayor smiles at them from his spot on the city walls.
