'Why?!' Jasmine cried internally. If things continued like this, the General was soon going to find them.

Gritting her teeth, she wrapped her arm around Conor's whole shoulder, barely managing to lift him up.

Since the man's arm had been sliced off and he had lost a lot of blood, he had become light enough for the girl to help him move.

'Faster!' Her heart fled with dread seeing Conor's eyes. The last traces of light were quickly disappearing. The man was going to die soon.

The two had been riding aboard a train going from one city to the next. Unfortunately for them, a wandering General had caught a whiff of their scent and derailed the vehicle.

Since the train had been going between small settlements, there hadn't been Grandmasters on board to guard it.

Needless to say, most of the passengers had died. Jasmine and Conor were the only survivors. They had used the wreckage of the vehicle to hide from the monster. Simultaneously lingering close to the fires to prevent being frozen to death by the raging blizzards.

"What is this?"

The smile on the General's face enlarged seeing a crimson path on the snow. By the trail it was clear two people had passed from here, one too injured to move.

Licking its lips, it eagerly began to follow.

"STAY BACK!"

It didn't take it long to discover Jasmine and Conor.

The man was resting on a rock, unmoving. While the girl stood ahead of him with a dagger in her trembling arms.

When Conor's arm had been slashed off, he lost his weapon, forcing Jasmine to rely on the small blade she kept for self-defense.

"..."

In silence the alien observed the girl's scared expression, her shaking body, and her moist eyes.

"HAHAHA!"

Amused, it erupted into laughter. It had seen many things, but a little girl giving it orders was a first!

"To think that a little girl will have the gall to tell me what to do!"

Deciding to play a little, the alien intensified the aura it was releasing, causing Jasmine to take several steps backwards.

"S—stay away!" She repeated, her voice becoming more timid. It took everything she had in her to not pass out on the spot.

"And what if I don't?" With a scoff, the being began to take slow steps forward.

It could have killed her in a second. But it found itself with a rare opportunity.

"This will be the first time I hear the cries of a child… It's only right that I take my time."

With a flick of its finger, it lifted several metal shards, sending them flying towards her.

"Uh!"

A pained grunt escaped her lips as several shallow injuries appeared on her limbs. Ensuring that she lived for as long as possible, the alien had delivered non-life-threatening wounds.

"You dare deny me the pleasure of your screams?" With a frown the monster shifted its gaze to the man barely clinging to life.

"I wondered how you would react if I killed him first?"

Hearing the provocation, Jasmine's eyes narrowed to the size of needles.

"NO STOP!"

Not thinking straight, she ignored every instinct in her body and pounced forward with a dagger going towards the alien.

Seeing the desperate sight, the General smirked. A mere girl won't ever wound it no matter how much she tries.

Wanting to torment her, it got ready to kill the man before her eyes.

ROAR!

Yet before the General could send the metal shards forward, a menacing roar sounded from behind.

"...!"

Feeling goosebumps rise over its body, the alien turned, anticipating trouble.

The only thing it was able to make out was two crimson eyes staring at its very soul and a large metallic claw about to collide with it.

BOOM!

Cyberfang's attack proved to be more effective than expected. When its paw connected, the alien was swept off its feet, being sent flying like a ragdoll.

"What is that?" Taken by surprise, Jasmine fell to her knees. This was the first time she had laid her eyes on a mechanical tiger.

For a moment she thought that another alien had come to eat her. But before she could drown in despair, she noticed several human silhouettes riding on its back.

"You dare interrupt my fun?! Die!" Enraged, the General didn't hesitate to retaliate with everything it got.

"You've defeated a General before, and you're even stronger now. Crush it!" Michael roared, taking charge.

[Dash activated]

[Warlock activated]

The crew didn't hesitate even for a second. Spreading out over a large area, they encircled the General, attacking simultaneously.

"How can this be?!" The alien was baffled. It knew that only Grandmasters possessed any kind of threat to it. Yet it found itself struggling against a group of mere Masters and Experts!

"Where did your arrogance go?" Michael taunted, hooking the alien with Heaven's Judgment, bringing it closer.

"YOU INSECT!" With a mighty roar, the General attempted to retaliate, but it was over in a few seconds.

Thanks to the teamwork of the crew and their ambush, the threat was left lying in a pool of its own blood while the Indomitable Alliance faction was left mostly unscratched.

"Impossible…" It muttered. Its four limbs had been torn off, making it too exhausted to attack.

Just when Michael was about to deal the final blow, an idea came to mind.

"Do you want to do it?" With a warm smile, he turned towards Jasmine, who was looking at them with wide eyes.

"Who… are you?" She mumbled in a daze. With the alien defeated and Conor having his injuries being treated by Bryce, she didn't feel alarmed.

"We were sent by your father to take you home." Michael said, giving her time to think.

"..."

Wordlessly Jasmine gazed at the numerous corpses that were buried in the snow.

In truth, Michael hadn't given her the choice to kill the alien because he wanted to teach her to fight. But there was the risk of Jasmine becoming traumatized by the experience. And if that happened, it would be a disaster.

Before she could even respond, her legs took her forward, stopping next to him.

Putting her two hands over the hilt of Devil's Tongue, she drove the blade into the monster's head with Michael's help.

"Good job."

With the alien dead, he patted her on the head in an attempt to calm her down.

"..."

Blinking a few times, Jasmine gazed at him, her eyes letting out the tears she had been holding back all this time.

In order to hide her face, she hugged him tightly before crying out loud.

"T—Thank you for saving us, Uncle!"

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