Spirit Taming

Chapter 667: Chaotic Markets

"Ready to move!?" Maria's shout came out with a lot of rough tones that made every single healer being gathered behind her stand taller than before. None of them had expected that she had so much force in everything she did.

Most of the whalers believed that they were weak. That they should be weak. That they had absolutely no chance to be strong enough to survive alone. Yet, that had all changed just recently.

Many of the larger families had immediately been pushing against the rumors and the proof brought that Maria, a healer with a healing beast, had managed to win battles in the academy tournaments.

The idea had started to affect the healers that worked under them. The healers that would work for very little pay because they were too weak to fight against the families. Too weak to demand more. Too weak to go off and work for themselves. The whalers were always taught that they ended protection.

This had led to a great majority of healers never working to get stronger. Even the white robed healer group were clearly held at a disadvantage because they too had not developed enough to become fighters. That was why they had managed to join together and hire guardians.

This entire culture was suddenly challenged as a young student ousted from the large family because of her weakness was able to fight one on one with some of the best students of other academies.

"Isa's group needs help reclaiming the merchant territory. Three market roads have been claimed by the Mourne family carriage guards. They are killing off store owners to take the goods for themselves to weaken the city as a whole. They are making a dangerous and violent move."

The information had just been brought by Jerold who had rushed ahead and managed to spot the battle that Isa was in. because he had been given a group of students, academy staff, and the Mane family forces that could scout, they had been communicating between groups. This was also how the news of successful attacks on the library, cemetery, and warehouse district were told to them.

This news had boosted the forces mentality immensely. It had also been amazing that very few healers had been forced out toward those three places. The overwhelming strength that was radically underestimated by the weaker Mourne family forces was shown great value.

The only area that had needed healers really, was the warehouse district which had multiple people rescued from the warehouses. They had been used as workhorses that could be thrown away at any minute. That had served to make many students even angrier. Driven them to fight harder.

"Twenty of you are coming with me. There are multiple Green family guards also heading there now. They had been sent to the outer walls since General Green is expected back when she defeats the blood moon cult members nearby the city." Maria knew this well as she pushed ahead.

When Lit took the empress robes from, Maria became incredibly intimidating. The energies radiating around her only appeared to be more dangerous. This was due to the fact that Lit could partially unravel the form taken to help heal and protect Maria. Small barbed tentacles with numbing and paralyzing poison could scrape against foes. A scary possibility.

While Maria dashed ahead with healers right behind her, Isa was dealing with what could only be called chaos.

"Gather yourselves in a line and push forward! They want to destroy this area because they know that they are beaten!" After the first encounter with beasts, Isa had found that there was a sudden change in the battle style of the Mourne family carriage guards who had begun to blatantly attack the businesses of merchants that were not following their orders.

The change had been from them trying to force the merchants to do as they said. But due to the fact that three areas had already failed to uphold their orders from the Mourne family and other rallied families, it was clear that more violence was needed.

"The shield head lizards are stopping us!" One of the academy staff was trying to charge forward. He had been one of the battle instructors that used the spear. However, his flight spear beast was unable to take the wind energy it usually used and pierce the heads of the shield headed lizards.

"They are using a beast to boost their metal affinities. We need to find those beasts and take them down." Isa was trying to locate them, but too many of the group she had been with was injured, she had already looked to the wind elemental gargoyle. Unfortunately, it was busy fighting three great guardian lizards. They were the rarest growth path for the shield headed lizards.

They were owned by the leader of the Mourne family carriage guards. The man they had to fight.

Isa wanted to be able to take him down. He was a man known to use force to get what he wanted. He was also known by merchants to require a special fee to pass by the merchants that he was with. Basically, if another merchant group passed by the one he was guarding, he would rob them of some of their goods or gold coins. It was ridiculous and unwarranted.

This was an issue that would be fixed. The only issue was that Isa could not rush and fight him one on one with her beasts providing her enough strength to step above him without his beasts that needed to fight the wind elemental gargoyle. Therefore, they were losing the fight.

"Spread out and heal those with the worst injuries. Some of them have broken arms due to the shield headed lizards. The others need to be taken back to the academy. Jerold's people will handle that!" The orders reached Isa's ears and she felt that her chance was here.

"Maria, fight that man there. I will handle his stronger warriors!" When Maria heard Isa shout, she focused up and flexed her legs before leaping forward and jumping over the nearest shield headed lizard.

The healers with Maria saw this and were shocked, but they didn't have time to look at her in awe. Isa was also showcasing her real strength as well.

Flames burst in to a blaze as she melded with the blaze elemental. The flames were heating the entire area up and causing the shield headed lizards to feel the immense strain. The bonus of doing this instead of the perfect crystal golem or the winter witch, was that the tamers who controlled the shield headed lizards also held shields. They could not hold their own weapons comfortably.

It greatly weakened them as she began throwing fire balls at them.

Waves of flames caused the entire line of carriage guards to begin dropping their shield and were forced to draw their swords. They had less defense and had to rely on their weakened beasts. The perfect way to take advantage.

Meanwhile, the threat of Maria approaching was not missed by the leader of the carriage guards. He wielded a massive full body shield that required two hands. It was an intimidating shield with spikes that could kill beasts when the shield slammed many people. It was one reason why he was considered powerful and intimidating.

He moved to block Maria thinking she was just some kid rushing after him. To his arrogance, she darted around him like his attempted shield bash was just a child's trick. He felt weak for the first time in over thirty years of fighting beasts. Thirty years of becoming the strongest shield bearer within all of Nova City.

not that he knew that title was only his because the Mpourne family had bought it with money and rumors.

While he was still tough and Maria found that there was a reason he could control four powerful beasts, her daggers still managed to slash in to his skin and draw blood. She was also surprised that her foe had not fallen and begun to fight her in other ways.

But arrogance had not faded. The weak feeling was ignored through anger as he reminded himself that these wounds could not harm him. "You little rat! I will show you what then. Waaasss to crubsh..yoouuUU?"

Confusion entered his suddenly slurred angry tone before he realized that there was lack of movement throughout his entire body. He could also not feel his feet as he tried to step forward to attack Maria in his anger.

'With the introduction of paralyzing poison and with numbing poison, you are still standing. You are the toughest opponent defensively that I have faced when it comes to pure defense. But you rely on your intimidation too much. You are not trained against poisons." Maria felt she had worried about Isa for nothing.

What she did not realize was that the leader of the Mourne family carriage guardians had in fact trained against poisons. Lit's poisons were just that powerful now.