Dominic fell back as the group moved.

He could hear the distinctive thumping of Hobgoblins approaching, moving faster than their team.

"Everyone keep moving. Amie, you’re with me. We will delay them until the team is clear." Dominic instructed.

Bella saluted them, but Wiz stopped next to Dominic.

"Alright, Wiz is with me. Bella, take care of the wounded. I seem to recall that you’ve got plenty of experience." Dominic relented.

Bella smiled at her husband, then winked at Dominic. "Against my will, I assure you."

Then, she was gone, following the team through the woods while the rearguard waited for the enemy to arrive.

"This is a good sword. No wonder you didn’t try to parry it." Wiz noted casually as the thunder of breaking branches came closer by the second.

"That and the fact that it likely weighs half what I do." Dominic laughed.

"Actually, it’s much lighter than it looks. It’s just large." The berserker chuckled.

The Hobgoblins slowed as they noticed the trio waiting for them, and Dominic smirked at Wiz.

"Our wives are going to be so mad when they realize that we only stayed back so we could get bonus loot."

Amie laughed at the two men, then casually stretched as the Hobgoblins approached.

"Well, let’s get on with it." Wiz announced, then swung his sword in a flat arc, sending out a wave of ice magic that tore through an entire rank of Hobgoblins in a single strike.

"Oh man, I’m going to love this thing." He sighed.

Dominic laughed as he began to shoot, dropping Hobgoblins in piles all through the woods.

"Spread out, don’t let them walk around us. Wiz, I will be in range, if you have trouble just shout."

Fifty Hobgoblins had been confident of victory only a few seconds ago. But with that Frost Blade and the ridiculous firing rate of the gunslingers, they were dropping fast. So fast that they had only begun to consider retreating when the second group of reinforcements, a trio of Ogres, arrived and chased them back into combat.

Combat that quickly led to their doom.

The Ogres never saw the two gunslingers standing in the trees, they only saw Wiz, standing proud as he cut down the Hobgoblins.

But the second that bullets began to slam into their backs, no amount of magic resistance could make the pain go away.

Dominic put his pistols away in favour of his rifle, using a single shot through the ear to take down an Ogre, while Amie simply unloaded at incredible speed on another.

The last to fall was the one that Wiz had engaged, but the Ice Magic on the blade cut through the crude wooden club of the Ogre Warrior, and then clean through its body, while Wiz panted for breath.

"Is there a potion or something for more mana? Because this is ridiculous. I’ve only used that skill like three times, and I’m winded." He complained.

"It kills Ogres in one hit, of course it’s going to use some mana. Just save it for clearing large groups or landing killing blows." Amie chastised him.

"But it’s too cool not to use."

The little mage laughed. "We can work with you on your mana reserves when we get back.

It’s not a fast process.

But you can get some magitech orbs and armour pieces that will help you recover what you’ve used. Dominic has pistols that regenerate mana on hit."

"I will have to do some shopping, now that I need it. Everything I have was chosen for extra strength." Wiz lamented.

"Clean up the battlefield, and let’s get moving. The group will be waiting for the good news." Dominic interrupted, already hearing movement in the distance.

If they didn’t get far enough from the battle, they would be caught again and again, until they were too tired to continue fighting.

Dominic led them through the woods, and out into an open portion of grassland, near what used to be a Barony house and surrounding farms.

It was mostly still intact, with some crops in the fields, plants that had grown wild for the last decade. A perfect spot for the team to stop and rest.

Few things improved an evening like fresh food while on the road, and while they were only a few kilometres from where they had found the closest scouts of the monster army, it should still be safe enough to move the team indoors and cook.

"Will it even be safe enough to stay in the house? Won’t they just surround us?" Bella asked.

Dominic shook his head. "We can set a guard, but I don’t think they’ll follow us out into the open. It makes them too vulnerable to riflemen. By the time that they’ve crossed five hundred metres of open ground, one man with a good magitech rifle can drop fifty Hobgoblins."

"Do you have more rifles?" One of the warriors asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I’ve got some that weren’t transferred to the army yet. I’ve also got mortars, both ground fired and shoulder fired. If we need to defend a position, I can arrange it." Dominic agreed.

The team spread out as they walked toward the house, picking vegetables as they went.

By the time that they reached the old Barony House, they had all the food that they needed for a few days rest, or an evening feast. Dominic cleared the house while the others set up for dinner.

The house had a large magitech stove, so there would be no smoke plume to give them away if anything came looking.

Then, Dominic heard the soft patter of rain on metal roofing.

The perfect scenario had arrived. The rain would hide their tracks through the long grass, as well as their scent. So, as long as nothing came soon, the monsters would never know that they had passed nearby.

The rain was getting harder by the second, until it was a torrential downpour.

"Someone should send a message on the radio. Let them know that we’re sheltering for the night. I’m not going back out in that just to pick a fight." Dominic informed the mages.

"Excellent choice, My Lord." The mage laughed.

After that last fight, a rain day sounded like just the thing to calm their nerves.