Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

When morning came, the first-person Ethan saw had been Maerys. She looked to be in a good mood. If anything, her first impression of Ivan had been a positive one.

"Your leader promised us that he will treat us well if we decide to work with him," Maerys said. "He didn't expect that we would fight alongside your allies, but he is more than satisfied with the information we have about this world."

"Good for you," Ethan said.

"That being said," Maerys added. "We would feel bad in leaving the fate of our world completely in your hands, so we decided that we are going to fight."

"I am not going to return your weapons," Ethan said. "Besides, you guys are specialized in weakening the monsters without damaging them. That won't be very useful against three armies."

"I am aware of it," Maerys nodded. "But your friends said that you can probably solve this problem."

"My friend?" Ethan frowned.

"The son of your leader," Maerys said. "Yesterday, he said that we can count on you and we should let your usual cold behavior scare us. He said that it was just an act because you are truly an amicable person."

"That asshole…" Ethan bit his lips in annoyance.

"Still, I noticed that he was joking," Maerys said. "But not in the part where he said that you can find a way for us to help in the battle that is about to happen."

True, Ethan could do something about it. Since the Clannian people had a lot of mana, they could use his magic crossbows for a pretty long time, and since the crossbows could be used repeatedly as long as the wielder had mana, Maerys, and her people could become a decent force. Even more powerful than the mercenaries.

"I can give you guys a weapon that might be helpful," Ethan said. "But in exchange, I want all the spears of the other members of your tribe."

"Understood," Maerys said and then left to collect the spears.

Although Ethan could buy some pretty decent crossbows, he decided to buy one of the cheapest. He wouldn't be able to use all of those or sell them to his system, so that was a given. Besides, he didn't want to mass-produce them and sell them to the people on Earth. If he makes a mistake, some individuals might discover the nature of those weapons and how they are created. That, in the long run, could bring problems to him.

When Maerys returned, Ethan already had fifty rapid-fire crossbows ready to give them. For some reason, her people, Ian, Anna, and Emily, came as well. After trading their spears for his crossbows, Maerys people began to test the weapons. As crazy as that sounded, they had never used or seen a rapid-fire crossbow before.

"You are a cheapskate. I would never have imagined that," Emily said while she was watching the Clannian people firing the bolts non-stop. "Still, given the utility of those weapons, maybe you did the right thing."

"They have a decent amount of mana, and they can use these crossbows for a while," Ian frowned. "But the fact that they never used this weapon makes me uneasy. They will be in the backline while we will be in the frontlines, after all."

"Don't worry, if you get hit by friendly fire, the response won't be them. It will be me," Ethan declared. "Anyway, did your father say anything to us?"

"Yes, apparently, they are our responsibility, so we have to look after them while we transform these survivors into a suitable force of combat," Ian said. "Father and Anna will talk with half of them to learn as much as possible about this world, and the other half is going to work with us."

While that seemed logical, Ethan felt that it was going to be a pain since they didn't need any help. That being said, their numbers and with the right training, the Clannian people might become helpful in decreasing the time to complete the mission.

"While I can use bows and crossbows just fine, I am not much of an archer," Ethan said. "What about you, Emily? Can you teach them properly?"

"No, but some combat experience might do the trick," Emily replied. "Crossbows are weapons relatively easy to use. Even more, yours who are powered by magic."

It made sense since training against a target who couldn't move was basically a waste of time when the real deal was apex predators that focused on speed. At least, that was how Ethan imagined the devourers to be.

"If the worst comes to the worst, I can always buff their accuracy," Emily said. "My spells last for quite a while, and we have mana potions for free here, anyway."

After that, Anna left alongside half of the survivors of the planet. Ethan wouldn't have free potions that day, but perhaps with Maerys and her people, they would be able to clean the area much faster than before. Without wasting any more time, that big group left the camp and headed North. Although they weren't exactly alone, they didn't like the idea of heading in that specific direction, even more so when the goal was to fight monsters as much as possible instead of running away from them.

"To avoid problems, you should be the one who will give the sign to your people for when they should attack," Ethan said to Maerys. "Meanwhile, they should focus on keeping their eyes on our surroundings."

"You are right," Maerys said. "Our combat senses have dulled since we didn't do anything in the last years aside from running away. We will need to recover them before anything, and once we do that, things should proceed a little faster."

In the end, Maerys divided her people into three groups. Each one of them would guard a single direction, while Ethan, Emily, and Ian would always guard the front. When the group spots something out of place, they are supposed to inform Maerys. Only after she confirms the threat she would give one of the groups the order to attack. If they don't divide the work like that, things will become too messy.

In any case, the crossbows Ethan gave them could fire iron bolts, and with seven or so people firing them at the same time, the treants died without being able to do a single thing. However, when those birds appeared… here they go again.