Akuji reached the largest bear first. As usual, she had run with her scythe blade almost dragging along the ground. Upon arriving at the beast, she grabbed the scythe handle with both hands and did an upwards golf swing.

The blade impacted the bear and dragged along its fur. The fur was cut where the blade passed, but the skin wasn't penetrated. Akuji also wasn't prepared for the middle leg on the left side to swing immediately towards her. She was faster than the attacking monster, but her balance was already committed to swinging the long and heavy scythe.

"Damn," she gasped, trying to spin away using the momentum of her weapon. She only came up to the upper arm of the beast as it stood with all six legs on the ground. The claws of this Urktine were as long as her torso. They would have no trouble mauling her on impact, since Akuji had focused on speed and strength rather than durability and endurance.

Right before the claws hit her, she heard Brittney yell, "[By Your Side]!"

A clang rang out as the beast's nail struck Brittney's shield. There wasn't time for her to activate any of her other skills, so the force of the strike sent the small Brittney flying backwards.

Akuji saw it and gasped, then jumped backwards. The bear roared at her, but a scratching noise came from the ground a short distance to the side as the Mitera bear seemed to be getting traction for a charge.

As expected, the medium bear flashed red and charged at Akuji in a lather. Akuji activated her [Burst of Speed] skill and dashed to the side to avoid the attack, but unexpectedly, the Mitera curved in her direction as if she were a homing missile. Once more Akuji cursed.

"[Angel's Advance]," called Alissa as wings appeared on her back and propelled her forwards. Before the charging monster reached Akuji, Alissa then used the skill [Make Space], causing a burst of force to knock everything away from her. The effect of the skill hit the bear's side.

If it had weighed less, the bear would have gone flying. Instead, it just threw off the bear's balance, causing it to fall on its side and slide a few feet along the ground. The force of the skill also hit Akuji and knocked her near the direction that Brittney had gone.

A deep laughing had started when Brittney had been knocked away, but when the Mitera bear was hit, the laughing Kuantan stopped.

"You think you can hurt my minions? Think again," the golden invader boasted. Then a stream of fire came at it, and it jumped behind the smallest Urktine. Once the fire stopped, the Kuantan climbed on top of the smaller bear and began laughing again. "Come, Moro. Let us feast on these natives' energy!"

The smallest of the bears, still larger than Lucky or the other Urktine they had encountered, reared up and prepared to charge at Emily. Before it had the chance, the large Karen stepped in front of Emily with a tower shield.

"I won't let you hurt any of them," the muscular woman declared.

"It won't be your choice," responded the small invader riding the Moro bear.

On the other side of the clearing, the Pateras bear was standing over the Mitera protectively and bellowing at Alissa.

"You didn't need to throw me too," grumbled Akuji through Angeline's communication skill.

"It's your own fault," responded Alissa angrily. "You didn't follow the plan, and my short stack got hurt as a result. If you can't work with us, then you are out of these raids."

"What about my teddies?" asked Akuji with a glare.

"I'll have the General's Guard put them down."

Akuji gasped. Had Alissa threatened with using Adam or the rest of her group, then Akuji would have made Randall and Joseph fix things. However, the General's Guard wouldn't stop. They all seemed mental and impossible to reason with. Anything for Adam…and that meant keeping the General's Wives safe too.

"Ugh! Fine!" she conceded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Go to the right side and try to attack the back leg," said Brittney, jogging up to them with Andrea behind her. Her shield and armor were a little dinged but not too badly. Some blood could be seen under Brittney's helmet, but she seemed healthy now. "Marj, do the same on the right back leg. Harass without leaving yourself open to attacks. Alissa, get on top of its back and hold on. Andrea will attack from behind."

Alissa smiled and gave Brittney a tight squeeze, even if she couldn't feel it due to her armor. "I'm glad you weren't badly hurt," she said.

Brittney waved behind her and upwards with her hammer wielding arm. Abbey floated above, thanks to her skill [Lifted Spirit], which made it easier for her to see the whole battlefield and cast heals when necessary.

"Alright," shouted Marj excitedly, slamming her fists together. "Let's get this done!"

The bear flashed red and roared once more. A more forceful wind came from it, feeling almost solid. Alissa grunted when hit, while both Akuji and Marj dashed to their assigned side to avoid it.

[Firm Stance] and [Absorb Impact] were activated by Brittney. Then she used [Shield Ally] on Alissa. A [Circle of Life] appeared below them, thanks to Abbey, to heal any wounds and energize them. Andrea activated her [Static Shield] to protect herself.

Alissa tilted her body slightly upwards and then cast [Angel's Advance]. She took off at an angle that passed over the bear and then dropped onto him. The bear rotated its head to follow her, but Brittney shouted, "[Attention Here]," using the skill to force the beast to focus on her. Thanks to that, Alissa landed on the back of the bear.

The Mitera was back on its feet by that time. It growled at Marj, who had dashed to the back side of the Pateras and was wildly kicking and punching the leg, switching between the overhead hip joint and its closer knee. It seemed like the Mitera bear was going to dash again. It began scratching at the ground like before.

"Andrea, try to stun it," Brittney ordered.

With a nod, Andrea used [Speed of Light] to rush to its side, then she activated [Discharge] on her [Static Shield]. The sphere of lightning that was protecting her blasted outwards. Most of it landed on the Mitera bear while a small amount hit the Pateras. The Mitera screamed in pain and then stumbled back as lightning burned its fur and skin.

At the pained cry, the Pateras whipped its head towards Andrea only to get a [Shield Bash] in the chin. To even use that skill Brittney had to jump higher than she was tallor she would have been out of reach of the monster's head. The bear glared at her and its face split as it once more roared. Then it whimpered as Akuji, attacking its back right leg, finally managed to break through its skin and dig the point of her scythe into its muscles.

Alissa finally had a good grip on its neck skin. She turned so that her hand was near its heart and pressed her hand as solidly against its skin as possible.

"[Improved Life Transfer], [Take Life]."

Her hand flashed red and then the bear growled at the feeling of its lifeforce being pulled from its body. With the size and level of the creature, Alissa wouldn't be able to kill it quickly, but the beast seemed confused where to attack. Brittney would bash or taunt if it turned away from her. Marj wasn't having much effect on its thick hide and muscles, but now that Akuji had cut its leg, she was able to get deeper into it.

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While these bosses were smarter than the usual monsters, they still weren't thinkers. The Pateras tried to stand on its back legs to dislodge Alissa.

"Ride 'em, cowgirl!" shouted Alissa as she was turned upside down. Her grip on the fur combined with her high strength buff was enough to keep her attached to it.

Before the beast could even get all the way upright, Akuji stepped in front of it and used [Sharp Edge] to lightly cut its lower abdomen. Then she thrust the long-handled scythe upwards while using [Topple].

Marj also wasn't idle as she stepped behind the leg she was attacking.

"[Heavy Fist], [Inner Rupture]," Marj called as she slammed her fist into the back of the knee. [Inner Rupture] was for damaging the inside of high defensive targets. In this case it wasn't enough to rupture the bear's tendons, but it did shock the joint, causing it to weaken and buckle.

The attacks from the two women were enough to cause it to tumble forward. Brittney was waiting for it and used [Shield Bash] on its nose when it approached the ground. It tried to swipe at her as it hit the ground, but she skillfully used [Absorb Impact] and then followed it with [Counter Strike].

As the Pateras was being disoriented and whittled down, Andrea was doing her best against the Mitera. It had burn marks all over thanks to her [Volt Cutter] and [Lightning Spread]. Whenever it tried to charge her, she would use [Speed of Light] to dodge it, even avoiding its homing effect. As it passed by her, she would use a quick [Jolt] and then [Along the Flow] to guide the lightning to its eyes, brain, and heart.

The large beast was whispering from pain even as it charged and slashed with its claws. Every now and then Brittney would also taunt the Mitera to get it to shift attention to her, giving Andrea the time to use [Discharge] on her shield to create an area attack, which would then create focused damage thanks to [Lightning Merge].

The bears had a lot of health and defense, but not a lot of speed or endurance. The magic attacks did more damage than the physical ones, but just keeping the bears disoriented was enough for the women to stand against the two of them. Brittney even set things up so that Abbey and Angeline could run in and do a bit of damage to make sure they could get XP from the fight.

"Unbelievable!" shouted the Kuantan in frustration with its pleasantly resonate voice. "How can natives even stand in our presence?!"

While the Moro bear and the golden Kuantan that was riding him hadn't done much other than watch the other fight, Karen and Emily had tried to harass them. Karen would block the bear's path, and Emily would use elemental attacks like a fire stream or soften the ground to try and annoy the Moro. Karen had begun with a [Warrior] class, so had higher strength than defense but that strength, and a sturdy shield, allowed her to deflect all the swipes from the bear in front of her.

"This has gone on long enough!" shouted the mounted invader.

He reached behind him and pulled out a spike. It was a thin, two-foot-long needle. With a flash of red, he drove it into the spine of the Moro bear he was riding. The Moro gasped and staggered. Then it began to pulse. The fur on it grew while fading white. Its muscles bulged, causing even some of its skin to rip.

The light of intelligence faded from the Moro's eyes as the vertical mouth opened, splitting its face. The large fangs protruding from its mouth were quickly coated in rabid slobber as it moaned like something from a zombie flick. The moan sounded pained, but the beast immediately went on a rampage.

"Get back!" shouted Karen, grabbing Emily and throwing her towards the others. Then a heavy swipe struck Karen, and the large woman was lofted into the air. When she impacted the ground, she grunted as bones were broken and limbs faced the wrong direction.

The Kuantan was shaking around on the affected bear but laughed heartily at their misfortune.

"[Mend Wounds]," cast Abbey from overhead to repair Karen's bones quickly. "[Mid Heal]! [Mid Heal]!"

Once healed, Karen pushed herself to her feet and cried while running at the Moro.

However, Karen wasn't the only one to charge. The Mitera also heard the pained moans of the Moro. Even though she was clearly tired and had electrical burns all over the skin, she still seemed distressed by what the Kuantan had done to the smallest of the three bears. She dug in her claws and then flashed red with her charge towards the Moro.

The large black eyes of the Kuantan widened even further as it saw the Mitera coming at them. Another red flash by the bear made two more slightly transparent arms sprout from the shoulders as she raced forward on all six legs with the two phantom limbs reaching forward.

With a solid thud, the Mitera tackled the Moro. The white bear rolled to its side and then back as the Kuantan was now the one sent sprawling. The Moro was still trying to rampage as it swiped with all six claws and its mouth snapped at the Mitera, who would cry in distress at the state of the smaller beast. Great strength held the Moro down while trying not to hurt it, even when taking claw attacks from its kin.

Not wanting to be caught in the giant monster melee, Karen changed the direction of her sprint to where the Kuantan had landed. She got to him before he could get up and then slammed her tower shield into his body, pressing him into the ground.

"[Enhanced Strength], [Monumental Press]," she used her skills to embed the enemy into the ground.

The Pateras took longer to notice what had happened to the Moro, but once it did, the fight with the women became less important to it. It roared and then turned, Alissa still on its back, as it stumbled towards the other two Urktines. It stepped awkwardly due to the damage they had caused to it and the life drain that Alissa was still using.

The other women backed off and let it go. The Pateras began rubbing against the Moro, trying to calm it down, warding off the wild swipes when it could.

"Aw, that's too sad," said Akuji with tears in her eyes as everyone hurried to where Karen had the Kuantan pinned. "What did that wicked invader due to their baby?"

"First, let's all get a hit on this guy while the three bears are occupied," suggested Brittney.

"Release me, you pathetic beast woman!" shouted the Kuantan. "How dare you hamper me!"

"Hamper this," said Andrea as she kicked him in the head while casting [Jolt] from her foot. She avoided the spikes on his head and he made a garbled noise as the electricity hit him.

Karen jerked back her arm and shield to avoid the metal's conductivity, but the magic had momentarily paralyzed the invader. With the shield out of the way, Marj used [Overhead Smash] to jump and come down on his stomach with a powerful blow.

Angeline crept forward followed by Abbey and they each used a knife to stab him. Then Alissa used [Angel's Advance] to get away from the Pateras bear and used [Death Bolt] against the Kuantan.

"Feast on this!" said Emily as she cast a stream of fire into its mouth while it was open after being hit in the stomach by Marj.

Finally, Akuji raised her scythe.

"How could you do that to such cute and delicate animals?" she snarled. "You should be kind to cuties." Then she used her skill [Guillotine].

The blade came down and decapitated the Kuantan. The last sound it made was a high pitch squeak, an odd contrast to its deep voice.

Kuantan "Khrusos kome (36)" slain. 48,377 shared XP gained.

At the death of the invader boss, a glow of white light flashed in the eyes of all three bears. They froze for a moment but then returned to their struggle. Warbling came from the woods all around them as the Urktines from earlier began coming from the forest into the clearing. They all cried and whined as they gathered around the larger bears.

"Healer, can't you do something for them?" pleaded Akuji as everyone watched the out-of-control Moro, unsure what to do next.

"I don't know how to stop that altered state," Abbey admitted.

"The death koala put a long needle in its spine," explained Emily.

Alissa walked closer to where the Moro was being held down. It was partially on its back and partially on its side. It only took a moment for Alissa to see the needle.

"Hey, mama bear," she called. Then she made a rolling gesture while she spoke again. "I'll try to take out the needle, but I need him turned."

The Mitera bellowed and then pulled back a little, giving more space for the Moro to swipe at her, allowing it to expose its back. Alissa ran forward and pulled the needle out, surprised how smoothly it exited.

Once out, the Moro's fur returned to its dark brown color and the swollen muscles shrank. Cries of pain came from it as blood seeped from where the skin had been split, staining its fur and spreading on the ground. The Mitera began licking the Moro's wounds while the Pateras rubbed against him.

"They're soooo sweet," Akuji sniffled as she cried at the sight. "Please heal them. Please!"

Abbey looked disgruntled but she sighed and allowed Karen and Brittney to escort her over as Akuji dashed to the Moro and, to the concern of the Pateras, rubbed herself against its fur.

"That wasn't how I expected that fight to go," admitted Andrea.

"It was a satisfying fight though," Marj expressed while putting her arm around Angeline, who watched those approaching the bears with concern. "I haven't been able to put that much effort in since the [System] arrived. I felt like Rocky training on slabs of meat."

Alissa grumbled quietly a bit before adding, "Because of those stupid bears this raid took a lot longer than I expected. We'll lose to the guys if Akuji makes us tame every animal we encounter. This took almost a full day."

"Do you think the boys' team is raiding faster than this?" asked Emily.

"All we can do is our best, and hope its enough," said Alissa as she watched Abbey cast [Circle of Life] beneath all three of the monsters they were just fighting. Then she pulled the brown control crystal out of a pouch of skin on the dead Kuantan's stomach.

"…and hope the boys are running into more troubles than we did," Alissa viciously whispered to herself.

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