"Captain, it looks like we're almost there!" the Holy Armored One with an electronic map flashing on his arm called out.
"Yes, let's push on a little longer!" Aiki encouraged them, sensing that the team was nearing its limit.
"Yes, Captain!" the Holy Light Clerics answered in unison.
"Captain! There are several big ones in the sky."
Aiki immediately looked through Shared Perception and saw seven or eight mantis-like monsters, each over ten meters long, beating their wings as they rapidly flew toward the group.
"Damn it! Why now, of all times? How many Holy Power Replenishment Potions do we have left?"
"Captain, not many. We have about twelve bottles left in total," the team member checking their supplies reported loudly over the public channel.
"Tch! Halt the advance and defend in place. Conserve holy power. Wait until they get close before attacking."
"Yes, Captain!"
The entire team stopped at once. The girls who had been playing at floating slowly descended to the ground, and some even fell straight asleep. After all, they had been traveling for five or six hours, and it was completely dark now.
Tina was the exception, of course. As a girl infected with an owl-type gastrea factor, nighttime was her element. Her eyes were alert, unlike their usual daytime haziness, as she curiously studied the Holy Light Clerics who had stopped.
Suddenly, several strange screeches rang across the wilderness, and Tina finally saw why the Holy Light Clerics had stopped. "Aerial-Type IV Gastrea." Tina narrowed her eyes. "This could be trouble. So many at once, too."
"Elsa, protect the children from above with a Barrier. The other Priests, use Judgment to burn the monsters to death when they dive below a hundred meters. Holy Knights, ready your Holy War Hammers. If any break through the