"Retreat.

"

The group looked at him and saw his serious expression. Even though they somehow managed to get the tail, they indeed didn't have enough strength to kill the mammoth. They might need to fight it for another few hours to wear it off and at that time, they would be in the same condition.

And with the monsters emerging from the forest to get them, that sliver of hope had gone.

Ellen summoned another Ice Meteor and launched them to the right side of the mammoth.

Surprisingly, the mammoth decided to turn around and headbutt the Ice Meteor, blowing it to the side so no monsters would be hurt.

Theo observed their movements while crossing the river together with Alea. As soon as he stepped on the other side of the river, Theo summoned his clone and turned around, using his Magic Bullets to attack those monsters just to slow them down.

"Magic Bullet.

"

All twenty Magic Bullets hit the monsters, but none of them killed the monsters as he expected since one small Magic Bullet was not enough to kill a monster fifty levels above him.

Still, he managed to slow down their movement, allowing Sihan, Phyrill, and Laust to cross the river.

"Flamming Ge-Sword.

" Alea waved her sword and released the fire skill, but the crescent-shaped flame didn't fly toward the mammoth or the monsters. Instead, it crashed on the frozen river and destroyed the ice bridge, letting the water flow again.

Theo took another look at the mammoth before turning around and running to where they came from.

The mammoth absorbed the river water and sprayed it to Theo.

Alea appeared behind Theo and stabbed the ground with her sword before a red shield appeared in front of her.

"Fortitude.

"

The water pressure was too much to the point Alea got pushed back almost ten feet back, leaving the sword trail on the ground.

Theo hurriedly stopped and grabbed Alea as he used his

"Blink

" to teleport them several feet away and start running again.

"Let's go,

" Theo said as he noticed that none of the monsters actually crossed the river. The mammoth had yet to move.

Even if the mammoth ran toward them, they could outrun him since this was the reason why Phyrill chose this monster as their opponent. The mammoth had an overwhelming defense and strength, but its speed was the worst among Hero Rank monsters.

At the same time, if they managed to penetrate this mammoth's defense, it meant they had enough offensive ability to kill other Hero Rank monsters.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find themselves winning against it yet. The group took advantage of the surroundings and disappeared into the woods so that no monsters could track them.

After running for fifteen minutes, they stopped in the middle of the woods.

"Phyrill… Can you scout the area? We will wait here,

" asked Theo while looking at the regrets in his teammates' faces.

Phyrill nodded and disappeared without leaving a single word.

"It seems we really can't fight one yet.

" Ellen closed her eyes and leaned on a tree.

Alea dropped to her knees and punched the ground, clenching her teeth. She was lamenting the fact that none of her attacks could do any damage.

Sihan maintained his silence, wondering what he should do to deal with that monster.

Although he didn't show it, Laust had been crossing his arms and gripping his arms tightly, showing his frustration.

Theo closed his eyes and sighed.

He believed none of them were his friends. Alea looked like a rival while Ellen acted like a mentor to him. There was a complicated relationship between him and Phyrill, but he certainly did not consider Sihan and Laust as his friends since he hated them due to the past bullying. Even if there was a reason for it, whether good or bad, he just couldn't do it.

He personally liked how his master approached him more. There would always be a talk between them, explaining things. They might not talk about everything, but it was enough to satisfy Theo's curiosity. That was why he had a distorted relationship with Sihan and Laust, something like he could withstand and cooperate with them, but he wouldn't act friendly to them.

He thought this kind of team would allow the group to compete with each other, thus forcing them to improve so as to not get left behind. Yet, the mammoth just showed them that it wasn't enough.

They had improved indeed, but the gap between them was still too far.

Theo thought for a moment and said,

"I won't beat around the bush. We're not strong enough to kill that mammoth. For today, it's better to cool our heads and retire. We will continue according to our original plan, which is to increase our levels.

"

"Theo…

" Alea rose from the ground and grabbed his shoulder, looking into his eyes. She took a deep breath and asked,

"We can't really let that monster go, can't we?

"

"I can't see it being possible at the moment.

" Theo shook his head with a calm face.

"We can rechallenge it maybe tomorrow when there's no monster around him. Although I can't cut him in one stroke, if I attack him at the same spot a few times, it should be effective.

"

Theo closed his eyes and grabbed her wrist tightly as he moved her hand off his shoulder.

"Princess.

"

"!!!

" Alea suddenly felt a chill down her spine just by listening to Theo calling her Princess instead of Alea. This was the first time Theo called her this way, making her understand that Theo might be the most frustrated of all. After all, he made the plan and controlled the battle the whole time.

It was them who couldn't execute the plan well, leading it to failure. She remembered no matter how good their plans were, it wouldn't matter if they didn't have the skill to execute them.

"I want to make one thing clear. I am thankful for your assistance this whole time, but...

" Theo opened his eyes wide and looked at her eyes.

There was this kind of pressure that clutched her heart as she gasped for air. She wanted to call his name, saying she knew, but her mouth refused to move.

Theo clenched her hand tightly and said,

"By no means am I your subordinate. I am not obligated to agree to your request if it endangers the team!

"