Chapter 211: Dread

"What the hell! Our loot is gone!"

Frankly speaking, drakes were the closest creatures to true dragons this world had seen in ages and their scales, bones, claws, cores and even their meat were insanely rare and valuable commodities.

So even though they had been facing one as powerful as an ancient ColdFire Drake so early on in their trip.

The group hadn't despaired as they had placed their hope on the fact that they would all gain immensely as long as they manage to defeat the monster.

However, there was no way the elusive and shrewd creature that was one of the oldest Magic c beast alive would fall so easily. The fact that they thought otherwise just showed how naive they were.

To think it had used a berserk skill as a way to escape instead of a last desperate attempt in defeating its enemies just like any other monster would do, magic beast or not. This showed the unrivaled intellect of the creature. 

"Damn it! I can't believe it ran away. What kind of monster runs away with a berserk skill."

Collapsing on the ground, Berot let out his frustration at the sudden turn of events. The monster had been severely damaged by the ritualistic magic and there was no way it should've been able to fly again with those heavily damaged wings.

And yet it did.

It had used its berserk skill to force its body to move and retreated until it would be able to recover. It would take a while for it to recover the spent life force though, so it shouldn't be able to heal itself until then. 

Meaning they wouldn't be able to find it again in the next few months. Because they hadn't expected it to retreat, they had failed to place a soul tracker on it. 

"How frustrating."

"I know right. But I'm still glad we all survive though. Up until now, no one had ever seen that monster and lived to tell the tale. Isn't that something?"

"Indeed, if any one of our parties had come here alone, we would be dead for sure."

"No doubt."

"You're all absolutely right. We've never been able to collect any data on that monster until now due to those very reasons. And finally, I've gotten all the data I need. This trip is proving to be very productive indeed. I'm so excited."

Seeing Aegar giggle wildly as she jumped in excitement over something they didn't understand drained the frustration out of them as Berot sighed and finally got over their loss.

"Well, I'm glad somebody's happy."

"Alright, that's enough lazing about. Let's rest up here for a while as the monsters around have been chased away by our battle. We'll proceed to where the mine is said to be located in 2 hours. Is that fine by every?"

"Alright."

"That's fine by me."

"Ms. Bell is really impressive as always."

Finally able to calm everyone down, Bell directed the Hunters on setting up a temporary camp as they slowly recovered their mana and stamina. While they could use potions for both, they still needed some time to mentally relax after an intense battle like that. 

After exactly two hours of rest, the group proceeded deeper into the pass by following the detailed map that had been provided for them. They encountered monsters like Giant scorpions and one-horned bears as well as the usual frost salamanders but Bell's leadership shined brilliantly as they were able to defeat the monsters with ease.

The knights were also quite strong and more than a match for all the Hunters there but all they did was protect the carriages in a perfect formation that allowed no mistakes.

That was their only job so the Hunters did not bother them. Their trip took another five hours as the map they had wasn't exactly the best but they soon located the cave by the hill. They didn't have time to go searching all the other caves one by one so they located the steep hill first before searching the caves nearby and sure enough, they found the cave with a large crack in the wall as described.

The cave itself was large enough to fit all their carriages so the knights decided to set up a camp in there where the miners could finally leave the carriages and take a break before the Hunters job would end. 

The knights began setting up a perimeter inside the cave and stationed guards to keep watch outside to make sure there would be no approaching monsters in a 50-meter radius.

After unloading all their stuff from the carriages, the Hunters took some time to prepare for battle inside the dark maze-like labyrinth. There was a reason why Knights would not fare well inside the place as the endless darkness and sudden monster attacks with the constant shift in terrain and temperature has a way of messing with the mind and battles in there were very different from battles in an open plain.

Most of the Hunters had even swapped out their equipment and gear for more suitable ones. After taking the time to prepare, Bell skillfully led the team inside the tunnel in small groups.

They aimed to clear out the monster nest in the mine and locate and destroy the Green-eyed devil.

However, with such a large group. It would be dangerous for them to move in the tunnel together as they would become easy pickings for stealth-based monsters.

Everyone here was a pro at the highest level possible and thus, they weren't weak enough that they needed to be baby sitted on.

The only opponent they needed to be wary about was the Green-Eyed Devil. So for now, they would move in their individual parties in different directions and eliminate all the monsters in the mine until they locate the cavern where the Devil was.

They would then gather together once more and face the devil with their full force.

No one here was foolish or egotistic enough to challenge an unknown monster by themselves just for superficial glory. There was no bonus for who defeated the devil personally and so everyone would receive equal pay. 

No one here would put their life on the line just to make the others money. They split into four groups. Battle Lords was a party of five so they stayed together. Aegar from Red Ruby joined Bells group and four of Bells party members joined Kazim as Dominion stayed together as well. 

They proceeded down the tunnel and split up when the tunnel divided into different paths. So far, the only monsters they had encountered were Ant Giants and they were no threat to any party as they were easily destroyed without mercy and their cores retrieved.

The party that had ended up meeting the Ant Queen was Bell and Aegar. The queen was a humanoid monster with high mobility and a horde of ant giants protecting her. She looked quite human and had bodacious curves. 

There was no doubt in Bell's mind that this creature would've been a troublesome opponent for Dominion as you never know anything with Berot's weird luck. 

However, the monster's charms were no problem for this pair as Aegar's defensive magic and Bell's offense were the perfect combinations. With the protection from Aegar, Bell and her teammates bombarded the Ant Queen and her entourage with spells as they completely decimated them in less than an hour.

Kazim's group was unlucky as all they encounter were normal Ant Giant workers and they made quick work of them. Battle Lords and Dominion had somehow made it to the second adjoining mine so they faced more of a challenging foe in the Lesser Djieien.

The spider monsters were stealthy creatures so they had taken both parties by surprise but the Battle Lords were too strong for the monsters to bind with their webs. Unable to flee, every Lesser Djieien they met on their way was reduced to mincemeat.

While the monsters had proven a lot difficult for Domination to handle due to the difference in tactics, they still figured it out as Lyka would just seal their movements with a spell and the others would finish them off. 

Soon both Bell and Aegar's party as well as Kazim joined them in the adjoining mine as they continuously and strategically eliminate all the monsters in the mine while slowly mapping it out.

Of course, this place was like a labyrinth and it was massive. Taking care of the Ant Queen alone had taken more than a full day of exploring so finding the Queen or King of the Lesser Djieien had taken more than two days of effort. 

Altogether, they had now spent a total of three days in this mine and had almost completed their task. They had even located the place where the Green-eyed devil was likely to be as even though it was hiding its presence. Its creepy aura could be felt even from a mile away.

They had marked that area a no-go area for now as they wanted to take care of all the other monsters in the mine to prevent being Blindsided by monsters while fighting the green-eyed devil. 

They were currently all gathered in a large expanse in the mine and were about to take down the Queen of the Lesser Djieien. Unlike the somewhat pretty ant Queen. This was a hideous monstrosity that looked more like a giant spider than anything. 

Its webs were blood red and almost impossible to break. Its nimble movement was hard to follow but right now, it could no longer jump up and down thanks to Vrutha's Martial Law. 

"Overtier Magic - Hellbound Flames."

Casting one of his most powerful spells at the monster, Berot had succeeded in immobilizing the monster enough for everyone to land the finishing blow.

Skill: Probability Enhancement!

Skill: Cascading White-Tigers Drive!

In a perfect combination of skills between two people that weren't even teammates, Vrutha and Eliss launch a devastating attack that sent the monster deep inside the ground after caving in its back. However, it refused to die as it struggled to stand back up and even redder threads began to wrap around its body.

"It's going to use a berserk skill! Everyone step back!"

Shouting that, Bell ran forward as everyone else trusted her and retreated as far as possible. As the monster was at its last leg and was now burning through its life force. She used an instant death skill that would not have worked if she had used it even a second earlier.

Skill: •Wail of the Banshee•

A high-tiered necromancy skill that she had only just learned after more than five years of effort. A soul-chilling shriek was heard by all as the Queen Lesser Djieien immediately froze in its tracks as its massive body fell lifeless to the ground. It had died in an instant.

♦️♦️♦️

After taking a short break when the Queen Lesser Djieien was defeated. The group was now gathered in front of the underground cavern with a few glimmering red lights in its interior after dividing the loot of the Queen amongst themselves.

They decided on the best formation to take on the Green-Eyed Devil with and with Bell taking the lead yet again. They entered the massive underground cavern that felt like it was the gateway to hell.

"What! What the hell is this!"

The moment they had stepped foot inside the dark cavern with their magic lights. A pressure the likes of what they had never felt before suddenly washed over them as though gravity had been multiplied by a hundredfold.

"Hey hey hey hey hey HEY! Isn't this bad, isn't this way beyond mortal limits. What the hell is going on here!"

Their bodies suddenly felt like a ton of bricks and some couldn't even remain standing as a sense of dread slowly registered in their minds.

[Ahhh... Finally... I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to fulfill my master's wishes before I disappear.]

Just as panic was beginning to set in the minds of the Hunters, they suddenly heard an ethereal and ghastly voice as a shadowy four-armed monster rose from the depts of the darkness with glowing green eyes and an illusionary shadow body. Its overwhelming presence drove home the meaning of despair to every single one of them.

[Now then, I'll have you all die for me. Feel free to scream.]

"RUN! Everyone get the fuck out of this place immediately!"