CHAPTER 28: WHO REALLY IS THE HUNTER?

Who really is the hunter?

28

The fight was fierce and the team of more than 50 hunters displayed all kinds of skills against the swarm of hybrid mutant spiders, the battle lasted almost an hour before the creatures were finally defeated.

Silence filled the cave amidst the heavy breathing of hunters who simply wanted to gain experience in the dungeon.

Tiffany and her group were forced to return to the surface, there was nothing in the cave that they could find.

The large trees blocked the sunlight, the air suddenly became humid , sticking to the hunters’ skin, Tiffany and the other hunters heard a cracking sound as if the forest was whispering something.

Tiffany stopped breathing for a second, she felt the air shifting direction as they moved.

"Something is approaching, be careful in your positions, Rouke the leader warned everyone, his perception attribute said that something was coming towards them at high speed.

"Daniel, go check what it is." Rouke pointed in a direction.

Daniel used, ghost step lv2, his agile movements did not display any sound, he quickly landed on the tree branches.

Everyone felt the ground vibrate beneath their feet, first in a short wave, then like an earthquake, it felt like something was coming from the ground toward them. The trees around them began to sink one after another,

Rouke used two weapons, an axe and a shield, he displayed the shield and used a skill, Brem pulled the string of his bow preparing a precise attack, Liam had a mana orb prepared ready to fire as soon as the enemy was spotted.

Then the enemies appeared, from the deepest places of the forest, some were hiding among the trees and others were seen from underground, mutant humanoid spiders.

They had four legs and a torso like a human being, disproportionate arms with razor-sharp claws, lateral teeth that dripped poison and gave off a rotten smell.

The spider monsters adopted a circle formation closing the hunters’ retreat path, the spiders have several eyes on their faces that blinked at the same time analyzing all the hunters’ movements.

The spiders attacked with brutality in their eyes. Rouke used a skill from his Guardian class: Unbreakable Shield Lv3. Even though the shield was powerful, it was practically impossible to protect the 50+ with just one skill.

The hunters, or more precisely, three hunters who were out of range of Rouke’s slash, were pierced by countless silver spider webs, their bodies were lifted into the air,

The stricken hunters screamed before disappearing, dragged into the dark parts of the forest, Brem fired rapid fire with his lightning arrows, the electric discharge tore the spiders with their webs.

Liam twirled his staff, his voice firm, lv3 mana orbs doomed themselves in an instant, four orbs that shot towards four different monsters that were exploded at the same time.

The green blood of the spiders breathed everywhere, Tiffany did not stay idle, she used, wind blades lv 3, green blades formed from condensed winds that rotated on themselves, and tore a spider into several pieces.

All the hunters launched their attacks one after another creating a cacophony of sounds and bright lights as the skills were activated, the five responsible had their auras active at maximum causing some fear in the spiders.

The spiders searched for a brief moment, but before everyone could relax or celebrate the brief victory and mourn the fallen, it was as if the spiders received some kind of order making them attack with more ferocity.

The 10 hunters who were guarding the rearguard were isolated by the swarm of spiders without realizing it, thick threads made of silver webs descended in arcs.

The hunters were wrapped around their limbs and necks before they could scream in terror, their bombs were covered in lines of silvery webs, their limbs and necks were ripped off by wires pulling in opposite directions.

The victims were dragged away and disappeared from the battlefield at some point.

The smell of fresh blood filled the forest, the group finally began to realize the horrors they had to face, this was just the beginning.

Daniel used the lv3 predator tag on a spider he identified as an alpha female in spider charm.

Now that the creature was glowing with a red target on its abdomen, Brem took advantage of the opening created by his companion, his arrow firing three precise shots at the mark made before.

The leader tick was exposed spreading viscous venom that imbued the dark forest, Liam erected a lv2 stasis field, the spiders lost some of their mobility in this field.

Tiffany used the gale step, appearing behind the spiders that aimed to attack Rouke, threatening the protective barrier, then the storm slash lv2, creating a whirlwind of wind blades that sliced the spiders within its reach.

Rouke undid the shield’s protection with his raised axe, used seismic hammer lv3, a powerful blow that crushed more than thirty spiders at once, the wave of the remaining blow pushed away the surrounding spiders.

Even with the hunters’ incessant attacks, the swelling seemed to have no end, mates who realized they were surrounded again, five of the hunters didn’t stand a chance .

The spiders’ fangs struck and pierced their bodies, poisoning them in the process. Almost instantly, they lost resistance and found their bodies dragged amidst the swarm.

Tiffany held her breath, she couldn’t do anything, there were spiders everywhere, and the five hunters couldn’t protect everyone, amidst the multiple deaths the other hunters began to waver.

They feared that they would be the next to be killed by the spiders, Tiffany was also afraid, but she couldn’t give in, if fear took over, everyone would end up dead.

By this time, 15 hunters had already been killed, leaving 40 who were fighting fiercely for their lives.

The ground shook again as if something more frightening was coming, Rouke knew they couldn’t continue at this pace, no matter how much they killed more spiders came out from all sides.

The worst thing was that there weren’t even any corpses to know how much they had noticed, when someone was killed, spider or hunter, the bodies were dragged through the darkness of the forest.

"Everyone , pay attention, we have to retreat for now, adopt the formation for withdrawal"

Everyone agreed with Rouke’s words, now the question in their hearts was where they had to retreat to, they were practically surrounded.

"We have to leave as quickly as possible, I feel something truly powerful approaching, a very powerful presence"

Brem activated shadow camouflage that covered all the group members and shouted to Rouke

"My skill won’t last long, we must hurry and retreat" the voice carried an urgency never before seen on the hunter’s face.