The sun was already circling the mountain peak.
After an hour of rapid travel, the gradually dimming sunlight shone on the faces of each member of the hunting party, their grave expressions almost overflowing from their faces.
Allen, Paul, and the others were standing on a tall tree. Below, monsters continuously leaped up, but before they could reach them, they were sliced apart in mid-air by a light, swirling blade.
The red snow beneath the tree was dark and filthy.
To the side of the tree, the mountain sloped down along the ridges on both sides. In view was a deep valley.
Rugged peaks surrounded the valley, with the only way out being a small opening in a 'pocket.' The group was on the mountainside next to this only opening.
Looking down from the mountainside into the valley, it was filled with overflowing silver liquid, constantly churning with waves that dazzled the eyes.
As Allen squinted, the scene in the valley became clearer.
The churning waves surged from the bottom of the valley towards where they were.
It wasn't a flow of water, but a dense swarm of monsters. They came one after another, the snow beneath them flying into the air.
Allen looked at the small, calm 'puddle' in the center of the valley floor, merged with the sea of monsters. That was the geothermal lake Paul had mentioned.
Rudeus and Sylphie were already pale-faced.
"I think we've been discovered... the monsters are all swarming this way."
"That's obvious."
Allen said as he brandished his sword, turning the monsters climbing up the tree trunk into a bloody pulp.
Ten minutes ago, they had already encountered several groups of demonic beasts. By the time they reached the valley of the geothermal lake, the demonic beasts were continuously attacking them.
It was clear they had been discovered long ago.
Allen exchanged a look with the grim-faced Paul.
"The number of monsters is more than we imagined, but it's a good thing we were discovered."
Rudeus looked at Allen in horror, about to refute him, when he heard Paul's voice beside his ear.
"In a way, that's true."
He was stunned.
"What do you mean it's a good thing we were discovered??"
Allen pointed to the dense swarm of demonic beasts surging in the valley and turned to Rudeus.
"What lies at the bottom of the mountain?"
Rudeus's eyes widened. He subconsciously felt that this line was familiar, but at this moment, he couldn't remember where he had heard it.
"The bottom of the mountain? The monsters' lair?"
"The bottom of the mountain is our destination. Now, we don't even have to fight our way to the lair; the monsters are continuously attacking up the slope. In that case..."
His words were still hanging in the air by Rudeus's ear as he stepped off the tree branch.
Allen's figure suddenly plummeted from the tree, causing Rudeus to hastily look down after him.
He saw Allen land in a gap among the monsters on the ground below the tree and casually brandish his sword by his side.
The sword moved slowly.
But it was powerful enough!
Instantly! Layers of airwaves swept out from his feet! They spread out in a ripple-like pattern.
The monsters were blown to pieces by the wind and sent flying to the side, and his next words landed in Rudeus's ear, exploding in his heart.
"We don't even need to get close to the target. We just need to hold this slope and kill all the monsters that come at us to complete the plan. Isn't that a good thing, Rudeus??"
Paul squinted at Allen's figure, the fatigue on his face seeming to dissipate. He smiled and jumped down from the tree, then turned to Rudeus above him.
"Rudeus, plan change! Switch from an offensive formation to a defensive one. Allen and I will take care of the attacking monsters. You stay in the tree and cast spells for fire suppression. Duration, one hour! After that, we'll decide whether to leave or continue fighting based on our stamina, magic power, and the number of monsters killed! Don't be afraid. Although there are many of these monsters, they are all low-level. In an hour, Allen and I will still have the strength to get you out."
Rudeus was stunned for a moment, then understood. This wasn't like the forest outside the village earlier—where Paul and Allen had to worry about the protective net, the villagers, and the village outside the forest, forcing them into a defensive, non-retreating posture that made clearing the demonic beasts seem 'difficult.'
But the situation now was different—they were in this valley, far from the village. Without the 'hostages' of the village, protective net, and villagers, for Allen and Paul, dealing with a group of D-rank monsters was like two human lawnmowers strolling through a park. If not for the issue of fuel consumption, they could have flattened the so-called monster tide in the valley with just the two of them.
One was an Advanced Swordsman of three styles, the former offensive swordsman of an S-rank adventurer party. What kind of labyrinth had he not seen? And in labyrinths, monster tides were a common sight.
The other was a newly minted Water Saint-rank swordsman. Rudeus still remembered, a few months ago after Paul and Allen's duel, he hadn't even touched the corner of his opponent's clothes. When Paul, with a grave expression, later deduced this, and Allen nodded in acknowledgment, his heart had been dealt a blow by the native genius of this world of sword and magic.
What was there to worry about?
A monster tide?
It was just a bit of wind and frost.
Worst case scenario, after an hour, Allen and Paul could still lead them out, right? Could these D-rank monsters stop the two of them?
Thinking this, Rudeus's complexion improved. He turned to look at Sylphie and found that she had also slowly recovered from her shock and was now looking at him.
Rudeus grinned.
'Then let's follow the plan Paul arranged on the way. I have to say, is this the experience of an adventurer... When dealing with monsters, magic can be used so flexibly... not just for attacking, but even for building fortresses.'
"Earth Spike! Icebound Domain!"
A circle of sharp, huge earthen spikes shot out from the ground, enclosing the area under the tree that had already been cleared by Allen and Paul, forming an open-air 'fortress.' Paul and Allen immediately jumped onto the earthen spikes and began to slaughter the monsters that were constantly swarming below the fortress like reaping wheat.
Inside the fortress, the blood-soaked ground mixed with monster corpses instantly froze into a thick layer of ice. This was to defend against monsters that might dig up from the ground.
Rudeus looked up, his palm outstretched in front of him. The advanced water magic that Roxy had taught him came to mind.
"Ice Spear Blizzard!"
Straight ice spears condensed in the air around him, and the moment they formed, they scattered from his side, piercing through the air and silently shooting towards the distant demonic beasts.
The monsters were skewered like candied haws by the ice spears. Often, a single ice spear would kill more than ten monsters.
It is worth noting that the powerful fire magic had been banned before they arrived because the explosions could easily cause an avalanche. Therefore, Rudeus was currently using water magic, which did not produce much noise.
Thanks to Rudeus's vast amount of magic power and the meticulous battle plan, Sylphie, who was in charge of support, didn't even have many opportunities to cast spells.
Ten minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Half an hour.
An hour.
As evening approached, the slope from the valley to the cliff had changed color.
It was hard to tell if it was blood.
Or the reflection of the sunset glow.
Don't worry, it won't be a boring grind of a group of people clearing monsters.
In the next 2-3 days, the climax of the childhood arc will begin.
It will be absolutely amazing! (pats chest)
Be sure to come back and read tomorrow!!
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