Zachary almost headed there just by the impulse, but he was suddenly pulled back, just in time to avoid being collateral damage to a fast-paced battle of a fortified-level giant arachnid against two fortified-level humans from the Seton Mercenary Team.
One had to know that fights at this level could destroy several meters around them for every attack they made. The young men took advantage of the openings and the collateral damage that was already there, hiding between two toughened level monster carcasses that had just been killed by the two.
It was not much of a hiding place, but they were trying to go in the direction of their own team, and they could only ’switch’ covers like this every time they moved several meters just to avoid getting eaten by beasts, slashed by fellow humans, or hit by a stray elemental rock by accident.
Zachary was completely tense, eyes red in both anger and shock, while Ren looked much cooler, though the tenseness in his jaw was indicative that he was feeling the same.
The close-ranged master jumped up—practically flying due to his level—swinging his large axe. Using his weight and momentum, he hit the monster smack on the head. They heard a crack as its body was smashed to the ground, at least for a second.
At the same time, the other fortified-level master summoned strong winds from the side, condensing them into a single attack that targeted its neck.
Crack!
It made that creepy high-pitched sound, groggy, but still not dead. It frantically swung around, hitting the axe-user, and then shifting targets to the mage. Fortunately, the mage managed to create a wind shield around him, blocking an attack, but it obviously consumed much of his remaining mana.
The axe user recovered and appeared next to the arachnid, hacking at its injured neck several times before it finally gave way. The two disappeared a moment later, afraid of encountering more monsters in their states.
They left so fast that poor Ren and Zach could not ask for help.
"Here!" Ren said, pulling Zachary down. The tanned young man was confused at first but didn’t struggle, realizing he was pulled to hide under the body of the fortified-level monster.
The two of them squatted underneath it, all while listening to the fights, the
The squelching body parts, the slashes, the stabs.
Insectoid monsters had shells, so there were more clanking sounds than meat getting stabbed.
CRASH!
BANG!
ROAARR!
"AHHH!"
"HELP ME—GAHHH!"
Their hearts were beating so loudly, it felt like they were as loud as the screams outside.
"We can’t stay here..." Ren said, feeling that more and more monsters would be hanging around this area soon.
When there were no other targets, it was only a matter of time until it was their turn.
...
The two of them were trapped here for a bit, but they were lucky enough that survivors from the Level 2 areas were heading out. There were not many of them, and all of them were bloodied, some already lacking an arm.
Ren immediately asked Zach to cover himself with earth as much as he could, and was ready to head out within a few seconds.
As soon as the bloodied humans got close enough, the two dashed away in the direction of their team, which had gone tens of meters away while they were stuck in there.
The earth was their attempt to lessen their scent, though its effectiveness was limited. Further, if they bled, then it’d be completely useless. Still, it was the best they could do at this time.
Unexpectedly, on their way there, they saw some people on their team wrap meat on the backs of goblins and pushed them out.
They even created shallow gashes on their bodies so they bled just enough, and then forced them to run in the opposite direction. If they stayed there, then they’d be beheaded, so the goblins had no choice but to do so.
Goblins were very fast critters. And like the blood of any intelligent creatures, they also made monsters crazy for them.
"What—" Zachary almost ran out by instinct, but he was stopped by Ren. "Let’s go."
"But Ren—They’re using so many as bait!" Zachary screamed, and they barely avoided another attack from a toughened.
Aaron, who happened to be hiding nearby them, shook his head. "Naive."
However, he did not have a chance to grumble anymore as someone was thrown in his direction by a monster, and he had to avoid it by rolling behind a nearby tree. Fortunately, there were others around, and the monster was more interested in them instead.
He witnessed someone stabbing an awakened, just to get the monsters off his back. The next moment, that awakened was shared between three monsters. There was no way he’d trust these people with his back.
Aaron’s eyes contracted, and he hid the best he could, covering his body with fabric, leather, and whatever he could find.
The trick here was not to get injured, so it was not a surprise to see people hiding behind their injuries. It was disgusting, but what could they do?
It was just that the fight still ended up in his area, and when he tried to avoid it, he ended up with the other two.
Aaron grumbled, not liking the development, while the other two were indifferent to him. He just held on to his spear tightly, hoping to be able to defend himself if needed. He was just tagging along with these fools because he didn’t have a much better choice.
They ran as fast as they could. They gasped when toughened-level monsters appeared at the side, but Ren reacted quickly and dragged Zachary in another direction, and Aaron just instinctively followed after them.
Before they could get near, though, a fortified-level insectoid insect appeared above them, its four sharp legs ready to cut people to pieces!
It went with a pair and a few others to their team, and they immediately changed their paths.
They couldn’t even breathe, just ran and ran, avoiding the monsters as they could. It was not hopeless, though. Because they camped near the borders of Level 1, they had actually reached it long ago. Hopefully, the monsters wouldn’t follow them after a few kilometers or so.
There was technically nothing stopping monsters from following after them regardless of where they were, but if they got out of their sights by the time the monsters finished their current meals, then the beasts might head back to their zone on their own.
With the young men’s speed and dexterity (the others were quite injured), as well as foresight and luck in choosing the direction to run, they managed to run ahead away from others.
Soon, they lost track of the fortified and toughened-level monsters to others. Other people were not only more injured than they were, but their levels were also higher, making them more delicious targets for the monsters.
However, at some point, they also started encountering mobs again. Now that they were deep into Level 1 area, the monsters they encountered were just awakened-level monsters.
It was just that, either way, they couldn’t afford to deal with them right now. At best, they’d defend with their weapons, but otherwise, they did not engage.
Huff... huff...
After running desperately for half an hour, they could feel their lungs were starting to collapse from tiredness already.
BANG!
At some point, Aaron tripped over something and fell down. He cursed, feeling as if it was his turn to die, and he was not reconciled. He could only watch as the awakened monster opened its mouth to eat his head.
Unexpectedly, a sharp punch from the side connected with the side of its face, throwing it off.
Ren immediately appeared on the other side and beheaded the monster. At this point, there were still four monsters around them, but the two decided to engage this time rather than run away. They had probably run away far enough by now, anyway.
Aaron gaped, but he grabbed his spear to help out. At the back of his head, though, he couldn’t help but be confused. He was confused as to why these ’enemies’ of his were helping him out, and he was also confused as to why he fell at all.
He wouldn’t have tripped over roots or shrubs at his level!
Unexpectedly, when he looked at what he stepped on, he realized they were shivering green creatures, huddled together, trying to lower their sense of existence as much as they could.
"What the—"
Goblins?!