"Hound?"
The old Hunter's mouth twitched slightly, his bloodshot eyes blinked, glancing toward the monster deep in the cave.
At this moment, the beast of the pool had fully entered into its combat stance, with several thick tentacles reaching out from atop the giant water sphere.
The werewolf-transformed old Hunter, although he had reached a height of two and a half meters, still seemed pathetically weak and helpless compared to the huge water sphere.
Moreover, those two blue eyes in the midst of the water sphere were emitting a terrifying aura.
You call this a hound? You do have a sense of humor! The old Hunter coughed out blood, barely managing to walk out from the wall.
Originally, the beast of the pool had been sleeping soundly, but, the old Hunter's roar had directly awakened it.
It did not wake up in a good mood!
The old Hunter fiercely glared at Chen Qi, having not expected to be lured into a monster trap by the latter.
And he, due to his eagerness to display his power, had been negligent and underestimated his opponent.
Of course, the old Hunter had no thoughts of retreating; on the contrary, he was even more excited!
He was a monster himself.
His constitution could withstand the attacks of the monster before him, but Chen Qi could not.
This meant that all he needed to do was to restrain his opponent and use the tentacles of the beast of the pool to finish him off.
Boom!
The muscles of the old Hunter bulged violently, and then he charged toward Chen Qi!
In that moment, the beast of the pool also stretched out a tentacle fiercely, hurtling toward the old Hunter.
Boom!
Chen Qi instantly drew his black blade, using Burst to block the fierce smash of the old Hunter's hands.
The blade aura of the black blade instantly spread across the old Hunter's wounds, slicing open a large amount of fresh blood!
However, the old Hunter merely smiled, for when that tentacle attacked both of them, it would be Chen Qi's moment of demise:
"This is my powerful body, my powerful strength..."
Bang!
However, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, the tentacle of the beast of the pool made a sharp turn, slapping fiercely toward his wolf head like a giant palm.
Boom!
The old Hunter couldn't dodge in time and was sent sprawling to the ground, rolling several times like a kicked ball.
"Just now, what happened?"
The old Hunter struggled to his feet, unable to hide the shock in his heart.
The attack from the beast of the pool seemed to have intentionally swerved to hit only him.
Why was he the only one hit? Why was it so unfair!
Did the monster have prejudices?
We're all humanoid creatures here! Was it because he looked fierce?
The old Hunter couldn't understand, and once more looked at the beast of the pool as it continuously stretched out tentacles.
A silent fear surged in his heart.
Could it be true what Chen Qi had said, that this thing was his hound!
Bang! Bang!
Before the old Hunter had time to think, two ferocious tentacles came smashing down again.
He had no choice but to defend with bent arms.
Despite this, the savage attacks still left two deep indentations on his thick arms.
No good, time to flee! The old Hunter thought to himself; his monstrous pride, his bloodthirsty desire, all had been scattered by the beast of the pool.
However, just as he was turning around, preparing to evacuate...
He saw Chen Qi approaching with the black blade in hand.
The black blade lightly skimmed the ground, his gaze like that of someone looking at prey caught in a trap.
And he was the little wolf who had fallen into that trap.
"Ah..."
The old Hunter looked at his hands, unable to believe that the body of a monster could tremble.
Chen Qi in front, the beast of the pool behind!
Caught in a pincer attack!
Boom!
The attacks of both unleashed at the same time!
The old Hunter turned around, choosing to contend with the tentacle of the beast of the pool.
The fierce strikes of the blade and the slashes of the tentacle poured down on the old Hunter like a sudden downpour!
Chen Qi, without any hesitation, activated the Burst Skill, swinging the black blade in his hand with all his might!
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
His powerful body was instantly riddled with countless fresh wounds.
Though the old Hunter had a boss-level physique, under the combined assault, he could no longer withstand it!
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the cave.
"Stop!"
Chen Qi shouted.
Along with that shout, the old Hunter thumped to the ground, his huge body collapsing.
The old Hunter, running out of stamina, looked toward Chen Qi as he fell, knowing the other wouldn't let him go, wouldn't let a monster live.
Having become a monster, he, in the end, was hunted down...
Chen Qi took a deep breath and swung his blade.
With that final strike, the old Hunter went completely silent.
"Phew, it's over..."
Chen Qi let out a long sigh, the hand holding the blade slightly aching.
As a high-mutated raid boss, the old Hunter had proven more tenacious than Chen Qi had expected.
In the midst of battle, he had still utilized Skills like 'Iron Wall', 'Regeneration', 'Unyielding', and 'Continuing the Fight', stubbornly dragging out a few seconds.
But fortunately, powerful as the monsterized old Hunter was, his and the beast of the pool's attacks were no joke either.
```
Together, they dealt massive damage!
This was the strength he possessed alongside the creature of the water pool!
A mere raid boss, nothing to speak of.
Chen Qi excitedly clapped his hands, having contributed at least twenty percent of the damage in this battle.
"Beautiful!"
Chen Qi and the small tentacles of the water pool creature made contact.
If the water pool creature had continued attacking, there was a certain chance it might have stolen the kill.
Luckily, in the end, the water pool creature seemed to have understood his intentions.
Score!
Chen Qi crouched down and picked up the keychain from the old Hunter's waist.
The old Hunter's shotgun had been broken, and his clothes were quite ordinary.
This keychain was the most precious belonging on him.
With this keychain, he could open the Hunter's warehouse door and the treasure chests inside, obtaining the items the Black Rabbit group wanted.
At this moment, an unprecedented prompt appeared before him.
[Defeated the hidden boss, the old Hunter, and gained 1,000 Spiritual Points.]
Only 1,000 Spiritual Points... Chen Qi complained to himself.
In Chen Qi's opinion, the old Hunter was already very tough to kill.
As expected, to earn Spiritual Points, one still had to rely on professional missions.
However, as long as he kept exploring, in most cases, Spiritual Points were in excess.
And at this moment, another inspiration surfaced.
[By defeating the final hidden boss of the hunting ground, anomaly level decreased by 18%, and the crack will close early, in three hours.]
This was an inspiration that everyone could sense.
With the hidden boss defeated and the mission concluded, the entire crack was set to end prematurely.
Chen Qi exhaled deeply.
The most significant reward, aside from the highest level of settlement awards, was the treasure chests inside the Hunter's warehouse.
What a considerable haul!
Three hours was more than enough time for him to reach the Hunter's warehouse.
As long as nothing unexpected happened on the way, the gains from his journey into the crack could be described as 'returning full-handed'.
And then, the most critical prompt emerged.
[You have slain the hidden creature, the old Hunter...]
[Calculating crack settlement...]
...
...
Within the forest, lone Hunters hidden underground, in caves, in trees, and in the water, began to emerge from their hiding spots.
Some of them could hardly believe the inspiration they had just sensed.
The old Hunter defeated, the crack closing ahead of schedule!
Without any hesitation, many immediately dashed towards the exit.
The Hunters exchanged glances, each concealed figure unaware of what had transpired.
They could only speculate about the events within the hunting grounds through their inspirations.
"Can't believe it, the old Hunter was conquered... Did the Black Rabbit group do it... I noticed that their members seem to have lost almost half."
"Impossible, the Black Rabbit group can barely protect themselves."
"Prayers, prayers are indeed useful. The Sea Goddess, and the God of the Day, have answered my prayers."
"Looks like my insurance was a waste. I'm not going to die!"
"Damn, I'm broke now..."
"Since it's not the Black Rabbit group, could it be the Flower Witch?"
"That was really risky, earned nothing and almost lost my life."
"Don't think like that, just be glad to be alive. We even encountered the Flower Witch. After we get out, we might make it into the Dove Newspaper."
"Yeah... and we can brag about it at the tavern. This was a highly anomalous crack! And we met the Flower Witch, too!"
Despite gaining nothing, the majority of Hunters participating in the crack appeared very happy.
According to the intelligence, the old Hunter was a werewolf with an incredibly powerful recuperative ability.
It was incredibly lucky to survive in such a highly anomalous crack where a Witch was present.
Furthermore, although they didn't make much money, they still had a sum from the crack settlement and additional fodder for tavern tales.
In any case, they genuinely thanked the individual who had defeated the old Hunter.
If it weren't for them, the old Hunter roaming the forest could have blown their heads off at any moment.
The Hunters conversed about the Flower Witch as they made their way to the exit.
"Do you think the one who defeated the old Hunter really was that Witch?"
"Do you even need to ask? Who else could it be?"
"Witches are truly terrifying. She managed to deal with the beastly old Hunter in such a short span of time."
"I can already picture the scene: the old Hunter overwhelmed by the Flower Witch and smashed into a hole, turned into fertilizer."
"Most of you probably haven't heard the legends from the poets. A hundred years ago, the Ice Witch, who repelled the great whale, had to call the Flower Witch 'Grandma'."
"Hurry up, let's go. If the Flower Witch sets her sights on us, we might end up as fertilizer too."
For various reasons, everyone's first thought was the Flower Witch.
Their talk grew more excited as they discussed the mysteriously formidable Flower Witch from a century ago and the Crack Tides from centuries past.
In their conversation, the image of the Flower Witch became increasingly terrifying and enigmatic in their eyes.
The Flower Witch is inscrutable!
The Flower Witch dictates everything in the hunting ground!
...
At this moment, under the moonlight, at the Hunter's warehouse.
The Flower Witch, seen by many as the mastermind behind the scenes, looked up at the moon, little flowers with question marks above her head sprouting one after another.
What happened?
What happened?
She hadn't made her move, so how could the crack have ended already?
```