They walked through the thick white fog. There was no sound other than heartbeats and footsteps. Hands tightly held weapons, and eyes vigilantly looked around. The further they walked, the stronger the tension in their chests became. Even so, they still followed Klaus.
Clouds began to gather in the sky, and the intensity of the light that penetrated the fog gradually decreased. The air became humid, and the temperature dropped slowly.
Suddenly, Klaus stopped, and his men followed suit.
"What's wrong?" A whisper escaped Olivia's mouth.
"Looks like he sensed the enemy's presence," Justin muttered.
Olivia frowned. "Really? I didn't sense anything."
"Come on, milkshake-knocker. Don't equate Klaus with you. He's on different levels." Joanna said.
Naturally, Olivia was triggered. She was about to hit the blonde girl, but Sylvia hissed, telling her to shut up.
"Don't be noisy. Grow up a little, Olivia." The red-haired woman squinted as she gave Olivia a warning look. She also did the same thing to Joanna. "And you too, look at the situation. This is not the right time for jokes."
Joanna giggled while rubbing her back head. "Sorry."
While they were arguing over trivial matters, Klaus focused his eyes far ahead of him. He didn't see anything within a 500-meter radius, but he knew something awaited them ahead.
"I feel a strong sense of presence from there. How much further, Laplace?" Klaus muttered.
<About 600 meters away, my liege.>
Klaus pursed his lips. Not long after, he looked back and made a circle in the air with his finger, signaling code to Akio and Michael. They nodded and passed the code to the other members in the back.
They held their weapons tighter and poured caution into every step.
After walking for 20 steps, the awakeners heard a groaning. Then, they saw pairs of yellow eyes glowing among the white mist like fireflies.
"Here we go," Akio muttered. His lips curled up.
A horde of four-legged monsters emerged from the mist. They had red scales and white, horse-like hair that reached up to their necks. Sharp fangs protruded from their lips, dripping with saliva. Their four legs had claws that gripped the ground. They looked at the group of awakeners as if they were prey.
Naturally, the awakeners held their breath. Their animal instincts kicked in, telling them to fight or flee.
Klaus squinted. "Drake, huh?"
<Yes, my liege. More precisely, they are earth-type drakes. They have quite strong defenses. Lightning and wind elements are of little use against them.>
Like Wyvern, Drake is a monster still in one bloodline with dragons. But they don't have wings and can't spit out any elements, making them low-class monsters in the dragon caste.
However, drakes are still deadly monsters, on par with B-Class awakeners. One drake can kill at least 20-30 F-Class. They are still a real threat.
"Tell me the amount of their battle power, Laplace?" Klaus muttered.
Not long after, an information screen appeared in front of Klaus, which only he could see.
[Drake 30 - average battle power 470,424]
The red-scaled monsters emerged one by one, with saliva dripping from their mouths. Their eyes glowed, implying hunger and bloodlust. Some of the awakeners trembled. They couldn't lie to themselves that the drakes frightened them.
As fear began to take over his men, Klaus took a step forward. Of course, his actions left them wondering.
"Everyone! Raise your weapons!"
Klaus shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed through the air, kicking in his men's fighting instincts, and courage suddenly rose in their chests. Swords were drawn and weapons were raised above their heads. They were ready to fight.
Of course, the drakes didn't just sit back. The monsters roared like tigers and charged at Klaus and his men in droves.
Klaus shouted, "Defensive position 1."
"Yes!" His men answered in unison
They lined up, forming a curved formation. The fighters in the back row advanced to the front row, helping the vanguard defend the position, while the casters and supporters took out Elemental Guns and stood behind them.
"Casters and Supporters! Turn the elemental gun into a fire element. When they come! Fire!"
"Yes, sir!"
GRAAAWWRR
Seeing the drakes coming closer, Klaus raised his hand, signaling to hold the fire.
As the distance between the awakeners and the monsters was 10 meters, Klaus dropped his hand, and dozens of fireballs shot out.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
"Graaawrr!"
The drakes screeched in pain as the fireballs crashed into them. Some collapsed and rolled on the ground, extinguishing the flames engulfing their bodies.
"Switch to the metal element. And fire!"
"Yes!"
They turned the switch and pulled the trigger. Not long after, hundreds of finger-sized iron spikes shot out of the muzzle at such a high speed that the air whistled.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Graaaarrr!
Dozens of metal spikes pierced the hard red scales that covered the monsters. A drake collapsed as metal spikes pierced its eye, and its massive body made the other drakes stumble, creating a collision course.
Graaawrrr.
The ground shook as they fell to the ground.
"Good," Klaus muttered.
Drakes were monsters that had a strong affinity for an element. And the one they were currently fighting was Earth Drakes. Their bodies had earthy characteristics, immune to damage by the same element and resistant to lightning and wind.
That was why Klaus told his men to use the fire element on their Elemental Gun, weakening the thick scales and then piercing it with metal.
However, that didn't mean the battle was over. Dozens of drakes fell, but dozens of others still survived despite the metal embedded in their bodies.
"Tanker and vanguards! Prepare for a clash!"
"Yeah!"
After Klaus gave the signal, Michael advanced alone to face the bunch of drakes. The big man tore off his clothes, showing off the metallic armor attached to his chest.
Michael used [Taunt], enraging the red-scaled monsters.
Graaaaawwwr!
"Come on, baby," Michael muttered. The big man gritted his teeth as he saw dozens of drakes drawing closer.
Eight monsters ran the fastest among the others. Their glowing eyes were glued to Michael. When they were a few meters away from the big man, they jumped and hovered briefly.
And at the same time, the wind suddenly whistled.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Splat!
Gwaaarrg!
The eight drakes fell to the ground before managing to pounce on Michael. Deep and large scratches decorated their bodies, and blood flowed onto the ground, pooling in a red puddle.
An oriental-looking man landed gently on top of one of the Drake corpses. Looking at the man's figure, Michael widened his lips.
"Thank you, Akio. But I can handle it myself."
Akio chuckled. "I'm not helping you; I just want to kill them."
"Well, do as you wish."
The group of drakes swarmed around the two men not long after. With combat experience and strength, facing a siege of monsters was not difficult for them.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Splat! Akio swung her sword. In one swing, he left deep wounds on four drakes at once.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Michael launched deadly fists at every drake that jumped at him.
While the two A-Classes fought brutally, the casters and supporters bombarded the drakes with metal spikes and fireballs, weakening their physique and defenses.
Sylvia and the fighters gritted their teeth as they watched dozens of monsters surround their comrades. They couldn't wait to jump into battle but were still awaiting orders from the party leader.
"Fighters! Charge!" Klaus gave the order his men were waiting for.
"Hya!"
Sylvia rushed to the front. Her red hair waved in the air like a fluttering battle flag.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Splat!
Kriiieeggg!
Sylvia unleashed a flurry of fists as she plunged into battle. She targeted the severely injured drakes and executed them on the spot.
"Kill!"
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Splat!
The other fighters also could not sit still. They slashed swords, spears, axes, and various weapons at the red-scaled monsters.
However, a black-haired person floated above the air in the middle of the battle. She held a katana that emitted a strange aura.
"It's my turn!"
Olivia exclaimed with all her might as she plunged.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Blood spurted, and eight drakes died by splitting into two halves. Olivia swung the katana gracefully, and every slash that landed was deadly.
Kirieeeegg!
Splat! Splat! Splat!
The other awakeners stopped swinging their weapons for a moment, stunned at the scene before them.
"Hey, is that really her?"
"No way."
"No shit, she's being possessed."
Olivia was covered in blood, slaughtering Drake like a butcher. She easily slit the throat and cut off the legs of a monster.
They wondered how a girl who couldn't kill monsters turned into a monster herself. They could see no hesitation in Olivia's eyes.
It was enough to surprise them, but not Klaus.
"Wow, look at that. Our girl is evolving so fast." A grin bloomed on his face as he said so.
With Akio and Olivia present, the tide of battle was on the side of the awakeners. The drakes they had been afraid of now felt like nothing. Killing these monsters was like slaughtering livestock.
All party members worked together against the drakes. The fighters at the forefront killed the monsters, and the non-combatants stayed behind, launching attacks using the Elemental Gun.
Gradually the number of drakes that could still stand could be counted on the fingers.
Until only one drake remained.
Slash! Splat!
Krieeegh
Thud.
"We won! We won! We defeated the monster in an orange dungeon!"
In less than thirty minutes, the last drake fell. The Rays of Hope party members managed to kill 100 drakes.
