"What the hell..."
The awakeners could not help but hold their breath as they arrived at this place. Joanna instinctively covered her mouth, seeing the dozens of human corpses strewn about. Shock crossed her face for a moment, but she overcame it. Several other members also showed similar expressions.
Akio and Michael, these two were the only ones who looked calm. They had been in the dungeon the longest, and their hearts had become immune to seeing their comrades in arms die in battle.
The excitement of defeating the drakes was gone in an instant. They knew the monsters they fought before were just small fries. Seeing how the awakeners with classes above them died in terrible ways, they could imagine the powerful monsters that awaited them if they went deeper into the dungeon.
A pessimistic feeling began to hang in their chests.
However, they had no time to mourn.
"I have your attention, please."
Klaus spoke loudly amidst the silence of grief. His men then gathered around to listen to him.
"Looking at your faces, I know you have lost confidence after seeing their fate. If awakeners of their caliber died, what about you?"
Hearing his truthful words, they bowed their heads in agitation. Some gritted or bit their lips, realizing they were too quick to celebrate victory after defeating the drakes.
Klaus smirked as he saw the regret and embarrassment in his men. He had already given them a reality check, and it was time to stimulate them.
"Well, at least you guys introspected. It's good, and I need you to stop being sad. I still need you to hold your weapons and kill monsters. Just because they died doesn't mean we will. We can definitely take the alpha's head and conquer this dungeon!"
Half shouting, Klaus gave his men a motivational pep talk about how to rise above adversity or stay strong in difficult situations. He slipped in a lot of nonsense but with a firm intonation.
And strangely, it worked.
The awakeners puffed out their chests. Their gazes became deep and confident. The self-confidence on their faces vanished, replaced by resolute expressions.
They truly believed Klaus. Even Joanna teared up at her brother's speech.
"There's no turning back now that we've come this far. We will continue to catch up with the main group and hunt for the alpha. And Look at that!"
Naturally, they squinted to focus their vision, seeing a mountain with a castle at the top. The thin mist and the distance from where they were looking made the castle look like a shadow, but they could still spot it.
The tracks left on the ground led to the mountain. Klaus assumed the main group was heading toward the castle.
Besides, it was suspicious that a magnificent building was in the middle of an empty island. Anyone seeing it would definitely think the castle was where the boss lived.
"We'll be moving in 10 minutes. Take your time."
Klaus ordered his men to burn the bodies of the fallen awakeners before they left. Aside from outwitting the monsters, he wanted to give them a proper funeral.
The Rays of Hope party walked along the rocky ground following the tracks. They couldn't stop looking around. A feeling of vigilance haunted them from the moment they set out. They couldn't lie to themselves that death could pick them up at any time. It was just that they were more vigilant.
The closer they got to the mountain, the more the temperature dropped. They could feel the cold piercing their bones. The fog became thick, and their visibility shortened, and the castle began to be out of their line of sight.
And, of course, their quest was with obstacles. A pack of drakes attacked them every 2 or 3 kilometers. Luckily, the first battle gave them valuable experience, so Klaus and the men could easily defeat them.
Still, they could not breathe a sigh of relief.
Wyverns and other monsters were still on their minds. Around 120 A- and B-Class awakeners died fighting these monsters while they were just a group of F-Class awakeners. They were not confident of surviving if an encounter with those dragon-blooded monsters came.
The only reason why they still wanted to do this raid was because of Klaus. They believed in him.
Suddenly, Klaus stopped. He put his index finger to his lips and hissed through his teeth.
"Be quiet. Did you hear that?"
Naturally, the awakeners squinted. Placing their hands over their ears, they focused their senses on their listeners, trying to hear what Klaus had heard. But no sound entered their ears other than the silence carried by the air.
"Hey, did you hear something?" Joanna asked in a soft tone.
Justin shook his head.
The blond-haired girl frowned. For the umpteenth time, Klaus managed to make her wonder. She did not understand how an awakener like her, who was A-Class, could not hear anything, while her older brother, who was only F-Class, could sense danger.
On the other hand, Klaus closed his eyes, concentrating on his ears, listening to all the sounds in a 500-meter radius.
<You need my help, my liege? >
Laplace's voice echoed in his head, but Klaus ignored it.
He was hearing something. But he wasn't sure where it came from because of the breeze. Then, he began to hear a faint sound. It was low, and the ear could barely catch it. However, the more Klaus tried to listen, the more the sound became.
He heard the wind. A thud. The roar. And screams.
Her eyes opened wide at once.
"Follow me! And get ready for battle!" Klaus shouted.
He then ran towards the west without looking back. Naturally, his men ran after their leader.
Klaus ran as fast as he could. He looked straight ahead despite the fog blocking his vision. His men had little trouble following him. Only Akio and Michael were able to keep up with his speed.
He could see nothing but white until he saw a man running towards him with a terrified expression.
"HELP! HELP!"
The man ran while crying with his bulging eyes. Fear was written entirely all over his face.
Klaus gathered mana at his feet and then bolted.
SWOOSH!
As Klaus was about to reach out to the frightened man, he suddenly heard the flapping sound of a darling coming closer.
Naturally, Klaus stopped.
KRIEEEEEEEEKKK!
A screech echoed through the air, and a golden-winged wyvern emerged from the mist and grabbed the poor man.
"No!" The man screamed in overwhelming fear.
Klaus saw that. Of course, he wasn't going to just let it go.
He took out four metal spheres from his pocket and flicked his finger at the monster.
Swoosh!
Four metal spheres shot out at such a high speed that the wind whistled, chasing after the wyvern as if these things had a mind of their own.
KREEEKKK!
The wyvern briefly twisted in the air and released its prey.
"NOOOOO!!!"
The poor man fell swiftly downwards and slammed into the ground hard.
SPLAT!
That deathly scream reached the ears of the awakeners. Horror ran through their bodies for a moment. But they continued to run after Klaus even as their mouths swallowed.
"Hurry up and run! Klaus is fighting alone!"
After Justin called out with all his might, Olivia from the back row sped off first, and Sylvia followed next. As a result, the rear squad ran in disarray.
"HEY! STAY IN FORMATION!" Justin shouted.
Meanwhile, Klaus was chasing after the wyvern. He wasn't going to let it run away.
He poured mana on his feet, and his speed increased as he went, and the white mist split apart because Klaus was running too fast.
"What the fuck? How can he run that fast!?" Akio cursed in annoyance while running.
"How would I know! Hurry up!"
Akio and Michael ran while panting. The lungs in their chests were out of air, but they kept running with all their might. Unfortunately, the person they were chasing was nowhere in sight.
Klaus was too fast.
He ran like a speeding bullet. Nothing could stop him from chasing after the wyvern. In fact, his distance from the monster was getting closer. Every time the monster was about to fly upwards, Klaus shot metal spheres at its wings so that the wyvern flew back down.
Increasingly, the distance between Klaus and the wyvern was getting shorter. His eyes were constantly glued to the target. He was going to kill it off no matter what.
It was not like Klaus was bloodthirsty or upset. There was something he wanted to make sure of.
KRIIIEEEEKK!
The wyvern plummeted when Klaus fired the metal sphere for the second time. He managed to tear off one of its wings so the monster could no longer fly.
Seeing the monster was about to land on the ground, Klaus moistened his lips and took a sword from his spatial ring.
"I'll cut your head off!"
Swwwwwooooosh!
Klaus dashed at high speed toward the wyvern.
As he was only a few meters away from the monster, he heard the sound of flapping wings from the other direction. At that very moment, Klaus knew what was coming.
Another wyvern suddenly appeared from the side.
Klaus was wide-eyed. He saw a mouth open wide before his eyes.
