Chapter 243: Can’t we just burn them all?!

In the front, the battle between the rushing Kobolds and the two E-Rankers continued.

The monsters kept surging forward in an endless stream, their loud shrieks echoing through the cave as they desperately tried to kill the humans standing in their way.

But every time they reached the front, each of them continued dying... yet even as their numbers fell, more Kobolds continued rushing forward to replace them.

Ava’s breathing had become heavier, and her arms were beginning to ache from the constant fighting.

"Isaac!"

Her voice echoed through the cave as she killed another Kobold, pulling out her dagger before shoving its collapsing body forward, creating a temporary protective barrier for herself against the monsters rushing towards her.

Her gaze briefly shifted towards Isaac.

He was clearly struggling.

His body wavered slightly as he narrowly dodged a Kobold’s attack before slashing his axe down onto its neck.

Blood splattered across his clothes, and he staggered a step backwards.

Seeing him like this, Ava’s lips slowly parted.

"We... I don’t think we’ll be able to create an escape route like this!" she shouted as loudly as she could, her voice barely reaching Isaac’s ears.

But he didn’t answer.

"Haaahhh..."

Only his heavy, laboured breathing came in response.

Another Kobold suddenly rushed towards him.

Isaac’s eyes barely managed to focus on it.

Instead of stepping backwards, he planted one hand against its chest.

The air around him suddenly shifted, and Isaac immediately felt his mana decrease.

In the next instant...

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind erupted from his palm, pushing the Kobold backwards.

Before it could gather its balance, Isaac immediately stepped forward.

Slash!

His axe came straight down onto the creature’s face, and a few droplets of its blood landed on his face.

"ISAAC!!"

Ava’s desperate scream echoed once again as she saw another Kobold approaching him from the side.

Ava immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Isaac slowly raised his head, his eyes looking tired—kinda unfocused.

"I’m... haahh... thinking..."

He finally spoke, his voice coming out ragged and whispered between breaths.

His chest rose heavily.

"Then think fast!"

Ava’s voice snapped with anger as she clenched her teeth.

Then, without waiting for another response, she pushed him aside before directly taking the frontline.

The F-Ranked monsters weren’t particularly strong individually, so she had to do her best to keep their numbers as low as she could...

Though that was far too easy to say than do practically.

They had originally intended to carve an escape route by killing the monsters, but their numbers weren’t decreasing quickly enough. By now, both of them had already suffered a few minor injuries—not enough to kill them, yet enough to hinder their movements and muddle their judgement.

Bang! Bang!

Jessica’s gunshots rang across the cave as she killed a few of the ones near them, though she couldn’t actually help them much from such a distance.

Ava suddenly looked towards Isaac.

"Can’t we just burn them all?!"

Her voice carried a desperate edge, as she too was beginning to grow tired.

"Sir Lucian can use his Fire Affinity to burn all of them!"

Isaac couldn’t help but wonder why she was calling Lucian Sir, though he was far too exhausted to question anything.

"No..."

Isaac muttered slowly, sluggishly walking towards her before swinging his axe again, biting his lip to keep himself from falling.

"The... lack of oxygen... inside the cave, it will..."

Ava’s expression changed as she understood what he was trying to say.

"I understand."

Isaac was right.

If they somehow created a fire and lit all the monsters, then not only would it make things more dangerous... but the fire would spread rapidly, and the lack of oxygen caused by that would kill all of them by suffocation—not just the monsters.

’Not only that... we don’t even know if he has enough mana to burn them all.’

Lucian had used his Affinity before, and even if he possessed an impressive amount of mana, it might require him a couple of hours to recover it.

Isaac clenched his axe tighter, swinging it more roughly.

For a brief moment, his gaze moved backwards, and seeing the sight, he couldn’t help but mutter.

"How... is he fighting all of them alone...?"

At first, he had been worried about the monsters moving around the sides, since if they slipped past them, they could surround the others.

But against all of their expectations...

Lucian—

That man alone was killing all of them by himself, not letting anyone come near Jessica, giving her ample time to help Selene and the others.

The area around him gradually became covered with bodies, and within only a few minutes, the area that had been flooded with Kobolds was almost cleared.

The strong stench of blood seeped into the air, filling the entire chamber.

Everyone’s expressions twisted slightly as the metallic smell reached their noses, and even those who had already grown accustomed to the smell of blood couldn’t completely ignore it.

Isaac’s lips twitched.

His face twisted slightly as he thought about the situation they were in.

And despite his leader’s pride screaming at him not to do it... not to ask a new member for help...

"Aghh—!"

Isaac’s scream suddenly tore out of his throat as a Kobold’s dagger slashed across his thigh.

"FUCK IT!!!"

His eyes burned with pain and frustration as he grabbed the same Kobold and slammed it directly into the monsters behind it.

Then, without caring about his pride anymore—

"LUCIAN! CAN YOU GIVE US SOME HELP?!"

His loud, almost desperate scream echoed through the cave, making everyone briefly glance towards him.

But instead of getting an answer—which he had expected, whether it was a yes or even a no, maybe even a curse...

He heard something else.

Schk!

The strange sound echoed from behind him.

Schk!

Then another.

Schk! Schk! Schk!

And another.

The sound of tearing flesh gradually grew louder, again, again and again, the wet, sickening noise coming without stop.

But then...

Another strange noise—rather, a voice—came from the opening of the cave.

"Kukhhaa—haka...!"

It was clearly the sound of a Kobold, but something about it sounded a bit different.

The Kobolds surrounding Ava and Isaac suddenly reacted, and then...

Their heads turned, their eyes shifting past the two.

For a brief moment, their postures almost stopped.

Ava frowned in confusion.

"What are they do...ing...?"

Her voice slowed down as she saw them moving.

But not towards them.

Leaving both Ava and Isaac behind—as if completely forgetting the existence of those two humans—they began rushing towards something behind them.

Despite being bewildered, they instinctively turned around, and the moment they did...

Their expressions froze. Their eyes widened in disbelief.

The sound they had been hearing...

They finally understood what it was.