Chapter 202: Assassins!

“This…”

“It is the fifth nest of Rift Hounds. Just…how strong are they?”

“Hey, Bilon…didn’t you say this mission was easy?”

In a cave branching out from the long tunnel towards the chasm, five figures wearing black hoodies were looking at the gruesome scene on the ground.

Although the bodies had already dissolved, since it hadn’t been long, they could still see the traces of a fight.

And looking at the absolute devastation around them, it was clear that the monsters had been killed before they could even struggle.

To make matters worse, this was the fifth nest they had come across.

“Tch…it isn’t as impressive as you think. Don’t forget, it’s just a D-rank dungeon.”

The captain, Bilon, clicked his tongue as if he didn’t take it to heart.

“That team has Aurelia Flareborn and the Twin Sisters as members. This much should be expected. Maybe they used some artifact to boost their power?”

Although he was somewhat shocked as well, he knew the identities of those newbie hunters. It wasn’t hard for them to get good weapons.

“Besides, it is still the outskirts. When they get closer to the core, the monsters’ rank and intelligence will increase sharply. It won’t be so easy to fight like this then.”

“Don’t forget which dungeon this is.”

Even he, who was at level 50, prepared an expensive return token before entering this dungeon.

It wasn’t that easy to clear this dungeon. Otherwise, so many hunters wouldn’t lose their lives for nothing.

‘But still…their speed is too fast, isn’t it? Aren’t their stamina sapped out now? What are they thinking?’

The assassin leader was a bit confused.

After all, even if a hunter was powerful enough, stamina was a thing too. Nobody could fight nonstop without any rest, even if they had unlimited mana available.

That’s why it was better to take your time when clearing a dungeon. Who knew what kind of monsters would jump out of a dark corner when you were tired?

As for the Echo Stone that could supplement stamina, he never even thought about it. After all, that item was so scarce that without reaching the depth, it was impossible to see even one.

And even if you were lucky enough to find them, who would waste them like this?

‘Tch…newbies and their ego. It seems this mission might be too easy. Was there even a need to recruit us, Five Brothers?’

In the end, Bilon thought Soren’s team was too naive and excited.

Unlike his teammates, he wasn’t intimidated by the devastation around; rather, he was like a hawk, looking at the perfect opportunity to strike his enemy.

“Okay, let’s not waste time. Don’t forget, our goal is to kill Soren Kingswell, not go head-on against that team.”

At last, he ordered his team to follow the traces around in the tunnel. His S-rank skill, Silent Pursuit, allowed him to know the location of his target easily.

So even if Soren’s team were advancing rapidly with the help of the Wind Elemental, they were able to trace him in no time at all.

***

The loud and deep howl Sylvia heard before was quite weird. It was similar to the Rift Hound or a wolf, but wasn’t too.

Sometimes, it felt so incomprehensible as the howl seemed to never end, as if echoing constantly non-stop, rattling her eardrums. So much so that Sylvia felt dizzy and almost fell down when Aurelia grabbed her.

In her ears, the howling continued to echo constantly, slowly turning into a murmur that she couldn’t understand.

Yet, for a moment, Sylvia felt drawn to it unconsciously, trying hard to understand that murmur, focusing more and more on that echo when…

“Sylvia, wake up!”

A loud voice bombarded right next to her ears, waking her up in an instant.

“What! Ah… Soren, why are you shouting so loud?”

In fact, the voice was so loud that Sylvia closed her ears, pain visible in her blue eyes. Her mouth pouted in anger.

“Hmm?”

However, only then did she realize that Soren, who had just shouted in her ears, waking her up, was nowhere near her.

Instead, next to her was Aurelia, who seemed to be speaking to her.

“What? What are you saying? Why is your voice so low?”

But Sylvia only felt Aurelia’s lips move and there was no voice at all.

In fact, this seemed to be the same for Aurelia too, as she abruptly stopped, turned solemn, and clutched her staff tightly.

Swoosh!

In an instant, Sylvia saw a crimson dome surrounding both of them when…

Boom!

Out of nowhere, a loud echo shattered the absolute silence around, followed by a massive claw materializing out of thin air and impacting the barrier from behind.

“Ugh…!”

The impact was so strong that in an instant, the barrier rattled, showing thin cracks. Aurelia seemed to be heavily impacted as her foot trembled a little.

Unfortunately for her, just when she was about to attack, the claw that materialized out of thin air had already disappeared, turning invisible.

*Swoosh!*

Just as Sylvia thought they had missed the chance, a brilliant light suddenly came out of nowhere, lighting up the wide tunnel before landing right on top of Aurelia and Sylvia.

*Boom!*

Although there was no sound to be heard, the moment that brilliant light collided in the air above, a violent explosion erupted, directly smashing everything around.

*Thud!*

Only then did both of them see that it was actually an arrow shot by Soren from afar, which managed to kill a massive wolf-type monster that had just swiped its claw at them.

Its head had been pierced through by the arrow, leaving its brain matter spilled across the floor in a grotesque manner.

While Aurelia missed the chance, Soren clearly saw through everything as he killed the beast in one shot before it disappeared completely.

“It is an Echo Lurker. Be careful and stick to the plan I told you earlier.”

Then came Soren’s voice again, warning them all.

This time, Sylvia clearly saw a thin mana thread floating around them, vibrating rhythmically. Only then did she realize this was the medium Soren used to convey his voice.

Because in the domain of the Echo Lurker, sound could no longer be transmitted through air.