Chapter 118: Join hands together and create an opening!
Chapter 118
The shack, which had been built barely a month ago, housed the small group Blake had formed. This group survived by extorting people from town to town, and the shack served as their main base and hideout.
It stood hidden deep in the woods, far from civilization, weathering storms, wild beasts, and the passage of time while the group grew closer and formed their twisted bonds within its walls.
But now, in a desperate bid to defeat an A ranked beast, half of the shack had crumbled down. Only the other half remained standing, providing some cover for those who were unconscious or too weak to fight.
"Sound Veil: Absolute Destructo."
KABOOOM!
The shack exploded violently.
The blast rumbled with such fierce energy that the earth itself ruptured. For seven metres around, the ground caved in, collapsing under the force and dragging both the beast and those fighting it down into the depths.
And where was "down"?
It was the bare forest ground beneath the shack, revealed after the structure’s foundation gave way.
The shack had been built on a wide, sturdy wooden platform, raised with about seven steps that led to its front door. This meant the shack had been fairly elevated from the earth. Due to Blake’s explosion, that flooring shattered into pieces.
A massive crater was left in its wake, a jagged hole that ran at least ten metres deep. Half the walls collapsed into the pit, leaving Zen and the others still trapped inside the surviving portion.
Those who had fallen into the crater, beast included, were left dazed as they tried to regain their footing and climb out.
"Fool!" Lyra snapped as she managed to leap out of the crater. She was quickly followed by Tom, Blake, Vynn, and then Jace, while the beast landed several metres away in the thick woods.
"Why blow up the shack when you couldn’t even scratch the beast? That was nothing but a waste of technique."
"One would think, judging by the way he came in, that he was about to do something peak. But no. Man just acted dumb." Tom facepalmed as he sighed, while a vein bulged across Blake’s temple.
"I don’t see y..." Blake began, but his words were cut short by the sudden sound of something cutting through the air toward him.
Thanks to his Veil, Blake’s sense of hearing was heightened to an insane level. He could catch even the faintest sound—footsteps, heartbeats, or the whistling of projectiles and react to them before anyone else.
This time, however, though he heard it, he wasn’t fast enough. His body tensed, preparing for the strike, but Lyra noticed the shift in his stance before the attack landed.
With lightning reflexes, she leaped toward him, her sword already mid-swing, the blade crackling violently with electric arcs.
"Ahhh!" she roared, slamming her katana into the ground. A devastating wave of lightning burst out in a straight line, scorching the earth as it raced forward. The beam clashed with the beast’s serpentine limbs.
Even though the creature was four metres away, it had burrowed its viny appendages underground to launch a surprise strike at Blake, who froze in place.
Lyra’s timely attack saved him—the lightning surged through the earth, striking the hidden vines and forcing them to shrivel into ash. The beast yanked its limbs back with a screech of frustration.
"Lyra, how do we defeat this beast?" Tom demanded, his grip tightening on his flaming sword.
"Exactly. Its regeneration speed is absurd. This fight is turning into a nightmare. What do we do?" Jace asked, sweat dripping down his brow.
Zen, who had been inside, finally peeked through the ruined walls. From his position, he could see the tense standoff between his allies and the towering monster outside.
’I just wish my Inspect skill was working. If it was, I’d have figured out this beast’s weakness by now and told them. Damn it! Is there really nothing I can do right now? Could the system be right? Am I actually useless without my broken Veil?’ Zen thought, his fists clenching tighter as he glanced desperately around the half-destroyed shack.
He could see the hat man now, standing with a single hand and glaring at Aria as if he could snap her head off at any moment.
Then his eyes shifted to the earth swordsman, the same one who had been battling against Vynn just moments ago. The man was huffing and panting heavily, sweat pouring down his forehead as he looked over at the others who were still lying unconscious on the ground.
Zen’s gaze lingered on Aria afterward. Blood was dripping down her mouth, staining her lips, yet her quiver remained strangely full of arrows. She gripped her bow tighter, panting but refusing to back down.
’How does she even keep her quiver full? Does it magically restock itself? Hmm... I can see the red arrows, the ones that cause explosions.
Then there are some normal arrows, and lastly, the black ones. What even do the black arrows do? I don’t think I’ve seen her use them before.’ Zen thought, when suddenly an idea struck him. His eyes widened as he finally recalled something from earlier in the battle.
’Hold on! A weakness. I think it does have one.’ His eyes lit up as he scanned the room again, looking at the conscious people who were still with him.
"Listen up everyone," Zen said as he stopped peeking at the fight outside. He turned fully toward the men inside, the ones who were scowling at him.
"I know we were all at each other’s throats a few moments ago, and to be fair, you were in the wrong for using our clan’s name to commit atrocities and dragging our name through the mud."
"So you want to start a blame war?" the hat man asked as he rose up in anger. His voice was sharp, and his fury was plain. "Then let me start one. How about paying for making me lose an arm!"
"Look, I’m not trying to start a blame war right now. We have a much bigger threat at hand. You all aren’t blind—you can see those who are stronger than us, even your leader, teaming up to take it down.
Shouldn’t we follow in their footsteps too? Shouldn’t we help instead of wasting time bickering? If the powerhouses among us can put aside their differences and fight together, then what exactly is stopping us?" Zen asked as silence fell over the shack.
"How are we supposed to help when our opponents and even the powerhouses are miles above us?" the earth swordsman asked, his voice uncertain.
"By joining hands together," Zen answered firmly. "I’m not trying to play the leader here, but if you all follow my instructions, then not us, but our powerhouses will have a real shot at taking the beast down. What we need to do is create an opening—an opportunity they can seize.
So what do you say? Do I go at this alone? Or do I have your help?" Zen asked with an uneasy smile tugging at his lips.
’I can’t pull this off without their help... or without their veils. I just hope they agree,’ he thought, his mind racing.
"Fine. I don’t have much choice in the matter," the earth swordsman said after a long pause.
"What can a one-armed man even do? But I’ll try my best," the hat man sighed.
"Do you even need my help?" Aria asked flatly, blood still dripping from her lips.
"Actually, I really do. And my plan won’t work without your magical fingers," Zen replied, glancing outside once more. The battlefield was a frenzy now, both sides fully engaged in chaos.
"So what shall we do then?" the hat man asked.
"A formation. Let’s go," Zen muttered under his breath. He crouched low and slipped outside, keeping himself not too far from where the battle was raging, while the others followed closely behind him, each one holding their breath for what was to come.