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The sun hovered above the mountain peaks.
After an hour of rapid travel, the dimming sunlight fell on the faces of the hunting party, each of them wearing expressions so grave they seemed to overflow.
Allen, Paul, and the others stood on a tall tree. Below them, monsters leaped up, only to be sliced apart mid-air by the faint, sweeping arcs of their blades.
The ground beneath the tree was stained with dark, filthy red snow.
To the side of the tree, the mountain slopes descended sharply on either side, leading into a deep valley.
Jagged peaks surrounded the valley, with the only exit being a narrow "pocket" opening. The group was positioned halfway up the mountain, near this sole entrance.
Looking down from the mountainside into the valley, they saw a surging silver "river" that dazzled their eyes with its rippling waves.
As Allen squinted, the scene in the valley became clearer.
The surging waves weren't water—they were a dense tide of monsters, their movements kicking up snow as they surged toward the group.
Allen's gaze fixed on a small, calm "puddle" in the center of the monster tide. That was the geothermal lake Paul had mentioned.
Rudeus and Sylphie were already pale with fear.
"We've been spotted, haven't we? The monsters are all coming this way."
"Obviously."
As Allen spoke, he swung his blade, turning the monsters climbing the tree into bloody mist.
Ten minutes earlier, they had already encountered several waves of monsters. By the time they reached the valley with the geothermal lake, the monsters were relentlessly attacking them.
It was clear they had been discovered.
Allen exchanged a glance with Paul, who looked equally serious.
"There are more monsters than we expected, but being discovered is actually a good thing."
Rudeus stared at Allen in shock, about to argue, when Paul's voice chimed in.
"In a way, it is."
Rudeus was stunned.
"How is being discovered a good thing??"
Allen pointed toward the dense tide of monsters surging up from the valley and turned to Rudeus.
"What lies at the foot of the mountain?"
Rudeus's eyes widened. The phrase felt vaguely familiar, but he couldn't recall where he'd heard it before.
"The foot of the mountain? The monsters' nest?"
"The foot of the mountain is... our target. Now, we don't even need to fight our way into the nest. The monsters are coming to us. In that case..."
Before his words could fully sink in, Allen stepped off the tree branch.
Rudeus gasped, watching as Allen plummeted toward the ground.
But Allen landed gracefully in a gap between the monsters below. With a casual flick of his blade, he sent out a wave of energy.
The blade moved slowly.
But with immense force!
Instantly, a ripple of air erupted from his feet, spreading outward in waves.
The monsters were shredded by the wind, their remains scattering like debris. Allen's voice reached Rudeus's ears, echoing in his mind.
"We don't even need to get close to our target. We just need to hold this slope and kill every monster that comes at us. Isn't that a good thing, Rudeus??"
Paul, watching Allen from the tree, seemed to shed some of his exhaustion. He smiled and leaped down, turning to Rudeus above.
"Rudeus, change of plans! Switch from an offensive formation to a defensive one. Allen and I will handle the monsters. You stay on the tree and use your magic to suppress them. We'll hold for an hour! Then, based on our stamina, mana, and the number of monsters killed, we'll decide whether to retreat or keep going. Don't worry. These monsters are low-level. Even after an hour, Allen and I will have enough energy to get us out of here."
Rudeus blinked, realizing the situation. Unlike earlier in the forest near the village, where Paul and Allen had to protect the barrier, the villagers, and the village itself—forcing them into a defensive stance—here, they were far from the village, in a valley with no hostages to protect.
For Allen and Paul, dealing with a horde of D-rank monsters was like two lawnmowers strolling through a park. If not for the need to conserve energy, they could probably clear the entire valley themselves.
One was a triple-style upper-tier swordsman, the former vanguard of an S-rank adventurer team who had seen countless labyrinths and monster tides.
The other was a freshly minted Water Saint. Rudeus still remembered the look on Paul's face months ago, after a sparring match with Allen, when Paul admitted he hadn't even touched Allen's clothes. The realization that Allen had reached the level of a Water Saint had been a blow to Rudeus's pride.
What was there to worry about?
A monster tide?
Just a bit of frost.
At worst, after an hour, Allen and Paul could just take everyone and run. Could these D-rank monsters really stop them?
At this thought, Rudeus's expression brightened. He glanced at Sylphie and saw that she, too, was calming down. Their eyes met.
Rudeus grinned.
'Let's stick to the plan Paul laid out on the way here. This is what adventurer experience is all about, huh? Magic can be used so flexibly against monsters... Not just for attacking, but even for building fortresses...'
"Earth Spikes! Ice Barrier!"
Sharp, towering spikes of earth erupted from the ground, forming a circular "fortress" around the tree where the group stood. Paul and Allen immediately jumped onto the spikes, slaughtering the monsters below like farmers harvesting wheat.
Inside the fortress, the blood and monster remains on the ground froze into thick ice, preventing any monsters from burrowing up.
Rudeus raised his hand, recalling the advanced water magic Roxy had taught him.
"Ice Lance Blizzard!"
Straight ice lances formed in the air around him, then shot out in all directions, piercing through the monsters like skewers. Each lance killed a dozen or more monsters.
It was worth noting that powerful fire magic had been banned before they arrived, as explosions could trigger avalanches. So Rudeus stuck to water magic, which was quieter.
Thanks to Rudeus's vast mana reserves and the well-planned strategy, Sylphie, who was supposed to provide support, barely had a chance to cast any spells.
Ten minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Half an hour.
An hour.
As evening approached, the slope from the valley to the cliff had changed color.
It was hard to tell if it was blood.
Or the glow of the setting sun.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 120 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 80 power stones I will publish the next chapter.