Chapter 387 - Bug Hunt II (Patreon)

In the Fellowship of the Ring, men, an elf, a dwarf, hobbits, and a wizard set off from Rivendell to Mordor for the sake of destroying the iconic ring.

In Viers’ case, there was a lack of dwarves and hobbits but all the men and elves in their party were kind of wizards so one could argue it might be pretty even overall? Viers decided to think so. Also, their destination was not as far as Mordor and certainly the journey’s conclusion wouldn't take multiple books with the thickness to stop a bullet with.

There were many obstacles before reaching the Cradle of Serenity, mainly terrain and monsters. The greatest obstacle was the trolls. They had adapted to the change of environment. They were not the most intelligent in the first place and the sickness made them more frenzied. The party encountered them when they were eating something. Turned out it was another troll. The cannibalization was gruesome, to say the least.

The trolls were as big as the ones in the first Hobbit film. Personally, Viers thought the trolls were more similar to El Gigante from RE4. The trolls numbered around twenty and they got a Rank 4 among them, but Viers and company got two. The Level 4 elves fought it since Alfred was injured.

Meanwhile, Viers witnessed that Boram’s physical prowess was not inferior to the trolls, surprising everyone. When he stopped a troll’s punch, whose fist was as tall as him, Viers could have sworn the troll made a stupefied face.

Jessica used her fists and feet to fight, a melee combatant just like Boram. She didn't have Boram’s toughness or power but her agility made the trolls unable to touch her. She aimed for the vulnerable spots like the neck to great success.

Croix, surprisingly, could hold his own. He didn't show his dragon yet, keeping him in reserve and fought with blade in hand against the trolls. He was just a Level 1 but his offensive was passable thanks to the sword that Duke Lucan gave him. There was no fear of injury from other combatants either; he’d got a super magical ring that protected him. When Viers met Croix he used the same ring against his attackers. Croix wasn't filthy rich to the point of Marvin but he was royalty and the ring he got from his mother before fleeing the Crimson Capital.

The elves were also pretty good. Their athleticism was inborn greater than humans. Their marksmanship was a given, each shot was accurate, aimed at the trolls’ eyes or ears but the elf who used twin swords was no slouch either. Viers let out a whistle seeing these Legolases.

Meanwhile, Viers was taking it easy, blasting lightning occasionally. Even though it was actually Futon who put in the effort, he was just waving his hand. He was more focused on the Level 4 elf and troll’s fight. He would put their fight data to good use.

The trolls were resilient because of their regeneration. It took time but they were eventually defeated. They encountered three other Foulfly’s spawn later that day. Jessica and Boram got wounded, but because they were human and with quick treatment, it was nothing serious. If they were elves, it would be a very different story.

Still, Viers was getting antsy. Their main opponent this time was a sickness. It was invisible and unpunchable. He didn't know if it was a virus, bacteria, or magic mambo-jumbo. Was the air he breathed in even safe? Was his healing factor effective against it? He got Unreality Field but who would be comfortable staying in a diseased area?

The sooner the big bug died the better.

Viers, who only had been in Liapris for a day, felt as such so the elves must have felt much worse.

After conquering various challenges, the elf-human alliance arrived at the source of their woes. At first, Viers thought a place called the Cradle of Serenity would be similar to an immortal’s hermitage, a little slice of heaven on earth.

What Viers found instead was a forest of death. Trees withered, poisonous vines, toxic water, miasma, foul stench, bones of the previous inhabitants, the complete package. Whatever the place was once, was now a distant memory. The faces of the three elves that accompany them looked as if what was done to the forest was done unto themselves, pain and grief.

Speaking of pain and grief, Dia would’ve cried too. Her sensitivity and kinship to plants made it almost a guarantee. To spare her from the unnecessary pain, Viers opted to keep her oblivious. He brought her because he thought she would be an asset in a magical elven forest, he didn't know the elven forest was horribly ill.

The Cradle of Serenity’s true nature had been revealed, it was a Biome. The party had to pass through a portal that the elves opened. It was nature-based and very different from the simple portal that Dia used but Viers was sensitive to the sensation of crossing over to another dimension since he had done it so many times. The biome was smaller than Dia’s and it served one purpose only: a graveyard.

The elves of Liapris who passed away were laid to rest here. A pity that the serenity of this place was disturbed, sickness and rot settled in instead.

And there it was, a bigger, badder insect than the spawns Viers encountered earlier. The lumbering beelzebub knock-off was perching on top of a mountain of various carcasses. Some were monsters that the spawns brought from the outside, some were elves; the insects dug open the graves of this place. The Foulfly was laying eggs on the maggot-infested carcasses. The species was reproducing well.

The monster’s compound eyes saw the arrival of Croix’s party as soon as they entered. It let out a piercing shriek, and its many offspring buzzing about in the area took it as a signal to attack.

Seeing how their families and friends’ resting place and bodies desecrated sent the elves into the peak of fury and threw themselves head-on into the fray, the thought of getting infected was the last thing on their minds. They were ready to die to end the blight on their homeland.

From behind the wall of flies, the Foulfly took to the air fly flapping its six pairs of wings. Spreading purple poisonous mist to its surroundings.

The enemy numbers eclipsed them twenty to one, however, many were low Ranked monsters. Monsters were tougher in general but the difference in power could make the number superiority didn't matter. Even the main target was only a Rank 3 monster. The Level 4 elf made short work on most of them.

Their true enemy was the poison. The longer the fight dragged on, the more they were exposed to the plague. This enemy was far more tricky and difficult.

But the Foulfly must die.

The elves’ reason was a given, Croix came here because of a noble calling, and Viers had no plan of becoming the seedbed for maggots upon his death. Emotions were high, wishes and hopes burned bright in their breast, eyes resolute on the target. The battle on the poison-ridden, miasma-filled graveyard ensued.

***

A shadowy figure witnessed the battle that could wipe out a small town from the shadows. The poison didn't seem to bother the cloaked figure. He breathed in the poisonous gas as if it was clean air.

He had orders to make sure the Foulfly survived. The monster was a failure, a mutant byproduct of his master’s experiments. It could only grow until Rank 3 but it could still be useful. The Foulfly had been killed by the elves in the past but because of the overabundance of poison in the aftermath, the killers were quick to retreat. If the monster had only died for a short time, then the mysterious man could still revive it by transferring its essence into a new fly egg on his person. In the terraformed Cradle of Serenity, the young Foulfly would grow up fast and well, continuing the cycle until his lord accomplished his goal.

The outsiders’ arrival though might disturb things. They were not elves so the custom disease for the elven genes did not quite work. They were also strong, not run-of-the-mill Latias Knights. The female that stayed with the elves, Jessica, was known to the mysterious man but not the others.

The Level 4 human should be the most troublesome but he didn't act. Perhaps there was some reason for him keeping him from acting.

The Level 1 newborn Pathseeker was out of place on this battlefield, but he had a strong shield. The man felt the boy’s background might not be so simple. A nobleman's offshoot, most likely.

Next was the Level 3 lightning user. His lightning was powerful, but he seemed lacking in defensive capability. Should be the type who pursues a specialization in offense.

Then there was the Level 3 kid wielding a hammer and utilizing the earth element.

Boram… Aletro Nine Stars.

The hidden man never thought he would meet him here. Very unexpected. If the rumors were true and if he could dissect him then…

The hidden man shook his head and focused on the battle. His task was to kill the outsiders, ideally. Right now the flow of the battle was quite even, so a slight wind should tip the scales to one side, and he was in a position to blow.

Which one?

The elves would die without his help, soaked in miasma they were, even the Level 4 was no exception.

Jessica? He knew her. She was no threat.

The Level 1 kid had a super sturdy shield and the other Level 4 was protecting him like a mother hen. These two were out.

Boram? The Aletro Nine Stars shouldn't be underestimated. There were rumors of his death but clearly that was false, and his powers had grown to new heights. Besides, his sturdiness was no joking matter. How could he be stung by the Foulfly’s stinger only for the stinger got crooked instead? Unbelievable.

That left the lightning-slinger mage by the process of elimination. He didn't have a great defense and wasn't really mobile. Clearly his role in the party was to be a damage-dealer. A squishy damage-dealer.

The hidden man attacked from behind using the most devious Arte in his arsenal, picking the exact timing when the two Level 4s couldn't interfere.

Arte - Hell’s Spider!