As the party moved through the grasslands, everyone was visibly nervous, even Marco and Carlo who was the strongest 2 out of their group. The people in the group were visibly shaking from time to time as some monsters would occasionally appear and stare at them. Of course, no monster dared come close, but there were some in packs that would stare at them from a distance, just looking at them and waiting, perhaps trying to see if something was going to happen and if they could perhaps get a meal.
The grasslands were completely different compared to the other areas they were in, not only was it bigger, but there were powerful monsters that resided here, some that could even rival a normal Tier I fighter. If they were unlucky enough to encounter such a monster then Carlo would need to put all of his focus on fighting against it while the others helped him out and protected the group.
Reign however was silently observing their surroundings, something was off.
'The mana around us, why does it feel different?' Reign asked himself as he did his best to sense the mana around them, thanks to his powerful mana organ and mana sensitivity he was susceptible to mana and how it behaved. He had been in the grasslands just a couple of hours ago and they passed through pretty much the same place before, the mana back then was normal.
'It's a bit sparse and has a different feel to it, it's not dangerous or anything, but someone has definitely been doing something here.' Reign quickly whispered to Wolf and Shadow about his findings, the two were also a bit alert since they had entered the grasslands, but they didn't know exactly what felt out of place.
"It could be some device that draws monster in, similar to what the Tainted did, or perhaps a skill that can encompass a large area in order to do something since our enemy can control monsters, then perhaps this is one of the ways they do it." Reign said as the two simply nodded before continuing to observe around them.
'There's a Tier I fighter with the group, about 40 level 30 and above players, while the others were all between levels 10 and 30, if the enemy wants to do some damage then the only thing they could do is to send a couple of powerful bosses our way, even though we did our best in order to not be seen, they are probably on the lookout for us as well, there's a high possibility that they might try and draw in a field boss to us as well.' Reign calmly thought as he analyzed the situation.
He was in the dark about what the enemy knew about them and if they had any idea that he and the others were here, but he was ready for the worst to happen, even if they somehow sent an area boss to them, Shadow and Wolf could deal with it by themselves, he just needed the enemy to use a skill or ability and he could sense them and attack.
One thing he was certain of was that the enemy didn't know his high sensitivity to mana, not only was that a piece of information that only his teammates knew, but whatever they did in this area was visible to him, something that the enemy might not have done if they knew about his high mana sensitivity.
As the group continued onwards, more and more monsters could be seen around them, the difference this time was the fact that all the monsters were looking at them with great anger in their eyes. Some lions were bearing their fangs at them, a couple of blood elks already had their bloody vines out, and more.
There were even some eagles and vultures flying above them, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. All of this was still nothing too dangerous as Carlo himself could take care of all the monsters, it would however take a lot of time and he wouldn't be sure if he could block the approach of all the monsters and keep everyone safe.
Even him releasing more mana didn't work as the monsters seemingly ignored the fact that they would definitely die if fighting against him.
Suddenly
The earth started shaking as a huge figure could be seen approaching them from the left side. From the right side, however, there was another large monster walking toward them. The monster was about 4 meters tall and looked similar to a bear with its large physique, but it was actually a large brown lion. The monster was known to Reign and the others as it was one of the field bosses they had fought against and killed before the evolution challenge, but as it turns out, there were more of them in the grasslands.
"About a hundred high-level monsters, a behemoth from the left and a Grizzly Lion from the right, damn, they really want everyone here to die," Reign smirked as he closed his eyes, there was still some time left before the monsters all arrived and he was going to use that time to try and sense the enemy.
The mana disruption in the air was definitely what made the monsters behave weirdly, but there was no way it was the reason why a behemoth-class monster and a field boss were coming over to them. As Reign stood still and tried to sense mana, the people in the group were beyond panicking.
Screams, angry shouts, and panicked voices could be heard as the people believed they were going to die. Some simply looked at the many monsters in a daze while others resorted to cursing Carlo for bringing them here to die.
The stronger people who were guarding them tried to placate them and promised everything would be alright, but for some, that simply didn't work. It was only after Carlo released all of his mana that they calmed down as the immense pressure made it hard for them to even speak.
"Don't worry, I didn't bring you here without any plans," Carlo said before glancing at Reign and the others, since they were still not moving it meant that they still hadn't found out where the enemy was, he was going to stay here until they decided to show themselves or if the monsters got too close.
As seconds tickled the two powerful monsters got closer and closer. Upon seeing the massive behemoth and the giant lion the people stayed quiet, the incredible power the two monsters had made them believe that nothing could stand against them.
Suddenly, as the two monsters came about 400 meters to the group, Reign opened his eyes and a ferocious smile appeared on his face.
"Got you!" Reign suddenly took off his coat as Wolf and Shadow followed suit and did the same. Their mana was released as the crowd simply stared at the three whose mana pressure was the same as Carlo's.
"Carlo, you take on the behemoth, Wolf will deal with the lion while Shadow and the rest should focus on killing the weaker monsters and keeping people safe!" Reign shouted before lightning erupted around him and he disappeared into the distance.
There was no need for more words as Carlo ran towards the behemoth while Marco turned around to face his group.
"We will do as he said, guards, make teams of 4, and defend against the monsters, me and Shadow will attack them!" Marco nodded at Shadow who nodded back before he started walking toward the monsters. Multiple shadows suddenly appeared on the battlefield as the monsters got caught or pierced by them.
"I haven't had an opportunity to let loose ever since going through the evolution, I hope those guys won't disappoint me," Shadow said before disappearing from the spot and attacking the monster that was closest to him. Even though some of the monsters were elites and variants, compared to Shadow who was now a Tier I fighter, they were nothing.
Wolf on the other hand sent a flame slash toward the level 50 Grizzly Lion when he was some 15 meters away from him. The giant flame slash was even bigger than the lion who roared angrily as he could feel the powerful mana and intense heat coming from both the man and the attack.
Even though it would be hard for Wolf to fight and kill a level 50 area boss, a field boss was a different story, he simply needed to be a bit careful and use up a large amount of mana in order to deal with such a monster right now. Wolf's greatsword was completely covered in fire as the young man stared at the monster with a calm gaze.
Carlo on the other hand had started fighting the behemoth. Even though the giant monster posed no threat to him, killing it was incredibly difficult. Behemoth-class monsters had great defense and vitality and even bosses would decide against fighting them because it was too much of a hassle.
Carlo's goal however wasn't to kill the monster but to make it stop and focus on him. Large boulders suddenly rose from the ground as Carlo hurled them toward the behemoth. His ability was Earth manipulation, early in the game it was simply a rank C ability, but with great effort, Carlo managed to make it rank up to rank B. Even though he had great knowledge about it and had already hit the maximum level for it, it would take some time before he could get it to rank A.
"Let's see what you got," Carlo said with a smile on his face as he faced the giant monster that was now completely focused on him.
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