277 Clash of the Strongest - III
"How many S Rank Hunters are on the border?" the official asked in a meeting with various high-ranking members of different guilds.
"We have sent a total of 27 S Rank Hunters from our side," one Guild Representative replied,
"We have sent 32 S Rank Hunters," another added.
One by one, other guilds also reported the number of S Rank Hunters they had sent to handle the Monster Tide.
"We have confirmed the security of the three continents," the official concluded the meeting.
At the border of Fashia,
"They keep coming!" one man exclaimed, his spear piercing a monster,
"We are still better off than them," another responded.
Currently, they were only dealing with monsters that weren't too powerful to defeat.
Right now, the World Association, united with the Guild under Joseph Kimir Cranston and the Abyss Guild, were confronting the monsters that posed the real challenge.
Hunters clad in black clothing bearing the Abyss Guild insignia were seen delving deeper into the lands, becoming the first line of defense.
Unlike other guilds, the larger guilds trained their hunters to handle the lost lands occasionally. Among them, the training process of the Abyss Guild necessitated every high-ranking hunter to enter the Lost Land and fight there.
This resulted in the Abyss Guild killing the most monsters, making a significant impact in saving Fashia.
However, their problems were not diminishing.
Joseph and Nathan were still battling, and the clash of their mana with the SSS Rank Monster made even the SS Rank monsters move towards the border of Fashia.
"If only Sir Hassan were here," one of the SS Rank hunters of the Abyss Guild lamented as he killed an S Rank monster.
"Don't slack off, the Guildmaster will not let us off if we let even a single monster past this place," another SS Rank Hunter shouted, ensuring that every single hunter in the Abyss Guild could hear him.
"Earth Wall," mages shouted as they conjured a barrier to block the monsters from getting past them.
As the hunters were fighting, another wave of A Rank Monsters emerged, but one person, Cade Cranston, charged forward.
His sword shone as he cut through the wave of monsters.
The hunters of the Cranston family followed him, dealing with the monsters in his wake.
"Don't lose to others," the Cranston family hunters roared.
Blood soaked the ground as monsters kept dying, and amid the explosions of mana, various S and SS Rank hunters continued to fight.
The environment around them was constantly being destroyed, but the mages were managing that so others could fight freely.
Cade looked at the other monsters as his sword effortlessly penetrated the hard skin of the A Rank Monsters.
As the heir of the Cranston Family, he had placed himself at the frontline, while the Cranston family head was managing the situation inside Fashia.
His presence greatly boosted the morale of the other hunters.
"Hold on, this will end soon," Cade shouted, but little did he know, the two SSS Rank Hunters were still battling the awakened calamity.
Nathan appeared behind the monster, but just as he was about to attack, the monster lifted its body into the air and unleashed a violent blast of energy.
"This bastard moves too much," Nathan complained, instantly shifting his body to a different location.
"Serim Slash," Joseph attacked the monster, but it raised its claw as Joseph's sword clashed with it.
Joseph tried to push in, but the monster pushed him backwards. Nathan, however, seized the opportunity and dashed forward, descending his greatsword onto the monster's head.
The monster tilted its head, pushing Joseph to the spatial boundary and attempted to eat Nathan, but it felt a dangerous aura from Nathan's greatsword.
Instead of biting Nathan to death, the monster used its horn to try to kill Nathan. Instead of pushing Nathan back, though, the monster felt its horn clash with the greatsword.
It tried to push Nathan back, but it was futile.
Veins bulged around Nathan's neck as he withstood the strength of an SSS Rank Monster.
His greatsword began glowing with the mana he was manipulating, and surprisingly, in this potentially fatal situation, Nathan was smiling.
*Crack*
The next moment, a crack appeared in the monster's horn and it cried out loudly.
"ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR," the monster roared.
This made the whole spatial boundary shake, and while it shrank in size, its horn also diminished but started to glow more brightly.
"Spatial Shift," Nathan muttered as he suddenly disappeared from his place and reappeared a few steps forward, his body shifting downwards.
Nathan rotated his body as his greatsword slashed the back of the monster's head, behind its horns.
Even though the strike was far from the skin, the monster felt a massive cut on the back of its head.
Nathan felt danger and immediately stepped forward, evading the massive stream of mana around the monster, which cried out in pain.
The monster was beyond enraged by Nathan's attack. The behemoth turned towards Nathan, completely ignoring Joseph's presence.
Nathan's gaze looked down at the monster, waiting for it to make a move. He didn't have to wait long, as Joseph saw multiple spikes erupt towards them from the spatial boundary.
"Dammit," Joseph muttered as a spike narrowly missed him.
Strangely enough, these spikes were made of extremely violent mana which would make wounds inflicted by them almost irreparable for a long time.
They wouldn't be able to treat a wound from one of these spikes with a healing potion.
Right now, Nathan and Joseph had a slight advantage over the SSS Rank Monster, primarily because of Nathan's sword art.
But the moment they got hurt, the tide of the battle would shift.
Presently, both Nathan and Silvus were somehow keeping up with the SSS Rank Monsters.
Far from Desmar's border,
Silvus summoned multiple chains while Dalton attacked the monster alongside the Vice Chairman of the World Association.
"Bloom of Ciarzelm," Silvus chanted, causing a massive plant to appear. Its vines started wrapping around four stone pillars.
Silvus created a barrier that trapped the monster while using another high-tier Earth Element restriction spell.
The vines started wrapping around the monster, which tried to break free. However, the coordinated attack from the others made it difficult.
When Silvus had someone that could keep the foe busy, no one could stop him as his mastery over magic was the best in the world.
The SSS Rank Monster was currently suffering from the talent of the Archmage. However, everyone was cautious.
Silvus's use of different elemental magic caused the weather to change, clouds forming and the smoke from his fire element subsiding as rain started to pour.
From unknown abilities to any unforeseen variable, a single moment was enough for them to lose the upper hand in battle.
But the situation in Belvoria was completely different.
"Stay away when he attacks, Osbert," Farnus instructed Osbert Tarvian, an SSS Rank Hunter who had accompanied him.
The SSS Rank Calamity they were facing wasn't a behemoth but a smaller monster about three times the size of an adult human.
Covered in shiny red scales with brown fur around its neck and head, the monster had three eyes and stood on two legs. A faint orange aura could be seen traveling through the cracks of the red scales.
Farnus disappeared, leaving a trail of bluish aura as he revolved his spear. The air swirled violently around him, as lightning erupted from the ground.
From a distance, Osbert observed as Farnus Calmort, the Spear God, charged towards the calamity.
Farnus, donned in Stormscale Armor, held his spear that glowed with the traverse of lightning across his body.
Unlike typical lightning, Farnus's element destructively impacted everything it landed on, leaving numerous craters across the battlefield – each a testament to Farnus's strength.
However, the problem arose; the monster was not a standard one. It was notably shorter than any other SSS Rank monsters they had encountered, and its speed could rival Farnus. Farnus's lightning element provided him with an edge over the monster, but this insight didn't permit Osbert to recklessly attack the monster.
"Lightning Descend," Farnus commanded, bringing his spear to the ground. Lightning began to converge near the monster's legs, erupting and assaulting the creature.
Osbert's sword started to glow red as flames materialized around his arm. Fire being his primary element, he dashed towards the monster, which took a step back after enduring Farnus's attack.
Osbert's flaming sword cut through the air, attempting to penetrate the monster's back. Reinforcing his grip on the sword, Osbert strained to push it further into the creature.
In the next instant, Farnus materialized, and his spear pierced the monster's gut.
The impact from Farnus's strike alone was enough to shake Osbert's entire arm, even though he only felt the impact through the monster's body.
The monster's white eyes cast downward as it twisted its abdomen.
But rather than writhing in pain, the monster's body started to heat up.
Osbert noticed the scales began to melt, the wound started healing, and from the molten red scales, a massive claw and a skeletal armor formed on the SSS Rank monster.
"What the hell is this monster?" Osbert muttered, a frown creasing his face.
"It can heal, but there seems to be a limit," Farnus observed, noting the diminished fur around the region he'd attacked with his spear.
Farnus's hair fluttered in the wind as he raised his mana. His spear began to glow blue, and golden runes materialized along its length.
Osbert could feel the disparity in their strength, but he understood why Farnus was growing serious.
This SSS Rank Monster was at least a Mid SSS Rank Monster.
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