CHAPTER 170: FINDING FELIX.

A series of long-range attacks crashed onto the Grablurs just when they landed on the ground.

"Over here, take those down!"

Fire, water, and arrows flew around the tunnel between the gaps of the frontline fighters, hitting and wounding the monsters before they posed a threat with their acidic shots.

The scene was a mix of destruction and order, as the patrolling group under the lead of Roven and the Rank 3 swordsman Keliot, fought slowly and carefully.

Steve was busy hacking down the Rank 1 Grablurs, jumping here and there, and slaying the monsters one by one without being stupid enough to face the Rank 2 Grablurs.

As he felt dejected at the thought of his inability to approach the higher-ranked monsters, the figure of his teammate crossed his mind.

"Huh?"

Steve paused and glanced around as he dodged an attack, searching for the crazy battle maniac of his teammate.

"What the... Where the hell is Felix?"

The reply came from the rear of the group, with a volley of fireballs blazing their way through.

"That idiot disappeared some minutes ago, told me he’s heading deeper.", Eric shouted.

"Wait-! Felix went ahead on his own?!", Roven asked in disbelief as he pushed away a Rank 2 Grablur.

"Why didn’t you inform us of that earlier?"

Eric took some deep breaths between his fire spells and complained loudly.

"Well, excuse me for trying to survive. But Felix also told me to look out for myself, and that’s what I’ve been doing! He ran off and left me wide open to the monsters’ attacks! So I’m sorry, but I couldn’t afford to divert my focus and report my situation!!"

Everyone stole a quick glance at the guy who’d been quiet for so long, only to watch him flare up in an instant. Like someone had just flipped a switch and unleashed all that pent-up aggression.

Steve shot Roven a worried look, silently hinting at him to chase after the boy. And Roven, though knowing Felix was far stronger than either of them, still decided to go after him.

"Sir Keliot, can we proceed a little faster? My teammate has gone way deeper into the horde, we’ll have to go find him."

While giving a few members some instructions and keeping an eye on a nearby Rank 2 Grablur, Keliot turned to Roven with a frown.

"Are you serious? Why did he abandon the group when Hiddon had already given absolute orders on it?"

"I... I’m not sure. He’s an earth attribute mage, he must’ve sensed something...", Roven answered with hesitation.

"I can’t believe in just something, Buddy. I’m sorry, but we can’t change our pace and put the entire group in danger for one person."

Hearing his words, Steve and Roven clenched their jaws. They knew the man wasn’t trying to be difficult, but that didn’t mean they could agree with him.

"Roven, I’m not just standing here while Felix is out there alone. Whether you’re coming or not, I’m going in.", Steve patted Roven’s shoulder and stepped forward as he gazed into the deep tunnel filled with Grablurs everywhere.

Roven looked at the boy’s serious face and shook his head.

"Sigh... Wait a second, Steve. I’m coming too, let me just give Eric some instructions before we leave."

As Roven turned around to shout towards the rear where Eric was busy hauling fireballs, he heard a surprised yelp from beside him.

"Hmm? What’s happening there?!", Steve exclaimed as he stared intently past the Grablurs at the end of the tunnel.

Roven and the others were alerted as they turned to look where Steve was pointing.

At the end of the tunnel, where the Grablurs had occupied every inch of space, a sudden disturbance broke out before them.

The Grablurs clinging to the ceilings at the far end started falling off one by one as several projectile-like attacks knocked them down.

Later, the fallen Grablurs fell even deeper into the ground as if the Earth had swallowed them whole, thus rapidly thinning their numbers.

"Is.... Is that a Rank 3 Grablur coming here? But it can’t be that strong, right? Right?!", a random guy from the group stammered.

"That’s no Grablur.", Keliot turned completely serious as he peered into the unknown thing coming towards them. "It’s something far worse."

"No... Felix.... He may still be there!", Steve shouted suddenly and dashed forward without a care.

"Steve! Don’t run there recklessly! Wait!"

Roven yelled at the top of his voice and chased after Steve quickly.

"Oh shit! What the hell are those kids doing?!", Keliot became angry as he cried out speechlessly.

"Sir Keliot, I think we should go after them.", Eric came from behind and suggested subtly with an expressionless face.

"After all, Sir Hiddon did say to stick together at all costs. So we can’t really afford to ignore his commands now, can we?"

Keliot turned silent, regretting his decision to join the patrolling mission now. But he couldn’t keep quiet as others were still waiting for his orders.

"Guys, we’re going all out.", Keliot muttered in resignation.

At his order, everyone stopped being overly cautious and started going crazy, smashing and killing all the nearby Grablurs without any set of tactics.

It was pure chaos and mayhem as they turned into barbarians and started showing all their hidden cards and strong techniques.

That day, the poor Grablurs faced the most violent deaths and were killed mercilessly like they were training dummies for the humans to showcase their moves.

Steve and Roven moved together amidst the horde, protecting each other’s backs as they ploughed down the monsters on their way.

They didn’t waste time trying to kill every single creature in the horde, and they didn’t bother chasing the ones that were too far away.

Instead, they kept weaving through the chaos, slipping through any gap they could find, forcing their way toward Felix.

"This can’t go on, Steve! You need to step back! I can find Felix on my own!" Roven called out, glancing at his teammate.

Steve was bleeding, his movements slower, and every swing of his sword looked heavier than the last.

"It’s... nothing... I’m fine..." Steve panted, his breath loud and uneven. "Just... huff... getting hungry..."

His sword arm shook, but somehow, he still pressed forward, pushing his way through the swarm as if sheer stubbornness was the only thing keeping him moving.

"Stop it, Steve!" Roven shouted, stepping in to knock away a Grablu that lunged at Steve’s blind side.

His voice was filled with both anger and worry. "There’s no reason for you to risk your life like this! Felix doesn’t need us to protect him, he’s way stronger tha-"

"I can see him..." Steve interrupted, his voice low but certain.

"What?!" Roven’s eyes widened. "Wait-! Are you even alright?!", his heart sank at the thought that Steve might be seeing things from exhaustion.

"Look..." Steve pointed down the tunnel, his eyes fixed ahead.

"That guy... he’s right there!"

Roven turned his head, confused, but then he saw it.

At the far end of the tunnel, Felix danced in the middle of the swarm.

His silver hair flashed in the dim light as he moved, cutting down Grablurs one after another with sharp, fluid strikes.

From the sides, a few other humans fought with him, covering his flanks as the monsters fell around them.

"What the... What’s happening even here?", Roven swallowed and then turned around to Steve who was going to fall any time now.

"Come on! Felix is alright, he’s going to get here with all those people’s help... Right now we’ll have to retreat to the group! It isn’t safe here for you!"

Roven effortlessly pulled Steve and hurriedly carried him on his shoulder, who had become too tired to even stand after killing more than a few dozen Grablurs while only being at the Rank 1 by himself.

Retreating one step at a time, Roven found it hard to defend themselves from the Grablurs while he was holding onto his teammate, even when he took a few attacks to his body which were meant for Steve.

Suddenly, four Grablurs bounced off the ground and launched themselves toward the two of them.

"Shit!", Roven cursed at their bad luck.

Normally, this wouldn’t have been a challenge for Roven. Even Steve could handle them on his own if he acted more carefully.

But now? Roven could only hope the Grablurs collided with each other instead, as he readied himself to defend them both and even hurl Steve away to keep him out of harm’s way.

"Come on here, you suckers! Let me show you why we’re called the Twilight Chaos!", with that final shout, Roven swallowed a hard gulp.