Chapitre 19: Beating the dead horse
"Wake up you, turds!" Evelyn´s shout echoed through the woods.
All of the sleeping hunters shot up from their beddings and turned to the raid leader.
"I don´t intend to stay in this shithole for another day. Put on your equipment and get your asses ready outside."
"Yes, ma´am." muttered the team.
Mark grabbed his backpack and reluctantly got out of the shelter. Lucas was already waiting there with armor on and a sword on his waist.
Slowly the rest of the hunters crawled outside with Arthur coming last.
"Is this necessary? Couldn´t we set off later?" he asked with a tired look.
Evelyn decided to ignore his rambling and rather explain her plan. "There is a hill that way." she pointed into the forest. "It should take about two hours to get there. When we climb the hill we should have a view good enough to spot the approximate location of the boss. We´ll probably encounter several treants so mind your surroundings."
The group then proceeded to follow Evelyn into the forest. Mark was comfortably in the back browsing through his floating grimoire right next to Arthur.
They walked through countless bushes, jumped over many little streams.
"I can´t do it." said Arthur breathing heavily as he walked uphill.
"Should I carry you?" asked Agnes jokingly.
"Yes, please!"
"Alright, I changed my mind."
"Uhhh"
After many unnerving minutes of grunting, they climbed on top. The view of a beautiful landscape untouched by humanity revealed itself to the hunters.
"5-minute break!" commanded the raid leader.
Without a word, Arthur slumped to the ground.
"I am always amazed at how out of shape you are despite being a hunter for three years." commented Agnes.
"It´s not like we go inside a 9-kilometer long dungeon every day, you know." Arthur retorted.
"A little bit of running wouldn´t hurt you, though." said Mark.
"You have no right to criticize me. You´re just a higher rank."
With a smile, Mark answered. "Maybe, but I don´t struggle to climb a hill."
"End of the break!" said Evelyn.
"Don´t bullshit me! That wasn´t five minutes." complained Arthur in between breaths.
The raid leader managed to make him shut up with just one look. "In the distance, there is a piece of dead land. The boss is probably an undead."
'It´s quite far. Probably another 5 or 6 kilometers.' thought Mark.
"Let´s go." she commanded.
Another two hour-long walk through the forest then followed. Their presence in the forest alerted its protectors once again. The treants attacked the passing group at every opportunity, even after countless deaths at their side.
They were tireless. However, Evelyn and Lucas always managed to cut them down with the support they received.
"We´re here." announced the raid leader as she came out of the forest.
There was a small stream separating the beautiful woods and this dead plain where all the trees lay rotting on the ground.
As the group stepped onto the dead clearing they immediately heard a horse neigh from a distance.
The two tanks walked over to the front with their shields prepared for the impact. Lucas, the fighter, and the porter all hid behind them.
"Arthur I need an immediate appraisal when it comes."
"Yes, ma´am."
On the horizon, a monstrous horse appeared. It had no skin covering its bulging muscles. On its back was a torso of a man with incredibly long arms armed with sharp claws. The creature looked like some eerily disfigured centaur.
"Nuckelavee! Its breath is venomous. Don´t breathe it in." shouted Arthur and moved to the back of the formation. His job was done for now.
The boss monster ran at the group with yellow saliva dripping from its mouth. When it came near enough it stood on its hind legs and kick the two tanks.
They staggered back due to its insane power.
Lucas coated his sword with golden mana and swung it towards the monster´s head.
Unfortunately, his sword was stopped in the air by its fleshy hand.
Evelyn swung her halberd at the monster, but it took a step back and started circling around the group.
The hunters changed their formation to keep the support types safe.
It didn´t have a lot of time alone, though. Several vines sprouted from the ground and circled around its feet.
However, this wasn´t enough to stop its stride. The Nuckelavee pulled the vines from the ground and kept on running.
"Owen we need a higher caliber for this one!" shouted Evelyn trying to keep her eyes on the creature.
Owen aimed his staff on the ground. This time about a cup of water appeared on his staff and fell to the ground.
In front of the Nuckelavee, the ground burst to reveal a small treant. The animated tree grasped the monster with all his strength.
Now that the monster was immobilized for the moment Agnes fired off a ray of light at its eyes blinding it.
It became completely enraged blindly swiping at its surroundings and the treant.
Out of nowhere, the wind rose. Small particles of sand began appearing in the air, and in a few seconds blocked their whole field of vision. The group of hunters was protected by a translucent barrier surrounding them.
'Page 8, Sandstorm, targeting: AoE'
A storm formed with the hunters in its center. The countless grains of sand started hitting the boss monster drawing blood due to the speed at which they were traveling.
The dead plain was filled with the creature´s shrieking.
As the wind calmed down a gruesome sight was revealed. The nuckelavee was lying on the ground with large chunks of its flesh scraped off.
"Did you really have to do this?" asked Arthur with a face of disgust.
"In retrospect, there was a better way." responded Mark.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone