ch42- Battle for the Hill

As the crowd grew to over a thousand people, Alex and his team decided it was time to move. Leading the massive group, they charged forward into the thick of battle. Thanks to the example Alex's group had set over the past week, many had gained valuable experience fighting the monsters around the school, leveling up in the process.

With everyone's combined firepower exceeding that of the monsters by tenfold, and thanks to Alex's warnings, there were no major casualties during the skirmish. Within about ten minutes, they had cleared the base of the hill of all the creatures.

As they stood before the giant stone gate, Alex and his team suddenly received a notification:

**[D-level Mission: Conquer Grizzly Mountain]** 

**Description:** Grizzly Mountain is home to numerous Grizzly Fruit Trees. At sunrise, these trees yield large quantities of delicious, nutrient-rich Grizzly Fruit, making this area a valuable N-level resource point. 

**Conditions for Victory:** Defeat the Guardian Boss, the "Twin-Winged Grizzly," and complete the resource point takeover. 

**Side Missions:** 

1. Defeat 10 Red-Head Grizzly Monsters (0/10) 

2. Defeat the Golden Red-Head Grizzly (0/1) 

3. Defeat the Boss: Twin-Winged Grizzly 

From the task description, Alex's team realized that the brown hill was actually called Grizzly Mountain, and the valuable resource here was the Grizzly Fruit. The guardians of the hill were bear-like monsters. 

Fearing that the creatures would fully take over the resource point if they delayed, Alex's group didn't waste any more time. After accepting the mission, they marched through the massive stone gate.

A white, translucent barrier had blocked their view of the mountain from the outside, and as they stepped through the gate, the scene inside came into focus—a chaotic battleground.

The hill itself wasn't particularly tall, with a winding path leading from the base to the summit. Lush fruit trees lined both sides of the path, though many of them had been trampled or damaged in the ongoing skirmish.

All around, hulking grizzly bears, some standing over three meters tall, were being swarmed by the scythe-armed monsters. The once peaceful grove had turned into a warzone.

The fruit trees on the mountain were arranged in five distinct levels, with the first level almost entirely overrun by the scythe monsters. Only a few of the massive bears were left, fighting desperately against the invaders.

Despite their numbers, the bears were no pushovers. Even when surrounded by five or six blue scythe monsters, the grizzlies managed to crush some of their attackers with massive swipes of their paws.

The higher they looked up the mountain, the more bears they saw. In the third tier, a massive golden bear, even larger than the rest, stood out. All the bears had striking red fur on their heads, making them easy to spot even from a distance.

These golden bears were even more fearsome. Despite being besieged by multiple purple scythe monsters, they fought back with terrifying power. The scythe monsters had entered the mountain earlier but hadn't been able to make much headway against the stronger bears. The fight was still raging across the second and third tiers of the hill.

Alex's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a golden bear effortlessly crushing a blue scythe monster with two swipes. Even the purple monsters couldn't withstand more than four hits from the beast. He estimated that the golden bear's attack strength was likely over 50 points.

Assessing the situation, Alex turned to Olivia and the others. "Let's clear out the first tier first! Those grizzlies hit hard. Tell the weaker ones to stay at the entrance and hold off any reinforcements. Don't let more monsters in."

Olivia nodded in agreement, and the stronger members of the team followed Alex as they charged into the chaotic fray, while the others relayed the orders to those staying behind.

There weren't many scythe monsters or red-headed grizzlies left on the first tier, so they quickly cleared the area. Before moving on to the second tier, Alex and his team regrouped to share what they had learned.

"The grizzlies hit for about 30 to 40 points, and their health is around 200 to 300," Alex explained.

"Anyone with less than 200 health should stay behind. Those golden bears are probably even more dangerous—they might be able to one-shot us," Charlie added.

"Don't worry," Olivia chimed in. "There aren't too many golden bears on the second tier. Most of the enemies are still the scythe monsters. Let's clear them out quickly, and when we reach the third tier, the weaker ones can hang back."

With the plan in place, the team—except for those guarding the gate—advanced to the second tier, where the battle was far more intense. The hillside was covered with scythe monsters and red-headed grizzlies locked in fierce combat.

The human forces joining the fray made the fight even more chaotic. Despite their organization, the scene quickly descended into a free-for-all.

Seeing the need to speed things up, Alex broke away from the main group, using his D-level agility to move freely across the battlefield. Neither the scythe monsters nor the grizzlies could keep up with him.

With his attack strength reaching into the thousands, Alex became an unstoppable force. Both scythe monsters and grizzlies alike fell with a single strike. Even the towering golden bears—standing almost two stories high—were no match for him. A single swing of his blade sent their blood spraying into the air before they crashed to the ground, lifeless.

As Alex continued his killing spree, the tide of battle turned rapidly in their favor. The discovery that the golden bears provided 20% experience points with each kill only fueled Alex's enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, despite their strength, the bears didn't drop any valuable loot, only experience. Still, within ten minutes, dozens of giant bears and purple scythe monsters had been slain, with Alex responsible for most of the carnage. Without the stronger monsters, the rest of the team quickly mopped up the remaining blue scythe monsters.

By the time they finished clearing the second tier, many of the group were exhausted, and several had been injured or killed during the battle. After all, the monsters on the second tier numbered in the hundreds, and their strength was close to that of regular N-grade awakened players. Once a monster focused its attacks on someone, it could easily wipe them out.

Alex had Charlie and the others test their strength against both the grizzlies and the golden bears. While the regular grizzlies were tougher than the scythe monsters, Charlie and his group could still bring them down with coordinated attacks.

However, the golden bears were far more formidable, with attack power reaching 50 points and their thick hides giving them over a thousand health points. None of them could take down a golden bear with a single hit, and it required at least five or six people working together to bring one down quickly.

Still, the fact that they could handle such powerful monsters was impressive in itself.

Aside from Charlie's group, no more than five other teams in their base were capable of taking down golden bears with any efficiency.