D-Rank Dungeon Raid (VII)

"Soaring tempest!"

A gush of cold wind permeated through the entrance and saturated the entire cave. With the wind concentrated at the top of his staff, Fabien cast Derek a solemn look and said, "No one is meddling with our battle." Despite your considerable abilities, you should be aware that you will not be able to defeat me. I'm going to show you what true strength is today."

"Don't you ever get tired of saying those words? You keep on blabbing and yet you still amount to nothing. I'm open to experiencing another level of your ability, I hope you won't disappoint me this time." Fabien replied in a mocking tone.

"It looks like you won't realize your situation until it's too late." Saying those words, Fabien gripped the edge of his staff more tightly and stretched it horizontally. A high-pressured wind was formed and was aimed towards Derek.

Seeing the immense power of the incoming attack, Derek waved his hand lightly and five skeleton soldiers all armed with shields appeared. They quickly arranged themselves into a defensive formation, blocking the attack from hitting him.

HONG…!

A loud explosion resounded, the five skeleton soldiers and their shields were blown away, scattering into different directions. The pressure of the wind vortex was greatly reduced and the remnant breeze gently drafted the area where he stood, causing his hair and clothes to flutter.

"With a grin at the corners of his lips, Derek said, "So that's all you've got? I guess it's my turn. Saying this, he made a few signs with his hand and the skeleton soldiers that had been blown to pieces reformed and stood by his side. This time, they had varieties of weapons and their sockets ignited with blazing red flames making them more fierce and intimidating.

Derek charged with an amazing speed and the skeleton soldiers followed closely behind. There was an invincible chain connecting him and his summons together making them mimic his movements. Within a short period, he narrowed the distance and leaped in the air, aiming the pair of daggers at Fabien.

His summons acted professionally like we'll trained soldiers. They immediately changed their directions besieging Fabien roundabout as they aimed their weapons at him.

Seeing the intense cooperation of these creatures, Fabien was forced to revert to a more serious look. The strategy utilized by Derek and his summons was a very tricky one. If he decided to block Derek's attack, he would be hit by the rest summons, and if he decided to block the summons, he would be hit by Derek. In all, no matter what decision he made, he was bound to suffer a loss.

Fabien immediately made a decision and instantly cast a wind shield around his body. With yet another explosion, the skeleton soldiers and their weapons were blown away by the force of the shield when they came in contact with it. As Derek's dagger touched the wind shield, it made a slight penetration and pierced Fabien lightly by his side.

Fabien remained unmoved except for his expression which became more disgruntled as a trail of blood trickled from the injury and was immediately blown away by the wind. The dagger didn't sink deeply into his skin so the injury wasn't too heavy.

Although he was able to stop the advances of the skeleton soldiers, he wasn't able to completely block off Derek's strike because wind shield he cast was a wide area ability, so that strength was greatly reduced. Derek was well aware and that was why he used the strategy. They had fought severely in the past so they understood each other quite well.

Fabien waved his staff severally, forming a series of wind blade that was aimed towards Derek. Derek twisted and turned, avoiding the attacks while also using his skeleton soldiers as a shield.

The impact of their battle caused the entire cave to tremble. The rest members of the Front Liners and Desert serpent guild had solemn looks on their faces. Witnessing this battle, they realized that there was a very huge gap in strength between D-rankers and themselves. If they were to be caught in any of these attacks, there was no chance of survival.

What was dungeon stone compared to one's life? Since the matter had already reached this point, they could only pray that those two would get exhausted and end the battle pretty soon.

*

Two hours passed in a whiff and both D-rankers were still engaged in a brutal fight and were fully drenched in blood. They were entangled on the ground with their momentum greatly waned.

The power of their attacks was greatly reduced. Derek was unable to summon his skeleton soldiers because he had exhausted his mana, while the wind spell cast by Damien was akin to a gentle breeze. But even in their current state, they didn't look like they weren't ready to give up anytime soon.

Each time they launched an attack, they staggered and fell to the ground making it look like a child's play. The rest Ghost Scorpion guild members could only watch this scene from afar with no intention of interfering. They knew Fabien well enough. There was nothing he wanted more than to prove that he was stronger and more superior to Derek, and that was only possible if he defeated him with his own hands.

Just as they witnessed the disgraceful scene of two D-rankers who were supposed to be pillars and role models to upcoming awakeners, there was a sudden outburst of vibration. The entire cave shook endlessly like it was going to collapse at any moment.

At that moment, a hostile yet familiar pressure permeated the entire atmosphere, making it difficult for them to breathe.

The eyes of everyone in the cave widened in an instant. They quickly shifted their gazes to the depths of the cave as they seemed to have realized something.

"M-monsters…!"

One of the Ghost scorpion guild members managed to mutter before dashing for the entrance.

From the intensity of the pressure that was emitted, it was obvious that there were several of them approaching.

After witnessing the strength of the two monsters they fought earlier and how it took the whole raid team a tremendous amount of cooperative effort to defeat them, they knew how serious their situation was.

The rest members of the group also dashed towards the entrance. Due to the nature of the underground cave, it was quite difficult for them to get out, but because of the danger approaching, none of them were willing to waste a single bit of time. They utilized their movement techniques and shot out of the cave one after the other like bolts of lightning.