Engulfed in Flames

Ji-woo got off the rock. He stood in front of the seven hunters while putting his hands behind his back.

Several hunters gritted their teeth and wanted to jump straight at Ji-woo. However, it was interrupted by a sudden movement from the direction of the burning area.

Kiieenghhh!

The Centipede cried out loud an overwhelmed sound and created waves of wind that blew across the forest.

"What the f*ck!?"

"That thing is still alive!?"

Ji-woo closed their gap from a distance, ignoring the rampaging Centipede before those hunters could react to the situation. He landed a crushing blow on one of the hunters.

Bang!

The hunter, who got punched by Ji-woo, was flung low and crashed on the ground far away. The other six hunters got confounded by the action. Then, all of them shifted their gazes to Ji-woo.

"B*st*rd! What have you done!!?"

"Magic of Earth, God Hand!" The boss responded by casting his magic immediately. A giant-shaped hand emerged from the land and directed a punch to Ji-woo.

The other hunters also didn't stay still and gripped their weapons, attacking Ji-woo simultaneously.

Ji-woo narrowed his eyes. "Good, making use of the numbers." He praised their choice of battle. But, it was not enough to do anything to him.

Duarg!

The stone-shaped hand got crushed by Ji-woo's right punch. He thus kicked the hand-shaped stone debris to fly towards the other hunters who charged on him with weapons in their hands.

"Argkh!"

"Kuuh!"

The hunters' attacks stopped midway. After a while, all the hunters strike at Ji-woo again, and it becomes a full-fledged brawl. They got driven by anger despite being slightly injured by the debris. They didn't bother using any magic spells for close combat. They had also forgotten the Centipede.

The six hunters fought Ji-woo intensely. But, Ji-woo was only toying with them, dodging every assault with ease.

"Well, Let's settle this quickly. That giant bug will be coming here shortly."

Haaa!

Ji-woo kicked the hunter in front of him in the stomach. He then twisted his body to land another kick on the other hunters on his back. Not finished yet, he disappeared and appeared behind another hunter and landed another blow on the hunter's head.

The remaining hunters did not give up and were not frightened even after seeing their comrades got beaten so easily. They continued to attack with killing intent.

However, the scuffle did not last long as the Centipede crashed down to where the fight was taking place.

Boom!

The other three hunters were likely to get dragged down by the onslaught due to the slow reactions. Meanwhile, Ji-woo quickly jumped back to avoid the collision.

'It's not easy. The size of this insect is quite large. Should I test the skin's durability first?'

Ji-woo hopped his right foot lightly on the ground and hovered for a moment, then disappeared with an explosion on the spot. He moved in full force and decided to strike the Centipede's face.

Kiieenghhh!

Ji-woo gripped his right hand so tightly that the veins were visible on his forearm. Next, he punched the giant insect really hard and caused a shockwave in the air.

Haaa!

Bang!

The Centipede was thrown violently and crashed into the bottom of the mountain.

"Huh!? Dead? I didn't expect that!"

Ji-woo didn't expect the Centipede's head to explode from the blow. He had thought the insect would have an astonishing endurance that could withstand his attacks. But he couldn't relax just yet. There was one arrow shrouded in flames shooting towards him before he was coming down from the air.

Ji-woo caught the arrow smoothly, and the flames dissipated. However, due to the immense power that the thing possessed, he slightly got pushed back the moment he landed. Afterward, he checked the item and was surprised that the material was sturdy, and he couldn't destroy the arrow itself.

The arrows came from the direction the Centipede fell. It was fired at full speed by the creature that overflowed its Mana earlier when Ji-woo observed the Centipede's fight with the hunters.

Ji-woo drew closer to the mountain. And he found that the creature was already standing on the carcass of the Centipede.

The creature was a hybrid. A combination where the upper part was a human and the lower part was a spider. That individual had six spider eyes as well as six spider legs with only two human arms. The top was saturated with reddish-yellow skin, while the bottom got saturated with dark yellow.

It was a color that blended perfectly with the fire element that the creature showcased when it shot the arrow at Ji-woo.

"I apologize for letting you die such a miserable death, Kheilos. But rest assured. I will kill that human to make an offering to you."

The hybrid creature then snapped its fingers, and a small Fire Spirit appeared. She put the Fire Spirit into the Centipede. Ji-woo frowned when he saw that.

An elemental spirit was like a soul that could live once it got created. The ego was also capable of using the attributes of the primary element it got made of it.

The body of the Centipede that got possessed by the Fire Spirit began to shine brightly. After a second, the entire carcass got enveloped with flames. It started to move even though it had no head. Suddenly, the blazes that spread throughout the insect's body gathered at the missing top.

Kiieenghhh!

The Centipede that looked like a nasty giant insect a moment ago was now like a ferocious fire beast that could fly and rampage through the forest. Moreover, the head of the creature had no living parts and only had a fire-shaped head.

"Go, Kheilos!"

The Undead Centipede charged at Ji-woo with a full-throttle while the hybrid creature stood in Kheilos' flames head.

"As Queen Mother, Arakhne. I will take your head. Kneel before my bow! O, human!"

Arakhne's balance was not disturbed even though the undead Centipede moved roughly. She raised the bow and pulled the string with her left hand. Out of nowhere, two fiery arrows appeared. Those arrows then got fired at Ji-woo.

The two arrows had greater power than before. At this moment, the trees the arrows passed were burning. And the ground where the Undead Centipede was moving was scorched.

It caused the surroundings to become dark and full of smoke.

Ji-woo stomped his feet one by one with a heavy sound, making a deep pit in the floor. He spread his arms and stretched them backward with all his might. He subsequently swung his arms forward to produce a loud clapping. And at the same time, he also made quite a powerful wind-wave from it.

Woosh!

The wind waves were able to extinguish the fire that burned the forest. The cloud of smoke that covered the area also subsided.

However, the wind pressure from Ji-woo was unable to stop the two fiery arrows, and it was only enough to change its trajectory from him as the target.

The Undead Centipede then released fire mixed along with poison with its mouth at Ji-woo. Likewise, with Arakhne, she immediately pulled the bowstring again to launch another fiery arrow.

This time, Ji-woo didn't plan to dodge Arakhne and Kheilos' attacks. He chose to go forward and pierce through the stream of toxin flames. Since he had the Nullifier, the Undead Centipede's burst couldn't do anything to him. And he would effortlessly go through the breathing and enter the insect's mouth.

Arakhne was surprised how Ji-woo didn't back down and instead chose to go into a spurt of toxic flames directly.

"What's that human doing!?"

The flustered Arakhne suddenly lost her balance as the Undead Centipede moved erratically. She fell and luckily was able to set up the cobwebs before landing on the ground. She stared at the Undead Centipede, who was moving like it was getting tortured.

Kiieenghhh!

The Undead Centipede cried out in pain as it emitted enormous fire and poison from its mouth. The giant insect's entire body also got enveloped in hellish flames.

The moment of the Undead Centipede's outrage stopped. All the flames on its body were gone, and the flames-head disappeared too. The Centipede's carcass fell to the ground, and Ji-woo emerged from there while holding the Fire Spirit on his left hand, causing the creature to vaporize.

Ji-woo seemed fine after experiencing the poison fire of the Centipede. There were no signs of wounds all over his body. Only the clothes got worn out.

Meanwhile, Arakhne gaped at the sight of the Fire Spirit struggling to break through from Ji-woo's grasp.

The Fire Spirit tried to burn Ji-woo with its most extraordinary fire.

Ji-woo then got engulfed in flames. However, he ignored it and strangled the Fire Spirit until it evaporated, leaving only the smog. It made Arakhne stumbled in the cobwebs upon seeing how dominant Ji-woo was against her summon.

"Why? Surprised I wasn't hurt at all?

"Magic is futile."

Ji-woo smirked and walked towards Arakhne while submerged in flames like the Fire Lord approaching a pitiful soul.