ch41- Unstoppable Force

As expected, the second wild zone they encountered had only about 30 monsters remaining. With the experience from their previous battle, the group approached cautiously this time. After seven days of fighting together, Charlie and the others had developed a strong sense of teamwork. Despite the monsters regaining their full strength, they were mentally prepared, and the fight went smoothly with far fewer injuries than before.

After clearing out five wild zones in a row, Tom and the others began to adapt to the renewed strength of the monsters. Thanks to their high damage output, they started to feel a bit more relaxed, confident in their abilities once again.

That is, until they arrived at the base of the brown hill and saw the massive horde of monsters waiting there, which made their spirits plummet.

The brown hill was vast, easily spanning the size of seven or eight football fields. However, the entire area was sealed off by a mysterious force field—an almost transparent, faint white barrier that encircled the hill, blocking their path. The only entry point was a towering stone gate, standing as tall as a six-story building and wide enough to accommodate ten lanes of traffic.

At the entrance, a sea of blue scythe monsters crowded together, surging through the stone gate as if rushing to capture something inside. Unfortunately, Alex and his team couldn't see what was happening beyond the gate.

It was clear that the monsters were already attacking this resource point. While the number of monsters wasn't as high as Olivia had predicted—around 2,000—it was still an overwhelming force, with at least 700 to 800 monsters, likely from ten or more wild zones converging here.

While they had been able to defeat over 1,000 monsters each day, they had never faced such a massive wave all at once. This number was far beyond what they could handle.

After some discussion, Alex decided to split the group. The ten strongest fighters would stay behind and attempt to lure small groups of monsters to fight, while the others would head back to the school to gather reinforcements.

Zach and David were chosen to lead a group back to the school to fetch help, while Olivia and the others stayed behind with Alex.

But when they tried to lure the monsters, none of the usual tactics worked. The creatures were entirely focused on pushing through the stone gate and ignored every attempt to distract them. Whether it was throwing rocks or loud noises, the monsters remained undeterred.

Seeing that, Alex decided to take matters into his own hands. He reasoned that the blue scythe monsters likely had E- agility, while his D-grade agility far outclassed them. As long as he didn't get surrounded, he could outrun and evade them with ease.

Though Olivia and the others thought it was too risky, they had no other option. With his usual calm confidence, Alex gripped his "Violet Reaper" blade and prepared for what was to come.

There was a flicker of excitement in his eyes. While Charlie and the others envied his overwhelming strength, Alex himself had been growing bored. The repetitive nature of grinding monsters, even with his immense power, had drained all the thrill. Now, faced with hundreds of monsters, his adrenaline was finally kicking in. Sure, he had high damage output, but even he could fall if surrounded. This was the kind of challenge that reignited his spirit.

Signaling to Olivia and the rest, Alex increased his pace and charged toward the mass of monsters.

The hundred meters between him and the creatures vanished in an instant, and the outermost scythe monsters noticed him, letting out bloodthirsty howls as they lunged to intercept him.

But Alex didn't flinch. In fact, seeing the wall of enemies, he smiled. Raising his blade, he accelerated even more, charging headlong into the horde.

"Is Alex seriously charging straight in?!" Tom exclaimed, stunned at what he was seeing. "I thought he was just supposed to pull a few monsters!"

"That idiot!" Olivia stomped her foot in frustration, watching as Alex sped toward the swarm. "He's insane!"

Within moments, Alex collided with the monsters, and what happened next left Charlie and the others speechless. Alex cut through the horde like lightning, slicing apart every creature in his path. The monsters couldn't even slow him down. He was a living storm, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake as he carved a straight line toward the towering stone gate.

Blood and shattered limbs flew everywhere as Alex approached the gate. But just as he neared it, he glanced at his health and noticed that nearly 1,000 points had already been drained. Realizing it was time to pull back, he veered away, cutting through the horde in a wide arc and then dashing out of the monsters' reach.

By the time he returned to Charlie and the others, he had a wide grin on his face. "That was awesome!" he said, clearly exhilarated.

Olivia glared at him, her anger barely contained. "You reckless fool!" she shouted, though she was clearly relieved to see him unharmed. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was?!"

Beside her, Sarah muttered under her breath, "Freak..."

Tom and the other boys, however, were filled with awe. Alex had just faced hundreds of monsters and returned unscathed, having slain dozens with ease. His strength was beyond comprehension, making them feel both envious and inspired.

Even Alex, usually calm and collected, was feeling a bit smug. But he wasn't about to try that again—his health had dropped to nearly half, and even with his 3,700 health points, he knew it could have been dangerous if he'd stayed any longer.

Still, thanks to his bold move, the monsters were now more spread out, and some had even wandered off in pursuit of him. It was the perfect opportunity for the others to finish off the remaining creatures.

By the time Zach and the others returned with reinforcements from the school, Alex was back to full strength, and the number of monsters at the entrance had dwindled to around 300. Nearly half of the horde had already made it through the stone gate, and the rest had been thinned out by Alex and his team.

However, with the quest scroll's effects gone, not only did the monsters drop fewer items, but their drop rates had also significantly decreased. By the time they'd killed more than 100 monsters that morning, they had only collected about 30 N-grade awakening stones, along with mostly blood materials and energy potions.

The sharp decline in rewards, combined with the monsters' newfound strength, had spurred many to heed Alex's call for reinforcements. After all, the rewards for completing the main quest were bound to be substantial, and the other wild zones had too few monsters left to offer much value.

By concentrating their forces here, they could clear out the resource point and farm some extra experience along the way.