Chapter 394 - 393: Hidden Monster
Colin had read about the effects of this Divine Art in a book.
This Tier Two Divine Skill was meant to be used against Casters. It could make all sound disappear within a seven-meter spherical area.
Since no sound could be produced, any Magic that required verbal Spells for Casting was impossible to perform within the area.
But by the same token, no sound from within could escape.
Colin gripped [Burning Blood] and, with a backhand swing, severed the tentacles binding Ale and Orelia. Nearby, Dorn also freed himself with his Spiritual Dagger and helped Kase break free.
The moment he was free, Kase drew the Giant Axe from his back.
The Half-Orc let out a great roar and entered a state of [Frenzy]. But since he could only mime the roar without making any sound, it looked rather strange.
Colin twisted his wrist and entered his Sword Dance stance at the same time.
He cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts, raised [Burning Blood], and charged toward the monster known as a Roper.
In that instant, four tentacles whipped toward the group again.
The blade flashed.
With fluid grace, Colin sliced through two of the tentacles, while Kase, standing beside him, chopped through another with his Axe.
Silver light glinted in mid-air as Dorn’s Spiritual Dagger flew toward the Roper, sinking into the monster’s skin the moment it made contact.
The monster immediately opened its giant maw, which was lined with four rows of teeth, and appeared to be howling in agony.
Kase rushed forward and swung his Axe at the monster’s massive mouth.
The frost-emanating Axe struck the corner of the monster’s mouth, instantly tearing a huge gash from which blood gushed forth.
Colin thrust his sword in a backhanded strike toward the monster’s eyeball.
However, just as the sword tip was about to connect, another tentacle shot up from below and wrapped tightly around Colin’s right hand, halting the blade’s advance completely.
The monster’s tentacles had no barbs, only a thin layer of slime. The moment this slime touched his skin, Colin felt a wave of weakness travel up his arm and into his head.
’It must be a venom similar to that of the Carrion Insects and Grells.’
Before Colin could break free, another tentacle whipped over, binding his hands and sword hilt together and dragging him toward the Roper’s giant maw.
He hastily activated the energy stored within his Magic Armor to boost his own Power.
But against his opponent’s immense strength, this small boost had little effect.
Kase, at his side, quickly grabbed Colin’s shoulders.
Dorn rushed up from behind. With a Dagger in one hand, he continuously hacked at the tentacles wrapped around his companion, while with the other, he kept throwing his Spiritual Dagger to weaken the enemy.
But the monster’s strength was astounding, and it continued to slowly drag all three of them toward its gaping, bloody maw.
Once they were close enough, several more tentacles lashed out.
Dorn and Kase, standing next to Colin, were struck and sent stumbling. The tentacles then whipped around them, seizing their arms and dragging them into the creature’s mouth.
Colin roared as he twisted his wrist, using all his might to raise his sword’s edge upright.
But under the effect of the Silence spell, he couldn’t hear his own roar at all.
Beside him, Kase raised his arm, trying to prop open the Roper’s mouth, while Dorn shoved his own Dagger into the massive maw.
However, the monster’s bite force was terrifying, not to mention their physical Power had been reduced by a Shrinking Potion.
Even with the three of them pushing together, they couldn’t stop the bloody maw from slowly closing.
They could only watch helplessly as the monster’s giant mouth descended.
The sharp teeth first sliced open Kase’s muscular arm, then pierced Dorn’s Leather Armor before pressing against his Arm Guard.
The Plate Armor Arm Guard, in which Colin had placed so much hope, failed to stop the monster’s fangs.
The giant maw descended like a hydraulic press. The immense force caused the Armor Plates to twist and deform, piercing the flesh beneath the Plate Armor and sending waves of searing pain.
’Dammit, if we could just go all out, this wouldn’t be such a pain!’
Colin threw caution to the wind.
He snapped his head up and, with all his might, repeatedly slammed his helmeted head against the monster’s body.
Kase and Dorn also drew weapons with their free hands to fight the monster before them. The Battle Axe and Spiritual Dagger swung relentlessly, opening countless bloody wounds on the Roper.
The battle had turned into a brutal life-or-death struggle.
SQUELCH!
Just as Colin was about to slam his head against the enemy again, a foul-smelling, warm spray of blood suddenly erupted in front of him, splashing all over his face through the breathing slits of his Armor.
He took a closer look and saw that the Roper had been impaled by a massive stalactite at some point, half of its body pinned firmly to the ground.
The tentacles wrapped around Colin’s hands twitched twice and then went limp. The giant maw biting down on their arms also instantly lost its strength.
The group looked closely and saw a Crossbow Arrow next to the stalactite.
Apparently, the Crossbow Arrow had struck the stalactite above, causing it to break off, fall, and impale the Roper, while the arrow itself had fallen to the side.
Colin looked back and, just as he’d expected, saw Ale holding the Giant Crossbow.
Although he couldn’t see her face at all, he could sense that she was staring their way in a daze.
As he sheathed his Dagger, Dorn communicated telepathically, "The Elf Princess just said she was aiming for the monster but hit the rock above instead. In any case... the result was good."
Orelia then ended the Silence spell.
The faint sound of breathing reached his ears.
’Finally, we’re back in a world with sound,’ Colin thought.
The men pulled their arms free, and Orelia stepped forward to begin healing their wounds with her Divine Arts.
Colin first took off his Arm Guard and handed it to Ale to fix with her Repair Technique. Once his wound was healed, he put the repaired Armor back on.
The process was quick. After just a few minutes, the party was ready to go again.
Once everything was taken care of, Dorn led the party around the corpse on the ground and continued toward the cave entrance on the left.
Beyond the entrance was a curtain.
This curtain was made of many leather strips, all piled together in layers, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.
Dorn gently reached out a hand toward the curtain.
The instant he lifted a single leather strip, he immediately pulled his hand back.
"These leather strips have barbs hidden inside them, possibly poisoned," Dorn communicated. "Give me a Long Spear or something similar to part them."
Kase stepped forward and offered his Refined Javelin.
Dorn parted the curtain, and a foul, rotten stench immediately washed over them.
The group cautiously crept into the cave.
It was empty of people. There was only a large collection of shelves made from fungal material, laden with various chunks of meat and fungi. In the middle of the room were several huge blocks of ice.
Although the ice blocks kept the cave’s temperature low, much of the food still showed signs of decay.
The group then exited the cave and headed toward the middle entrance.
As he reached the entrance, Dorn stopped again.
He pointed at the ground ahead. "There’s a thin wire up there," he warned. "It must be another trap. Be careful."
Having been warned, the group bypassed the trap and entered the cave opening.