Chapter 145: What the Heck Is This!?

  After a brief rest, the group set out agaiuring deeper into the jungle. Alex and Ikarht up the rear, their surroundings while Ikaros quietly expined details about the p. Clearly, this was a terrestrial p, but so far, it showed no signs of civilization—though Alex khat was unlikely. Judging by the group’s situation, they couldn’t have ended up here by act. Their demeanor made it obvious that someone or some anization had sent them to this pce.

  e to think of it… Alex vaguely recalled seeing a simir setup in a movie.

  "Whoa!"

  Just as Alex was lost in thought, the man walking ahead—Old Bck—suddenly tripped ao the ground. Before anyone could react, a branch sprang up abruptly, and with a loud whooshing sound, a thick log swung out from behind the group, hurtling straight toward them!

  "Watch out!"

  The sudden attack shocked everyohey scrambled to the ground, trying to evade the ued assault. However, they quickly realized they had made a grave mistake.

  "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

  The person who set the trap had anticipated their rea. As they hit the ground, arap was triggered—a barrage of sharp wooden spikes rained down from above, like a deadly downpour. Seeing this, the group froze in terror, staring bnkly at the desding spikes, uo rea time.

  It was at this moment that Alex finally made his move.

  In truth, when Old Bck tripped, Alex, as a Seer Mage, had immediately sehe impending threat. As the massive log swung toward the group, he turned without hesitation. With a flick of his Disruption Sword, a brilliant ssh of light sliced through the air. Apanied by a deafening boom, the log—thiough for two people to their arms around—lit ly in two, shattering into splihat scattered in all dires.

  Without pause, Alex sed his surroundings. Raising his swain, he swung it diagonally through the air. A surge of sword energy erupted from the bde, spreading outward in a gale-like burst. The falling spikes were instantly shredded intments by the sword energy.

  As the debris settled, the previously panic-stri group finally snapped out of their daze. They hurriedly raised their ons, warily watg their surroundings as they quickly moved closer to Alex. If some had sidered Alex and Ikaros as burdens before, his dispy of power now left no doubt about who was the stro among them.

  Their own strength relied heavily on firearms. Without them, they wouldn’t stand a ce barehanded. Meanwhile, this young man had effortlessly resolved the crisis with nothing more than his peculiar-looking longsword. Such skill was far more ving than any bullet.

  "Enemy spotted at twelve o’clock!"

  The ponytailed woman with the sniper rifle urgently raised her on, aiming at the source of the threat. Her alert prompted the rest of the group to close in, ons at the ready.

  "Take them out! Take them out!"

  "…No."

  To everyone’s surprise, after carefully aiming, the ponytailed woman lowered her sniper rifle.

  "They’re already dead."

  "…What?"

  As the group moved to firm, they found that the “culprit” was, indeed, dead.

  Or rather, they had been dead for quite some time.

  "Unbelievable. We fell for a dead man’s trap."

  Staring at the long-dead man’s corpse, Old Bck spat in disgust. The bespectacled mao him let out a breath before speaking again.

  "Judging by the level of deposition, he’s been dead for two weeks…"

  Hearing the bespectacled man’s observation, the gaunt man in prison attire beside him exhaled sharply, grumbling irritably.

  "Why would he set traps here to harm us? I nearly died because of him!"

  "It wasn’t meant for us."

  Looking at the corpse before them, Big Nose shook his head.

  "It was meant for other enemies…"

  As he spoke, Big uro g Alex.

  "What do you think? Based on this trap, I’d guess it was somethiall aremely ferocious. What’s your take?"

  "What do I think?"

  In respoo Big Nose’s inquiry, Alex shrugged.

  "I think… there’s o guess. Let’s just bring the culprit out!"

  Before he finished speaking, Alex raised his longsword and swung it forward. A dazzling sword light, like a lightning bolt on a clear day, sshed through the air and struck a massive tree ahead.

  "Boom!!"

  With a thunderous crash, the enormous tree—so thick it would take several people to encircle it—split ly in two uhe force of Alex’s strike. At the same moment, a feral roar echoed as a shadow darted through the swirling dust.

  "Over there!!"

  Shouting angrily, the group raised their guns, trying to aim at the fleeing figure. However, before they could pull the trigger, Alex blurred into motion. In an instant, he desded from above, his Disruption Sword pierg the shadow ly and pinning it to the ground.

  "…"

  The group was stunned. Even the usually smirking vict stared wide-eyed, uo believe what he had just witnessed.

  "This guy… could he be some kind of Asian Superman…?"

  "Trying to run?"

  Alex s the fallen enemy. From the moment they arrived, both he and Ikaros had sensed something lurking nearby. However, to avoid unnecessary risks, Alex refrained from ag immediately, instead asking Ikaros to scout the area. Once she firmed there was only one enemy in the viity, Alex had moved to force it out.

  What followed was simple: time-stop, a precision dash, and a decisive strike. The creature, g the power of a Grand Knight, had no ce against Alex’s sword.

  "Hey, are you okay…? My God, what is this thing?"

  At this point, the rest of the group rushed to Alex’s side. However, their eyes widened in shock at what they saw .

  In front of Alex, where the ground had seemed empty moments before, the air began to shimmer. At the ter of the disturbance—marked by Alex’s sword—a bizarre humanoid creature emerged from its invisibility. pitch-bck armor and wearing a steel helmet, the creature was t and bulky, with long, razor-sharp bdes extending from its arms.

  "What kind of monster is this?"

  Seeing the massive creature’s corpse, the group instinctively stepped back. Alex, unfazed by their reas, withdrew his sword and flicked the green blood from its bde before speaking.

  "This is the culprit responsible fing you all here."

  "You know what this is?"

  The ponytailed sniper widened her eyes in surprise, staring at the young man in front of her. Alex merely shrugged.

  "That’s right. They’re aliens. These are the ones who captured you and dropped you into this jungle."

  "But… but why would they do that?"

  Hearing this, the bespectacled man couldn’t help but ask. Alex g Big Nose, who seemed deep in thought, before replying with a faint smile.

  "It’s simple… they’re hunting."

  (End of Chapter)

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