Leonid and his men chased the packs of monsters that kidnapped their comrades. After a long time of chasing the monsters, suddenly the pack of dogs stopped in their place. A cliff was blocking their way.
"Haha, got you, you jerk!"
Unfortunately, their pursuit ended in vain. The poor man who was kidnapped by a pack of dogs was dead.
"I… Igor…!?"
Instantly, their anger turned to resentment.
GRAAAWWRRRR!
A clash between the two races was inevitable.
"Hyaa! Kill them all!"
"Grrrr!"
The Hunters fought with the darkened look on their faces because of the grief after losing a dear friend. They swung their weapons brutally.
Slash! Slash! Splaat—!
Meanwhile, the dog monsters were still fierce even though some parts of their bodies had ripped and torn apart. They didn't care what happened to their bodies; they had only one goal in their mind. Kill humans!
Splat! Splat! Splat!
The green grass was decorated with dark red. The dog monsters died in a pool of blood.
The Hunters won this battle, as well as managed to avenge their dead comrade. However, there was no look of satisfaction or euphoria on their faces. As with movies, sex, and life, after reaching the climax, only the sentiment remained.
"Igor… forgive us."
At a time, when the atmosphere was gloomy and mournful, the ground shook with a loud rumbling.
BANG!
Leonid had just slammed the axe into the ground. His face looked displeased.
"You idiot!"
His men just kept their heads down. Seeing their reactions, Leonid didn't say any further. His words would only make things worse. Besides, he wanted the day to end here. He felt that something was wrong with this Dungeon. His hunch was telling him to gather all his men back to the camp quickly.
Bad things could happen at any time.
Leonid then gave orders for his men to retreat and contacted the other squads. One of them asked for Igor's body to be brought home and buried him in the right place. And the requests were granted by Leonid.
One of his men came to Leonid.
"Boss, not all the squads have been confirmed yet. Only squad 39 and squad 47 have responded."
"Contact them one more time."
Leonid frowned. Usually his men always respond quickly. He always emphasized to all the Siberian Knights that communication was the most important part when entering the Dungeon.
He started to feel something off. He thought something bad was going to happen. And his instincts were right.
GRRRRRR!
The roar of snarling beasts rang out from all directions. The Hunters began to grip their weapons tightly. They all knew what was going to happen.
"Blyat… this is why I said don't rush… now, look… we're under attack," Leonid muttered.
From behind the shadows of the forest appeared dozens of four-legged monsters. They looked furious, as seen from their glowing red eyes. Their bodies were large and there were no hairs at all; only black skin with sharp thorns growing along the line of the spine.
Among them was a monster resembling a lion, with a pair of 30 cm long fangs. The figure of a dwarf creature in battle armour rode the monster.
"Isn't that… Sabretooth?"
The Hunters swallowed hard at this situation. In front of them was a swarm of monsters and behind them was a large cliff. There was no way out.
"Boss… what should we do?"
Leonid spat out. "Remember, this is the result of your stupidity. What else should we do? Of course fighting."
The dwarf who was riding the lion monster pointed at Leonid.
"Chupacabra Troops! Attack!"
Dozens of dog monsters charged at Leonid and his men.
Leonid was surprised to hear that there was a monster that could speak. However, he didn't have time to think thoroughly. A life and death battle was going on.
GRAAAAWWRRRR!
The second clash broke out.
The Hunters who were being attacked from various directions mustered all their strength. Some of them emitted flames, some had wind magic, some grew up their bodies to three metres high.
"Haa!"
Slash! Slash! Splat!
The Chupacabra charged towards the Hunters without hesitation. They took turns throwing themselves, trying to take down the groups of people who dared to break into their territory.
"Kayak!"
"Healers! Healers!"
The Hunters' faces were in horror and anger. All their adrenaline pumped crazily. No matter how many monsters they had slashed, it was endless.
They were able to survive thanks to two things. The first was the presence of two healers who were actively treating the injured comrades, and the second was the presence of Leonid.
The man fought like a raging hurricane. Anything that came near him would be shattered to pieces. Every time a Chupacabra pounced on him, the dog monster was instantly split in two.
All of this was thanks to Leonid's innate skill—'Power Up (C)'. A skill that maximized the body's potential, its entire stat would be increased by 25%.
"We can survive!"
"Don't let them die!"
"They're just dogs! Kill them!"
The morale of his men burned, thanks to his prowess. As long as Leonid was around, they were sure they could go home safely.
"Hyaa! Come to me, all of you."
Leonid looked straight into the eyes of the monsters, as if to challenge them to a battle.
.
.
.
The light projection of the Crystal Core showed Leonid and his men being surrounded by dozens of monsters. They were outnumbered, and at a disadvantage, they struggled to withstand the onslaught.
Isaac looked amused watching their fierce battle. He didn't expect that they could last long enough.
"If it wasn't for him, they would all be dead."
Isaac's eyes fell on Leonid.
[Name : Leonid Toptunov]
[Race : Human]
[Type : N/A]
[Class : A]
[Level : 24]
A voice entered his head.
"Lord! Lord! How about this?! Our soldiers were wiped out! One of them is very strong!"
This was Pippi's first experience with leading soldiers. Isaac wanted to give his Dungeon Manager an experience, that there were humans strong enough to break through the Dungeon. That way, he wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating the enemy.
Even if this was a lesson, Isaac would not leave all this battle with Pippi. The first experience was always difficult.
"Relax, Pippi. Clear your mind. No need to panic, we will win this battle. Follow my instructions."
"Okay, Lord!"
"No matter how strong humans are, they still have their limits. Sooner or later, they will be exhausted. Order the weakest monster to attack the man, no need to injure him, just provoke him. At the same time, order the strongest monsters to target the weakest ones."
From the light projection, it could be seen that Pippi did as Isaac was told.
"Good."
Isaac grinned and licked his lips. He had been a commander for a long time.
.
.
.
"Kuaaagh!"
Leonid could only wince bitterly when he saw his last subordinate fall to the ground. His body was covered in wounds and blood. His vision started to blur. His consciousness began to disappear. The large axe in his hand began to feel very heavy.
All of his best men laid lifeless. The monsters ate their corpses.
'How did it end like this?'
Everything was running normally. His men were compacted. He dominated the battle. His axe had slaughtered dozens of the Chupacabra. No matter how many monsters invaded, he was confident about escaping this situation.
However, suddenly, the tide of battle changed.
The movement of the monsters became strange. They become unpredictable. Sometimes they attacked and sometimes they just passed through. It was as if they were fooled. The battle became long and tiring. Without him knowing it, his men fell one by one. And the situation changed quickly after the two healers died.
Now, it was just him, kneeling in the middle of a swarm of monsters.
"All because of you, you… BLYAT!"
He was out of breath and his throat hurt. His eyes stared intently at the dwarf figure riding the Sabretooth.
Meanwhile the dwarf was laughing loudly.
"If you're angry, don't blame Pippi. Blame yourself for not knowing your limits. You are weak, but try to protect others. In the end, no one was able to protect you, including yourself."
As soon as Leonid was on fire, he screamed with anger, but his body couldn't move anymore. At the same time, dozens of monsters charged at him and started tearing his body apart.