The atmosphere in the forest area suddenly became exceedingly silent, as if time had just frozen. The wind that previously blew softly felt as though it had stopped blowing. None of the A-rank adventurers dared to utter a word. They all merely stood frozen in their respective positions.
This is terrible! Dennis cried out inwardly, his heart beating so fast that it pounded against his chest cavity. I truly never expected that this three young men in front of me right now are the spouses of 'that' Vedegra descendant.
However, right when that suffocating silence was enveloping them...
Zoom!
A supersonic explosion suddenly sounded from the spot where Alrain stood, shattering the silence of the forest. A powerful gust of wind swept across the adventurers' faces, forcing them to close their eyes and cross their arms in front of their faces.
Slash! Thud!
In a matter of less than a second, the sound of a hard object being sliced and the heavy thud of something hitting the ground could be heard clearly.
When the adventurers opened their eyes again, their sights were immediately greeted by a scene that made their blood run cold.
A Giant Wasp?! Bren screamed inwardly. His eyes widened at the sight of the monster's carcass lying lifeless on the ground.
All the adventurers were struck with shock. A Giant Wasp monster measuring nearly two meters with a deadly venomous stinger, had been sliced into two highly precise halves, only a few meters away from where the adventurer group stood. A thick, yellowish-green fluid pooled from the monster's body, seeping into the soil.
And what made their hearts feel as if they were leaping out of their chests was Alrain's figure. The green-haired youth was now standing upright just two meters away from Dennis's position, gripping a sword that was not made of steel, but purely of highly compressed wind magic emitting flashes of wild, striking lightning.
What just happened? Dennis thought in utter shock, his eyes trembling as he stared at Alrain's back. I... I could not even see his movements at all. When did he create that magic sword? When did that monster attack us?
Cold sweat began to seep out from the pores of his face, soaking his palms, and spreading throughout the burly man's body. His survival instinct as an A-rank adventurer screamed loudly, awakening him to one absolute fact.
No wonder he has always been calm and seemingly underestimating my warning since earlier. His speed and intuition are on a completely different dimension from ours. If he truly intended to kill me earlier for blocking his path... my head would have definitely been rolling on the ground before I even realized it.
However, Alrain paid no heed to the shock of the adventurers behind him. His eyes stared sharply through the density of the forest.
"Davin, get ready! From the west and the east, there are ten more monsters darting quickly this way!" Alrain called out straightforwardly, notifying them of the position of the next threats he had detected. "Use your gates to gather them all right in front of me, and make sure you also protect Arion in the back!"
"Okay, leave it to me!" Davin answered without the slightest bit of hesitation.
Hearing that brief interaction filled with trust, Arion, who was seeing Alrain fight and use his power firsthand for the very first time, could not hold back his awe. The reddish-yellow-haired youth's eyes sparkled.
Wow... incredibly cool! Arion praised enthusiastically in his heart, ignoring the fact that they were surrounded. He was standing there and sliced a monster that strong in just the blink of an eye? He is truly amazing, agile, and incredibly strong! The title of the strongest spouse in our family is indeed perfectly suited for him!
On the other hand, Davin wasted no time. He was already on high alert. His eyes moved quickly, looking to the east and the west, locking onto the coordinates of the fast-approaching movements, ready to cast his gate magic at any moment while waiting for the execution command from Alrain.
The atmosphere within the forest area turned extremely tense and lethal. The adventurers could only stand stiffly in their respective places; not a single one of them dared to move, as if they were merely spectators of a deadly performance.
Alrain tightened his grip on his magic sword while focusing his detection magic.
"Now!"
The command was uttered loudly by Alrain.
Hearing the order, Davin immediately stretched both of his arms to the sides, then with an elegant motion, he thrust his palms forward.
In the blink of an eye, the reality before them seemed to distort. Ten gates, large purplish-black dimensional portals, opened and appeared simultaneously, right in the open air in front of Alrain and the adventurer group.
From the mouths of the gates directly connected to the monsters' flight routes, ten Giant Wasps darted out.
Due to their own flight speed, which they had no time to brake after being suddenly and forcibly teleported to a point facing one another, the monsters ultimately collided with each other in mid-air.
Seeing the momentum of chaos so flawlessly created by Davin, Alrain's body moved.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
With a series of sword dance movements that were incredibly fast, beautiful, yet laden with deadly precision, he slashed the ten monsters before they could even realize what was happening.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
One by one, the massive bodies of the Giant Wasps fell and hit the ground, all with their heads cleanly severed from their necks.
Dennis, Bren, and the other five adventurers became even more frozen in silence. Their eyes widened, nearly bulging out of their sockets. Their common sense seemed forced to shatter after witnessing the high-level spatial manipulation magic that Davin had just demonstrated so casually, as well as the flawless, lethal sword swings displayed by Alrain.
"E-Even though... even though just one of those monsters is an A-rank threat that requires a full party to take down..." Bren stammered, his lips trembling in disbelief as he stared at the puddle of green blood in front of him. "But, he killed all ten of those monsters single-handedly... and in just the blink of an eye."
Not far from the mentally shaken adventurers, Alrain landed smoothly. The sword in his hand faded into magic particles. However, the youth had not lowered his guard in the slightest.
He slowly closed his eyes, channeled his mana, and began to spread his incredibly thin and invisible wind magic particles in all directions of the forest. Alrain used the wind net like a radar to detect vibrations and the presence of other monsters.
And within a 500-meter radius of where he stood, precisely in the depths of the forest to the east, his wind net caught a multitude of movements. The pattern was not wild, but rather something highly structured and organized.
Is that place the nest of those monsters? Alrain guessed with a furrowed brow. If my guess is correct that it's their nest, this forest and also the capital might be in danger again if those monsters migrate or launch a swarm attack.
Alrain opened his eyes. I must investigate that anomaly, and if necessary, obliterate it.
"Davin! Arion!" Alrain called out firmly without turning his head.
Spontaneously, the two youths looked at the back of their family member, who had just called their names.
"What is it, Alrain?" Davin and Arion asked in unison, waiting for further instructions.
"I'm going to check the east alone!" Alrain answered straightforwardly, pointing toward the depths of the forest. "500 meters away from where we are standing, there are a lot of suspicious movements gathered there. Wait in this area for a moment. I will take care of them and be right back!"
"Okay! Make sure you come back here quickly!" Davin replied casually, not looking worried at all about Alrain's safety. "We still have to continue and complete our main mission in the rest of this forest area!"
"Yes, of course!" Alrain replied with full conviction. He glanced briefly over his shoulder. "Davin, please protect Arion while I'm gone!"
The brownish-white-haired youth smiled faintly and gently touched Arion's shoulder.
"Just leave it to me, Alrain! You don't need to worry!"