Chapter 77：Good Deed (2/2)

After an hour walk, we had finally reached the entrance of the forest. It was a shame I couldn't use Noir in this situation and gone up ahead.

Everything was a lot faster this time. Everyone already knew what groups they were in and there was no need for a long speech like before. Lancy simply stated the time to come back and we were off.

But just like last time, when passing Lancy he seemed to give me a sinister stare.

Our group entered the forest and started hacking away at the bugs that came towards us. It was a lot quicker than last time and Gary was in top shape now. After obtaining around ten basic crystals each, everyone seemed to be getting a little bored.

”This is too easy man” Gary shouted while slashing at a dragonfly coming towards him.

”Well, what do you guys want to do?” Slyvia asked.

When I entered the forest, I activated my dragon eyes and scouted most of the area out. There were many areas where groups of the intermediate beast were hunched together. Originally, I was afraid of big groups and wanted to wait until we were in a party like now. But after fighting the Voli bear, I was confident I would probably survive even fighting a group.

I stepped forward and said,

”If I can make a suggestion, last time when looking around I spotted a group of intermediate beasts. I didn't say anything last time because I was afraid we might not be strong enough. I can lead the way if you want.”

”Hmm, it might be risky,” Slyvia said.

”Oh come on, Slyvia. If there's any trouble, we can just run back. Plus you have the whistle remember?” Gary said.

”Okay let's have a vote. All those that want to go raise your hand.”

Everyone their then raised their hand.

”Well, I guess that's a yes then.”

Assuming the role of leader with Martha as the rear guard, we trekked through the forest towards the red auras I detected. After about 15 minutes, we neared our destination and I raised my fist signalling everyone to stop. We crouched behind nearby foliage and noticed a distinguishable hum of abnormally large wings beating.

Peering through the overgrown leafage, we spotted a swarm of 10 giant Hercules beetles. In contrast with the similarly sized giant ladybugs we previously encountered, the Hercules beetles exhibited two powerful pincers jutting out of their mouths. Despite their considerable stature, the beetles were able to perform aerial maneuvers with astounding speed and accuracy.

”Are you sure these are intermediate tier?” Dan hesitated.

Although I didn't personally perceive them as a threat, their auras indicated that they were indeed intermediate beasts.

Noticing how insignificantly I perceived the beetles, Sylvia chided me, ”Don't underestimate your enemy, especially bugs. They are a lot smaller than other creatures, but they can make up for it with their strength, speed, or even poison.”

In the spirit of safety, we decided to pair up and have each pair kill two beetles. Gary and I elected to exterminate four beetles instead.

The pairs were Dan and Slyvia, Martha and Monk, Ian and Kyle, and Gary and me.

Still crouched a short distance away from the Hercules beetles, Slyvia carefully monitored their movement.

Noticing a momentary gap in their clustered formation, Slyvia shouted,

”Now!”