System's POV
chapter-526-2

The Camouflage Spider was starting to lose its mind.

No matter how hard it tried to run away and no matter how much it tried to hide, the invaders seemed to always know where exactly it hid.

At first, it thought that the enemy just got lucky in guessing its location. But after numerous 'coincidences', things were different.

Knowing that its stealth abilities did not affect its opponents, the spider was forced to engage the invaders with other guerrilla tactics.

In the end, it was still a Rank 6 Sovereign, and with its superior agility and fighting style, it wasn't at all an easy opponent to defeat.

The Camouflage Spider was capable of not only spinning webs but spitting acid as well.

It was fast and deadly, not to mention currently desperate, which was a very lethal combination.

Thirteen and Erica attacked it from a distance, with the teenage boy predicting where it would go.

For some reason, the Spider would rather accept Erica's Fireball attacks than let one of Thirteen's adamantine arrows pierce its body.

It must have deemed the arrows more dangerous than the Sorceress' fireballs, which overall had dealt considerable damage to its body.

Sherry, who was also using her bow and arrows, was unable to land a single hit.

The two Troll Shamans weren't casting any offensive spells. However, they were prepared to cast a barrier just in case the Giant Spider decided to attack the humans under their protection.

After half an hour, a change emerged from the Spider's body.

It no longer melded with its surroundings, and its body's color turned blood-red.

"It has activated its Bloodlust Ability," Thirteen shouted. "Be careful. It will now seriously go on the offensive!"

As if waiting for that signal, the Giant Spider lunged at Drazzat and the three Trolls with an ear-piercing screech.

Sensing that it would be dangerous to confront it head-on, Drazzat hastily backed away while raising his round shield to protect itself from the Spider's deadly strike.

One of the spider's razor-sharp legs collided with Drazzat's shield, sending the lizardman flying toward the wall of the Stronghold.

A loud crash spread in the surroundings as Drazzat broke the wall with its body, making the Lizardman cough out blood.

"Careful, it's stronger now!" T1 exclaimed as the two Troll Raiders sent their axes flying at the Giant Spider.

Although it was in a state of bloodlust, its senses were heightened to the fullest, allowing the Spider to deflect the throwing axes with its front legs.

A second later, a Fireball collided with the side of its body, making it skid several meters away from where it stood.

Flames licked the spider's body, while white smoke rose from the point of impact.

It then shifted its attention to the annoying Sorceress, who had been hitting it repeatedly with fireballs since the very start.

Since it was in a berserk state, it no longer hesitated and lunged in Erica's direction with the intention of ending her life.

The Sorceress didn't back down and launched a barrage of Magic Bullets at the approaching monster.

Blood mist erupted from the Spider's body as Erica's spells hit their mark.

However, those attacks weren't enough to deter the monster from its plan to kill the hateful human in front of it.

Just as its razor-sharp legs were about to slice her in half, Erica's body was pulled away by an invisible force, making the Spider's attack miss.

The two Troll Shamans, who were waiting in ambush, used telekinesis to throw boulders at the Giant Spider from both sides, making it stagger.

However, a few seconds later, it jumped back and once again evaded two Adamantine Arrows that pierced the ground where it originally stood earlier.

"This monster sure is something," Thirteen said with a smile. "Maybe its Spider Sense is tingling every time I attack. That's the only explanation I can think of as to why it doesn't want to get hit by my arrows."

Tiona nodded her head in agreement as she and her clone helped Erica land safely on the ground.

Drazzat and the three trolls finally recovered and engaged the spider in close combat.

Although they were strong in their own rights, they were still pushed away by the Spider's frenzied attack.

Thirteen observed the situation calmly and once again aimed an arrow at the monster.

He knew that the Spider couldn't stay in its bloodlust state for very long.

The moment its berserk skill was overdue, its strength and speed would decline to half its original strength, allowing them to eliminate it with their current lineup.

In short, he decided to fight a battle of attrition.

He wanted Erica, Sherry, and the Trolls to gain as much combat experience as possible when fighting against powerful opponents.

As the battle dragged on, T1, who was wielding two axes in each hand, was starting to get used to the Spider's attack patterns, allowing him to dodge and counterattack when needed.

Drazzat had also learned to parry and block the monster's attacks without losing his ground.

The two Troll Raiders used spear thrusts against the frenzied spider because they understood that it was stronger and faster than they were.

They needed a bit of range in order to get past its defenses, so their weapons proved to be useful in this battle.

On the other hand, Erica was casting Magic Bullets because she now had better control over it.

This also prevented friendly fire, which would be lethal in their current situation.

Sherry could only bite her lips as she watched the battle unfold before her eyes.

Since she wasn't as confident in her aim, she decided to not shoot any arrows lest she accidentally hit her allies.

Thirteen, on the other hand, was different.

Since he was confident in his archery, he never stopped firing one arrow after the other at the Spider, who kept on dodging his attacks.

The teenage boy wasn't too disappointed with this situation because each time the spider dodged his attack, the Trolls would manage to land a hit on its body, which was a good tradeoff.

Simply put, whenever he shot arrows at the monster, it destroyed the Camouflage's Spider stance, preventing it from unleashing a deadly attack at his allies.

Perhaps knowing that its maddened state was about to disperse, the Giant Spider made one last desperate effort to target the teenage boy, whom it had instinctively labeled as the greatest threat in this battle.

Unfortunately, it made the wrong choice. The moment it lunged at Zion, Giga suddenly appeared in front of the young man and Giga Punched the hateful spider, sending it flying backward.

The moment its body hit the wall, the redness of its body disappeared, replaced by a gray color.

Its Bloodlust state had finally dispersed, and it was now undergoing the backlash of its own attack.

With the opportunity right in front of them, Drazzat and the Trolls cut off its legs, preventing it from running away.

As a finishing blow, Giga jumped and body slammed its body, pinning it on the ground.

Thirteen didn't ask the Blaze Skunk to participate in the battle.

However, Giga would not allow Thirteen's life to be threatened a second time, especially after seeing the young man's comatose state after fighting the Goblin Emperor.

"Finish it, Erica," Thirteen said.

The Sorceress then raised her staff and chanted a spell to summon a giant flaming spear.

This was her ultimate skill, which she called Hellfire Spear.

The only reason she didn't use it during the battle was due to the fact that it took nearly half a minute to complete the chant, which was not only inefficient and difficult to do but also dangerous in a high-intensity battle.

Since its body had weakened considerably after its maddened state had passed, the Flaming Spear pierced through the Spider's head without much resistance, ending the Monster's life.

After much struggle, the Tyrant of the Stronghold had been defeated.

Suddenly, all the Wanderers received a notification informing them that their First Mission was completed, making them all cheer because they were finally one step closer to completing their mission.