Chapter 117: Return

Clang! Clang!

Reiji stumbled a bit after hitting some of their iron-like limbs…

Certain parts of them were extremely tough that even with his weight overload, he couldn't do anything.

However, he managed to push them away to create a path for Stella… 

Thud! Thud! Thud! 

Unfortunately, they were immediately blocked by other arachnoid beasts…

'Tsk… They're tough. Luckily, they're only using physical attacks…' Reiji thought after realizing their attack patterns. 

"Haa!"

Stella somehow pulled out the sword and used it to slice the Crypt Crawlers… It seems that it required a certain amount of Spiritual Energy before she could use it. That was why it took her a bit more time…

The two battle together until they realized that the Crypt Crawlers were not dwindling… 

"Focus on running away… Their numbers are increasing…" 

After the Weight Overload ended, Reiji returned to Stella's hands and used the cloning technique… 

She kept the cane and placed it on her back as she held the two swords this time…

The Take Over was still in cooldown so Stella had to do this by herself. 

'Use your footwork to get away… Don't engage in battle for too long!'

'Yes, Master…'

There was no time to be nervous as she charged towards the wall of Crypt Crawlers… She doesn't have unlimited stamina so she had to quickly flee.

Her small frame helped her dodge their attacks as she used Suri-Ashi to swiftly move between the beasts. 

Of course, there were times that she had to defend so she uses her cross stance from time to time to parry their attacks.

Finally, after struggling for a while, she managed to cross the wall of crawlers and pass through the narrow passage…

'Can you move without problems?' Reiji asked after entering the passage.

'Y-yes… There's no problem.'

'I see… That's good.'

This passage was previously filled with a suffocating aura that stops her from moving… However, she could no longer feel that!

'It seems that it was related to that altar…'

Reiji thought as he monitored the Crawlers that were following them.

Stella also hurried her steps after hearing the noise created by their movements… She didn't bother glancing behind her and focused on running.

It didn't take long before she arrived at the place where Marak's group was supposedly collecting the valuable parts of the crawler's body. 

However, she didn't find any of the Hunters but instead found signs of battles in the surroundings…

'The crawlers here must've woken up as well… They should've retreated by now…'

'Mhmm…'

Stella no longer hesitated and run towards the exit… 

She can now see some clear traces of the Hunter group that had escaped from this place…

Then, she heard clear sounds of battle happening further ahead… Her movements remained as fast as she could until she saw Marak and Jared battling against two Crypt Crawlers. 

They were both injured but they can still fight on equal terms… She glanced at the other members of the Red Storm Rangers and noticed that they were installing something at the ceiling of the cave while they move towards the exit…

Soon, Marak noticed her arrival. 

"Haaa!"

Stella attacked behind the beast but just like other arachnoid beasts, it has multiple eyes and could see her movements from the back…

However, it still miscalculated her speed as she managed to land her sword thrust first…

Boom!

The crawler was thrown away due to her strike that contains her forward momentum… 

'Tsk…'

Its body was extremely durable so she didn't manage to stab through.

She then targeted the beast that was attacking Jared as she aimed at the soft part of its neck to land a critical blow…

Before Jared could celebrate, he suddenly heard the Crypt Crawlers following behind Stella… 

"Boss! We're done!" The wounded Elran shouted as he quickly backed away. 

"Good… There are too many of them… Run!" Marak said before he started running without any pause…

Jared and Stella did the same… However, Stella was still worried even if they managed to get out of this cave…

"Where is Sir Orga?"

Marak suddenly asked her… 

Stella deliberated for a moment before she answered. 

"He's most likely dead… Here is his cane…" She didn't say too much as they were still running away from the crawlers.

She pointed at the cane strapped behind her back as they ran towards the exit…

Marak only nodded after seeing it.

As soon as they managed to get out, Stella heard Elran shouting…

"Boss! Are we going to close it now?!"

The leader glanced towards Stella. 

After remembering what Elran and others were doing a while ago, she immediately understood that they installed an explosive device that will close the mouth of the cave… 

Marak wasn't sure about what happened to Orga so he wanted her to make the final decision... Once they closed this cave, even if he's a three-star Hunter, he would have difficulty in surviving this…

Stella gently nodded her head as Elran triggered the explosives they installed…

He didn't hesitate at all because they could easily hear that the crawlers were getting closer…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Series of explosions were heard as the cries of the Crypt Crawlers were drowned by the loud noise…

The cave's entrance completely collapsed after a few moments. 

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief after confirming that there were no further movements after they successfully closed the entrance.

"Boss, what about Sir Orga… Is there another exit?"

"I don't think so… Sir Orga seems to have died when he went further inside… Miss Stella, would you mind if you tell us what happened? We need to make a complete report to the Association…"

"That's fine… But, did you guys captured them? I'm impressed…"

Stella commented after seeing two Crypt Crawlers squirming around… They were tied tightly on a tree by the special ropes they have prepared a while ago.

"Oh… That's right… The moment you guys left, we tied the two of them to be brought back to the association while the others dismantled the other corpses… However, while the others were dismantling them, they suddenly came back to life! It's a good thing that we tied these two  properly…"

Elran then told her what happened after she left them to enter the deeper part of the cave. 

Apparently, most of their injuries were due to the sudden movements of the crawlers… Their main weapons were not ready so they got caught by their surprise attack…

"I don't know what happened back there… There was no problem dismantling the few of them, however, there was a sudden explosion inside the cave and after that, they just started moving… It seems like it was a trigger to wake up those hibernating crawlers…"

They do not know much about these creatures and they don't know whether they are truly hibernating…

Anyway, they know too little about the Spiderfolks…

After resting for a while, bandaging their wounds, and gathering their loots, they decided to return to the village... 

"Elran… Give a sleeping potion to them… It will be hard to transport them like this…"

"It's not effective sir… They're completely resistant…"

Elran answered Marak… They're currently transporting the human-sized arachnoid beast by tying them on durable tree branches… 

However, they can still make some small movements that can disrupt the people carrying them…

In the end, they decided to add normal ropes to help them control their movement… Anyway, their enhanced ropes were mostly doing the job and the normal ones would only support it.

***

'Master… Isn't that the same Crimson Eagle that follows around Sir Orga?'

Stella pointed at an eagle that was perched in a nearby tree. 

'That's right… Let's forget about it… That one is an intelligent beast… He'll soon realize what happened…' 

Luckily, the bird didn't realize that she has Orga's sword cane with her… 

Their return journey took a lot more time because of the two arachnoid beasts… It was not because they attracted other beasts, but because they are heavy…

As a matter of fact, their mere presence scared off weaker wild beasts in the forest.

There were no Armored Bears, Forest Wolves, or even Black Apes that dared to bother them… The scent of these Crypt Crawlers seems to be even more effective than the False Ivy!

The Red Storm Rangers relaxed after realizing this. 

Their only problem is when they meet these creature's predators…

Anyway, they barely fought any beasts on their return trip.

As soon as they arrived at the vicinity of the forest, they were immediately welcomed by the guards as they were curious about the beasts that they've captured. 

"Amazing!"

"Will you guys eat them? Can I have a taste?"

The two guards said to Marak. It seems that they know each other…

"What? These guys are money! They're more precious than you…" Marak said followed by a chuckle.

The guard just laughs it off and they no longer interrupted their way.

Stella, on the other hand, decided to return home. She already gave a detailed explanation about what happened inside the cave so Marak would handle it for her…

The reward that she'll get will also be brought to her house once they completed the mission. 

What she has to do now is to think about how to deal with Orga's possessions.