Leveling Up Alone

The Hydra rampaged and devoured most of the Dark Faction Bastrolings in its vicinity.

Burp!

It even burped to show it was full after eating all the creatures around it. Then, it scanned its surroundings to see what was left after it finished its meal.

“Shwiiiiik!”

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The Hydra stomped the ground and commenced its assault on the contaminated creatures. It slammed its tail, ravaged them with its mighty jaws, and used Poison Breath. The boss monster used every single attack it had in its arsenal against the contaminated creatures.

“Whoa, I didn’t expect this to happen,” Han-Yeol muttered in awe.

He was well aware of the Hydra’s capabilities. This boss monster only lived in the swamp and never ventured outside of its territory, so he did not attempt to subjugate it during his life as Harkan. Another reason he avoided doing so was its absurd strength. However, that absurdly strong boss monster was currently wreaking havoc right in the midst of the hyenas’ army.

‘Hmm… It’s possible that the Hydra will inhabit the Ephrine Mountain, as the environment is quite similar to a swamp,’ he thought.

The hyenas’ army was in utter disarray thanks to the Hydra, and Han-Yeol asked Mariam to send a message to Riru. The message was simple: for her to command all of the Light Faction Bastro Warriors to continue attacking while steering clear of the Hydra.

Riru immediately gave the command to the Light Faction Bastro Warriors, but they had already steered clear of the Hydra, as they knew just how powerful and ferocious the boss monster of the swamp could be.

[Die!]

[Filthy creatures!]

The Light Faction Bastro Warriors swung their weapons and hacked away at the contaminated creatures. Normally, the contaminated creatures would stand close to each other at the frontlines, making it nearly impenetrable and impossible to break through. The contaminated creatures often used this strategy against the Bastro Warriors, who only knew how to charge headfirst, to surround and defeat them.

However, the unexpected appearance of the Hydra rampaging their ranks plunged their defensive lines into utter chaos, making it extremely difficult for them to defend against the incoming charge.

Also, the fact that the Hydra had devoured the Hyena Tamers made it difficult to control the contaminated creatures.

[Arghhh! Damn it! Go and block that ragtag bunch from the Light Faction!]

[B-But all of our tamers are dead and the Hydra is still rampaging behind our defensive lines!]

[So what?! Are you telling me you can’t do it?!]

[N-No, but that Hydra has to go down before we can do anything. I implore you to use the contaminated creatures to lure the Light Faction Bastro Warriors away and use that opening to kill the Hydra and completely contaminate it! The Hydra alone will be more than enough to recoup all of the fighting strength we have lost due to its rampage!]

[Hmm… That sounds like a brilliant idea.]

The high-ranking sorcerer initially thought that the intermediate-ranking sorcerers were going against his commands, but he soon realized that the plan proposed was not bad at all.

[Alright, we will lure that ragtag bunch with the contaminated creatures. Then, use that opportunity to kill the Hydra as fast as possible and contaminate it!]

[As you command!]

The intermediate-ranking sorcerers and low-ranking sorcerers immediately got into action and controlled their contaminated creatures the moment the high-ranking sorcerer gave the command.

They had no choice but to manually control the contaminated creatures, as all the tamers were dead.

Han-Yeol raised a brow and muttered, “Hmm?”

He was standing atop a large boulder a few distance from the battlefield where the fierce battle was taking place. His sensitive senses picked up the small changes in the hyenas' defensive lines. The changes in the movement of the contaminated creatures were so obvious that he easily noticed them with his Demon Eyes even if he was not really paying attention.

Han-Yeol smirked.

‘Oh? Is that how you want to play?’

He might not be a trained strategist or soldier, but he had played numerous real-time strategy games ever since he was young, so he understood how these kinds of battlefields usually played out.

‘Barshell. Come over here.’

Shwak… Thud!

[You called me?]

Han-Yeol used Mariam's telepathic network to call Barshell, who appeared out of thin air and kneeled in front of him with his head down.

“Take five hundred elite snipers and support the Hydra.”

[I understand.]

Shwak!

The command might have sounded strange, as helping a monster was not something the Bastro Warriors often did—if anything, it was not something they did at all.

However, Barshell trusted Han-Yeol more than anyone due to his loyalty toward Harkan, so he immediately carried out the command without asking any questions. He believed that Han-Yeol had some sort of plan, so he decided to just carry it out no matter how silly it sounded.

Barshell took five hundred elite snipers and moved into position to provide cover for the Hydra.

Han-Yeol smirked.

‘Go ahead and use every single trick in your book. It’s not going to work against me.’

He had already taken control of the battlefield the moment the Hydra was free from the contamination mana.

[Shroud of Darkness!]

Wooong!

“Swhiiik!”

The Hydra flailed its tail and thrashed its body in a desperate attempt to free itself from the spell, but the dark spell cast with the lives of the contaminated creatures offered as sacrifice was too powerful for it to break free. The spell might not be able to contain the Hydra for long, but that did not matter, as the high-ranking hyena cast it to buy time.

[Now’s our chance.]

[As you command!]

[Full-scale attack on that Hydra!]

Gwuu oooh!

Kwak! Kwak! Kwak!

The high-ranking hyena’s plan was very straightforward. He would tie down the Hydra with Shroud of Darkness, and the contaminated creatures would lynch it until it died.

Although it sounded very simple, it was without a doubt a highly effective plan.

[Hahaha! You might be the strongest boss monster in the swamp, but you’re nothing but another monster waiting to be hunted the moment you step into our territory!]

The Hydra would have been impossible to defeat if they chanced upon it or faced it head on. However, it was a different story if they fought with a legion of contaminated creatures prepared to attack it all at the same time.

The boss monster of the swamp would be forced to face the barrage of attacks coming its way, and it would be impossible for it to stay alive.

The Hydra attacked the contaminated creatures with its nine heads, but it sustained a lot of damage in the process, as the contaminated creatures attacking it were the elite of the elites controlled by the hyena sorcerers.

[Time to end this!]

The high-ranking hyena sorcerer prepared to cast a spell that would end the Hydra’s life.

Shwiiiik! Puuuk!

[Kuheok!]

However, a blue bullet flew out of nowhere and struck the high-ranking hyena sorcerer’s shoulder. The sharp pain radiated throughout his entire body, causing the Shroud of Darkness to be dispelled.

[W-What?!]

“Swhiiiik!”

Fwaaaah!

[Noooo!]

The Shroud of Darkness was dispelled the moment the contaminated creatures and the Dark Faction Bastrolings were about to get near the Hydra.

They flinched and froze the moment the Hydra was released from the spell, but that split second was so precious in these kinds of battles that it could be the deciding factor between life and death.

The nine heads of the boss monster of the swamp spat out a torrent of acid simultaneously, completely covering the contaminated creatures and Dark Faction Bastrolings from head to toe.

Tsssss!

They were only allowed to scream once before the Hydra’s acid melted them.

[W-What was that?!] the high-ranking hyena sorcerer exclaimed while clutching his shoulder.

[A-Are you alright?!]

The high-ranking hyena sorcerer ended up lashing out at the poor lower-ranking hyena sorcerers.

[Damn it! Don’t ask me stupid questions and find out who did this to me!]

[A-As you command!]

‘Why does it feel like things are starting to become complicated?’

The hyena sorcerers felt that something was off. They should have easily won the battle, and they should be chasing down the Light Faction. However, the battle dragged on, and things were slowly slipping from their hands. They should have had the upper hand in this battle, but it felt like the Light Faction Bastro Warriors were slowly pushing them back.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gwuuu ooooh!

Thud!

However, they no longer had the luxury of wondering, as the sound of gunfire that had rang just once earlier suddenly rang out from all over the place.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A contaminated creature would have its head pierced by a bullet, and it would drop dead whenever the sound of gunfire rang.

***

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The elite snipers continued to open fire at the contaminated creatures.

[Tsk. It’s difficult to get a headshot without aiming properly.]

[Oh! But it’s still amazing how you managed to kill them with a single bullet!]

[No, I am merely following what Han-Yeol-nim taught me.]

[Hahaha! Don’t push yourself, Barshell-nim.]

[What are you doing here? Aren’t you going to fight?! Quit yapping and pick up your gun!]

[Y-Yes, sir!]

Bam!

Barshell ended up kicking his subordinate’s butt while they were trying to curry favor with him rather than sniping down the contaminated creatures.

Ironically, nobody was surprised by his actions, as his infamy as a tyrant had already long surpassed his reputation.

Click. Bang!

The Bastro Warriors calmly reloaded, aimed, and pulled the trigger of their bolt-action rifle. Their rifles would shoot out blue mana bullets, and a contaminated creature would collapse whenever one zipped past them.

[Damn it! What is it this time?!]

The high-ranking hyena sorcerer raged, causing the intermediate-ranking hyena sorcerer to hurriedly scout their surroundings. He possessed a scouting skill called Eye of Gelgas, which gave him a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield. Through this skill, he spotted the group of elite snipers led by Barshell.

‘Hold on… The weapons they are holding…’

The intermediate-ranking hyena sorcerer spotted the strange weapons the Bastro Warriors were holding, and he continued staring at them for quite a while, as he could not shake off the feeling that he had seen them before somewhere.

He continued to rack his memories, trying to remember where he had seen the strange weapons.

‘Ah! Isn’t that one of the weapons that the humans use in their dimension?!’

Bang! Puuuk!

[Argh!]

A bullet flew from out of nowhere and struck the Eye of Gelgas he summoned just when he finally identified the weapon used by the Bastro Warriors. The Eye of Gelgas was a very useful skill in these kinds of large-scale battles, but it came with one huge drawback—it would inflict massive psychological agony on its caster if an outside force destroyed it instead of being dispelled through normal means.

As expected, the one who shot down the Eye of Gelgas was none other than Barshell after he recognized it floating in the sky.

The intermediate-ranking hyena sorcerer was experiencing excruciating agony, but he was completely distracted by a far more important thing.

‘W-Why?! How do they have those weapons used on Earth?!’

The hyenas conducted numerous research in hopes of finding a use for the weapons humans used. They did not make any progress with highly advanced weaponry, such as missiles, but they tinkered with smaller armaments, such as firearms.

The firearms were too weak for their taste, and the Bastro Dimension did not have the facilities to mass produce them, so they eventually gave up on using the weapons found on Earth.

However, the Light Faction Bastro Warriors were suddenly armed with the very thing the hyenas had given up on: firearms. The Bastro Warriors were using weapons to kill them from afar.

‘I-I must report this no matter what!’

The intermediate-ranking hyena sorcerer gnashed his teeth and forced himself back to his feet. The hyenas might have found this piece of crucial information too late, but they could still find solutions to counter it as long as they had this piece of information in their hands.

Bang! Puuuk!

Thud!

Unfortunately, the intermediate-ranking hyena sorcerer was unable to report this important piece of information.

A mana bullet flew again from out of nowhere and hit the back of his head before exiting through his forehead, killing him instantly without even giving him the chance to scream.