The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 280: Against a Calamity (1)

Chapter 280: Against a Calamity (1)

The following night he teamed the ladies up with Bashar’s team. As he expected, the man didn’t like the two female Knights joining his team.

Hex acted like he didn’t see the crease on his forehead. The furtive glances a few of the men in Bashar’s team gave each other didn’t escape him.

’They are up to something. I don’t mind if they leave me out of it. But I doubt it.’

He couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed things had been going too smoothly the last couple of days.

The previous day he discovered the presence of a few Fiends in the first tunnel as soon as they entered through the outer entrance. He assigned Bashar and his men to test their resolve and abilities.

Bashar and his team were all Knights. He expected them to survive against a small team of Fiends. In the worst case, they would flee and ask for his help. He didn’t expect them to exit without a single scratch on their body. And certainly not deny the existence of some level of danger in the first tunnel.

After discussing with Sterling, he assigned the twins to their team. Sterling assured him that the two could look after themselves and they stood a better chance at extracting information from the men.

Hex entered the third tunnel with other plans. While the other group cleared the first tunnel, he would train.

Whatever the other parties tried to do, it required at least one more day. He could tell. If they planned to pull something off tonight, they would resist each other’s company. But except for being wary of each other, he didn’t sense anything else. Here, out of everyone’s vision, he could grasp the basics of the Techniques he read, in the meanwhile.

The barriers he erected at the end of a certain tunnel, still stood in place. The lack of heat in this place helped to maintain them. Hex caressed the barriers for signs of damage. There were none. Not on the outside at least.

’Nothing came at it. So did no one.’ Hex clicked his tongue pondering on the clue. This meant two things. One, nothing escaped the depth of these tunnels. That was good news. Two, no one explored this tunnel last night. It might be a bad sign but it wasn’t something he hoped to see.

’Lord Red Hare didn’t come this way. Neither did his team. Looking at Basar’s action, I can only conclude they found something in the first tunnel they wish to hide from us...or me. But about Sterling and Quid?’

According to their agreement, the group would slit and search to save time. After all, Lord Red Hare wished to finish the task before his rival noticed his movement.

’So, they found something interesting too, huh?’

Hex smiled. It was too early to come to any conclusion but Hex wasn’t inexperienced anymore. He knew he had to be ready to get away. But it didn’t hurt to gather some resources before he did so. He ticked the Ice barrier, causing it to shatter. He needed to hurry.

Skrii!

A swarm of spiders attacked as soon as he entered the tunnel. There were hundreds of spiders. Hex could tell from the clicks of their mandibles and feet over the floor and wall that they were agitated.

With a thought, Hex activated the Ice circle on the back of his hand. A misty air of Ice scattered from the circle. It hit the hundreds of creatures at once. They screeched and halted their steps. Hex looked on as they all fell on the floor. The uncontrollable twitch in their legs showed they were in pain.

Frost Dragon Technique - Frost Bite.

This technique froze the outer layer and could pierce through an opponent’s defense. The material of the defense didn’t matter; a carapace or enchanted armor, both would fail.

After a few seconds, the majority of the spiders stopped moving. Although the entire swarm consisted of Demon-stage spiders, he still was pleased with the result. He walked through the frozen floor, stomping on the ones still alive.

The end of the tunnel didn’t branch. It just went deeper. He stepped forward. He stooped further as the tunnel ahead narrowed even more.

The darkness deepened even more. Even his enhanced vision struggled to see much further. The temperature dropped but he didn’t sense a draft. Instead, a putrid smell assaulted his nostrils.

Despite the eerie silence, this place wasn’t empty. His senses picked a few Fiends surrounding him. He didn’t stop. Creatures of that level didn’t faze him anymore.

Time Freeze.

He executed the Technique as soon as he saw three approach him. He felt the cold escape his elemental circle. Ice elements hit the creature and...nothing happened. He failed to execute the Technique.

The creatures rushed. He felt their tiny hair touch him. But then froze. They stood in place, encased in Ice crystals.

Frost Dragon Technique – Blizzard Strike.

’It didn’t work. What did I miss? Or is my understanding of Time not enough to pull it off?’

He stared at the back of his hand, lost in thought. The Fiend-stage spiders that went around him, jumped toward him. The death of the other spiders didn’t scare them. Their mandibles were about to sink into his skin – they each targeted different areas such as his shoulder, neck, leg, and ass – when the Ice circle glowed once more.

Frost Dragon Technique - Tailwhip.

Spikes of Ice shot out from his back and pierced the attackers. They screeched but the Ice slowly encased them. Gradually, their movement slowed down until stopping entirely. The spikes shattered and the frozen spiders fell onto the floor.

’That leaves one more Technique.’ Hex stepped forward. He didn’t spare a glance at the bodies of the spiders. They didn’t matter. What mattered was the threat he perceived up ahead.

A wide hole stood at the end of the tunnel. The opening was large enough to let Hex pass without even his hair touching the wall. The opening wasn’t clean though. Large pieces of webs hung around and on the edges.

’This should be the source of all these spiders.’

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