Chapter 41: Stealthy Hunt

The tension reached its critical peak. The first to move was the imposing golem, over 6m tall. With a guttural roar, the golem launched a massive punch at the Orc leader. The Orc lunged aside, completely dodging the blow. The Orc rolled several meters across the ground while the golem’s punch impacted the earth, making it tremble. Its power was utterly terrifying. [Stone Golem Lvl 45] Annoyed at having missed, the Golem lunged at the Orcs accompanying Regul. This new attack caught the Orcs off guard. A thunderous impact echoed, sending several of them flying. Cries of pain ripped through the air as many fell with sickening snaps, their legs clearly broken. A burly Orc, his face contorted in agony, spat, "Damn rock-headed brute!" The Golem, an imposing tower of stone and pure power, seemed indifferent to their suffering. The Sealakels, quick and agile lizard-men, began to circle the golem. They were incredibly fast, darting in and out of its reach, but being out of the water severely limited their true potential against a creature of such immense mass. Their attempts to annoy it felt like buzzing flies to the Golem. "Get out of my way, scrawny things!" bellowed the Golem, its voice rumbling like an earthquake as it swung its arms, trying to swat away the flies that plagued it. Meanwhile, the remaining Orcs, monstrous warriors of pure green muscle, each over 2.5 meters tall, some even reaching 3 meters, charged with their mighty maces. "For the clan, you pathetic pile of rubble!" roared one, swinging his weapon with desperate strength. They attacked at close range while the Sealakels circled around it, trying to draw its attention, chattering and taunting relentlessly: "Too slow, you mountain! Can’t even hit a fly!" The Golem began to swing its arms in the air, growing more desperate. Despite its 6-meter height and immense weight, it moved with surprising speed. The Sealakels, despite their agility, started taking hits. Each blow sent them flying at least 20 meters, leaving them in critical condition, on the verge of death: their arms and legs bent at unnatural angles and blood flowing in large quantities from their mouths. The Sealakels shrieked in pain as they were swatted like ragdolls. Finally, only the leader, the [Sealakel Commander Lvl 38], remained standing, heavily wounded and panting, while the others lay severely injured but not yet dead, groaning and convulsing on the ground. The Orcs, for their part, had managed to inflict significant damage on the golem. Deep cracks marred its stone hide, and dust rained from its gigantic structure. With a low groan, the Golem began to lumber away, trying to escape the relentless assault. The Orcs weren’t much better off; they too had been gravely wounded. Their [Orc Chief Lvl 43] had a useless arm, hanging at his side, and he hobbled, unable to put weight on his leg. "Cowards! Get him!" he roared, but his voice was strained. The situation was a gift from the gods, a perfect opportunity. I raised my bow and emerged from my hiding spot. Without hesitation, I ran towards the survivors, using [Accelerated Lunar Arrow]. The lunar arrows flew true. Combined with my passive [Bow Mastery Lvl9], each shot impacted directly on the foreheads of the Orcs and lizard-men. [Exp Gain] [Level Up.] I hunted them all down methodically, prioritizing the most dangerous threats. One by one, the wounded fell. The Sealakels, the Orcs, even their leaders. Due to the large level difference, I was harvesting free experience points. I gained 13 levels after ending the suffering of the poor lizard-men. Only the Golem remained. I had left it for last, as my level, previously very low, was now 28. I expected to cause it significant damage. I placed a new lunar arrow on my bow, took a deep breath, and fired. The arrow’s trajectory formed a beautiful arc, landing directly on the back of the golem’s neck. Its immense defense managed to absorb part of the impact, but still, the golem began to roar as it covered its head with its gigantic hands without stopping its flight. I couldn’t let this target escape, so I pursued it, continuously firing without stopping. Each arrow seemed to bounce off its hide. I circled it, searching for weak points, until finally, after a prolonged and challenging hunt, it collapsed. As its colossal form hit the ground, a notification appeared: I had reached Level 30. All the effort had been worth it. I walked towards the golem’s corpse to get its core, but its skin was so hard that I couldn’t even scratch it with my bare hands. I began collecting the cores from the other monsters. Not all of them had one, but I managed to obtain 8 Water Cores and 12 Nature Cores. Now I only needed to open the giant golem. Its body was enormous and completely made of rock; it would be a very difficult job to do with just the [War Hammer (D)] that the Orc leader had. "I wonder if it will work..." I activated [Lunar Senses], and the entire golem’s body turned gray. There was not the slightest color on almost the entire body, except on its right shoulder: there was a faint green light surrounded by gray mist. "If it weren’t for this ability, I would have had to completely dismantle the golem’s entire body to find its core. To think it would be in its shoulder and not its chest or head." I was glad not to have to waste so much time and began hitting the golem’s shoulder with the war hammer. The impact resonated. I struck again and again, the rock slowly yielding, until finally, with a crunch, the shoulder disintegrated, revealing a glowing core. The battle was finally over. A sigh of relief escaped my lips... until I felt a presence beside me. I hadn’t sensed anything at all until that moment, when, without hesitation, I lunged backward, dodging a sharp object that grazed my neck.