System's POV

Chapter 525: Hide And Seek [Part 1]

After Tiona's clone died, Tiona immediately reported to her Master what her clone discovered.

Knowing about the strong monster, the teenage boy immediately recalled the Second Group, which was supposed to do a sweep of the stronghold in the western regions.

"What's wrong?" David, who was leading the second group, asked. "Did something happen?"

"Something came up," Thirteen replied. "The monster guarding this place is a Rank 6 Sovereign. It's a Chameleon Spider that can meld with its surroundings, making it invisible to the eyes.

"We can't afford to divide ourselves into two groups because that makes it easier for it to ambush us. Sticking together is our best option right now."

When David heard the name of the monster, his face immediately turned pale.

In his past mission, he and his comrades happened to encounter a Chameleon Spider, and it nearly wiped out all of them.

It was a very sly and cautious monster, striking only when it was certain of its victory.

Because of its intelligence, its threat level was higher compared to other monsters of the same rank.

"How did you know that there's a Chameleon Spider in this Stronghold?" David inquired. "Where did you get this information?"

"Tiona told me," Thirteen replied. "She's very sensitive to the scent of monsters, and it just so happens that she had encountered a Chameleon Spider in the past."

The black snake nodded her head in confirmation. Her Master was technically not lying.

Her clone had encountered the Chameleon Spider, even dying because of it. Since her clone was a part of her, it meant that she had also encountered the monster as well. Although it hadn't been long since then, it was still considered 'in the past.'

Everyone glanced at the Domini Mortis coiled around Zion's neck. There was very little information about this extremely rare monster, so David couldn't refute the possibility of it having superior detection abilities.

"What do we do now?" Erica asked. "I've heard about the Chameleon Spider, and it's a very nasty opponent. People who encounter it die without knowing how they died."

"Exactly!" David nodded. "That monster is a real threat. Maybe we should retreat for now, and come up with a strategy after we regroup with the others."

"You're right," Thirteen said. "Let's go back for now."

Everyone sighed in relief. They initially feared the possibility that Zion would be stubborn and ask them to fight the Chameleon Spider together with him.

What the other Wanderers didn't know was that Tiona's clone had once again spawned, and it was now monitoring the movement of the one who killed it from under the ground.

Rocky moved underground, following Zion and making sure to protect its Master just in case the Spider sneak attacked.

Only after the Wanderers had safely left the stronghold did they manage to breathe a sigh of relief.

"All of you stay here," Thirteen said. "I'll ask Commander Drazzat to accompany me in the stronghold to check if there is really a Camouflage Spider."

David and the others wanted to persuade him not to go.

But since a Rank 5 Sovereign like Drazzat was coming with him, they felt that Zion would be able to escape as long as the Lizardman Commander was there.

"I'm coming with you," Erica said.

"I'll go as well," Sherry stated.

The two had even prepared what they'd say to persuade Zion if he rejected them, so they were pleasantly surprised when the teenage boy nodded and agreed to take them with him.

"Okay, but I will not bring anyone else aside from the two of you," Thirteen replied. "Adding more might just make things more complicated and prevent us from escaping."

On the side, Drazzat turned to his subordinates.

"All of you should stay on alert," the Lizard Commander ordered his subordinates. "Even if we are a mile away from the stronghold, that doesn't mean that the Camouflage Spider will not take the initiative to attack our camp."

All the Lizardmen nodded their heads in understanding and promised that they would stay alert while waiting for their Commander's return.

Once the head figures were finished giving instructions to their subordinates, Thirteen's team of four once again traveled toward the Stronghold.

The moment their group stepped foot into the Stronghold, Thirteen didn't bat an eye and asked Rocky to bring out T1 up to T5.

Seeing the five monsters suddenly appear, Erica, Sherry, and Drazzat understood that Thirteen meant serious business.

"Will Giga, Blacky, Hercules, and Rocky not help us?" Erica asked.

"We can't always rely on them to fight our battles for us," Thirteen answered. "T1 and the rest is more than enough to assist us in this battle."

T1 was a Rank 5 Sovereign Troll Warlord, while the other Trolls were Rank 4 Alpha Monsters.

There were two Troll Raiders and two Troll Shamans, so their group composition was balanced.

Sherry also summoned Mors. Although there were already strong monsters in their party, she was simply used to fighting alongside her Blade Panther.

Erica, on the other hand, wore the Monocle that Zion had given her. Not only did it allow her to lock in on monsters from a distance, but it also amplified some of her abilities, including her thermal vision.

Even if something were invisible, as long as their body was emitting heat, she would be able to detect them with the help of the monocle.

When he saw the young lady wearing the Monocle he crafted and gifted to her, a faint smile appeared on his lips. He was glad to see that Erica was quick to use it in this situation.

"Follow me," Thirteen said and then led his team to where the spider was hiding.

Earlier, the Camouflage Spider was planning to ambush Thirteen's group as they made their rounds inside the stronghold.

Unfortunately, they left, and the Spider even thought that they had given up.

So when it sensed that there were suddenly ten creatures inside the stronghold, it became extremely cautious.

The reason why it became conscious was due to the fact that six out of those ten creatures were strong.

Although it was still stronger than them, it understood that it couldn't act rashly.

It planned to observe the newcomers from a safe distance. But when it sensed that they were headed in its direction, the Spider was forced to make a decision.

Wait in ambush or retreat.

After careful consideration, it decided to wait and ambush the invaders.

It was confident that as long as the enemy came within its striking range, it could eliminate one or two of them before making its escape.

Once the instances are met, it would then use sneak attacks to whittle down the enemy's numbers until only a few of them were left.

By then, the Spider no longer needed to fear anything because it could simply overpower its foes with speed and power.

But just as it was having this thought, it heard whistling sounds in the air.

A moment later, the Spider jumped off from its hiding place just in time to dodge three Adamantium arrows that pierced the wall where it had been waiting earlier.

However, although it managed to dodge the arrows, it didn't manage to evade the Fireball that landed perfectly on the spot it had jumped to. It was as if its caster predicted exactly where the Spider was going to land.

Although it was hit by one of Erica's strongest attacks, the Monster only suffered minor burns, which it easily shrugged off.

But before it could even return to hiding, three Trolls and the Lizardman Commander charged in its direction with their weapons poised to strike.

The Camouflage Spider glanced in their direction once before running away in haste.

It was still shaken because it didn't understand why it was attacked even though it was perfectly hidden from plain sight.

Until it discovered how its trump card was seen through, the spider decided that fighting wasn't the best option at the moment.

Thirteen, who saw the Spider running away, couldn't help but sneer.

"You can run, but you can't hide," Thirteen muttered before giving the signal to Erica, Sherry and the two Troll Warlords to follow him.

The Camouflage Spider had grown to its current rank by preying on the weak.

Because of this, it wasn't prepared to be hunted down by a group of monsters who now treated it as their prey.