Oliver’s supposed death had been weighing down on Achara for the past few minutes. However, his reappearance imdiately cald her down. While she didn’t know how he escaped, just the fact that he is alive ant that her worst fear didn’t co true.
"Are you injured?" She asked after a short pause.
By this ti, the soldiers had relaxed the hand they were using to hold the gun and silently retreated, allowing Oliver to walk forward.
anwhile, Oliver raised his arm and flexed his muscles, and said:
"Nothing my ability couldn’t heal."
"I thought you died."
"Well, too... Anyway, guess I was lucky and trapped the damned monkey under the sewer."
Achara took a step towards him and asked, "Monkey?"
"Oh! You didn’t see the crazy bastard, right?" Oliver nodded his head in an understanding manner. "There was this demonic monster inside the sewer. It looked like a baboon and could see perfectly in the darkness. When the phone lights failed, that thing poisoned you and attacked . Fortunately, I was smarter than a monkey." Oliver’s lips curled up into a smile while he said that.
But Achara’s expression grew a little darker.
Was that a dig at her?
Was he saying that she was not as smart as a monkey or sothing similar?
Well, what if he is? It’s like she can bla him. As an A ranker, she should have been more careful.
"Glad that you are alive," Achara said and glanced around his body, making sure that he had no injuries.
Oliver felt a little shy when the pretty lady scrutinized every part of his body. Like a distressed damsel, he covered his crotch and chest with his hands, making the soldiers around giggle.
"I thought you were wearing sothing else!" Suddenly, Achara noticed the change in his appearance and asked.
Oliver looked too good for a person who was swimming in sewer water. His body was clean and slled nice. His clothes were completely different, and even his hair seed to have grown a little longer. The discrepancies made her wonder if he really was the person she knew.
"I took a bath and cleaned myself."
*Sniff* *Sniff*
Suddenly, Achara closed in on him and sniffed.
"Nice shampoo."
"???"
What shampoo? Question marks appeared over Oliver’s head. Except for thick, viscous blood, he didn’t bathe in anything else.
Was there so sll to the blood?... Not exactly a sll, but a fragrance perhaps?
However, just as the thought crossed his mind, a nasty sll drifted its way into his nose. That’s when he realised Achara was still covered in filth.
Although her tight bosom, long legs, and perfect body accented with the tight, black military uniform elevated her beauty, it was entirely covered in filth. The stench was coming off the uniform she was wearing. Unlike Oliver, who found the chance to change his clothes, she hadn’t gotten the opportunity.
Imdiately, Oliver pinched his nose and stepped back.
It didn’t matter how great she looked, the stench was too difficult to bear.
His new body, just revived a few minutes ago, was extrely sensitive to environntal stimuli, especially the sll of sewers.
"Ah, please step back." Oliver politely said to Achara. "We can talk about the shampoo another ti. Don’t we have an even more pressing matter?" He stealthily changed the topic.
His gaze moved away from Achara and lingered over the colorful gate on the other side.
The crater and gate were still there. So of the escaped rat snakes were scurrying in all directions. After the Cerulean Cobras disappeared into the gate, the Black rat snakes seed to have regained their agency to move on their own.
"Yes, there is..." Although she wanted to ask a lot of questions, like Oliver, she turned her attention towards the gate.
Although the A-ranked mana beasts went away, the danger of the gate persisted.
Truth be told, none of them had the guts to venture into the new gate to help Fist King. And even if they had, they didn’t have the ability or strength to back it up.
S rank was a domain completely different from A rank. Those who stepped into it were living gods with power far beyond what a person could comprehend. Helping an S rank while they were an A rank was also a foolish notion.
Besides that, their job was to protect the city, not to conquer the gate. Getting captured and brought into the gate was a mistake the Fist King made. Abandoning their post to try and help was a doubly foolish notion.
Fear, reason, and logic all prevented them from acting recklessly. So, every one of them, all heroes, hunters, and military personnel, stood their ground, covering all sides of the gate.
"Did you receive the information about Cerulean Cobras?" Suddenly, Oliver asked, taking Achara by surprise.
She did receive the information. The Hero Union agents said it was unconfird information and had sent it to the A-rankers near the gate to verify.
So, how could Oliver have known about them?
"Don’t be surprised," Oliver said while looking at Achara. "I sent them the information." He added after a short while.
"You did?"
"Yes, it was sothing I ca across unexpectedly," Oliver vaguely explained with a satisfied grin.
"Luckily, things tend to stick with . It’s almost like I have a knack for rembering things...Almost as if I am smarter than a primate or two."
’The second one he ntioned... that’s , isn’t it?’ Achara thought with a hint of embarrassnt.
"Anyway, what I want to say is that we can’t relax just yet. The five Cerulean Cobras are most likely babies. There could be an S-rank beast on the other side of the gate. And, the location of the gate is most likely in the nursery of the snakes. In a second or so, all hell is about to break loose." Oliver stated as a matter of fact.
Achara was used to Oliver knowing things he shouldn’t have. Her eyes focused on his face with an inquisitive flare, asking indirectly to continue speaking.
Oliver grasped her intention and imdiately started speaking.
"The Cerulean Cobra nursery is a terrifying place. With its illusion abilities, the mother Cobra would have trapped hundreds of thousands of mana beasts, ranging in strength from the weakest to the strongest, within the nursery. The reason it does so is to provide food for its children while also tempering their combat abilities." Oliver paused.
Then he gazed at the gate. "Unfortunately for us, an S-rank psycho just entered the nursery. In the ensuing battle, most of the creatures will escape from the illusion binding them and escape into the only place they can."
Achara’s body tensed when Oliver ended his speech.
"You an here!" She asked.
"Yes. Expect a horde." Oliver nodded and said.
Every ti the Mountain King moves, hordes of beasts are created. The Cerulean Cobra was of the sa rank. Thus, sothing similar happening was not so far-fetched.
Achara felt her heart sink.
They had relaxed when the Cerulean Cobras retreated. But now, hearing a monster horde was about to rush out caused her nerves to tighten.
Achara lifted her head to look directly at Oliver.
"Yeah, I am sure." Before she could ask, Oliver replied. "Luckily, the gate is a small one. There is a limit to how many creatures can escape through. So, if we can maintain a defensive line here, we might be able to stop them. Well, it might be a lot better than a normal horde battle."
"Hmm." Achara nodded.
"Okay, now that we are done with it, please raise your head and give a thumbs up," Oliver said.
Achara tilted her head in confusion.
Oliver raised his hand and pointed at a drone that was flying a couple of dozen ters above him.
"There are little eyes that spy on us. The drone guys and broadcast directors would be groaning in their seats, hearing our conversation. They have no clue who I am, so vouch for ."
Achara nodded and raised her hand to give a thumbs-up.
Then she said, "We need to prepare." She was talking to the drone.
Although it was flying at a height that made it imperceptible in the darkness, it could hear them.
The drone flashed a light at them in acknowledgent.
anwhile, Oliver waved at it with his middle finger sticking out in a distinct position. His face wore his signature smile as he did that.
Then he said to Achara:
"Achara, there is no ti to prepare." He added in a grim voice.
Oliver could see sothing flickering within the gate.
The ti has co.
The mont he ended his words, a dozen mana beasts rushed out of either side of the gate.
The vertically standing colorful spinning disc, called the gate, spewed monsters from either side.
"Poison Arrow Frog. It has an extrely poisonous snout with a sharp horn. The Cerulean Cobra uses it to temper their poison resistance." Oliver paused to rember the details.
"Although weak, E rank, they are known to live in groups of thousands, making them an extrely difficult foe to face. Fortunately, we are not near water bodies, so their movents would be restricted. Still, rember that it’s a mana beast." Oliver said quickly.
He was an encyclopedia of knowledge. When he was a weakling, Oliver had spent days learning about all the creatures that he might encounter on Second Earth. That knowledge was put to use in the situation.
His calm words travelled to everyone nearby, helping them adjust to the unexpected situation.
Achara tightened her hand around a sword she was carrying while Oliver unsheathed the one he took from Grizzly’s Bar. The rest of the soldiers raised their guns, ready to fire.
E-ranked mana beasts were not impervious to gunfire. So, they decided to preserve their energy by using guns to kill them.
anwhile, the ch also activated, with miniature missiles appearing over their shoulder.
In an instant, everyone was ready for combat.
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