Mysterious Fog World: Eldritch Nexus

As the seventh wave began, everyone felt intense vibrations from the ground, as if an earthquake were approaching. But it was not an earthquake; the vibrations were produced by the stampede of monsters, felt from tens of kilometers away.

Everyone, except Maria and Samantha, left to intercept the horde. They didn’t bother counting the Mortal monsters, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The rank 1 Extraordinary monsters had crossed the hundred mark, and they could sense three much stronger presences—rank 2 Extraordinary monsters.

All the Extraordinary monsters were positioned at the back, waiting for the vast horde to weaken their enemies before making their move.

Drake and his followers noticed significant variety within the wave, with three prominent groups, each led by a rank 2 leader. The closest two groups were the corrupted elves and corrupted minotaurs, similar to the corrupted goblins they had encountered before. Prolonged exposure to the fog had turned them into monstrous versions of their former selves.

The third group was scattered throughout the horde, consisting of various ice-type monsters. Their leader lagged due to its slow speed but commanded a formidable presence.

The difference between the sixth and seventh waves was easily visible. Maria left Drake’s side to command the war herself, leaving only Samantha behind to protect him. Samantha had also killed the only rank 2 in the last wave, which made those who wanted to fight it quite mad at her. As a result, she was ordered by Maria not to move unless necessary. She smiled wryly at the situation; her eagerness to fight had backfired.

On Maria’s orders, all the archers and assassins shifted their focus to the elves, most of whom were archers, with a few swordsmen. They aimed to defeat the elves quickly, as their archery skills could prove fatal. The rest of the defenders went to deal with the remaining monsters.

Ayame and Yuri led the charge against the elves. Ayame led the assassins while Yuri commanded the archers.

The corrupted elves had grey hair and eyes, with white skin marred by greyish veins visible on their arms and faces that were not covered by any protective gear. Despite their corruption, they still retained a haunting beauty, their blemishes not detracting much from their allure.

The elven swordsmen were at the forefront, with the archers running behind them, all charging toward the territory. The twins and their respective teams intercepted them, moving swiftly while cutting down any monsters in their path.

The archers targeted the elven sword fighters, while the assassins sneaked behind to eliminate the archers. Mortal elves fell in droves. When their numbers dwindled significantly, the rank 1 Extraordinary elves finally made their move. There were fifteen of them—five swordsmen and ten archers.

The air was thick with the sounds of battle—arrows whistling through the air, swords clashing, and the cries of fallen monsters. The atmosphere was tense, filled with the smell of blood and the acrid scent of magic.

The two wind foxes, Nina and Misty, were circled by the five rank 1 swordsmen. The elves had decided to start with them, believing they could easily deal with the archers.

Nina and Misty exchanged amused glances.

“Sister, it looks like they are underestimating us. They think they can deal with us by encircling us,” Nina laughed lightly.

“Oh, but we can't have that. Let’s show them we are more than just archers,” Misty said, smirking.

“But let’s do it fast. There are so many rank 1s in this wave; we need to kill more to make the lord notice us,” Nina replied. Misty nodded in agreement.

The five elves closed the distance while the foxes continued to look relaxed. As the elves drew near, they suddenly charged, swords raised to strike. Nina and Misty had been waiting for this moment. A light wind rustled their clothes, swirling around them.

Suddenly, multiple wind blades erupted from the swirling air, a wind-type spell called Wind Blade Storm. By allowing the elves to come close, they concentrated the blades on each target. The elves tried to parry and block the wind blades, but there were too many. Despite their efforts, they were struck from multiple directions. Two elves lost an arm each, and one unfortunate elf was decapitated by a blade.

Seizing the moment of chaos, Misty and Nina each shot an arrow at the elves who still retained their limbs. The arrows found their marks, piercing the elves' heads before they could react.

With three elves dead, Misty and Nina ran in opposite directions through the gap created by the fallen enemies. The remaining two elves each pursued one of the foxes but were quickly outmaneuvered. Nina and Misty kited their pursuers, using their agility and wind manipulation to stay ahead and deliver precise, deadly strikes.

The elves, unable to keep up, were soon defeated. Misty and Nina regrouped, surveying their handiwork with satisfaction.

“Nicely done, sister,” Misty said, smiling.

“Indeed. Let’s find our next targets,” Nina replied, her eyes scanning the battlefield.

Meanwhile, a majority of the mortal elves had perished, and four of the rank 1 elven archers had fallen to the assassins. The rank 2 elven archer, unable to remain idle any longer, joined the fight. However, she was intercepted by Rachel, one of the fox women with advanced mastery. Rachel possessed a level 5, advanced-stage archery mastery.

The elven archer also had advanced-stage archery mastery, but her level was lower than Rachel’s. They fired arrows simultaneously, each covered in a strange light—the archery aura they had both comprehended upon becoming advanced archers. The arrows met in mid-air, shattering into multiple pieces.

Rachel’s eyes lit up with excitement at facing a strong opponent, but she quickly furrowed her brows as a thought crossed her mind. “It’s too hard to find strong archers. I want to enjoy our fight for some time, but that’s not possible right now,” she sighed, countering each of the elven archer’s shots with precision.

“Let’s finish this quickly. I still have many more monsters to kill,” Rachel said, launching multiple arrows simultaneously. The elf tried to shoot them down mid-air, but a few still slipped through. She attempted to dodge, but Rachel continued firing relentlessly. The elf managed to shoot a few arrows back, but it was clear who had the upper hand—Rachel either destroyed the elf’s arrows or dodged them with ease.

Finally, the elven archer made a fatal mistake, failing to dodge an arrow that pierced her throat. Without giving the elf another look, Rachel moved on, focused on her next target. The rest of the elves were defeated in the meantime, the battlefield littered with their fallen bodies.

While the fight with the elves raged on, another group intercepted the minotaurs. The minotaurs were all close-combat fighters wielding maces or double-bladed axes with immense strength. They relied on brute force rather than skill in their attacks.

Though both the bull tribe and the minotaurs were related to bulls, they were very different. The bull tribe had only bull horns and a tail, while the minotaurs were massive, with bullheads, bull legs ending in hooves, and human-like hands.

The group intercepting them consisted of Chloe, Ruby, Dawn, and twenty other fox women. When the fox women, previously oppressed by the bull tribe, saw the minotaurs, they smiled wickedly. They decided to vent their anger and frustrations on the minotaurs before dealing with the bull tribe.

The battlefield turned into a scene of absolute carnage. Broken parts of corrupted minotaurs littered the ground. The fox women, pressed for time, aimed to do as much damage as possible in as little time as possible.

The immense strength of the minotaurs slowed their progress. The minotaurs swung their massive maces and axes with ease, and many veteran minotaurs had strength comparable to a fox woman with extraordinary abilities. This only made the fox women more feral and eager to defeat their enemies.

Chloe moved with lethal grace, her spear slicing through minotaur flesh. The sound of metal clashing against bone and the roars of dying minotaurs filled the air. Ruby’s blood manipulation turned the battlefield into a gruesome display of crimson artistry. Drops of blood from fallen minotaurs formed deadly projectiles, cutting down those still standing. Dawn’s darkness engulfed the minotaurs, their cries muffled as they were consumed by shadow.

The fox women fought with a savage intensity, each strike fueled by their pent-up rage. “This is for everything you did to us,” one of them snarled as she drove her blade into a minotaur’s chest.

The ground beneath their feet was slick with blood, the air thick with the scent of battle. Despite the overwhelming strength of the minotaurs, the fox women pressed on, their determination unyielding.

After tens of thousands of mortal minotaurs were defeated, the rank 1 Extraordinary minotaurs decided to attack. There were twenty-six rank 1 minotaurs, each one towering over their mortal counterparts with even greater bulk and menace.

Ten fox women divided them amongst themselves, while the rest continued to slaughter the mortal minotaurs.

Chloe found herself facing three rank 1 minotaurs, each carrying a giant double-sided axe. They watched her intently, exhaling loudly from their nostrils like bulls ready to charge a bullfighter.

Chloe tightened her grip on her spear and sprinted towards the middle minotaur. The minotaur swept its axe horizontally with a loud whoosh. Chloe ducked just in time to dodge the attack, feeling the rush of air above her head. While crouched, she swept her spear low, slicing the leg of the middle minotaur.

The minotaur roared in pain and lost its balance, crashing to the ground. Chloe sprang to her feet and dodged to the left as the minotaur on her left brought its axe down hard. Unable to dodge completely, she raised her spear to block the attack.

The impact sent shockwaves through her arms, making them go numb. She struggled to maintain her grip on the spear but managed to hold on and step back to create some distance.

Breathing heavily, Chloe quickly regained her stance. The minotaurs, not giving her a moment's respite, charged at her like angry bulls. The ground shook under their heavy footsteps, and their roars filled the air.

As the minotaurs reached her, they attacked simultaneously. Chloe leaped backward, narrowly dodging the powerful strikes. The impact of their axes created small craters in the ground, tens of centimeters in diameter.

Seeing an opportunity, Chloe jumped onto the axe of the minotaur on the right. She ran up the handle and leaped toward its face as it furiously pulled up the axe. With a swift thrust, she impaled the minotaur's face with her spear. Using the falling minotaur’s shoulder as a foothold, she launched herself forward.

She sprinted toward the minotaur with its right leg severed. As it struggled to get up, using its axe as a crutch, Chloe swiftly pierced its neck, ending its life.

The last remaining minotaur had already turned around and was charging at her again. It swung its axe, but Chloe ducked and rolled to the left. Seizing the momentum, she rotated and cleaved the side of its torso with her spear, leaving a huge gash.

The minotaur roared in pain, going berserk. Its attacks became wild and frenzied, making it more challenging for Chloe to dodge. She felt the intensity of the battle increasing, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Stay focused,” she thought, her eyes never leaving the minotaur.

As she spotted an opening, Chloe dodged another wild swing and somersaulted forward. Quickly turning around, she thrust her spear into the minotaur's back, severing its spine. The minotaur fell to its knees, and with a final, decisive sweep of her spear, she removed its head.

“Another victory,” she thought, her determination unwavering. “But the fight isn’t over yet.”

As Chloe took a breath after the high-intensity fight, both her beast instincts and perception mastery screamed at her to dodge. She hastily jumped to the side, just as an axe missed her by a hair’s breadth, and struck the ground with a resounding thud.

Chloe broke into a cold sweat, knowing that if she hadn’t dodged in time, she would have been cleaved in two. She looked at her attacker and saw the rank 2 minotaur leader. Standing over eight feet tall, it towered over her, making her feel like a child in its presence. The axe it carried was longer than her.

She forcefully calmed her palpitating heart and readied herself to fight this new, formidable opponent. The minotaur laughed tauntingly, its deep voice rumbling.

“Little bug, do you think you can defeat me?” the minotaur mocked. “Honestly, accept your death.”

Suddenly, someone stepped between Chloe and the minotaur leader. It was Maria, holding a spear like Chloe, her demeanor calm and resolute.

“Teacher,” Chloe exclaimed in relief.

“You are not its match. Leave it to me. Go and help the others,” Maria instructed firmly.

Chloe wasn’t a hot-headed fool who would take offense at Maria’s words. She nodded, thanked her teacher, and quickly moved to assist the others, making sure not to interfere with Maria's fight.

The minotaur leader watched calmly, making no move to stop her.

“So, a big bug replaced the small bug. But in the end, a bug is a bug,” the minotaur sneered.

Maria didn’t reply. She simply got into a fighting stance, her eyes locked onto the huge monster, ready for the battle ahead.