REINCARNATION OF THE STRONGEST WAR HERO

Whoosh! Whoosh! Zzzzzz! Spells were sparkling in every direction.

Clang! Clang! Spell blades and monster claws clashed with each other.

Inside the dungeon the scene soon became chaotic. Except the huge and creepy dungeon boss, other monsters weren't that difficult to handle. But their sheer number was truly troublesome. For a group of only six hunters, it felt limitless.

But Gideon's group kept fighting. Though their number was small, their resolve looked unbreakable. Making a small circle they kept fighting, protecting each other's back.

Gideon waved his right hand and fire blaze engulfed the incoming goblins toward his direction. A few dire wolves tried to lunge at him, but two wide wind blades flew from his left palm and sliced them in half.

"Damn it! It's one thing to fight back like a human, but to lay a deadly trap like this?! Are they really brainless monsters!!!" Gideon's thoughts flared with his spells.

He was the strongest hunter present here. And to ensure his team's safety, he was going all out. But the situation kept hammering in his head. His brain was asking for answers but reality didn't provide a single one.

Joining shoulders with him, others were giving their all as well. Even with everything they had in store, no one was sure that they would come out unscathed.

Jessi and Ronald were not showing any mercy either. After Gideon, they were the 2nd strongest. The team's core. Ice spears kept bursting from both Jessi's palms that pierced the monster in the horde ruthlessly. Ronald was bringing down lightning shocks that continued to turn the monsters in charcoal. And those who dodged the strikes and closed in to attack, the tip of his spear painted them red.

"We have to fight back no matter what. I won't let anyone die." Ronald's jaw tightened. And his rage continued to increase the number of monster corpses. It wasn't long before three of their members had died.

Though Ronald acted aloof on the outside, his heart always felt heavy with the recent losses. A memory flashed before his eyes.

_______

Gideon's team was struggling against the monsters and the dungeon boss. The dungeon boss was a huge Minotaur with a sword in its hand. It kept rampaging in the centre.

Gideon's hands were full with the relentless number of monsters. Ronald charged at the Minotaur with his spear buzzing with lightning. He swung it at the boss.

"No!" Gideon shouted. He wanted to stop Ronald but it was already too late.

The minotaur blocked the attack with its sword. Then coiling its leg like a spring, it threw a full force kick. The kick landed squarely on Leonard's chest and sent him flying. It didn't stop there. It leaped forward and reached Ronald just in a jump. Then it swung its massive sword at Ronald. Ronald wanted to block it but the earlier impact had made his limbs numb. He closed his eyes. Because death was the only certain thing at that moment.

But just when he was sure that his soul would leave his body at any moment now….

Shlick!

He heard a sound. He opened his eyes but the gruesome scene made him ache with pain. Even death would have been better.

The sword had surely pierced a body but it wasn't his. It was his buddy Nick's. He and Nick had been together since childhood. They were from an orphanage. They were comrades less, brothers more.

"Nick." He roared. But fate was already sealed.

"Don't you dare charge in like a stupid next time. Or else I will b...," Nick couldn't finish his sentence. The Minotaur hurled his body away like a trash.

Nick's breathing stopped. His eyes kept staring. But they were lifeless. Concern for Ronald's safety was still there though.

Tears rolled down from Ronald's eyes. His heart burned with rage. Pushing with everything he had, he stood up with difficulty.

"Bast**d. I will f**k you." Ronald lunged at the boss with fire in his eyes. He still hadn't recovered from the earlier impact. But it didn't matter. He had only one goal at that moment. To chop the Minotaur's head off.

Just then one hand grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. It was Melissa.

"Do you want to let Nick's sacrifice go to waste?" She said. But Ronald didn't have his sanity anymore. He jerked her hand off and lunged at the boss. He swung his spear at the boss. But the Minotaur stopped it with its hand and threw a punch aiming at Ronald's chest.

"No." Melissa and two other team members shouted. That punch would surely kill him.

Just when everyone felt despair and thought Ronald would die the next moment, a whirling wind spike slammed in the Minotaur's lat sending it flying. It was Gideon.

"Hurry up. Protect each other and start retreating." He shouted.

Everyone followed through.

They kept fighting and retreating at the same time. Ronald wanted to go for the Minotaur but he was being dragged by Gideon. The difficulty of the dungeon was far above its claimed level.

But while their effort to fight and run, the Minotaur claimed two more lives. Two more hunters died from Gideon's team.

Finally they came out of the dungeon. The monsters didn't follow them out. But everyone's mood was dampened. The loss they suffered was irreplaceable. Three lives were lost. They weren't just hunters, they were brothers in arms.

Ronald kept hitting the ground in agony, tears pouring out from his eyes uncontrollably.

It was a total mess.

_________

Back in the present…..

Ronald's rage had only deepened. It was

fueled by that single memory—Nick's lifeless eyes. His spear and spells kept rampaging. All he wanted was revenge. Even the sight of these monsters was enough to spike his blood.

Melissa and Luna were side by side. Both kept fighting. Melissa was a bit weak compared to her other regular party members but her resolve wasn't any weaker.

Luna's attacks were a bit shaky. But she was trying her best.

Logan's swift strikes piled up the corpses.

But his focus wasn't fixated on the lowly monsters. It was on the boss.

The Orc hadn't moved yet. And he knew the second it moved, blood would flow like a river's tide.