Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 548: Battle for survival in the barrenlands Part 1

"What? What would you do? Are you saying you would kill a holy rank hunter? You barely made it through the ranger course pretending your true form was actually a trait. There's nothing you can do on your own. If it weren't for the Dolminico family your entire race would have been wiped from the city way before the arrival.

Now shut up and die holding the line or I'll kill you myself." Elio glared at the green creature sending it into a panic.

Even among hybrids, goblins were looked down upon by the different races. Not just because of their ugly appearance and weak constitution, but also because of their cunning nature and selfish behavior. Despite that, they were allowed in the hybrid council because of their numerous population which made them perfect foot soldiers for generations even before the arrival.

This wasn't the case for Elio who belonged to one of the most respected races in the council.

His race had always been on the top of the hybrid community in their megacity, but it was also very scarce due to their species' difficulty in producing offspring. Although hybrids preferred to keep their lineages clean, most of the different species could breed with other hybrids and even humans.

This wasn't the case for treefolk who because of their different biology could only reproduce with other plant-like hybrids which caused them to be on the brink of extinction. Just like most other plant-human hybrids, the treefolk enjoyed the perks of their hybrid nature even before the arrival.

Faster regeneration, increased strength, longer lifespan and in some cases they could also access at least a part of their abilities which made them even tougher. But after the arrival their true prowess finally showed as they were able to shift their bodies into hulking giants made of a woodlike substance, only much sturdier.

Their kin was also associated with wisdom and spirituality, which is why their opinion was always well regarded in the hybrid community.

This stereotype wasn't necessarily wrong as most of the treefolk did fit in that description, but that wasn't Elio's case. He defined himself as a 'man of action' and as such, he sometimes acted before even thinking.

To him leading other hybrids was a chore during peaceful times and felt like he was out of his element, but now they were under constant attack his only responsibility was to protect from the voracious cryptids that wanted to consume the wounded holy rank hunter.

To say Elio was reluctant to forsake the rest of his people and make a run for it into the wilderness would be an understatement, especially since there wasn't any guarantee that they wouldn't find any cryptids along the way. All of this could be easily solved just by killing the holy rank hunter, but for some strange reason Elio couldn't understand, the Dolminicos wouldn't give him up.

Elio lifted his arms as though trying to touch the last remnants of the dying daylight with his branch-like arm, then dropped it on the side as the light dimmed and the reflective eyes of all sort of uncanny creatures appeared in the distance.

"Hold the line!" He shouted while thinking to himself that as soon as he saw an opportunity he would lead as many hybrids as he could to safety. It wasn't the time to selfishly think about the fate of his own species when so many people from different races relied on him to stay alive.

Most of those present weren't even hunters and of those who were, many didn't actually possess a trait and simply pretended their hybrid nature was a trait.

The poorly organized hybrids followed Elio's command to the best of their ability, firing at the distance despite them being out of the effective range of their firearms and most of the bullets that actually landed on an enemy did so mainly out of luck.

Still, despite not defeating many of the beasts it seemed to act as an effective deterrent as some of them retreated opening what seemed like an escape route.

Despite his firm resolution to flee with as many people as he could, Elio found himself hesitating for a moment as running away meant leaving forsaking the entire Dolminico family who, not only were the main benefactors of the hybrid community but were also plant based hybrids like himself.

This moment of stupor came to an end when the line was broken from the inside as a giant feline jumped over the defensive formation before anyone could open fire until it disappeared in the distance as swiftly as it first appeared.

This seemed to somewhat rattle the cryptids in the distance and a few strange noises reached them acting as an impromptu signal for everyone to turn on the lanterns they just received without even questioning themselves whether the cryptids had already breached their formation.

If Jon's energy signature could already be considered a beacon that attracted all the cryptids in the vicinity, the lanterns only amounted to that effect seemingly snapping the cryptids out of their reverie.

Not long after, all sorts of creatures rushed towards them from different directions clawing at them, biting at them, even luring some of the hybrids outside their formation and into the darkness only to never be seen again.

"Keep firing!" Elio shouted the only command he could think of as the task of leading the hybrids only fell upon him due to his race and to him also possessing a trait. Unfortunately, although the weapons provided to them by the Dolminico family were powerful enough to shred most beast rank cryptid to pieces, there were far stronger creatures effortlessly pushing past their defensive formation.

At that point, those with stronger bodies and bigger claws took a step forward to protect those who were armed with firearms, but despite their terrifying appearance most of them used to be regular citizens working menial jobs behind counters or doing handiwork and asking more of them would not only be unfair, but also unrealistic.

Everyone tried to put up a fight, but with so few experienced hunters in the ranks it was becoming evident that making it out alive was unlikely at best.