World Richest: My Infinite Wealth Began With World Travelling-Chapter 28: Cranosith (2/5)

Time moved comically slowly within the tunnel, the crew watching their comrade helplessly as a strange creature dragged him into the heap of skeletal remains.

Only the hero and the captain were able to come back to their senses and make a move to save the soldier. The captain unsheathed his weapon and the hero equipped his own, and both dashed towards the commotion.

Alister moved at a speed several times faster than Theobald and arrived before the helpless soldier in a split second. Not wasting an instant, he lifted his sword and executed a quick downward slash, splitting the flexible bony hand in two and freeing the soldier.

Theobald arrived at just the right moment. He quickly grabbed the soldier and pulled him away from danger.

The other half of the strange bony appendage wiggled and retracted back into its hideout among the bones. A movement within the heap was easily noticed by everyone, including Alister.

SCREECH!

Before the crew could grasp the situation, a menacing screech echoed through the tunnel as the abnormality revealed itself, leaping out of its previous hiding place.

The revelation of the abnormality sparked fear in everyone’s heart. Some froze, while others lost their composure and collapsed onto the ground, shivering. Even Alister felt his heart skip a beat at its appearance.

The abnormality, standing not far from them, measured around ten meters in height with a robust width. Its presence dominated the space, dwarfing every living creature present. Its appearance was unlike any creature they had ever seen, its body constructed entirely of bone, including its head. Not a single bit of flesh could be found on its form.

IIt stood upon two huge bony feet and its upper torso consisted of eight flexible bony arms, each tipped with sharp claws. Although, one was shorter than the others. It was the same one that had grabbed the soldier earlier, the same one Alister had split with his sword.

Its eyes were mirror-like, reflecting the sharp glow of the crystal lantern in the hero’s grasp. Those lifeless, terrifying eyes radiated a strong bloodlust towards the humans staring at it, sending shivers down their spines.

"What the heck is that?" the soldier who had been grabbed earlier cried out in a scared voice, crawling backward in fright.

Alister observed the unnamed abnormality while maintaining a defensive stance, his mind racing to identify what sort of creature it could be.

The bony abnormality fixed its terrifying eyes upon them like an apex predator stalking prey. The only noticeable movement were its writhing bony arms.

In a moment like this, Alister could only wish he had an inspection skill in his arsenal to discern the name and strength of this abnormality and the ones he would face in the future.

But at the same time, he knew the name and strength didn’t matter. What mattered was taking this monstrosity down before it dealt more damage to the dwindling population.

"Let me hold this for you," Theobald stepped closer to Alister and offered to hold the crystal lantern, knowing that only the hero could confront the abnormality.

Alister handed the crystal lantern over to the captain.

"Step back, all of you. I’ll handle this," Alister announced.

He performed a quick stretch and took a bold step closer to the abnormality, which now had its eyes locked on him as if marking him as its new opponent.

SCREECH!

It let out a lengthy screech, its eyes revealing a threatening glint.

The next second, five of the eight flexible arms darted toward Alister’s position with lethal precision and speed.

Alister’s eyes shone brilliantly as he analyzed his next move, his hand tightening its grip on his weapon.

CLACK!

CLACK!

CLANG!

The hero evaded four of the arms and parried one of them.

The abnormality let out an enraged howl as it missed its feeble target. It retracted some arms backward and sent the others twisting toward Alister’s new position, but he did not stop moving.

Two bony hands twined together and lunged after the sprinting hero. The lethal swishing of them tearing through the air could be heard echoing in the tunnel.

Alister made a quick sidestep and the two bony hands slammed against the rough wall, sending a cracking sound spiraling through the passage. The force of the attack was immense.

The abnormality erupted in an even more enraged screech.

Having its attack toyed with by a mere human fueled its fury. Its killing intent boiled hotter, causing it to send more arms toward him.

Six bony hands spun through the air, aimed at a single person. The speed at which they moved was unpredictable, an average human wouldn’t manage to evade one of them.

Fortunately, thanks to Alister’s superhuman agility, evading the drifting hands was possible but far more difficult than any abnormality he had faced so far.

"I can’t believe I’m struggling this much against its arms alone," Alister muttered as he attempted to split one of the hands that missed stabbing his heart by mere inches. He paused, twisted his arms, and chopped down on the limb.

The sound of his sword slicing through the fast-moving bone mixed with the whoosh of the other arms twisting menacingly toward him as if to protect their injured kin.

The other hands struck at his position all at once.

Alister gritted his teeth and hurled himself to the side with all the strength he could muster. He evaded some attacks entirely, but one grazed his stomach, tearing through his school uniform and cutting his flesh. The white fabric was instantly stained red.

Alister flinched in pain and quickly pressed his free hand over the wound in a futile effort to staunch the bleeding.

"It hurts so much, fuck!" he cursed.

His eyes darted upward to see the hands that had missed earlier already moving toward him again.

Alister cursed and began moving once more. As he sprinted to divert the attacks, the pain intensified.

King Julian and the others grew worried seeing the hero’s condition, their hearts sank at the sight. If he were injured worse than his current state then the chance of surviving the tunnel alone would be at its lowest.

Whispers of concern and frustration spread amongst them.

Theobald handed the lantern to Osborne and stepped forward to assist the hero even though he knew it was dangerous.

"I don’t mind sacrificing my life for the hero to survive," he vowed inwardly as he sprinted into the chaotic battle.

The abnormality’s eyes spotted the huge captain charging towards it and became annoyed. It then sent two of the limbs formerly chasing the hero toward him.

Theobald instantly halted and swung his sword at the first hand that reached his position, and braced himself against the second. The sound of his sword striking the hard bone reverberated across the tunnel.

Theobald wasn’t as fast as Alister, but he had trained to parry swift attacks like this in his younger days.

Although the hands were faster than what he had trained against, he still managed to defend himself.

With Theobald engaging two hands, Alister was left with four, reducing his burden. Now that the abnormality’s focus was divided, a much stronger advantage emerged.