How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 367

Episode 367 - Dark Star (1)

A five-star party.

Dorneth Gader held the center with his shield, while Kal and Natasha swept fiercely in all directions. Natasha’s spiritual fists and Kal’s ghostly dagger technique smashed and split their enemies’ heads.

It looked like a one-sided massacre, but it took quite a long ti to finish them off.

There were too many enemies clinging to them, and they were relentless.

“Goddamn it!”

Natasha let out a rough breath and shook the blood off her fists.

She looked around—hundreds of corpses lay scattered in the snowy field, growing cold.

“Where the hell did these bastards suddenly co from?”

Their assailants knew no fear and felt no pain.

Even when their limbs were crushed, they propped themselves up and ca charging again. Once they latched on, they wouldn’t let go until their heads were shattered.

Their physical strength far exceeded that of normal people. Though they lacked reason, they fought with threatening force. In a swarm of hundreds, even she could have been seriously injured.

“They’re from Pri Root. But sothing’s not right.”

“Rengua. That old man’s doing, isn’t it?”

“They all seem to have been consud by madness.”

Kal inspected the corpses and clicked his tongue. The faces of the dead were all twisted in the sa way.

Not in pain—

But contorted in rage.

Each bore the mark of Rengua’s madness spells.

Once a person is driven mad, only the instinct for destruction remains. That instinct is violently unleashed, and it seed soone had redirected it at them.

“Looks like a diversion.”

“That crazy old bastard... throwing away his own n to save his skin?”

They thought of Azolett and Rengua, who had fled from the party.

They’d nearly caught them.

But this ambush had widened the gap again.

“Can he just kill them off like that? Aren’t they on the sa side?”

“Pri Root doesn’t care.”

Pri Root was practically a criminal city. It was a refuge for fugitives and outlaws running from justice, and Pri Root gave them a place to settle.

So most of Pri Root was made up of raiders and human hunters.

Law and order didn’t exist.

Might was law.

And in Pri Root, only one group reigned supre—

Black Star.

“Azolett is one of the Black Stars. If Rengua’s moving with her, then he must be one as well.”

“In other words, they’re kings around here. Which ans we’ll face heavier interference.”

“Exactly.”

Natasha frowned.

At the edge of the territory, Pri Root’s low-level raiders had blocked their path, and further in, human hunters used various hunting artifacts to tie them down.

The deeper they went into the region, the stronger their enemies beca.

But nothing we can’t break through.

They were a party of four five-stars.

To those trying to stop them, they were a disaster. So who recognized their power had chosen to flee.

That’s how they had been able to close in on Rengua quickly—until they encountered the madn.

Now things had gotten annoying.

Kal gauged their current position.

Just a bit farther, and we’ll hit the Frozen Desert.

The Frozen Desert was the boundary that led into the heart of Pri Root.

They had to catch them before they crossed it.

Once they were past that, even a five-star party would be taking too big a risk.

“Let’s move.”

At Kal’s signal, the group began their pursuit.

Keros took the lead.

As a warden of the spirit world, Keros could distinguish spiritual scents. Since Azolett and Rengua both possessed strong spiritual energy, Keros had no trouble tracking them.

He charged across the snowy fields without hesitation, while Natasha and Kal kept watch on the surroundings, and Dorneth followed quietly in the rear, carrying Lily on his back.

Only the sound of cutting wind echoed through the blizzard as they sped forward.

How long had they run?

A glint of reflected light appeared ahead of them.

The Frozen Desert.

A vast ice-sand wasteland filled with hills of ice greeted Kal’s party.

An endless stretch of frozen land.

Keros stopped in the middle of it. Nearby, crimson bloodstains dotted the white.

Traces of soone dragging themselves along the ground.

Kal examined the trail.

It was Rengua’s.

The blood wasn’t dried or frozen—he’d been here recently.

Kal followed the tracks with his eyes and spotted small shadows darting across a distant ice dune.

“Natasha!”

Kal shouted her na and pointed hastily.

They were only shadows, but he instantly recognized them.

Rengua and Azolett.

They had finally caught sight of their prey.

Boom!

No words were needed.

Kal and Natasha kicked off the ground at the sa ti.

Their figures exploded forward like lightning over the white sand crystals.

They would catch up to their fleeing enemies, with Dorneth joining soon after.

The distance was long, but now that they had them in sight, they’d close the gap in no ti.

Then it happened.

“It’s a trap!”

Dorneth’s voice rang out from behind, where he was following at a distance.

A section of the white sand cracked ssskkk! and collapsed—dark figures shot up from beneath the surface.

They had been lying in ambush beneath the desert.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Snorting, Dorneth swung his shield at the attackers.

Boom boom boom!

They were knocked back by the impact, but only for a mont. The shadows rose again and surrounded Dorneth.

Ggruk, ggruk—

Foul noises spilled from them.

Creatures with multiple blood-red eyes rolled grotesquely as they stared at Dorneth like prey—they were spiders.

About ten of them.

Dorneth frowned as he looked at the spiders surrounding him.

They had dark crimson shells that stood out starkly against the pure white ice.

Each was around one ter in size, and they were unlike any spiders he’d faced before.

“They’re... fine?”

Dorneth’s shield had been infused with aura. A blow like that should’ve burst the innards of any normal monster, yet these spiders didn’t even look dazed.

Krrruk!

A mont later, several spiders let out a tallic screech and hurled themselves at him with bared, sharp fangs.

Dorneth clicked his tongue and swung his shield wider.

Kraaaang—!

A heavy shockwave rang out.

This ti, the spiders’ bodies burst, and their fluids splattered out.

Three slamd into a corner and twisted in pain, writhing.

Only three?

The rest stood back up and lunged at Dorneth again.

He gave a hollow laugh at the sight.

Pipipipipik—

The remaining spiders encircled him and sprayed webbing.

Red threads streaked through the air.

Hard to dodge.

Dorneth chose to block, raising his shield.

In an instant, both his shield and body were covered in red thread.

Furrowing his brow, he tried to tear through it.

...?

His movent faltered slightly. The webbing around his shield and body wouldn’t tear easily.

He could see the spiders’ fangs closing in.

“Ggeaaahh!”

With a roar, he burst forth with energy, and so of the webbing snapped. But only so—more webbing was imdiately fired at him.

As it piled on, his movents dulled further.

Holding his shield close, Dorneth slowly retreated.

These aren’t normal spiders.

They moved as if soone was controlling them.

He beca certain of it when he saw the spiders relentlessly targeting the unconscious Lily on his back.

Soone was directing them.

Kkrang!

Keros, who had been scouting nearby, rushed back and transford into a massive beast.

With a snarl, he sank his sharp teeth into one of the spiders—then more shadows scread and burst from the collapsed ground.

Kuaaaah—!

“Damn it, one after another.”

Dorneth swore.

Madn.

Dozens of them.

Normally, he could handle that number alone, but the webbing restricted his movent, and protecting Lily left him vulnerable.

Even with Keros’ help, they might not turn the tide quickly. Dorneth’s expression turned grim—

Kwajak!

“You goddamned bastards!”

Fists glowing with light smashed through the madn.

It was Natasha.

Behind her, a sonic boom ripped through the air.

Multiple daggers tore through the sky, targeting the spiders’ backs.

With Kal and Natasha returning, the tide of battle swiftly reversed.

The spiders frantically retreated underground, and the madn were wiped out.

There were no major injuries, but Natasha bit her lip and cursed.

“Damn it, we got played.”

“Yes, we did.”

Kal gave a bitter laugh as he looked toward the dunes.

Azolett and Rengua had vanished from sight.

They had no choice but to turn back when they saw Dorneth surrounded.

If it had only been madn, they would’ve left Dorneth and continued the pursuit.

But the spiders were new.

They had acted as a coordinated group and were powerful enough to trouble Dorneth.

Natasha examined one of the torn spider corpses.

“What the hell are these things?”

“They look like Crickets.”

“Crickets??”

“They’re called mana-radiant spiders. I received so info on them from Dark Sails. Seems Azolett has them under her control.”

“How many does she have?”

Fifteen or so wouldn’t be a huge burden—but if there were hundreds, that’d be dangerous.

“I rember the number was fifteen.”

“What are their traits?”

“Not much was written down, so I’m not sure…”

Kal frowned and looked over one of the spider corpses.

“These aren’t ordinary spiders.”

They hadn’t died easily even to Dorneth’s shield, and their webbing was so tough it startled even them.

It was like hitting a block of iron.

Still, they seed vulnerable to spiritual power and reacted strongly when struck with it. If Dorneth had been alone, things might’ve gone very badly.

“We’ll have to move as a group.”

Everyone nodded at Natasha’s words.

Many spiders had fled underground. They would surely ambush again, so it was safer to move together, even if slower.

“We’re still faster than them.”

“Let’s hurry.”

The group moved again.

The Frozen Desert was vast, and they still had a long way to go to reach the center.

Though they’d been obstructed repeatedly and lost their targets ti and again, they believed they would still have at least one more chance.

“Mnngh…”

Through the cold wind, Lily’s voice slipped out.

Kal looked at the sleeping Lily on Dorneth’s back and gave a bitter smile.

Of all tis, now she had to sleep.

But Natasha’s expression said it couldn’t be helped.

“It’s the Curse of Sloth. A congenital affliction—she’s had it since birth.”

“When will she wake up?”

“That depends on Lily’s will. She’d been improving after eting Arthur, but I think the recent overuse of spiritual power caused a relapse.”

Kal nodded at that.

The battle with Azolett, and the two clashes during their pursuit.

Lily had perford incredibly.

Her body must’ve been pushed past its limits.

She always smiled so brightly, they’d overlooked it. Now guilt pricked at him.

“She’s been asleep for two days. She should wake up soon.”

“It’d be best if we could end this without needing her help.”

“Maybe.”

Natasha chuckled faintly at Kal’s words and ran after Keros.

***

The cold sand desert.

The group’s eyes followed the faint tracks on the ground.

“...Khak!”

Staggering forward, Rengua vomited blood. Crimson trickled from his mouth.

Drip, drip, drip.

It wasn’t just his mouth that stained the cold sand.

Clutching his blood-soaked abdon, Rengua forced himself forward.

Behind him followed Azolett.

She opened her eyes slightly and grimaced.

“We have to hurry!”

“Did we fail?”

“We succeeded in delaying them. But it won’t last long.”

“Damn persistent bastards…”

Rengua’s face had gone pale. If it were an ordinary wound, he’d have healed by now.

But the wounds were from witches.

Inflicted with spiritual power imbued with deep resentnt and curses.

In the end, Rengua coughed up blood and collapsed.

As he judged he could go no further, Azolett supported him and said—

“Just hold on a little longer. Then our opportunity will co.”

“Opportunity…?”

“I made contact. They’ll arrive soon. When they do, the situation will completely change.”

As Azolett spoke, a faint relief crossed her face—she was thinking of soone.

Rengua instantly knew who she ant.

Soone was coming.

Azolett had contacted only one person—

The Sword Demon, Karvas.

The boss of the Black Star was heading their way.