Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 794: The mad hunter
After experiencing the worst side of society for so long Uriel couldn't believe people were even capable of being kind to him just for the sake of it, not even after they took care of Luna, healed Nika, lent him a horse. What did the trick was them treating him no different than the rest of their team. They shared their food, their stories and answered to all his questions, but more importantly, they allowed him to participate on the fights along the way without qualms.
He was assigned to the pikemen division due to the low range of his revolver and his preference to fight melee and as soon as the first beast level cryptids showed up Uriel realized he fitted quite well with the rowdy bunch.
The pikemen would surround cryptids to cut off their path, but they would only move on to attack if the cryptid attempted to press on forward. This way, they didn't need to risk getting hurt while the snipers did their job. Whenever they encountered monster level cryptids hiding in between the beast level packs, they would let them pass one at a time for the assault rifle team to deal with.
Uriel felt like a gear in a well oiled machine that worked wonders. Even at his level he would more often than not result injured in battle, but with the Tercio's strategy the cryptids didn't stand a chance.
That, however, wasn't the case for all cryptids as the roaring sound of a lizard creature that emerged from the ground shook the every bone in the hunters' bodies. Each step of the gigantic lizard caused the earth to tremble and with six legs with inverted joints it felt like a constant earthquake.
Uriel's horse became understandably frightened in the presence of such an apex predator and it reared up causing the rider to fall on the dry soil. It was as disadvantageous as it seemed as the hulking cryptid charged at Uriel at a speed that didn't match its weight.
"You want a piece of me!? Come get it you... one, two, three... six. It's a bug!" Uriel shivered in disgust at the thought of the mix of a lizard and an insect which made him hesitate about whether he wanted to use the dagger or the revolver as he wanted to avoid getting covered in goo.
The time for lingering on silly thoughts quickly came to pass as the cryptid was nearing its prey, but instead of finding a struggling hunter by his lone self it was met with a myriad of pikes and lances that somehow managed to slow its run to a crawl to the point where Uriel even managed to land a few cuts here and there to a cryptid the size of a school bus completely unpunished.
The pikemen surrounded it like ants on a snail corpse while the assault rifle team bruised it up, but the actual damage dealers were the ones on the sniper team since they focused fire on the gemstone in its forehead that seemed to be its weakness.
Had Luna been conscious she would have marveled at the sight of an hexapod cryptid of that size, but more so at the brimming gemstone that was its weakness. It was hard like steel and emitted an eerie shimmer, proof that it possessed a quality rare in both cryptids and hunters alike.
"The Geiger counter is firing up, that thing is radioactive and is about to open fire!" The female doctor that carried Luna informed with a shout prompting everyone to take distance from the cryptid and regroup. Everyone but Uriel, that is.
To him, a cryptid being radioactive or not made no difference about the fact that there had to be a flux orb somewhere within its body. The gemstome may have been its particular weakness, but all cryptids shared the same debilitating weak spot and Uriel knew exactly how to find it.
After putting on his glasses and activating Dash, Uriel performed a series of slashes beneath the cryptid's throat at the exact time it started emitting light. What followed was the cryptid channeling flux energy for a few seconds and then unleashing a powerful white beam from its mouth towards the horseback riders.
"Hold the line!" Alonso commanded and the pikemen promptly lifted up their shields and activated a variety of traits ranging from physical enhancements to barriers of all kinds. Stone walls, water domes and even mystical barriers that couldn't be explained by science.
When the blinding light subsided it was shown that everyone did hold their position as commanded and the only ones who suffered injuries were the hunters in the first line of defense. They varied from person to person since they all possessed different traits, but no one received fatal injuries.
"Such a good man he was," Alonso let out in a sigh, but when the dust cleared he saw Uriel still going at the cryptid's throat like an angry mosquito. He stepped in and out of attack range taking advantage of the angle that prevented the cryptid from biting at him, but due to the foul creature possessing six legs Uriel could end up being stomped on at any given moment. "Provide support fire. Pikemen, advance!"
The orders were clear and the hunters had every intention to follow through, but before they even reached the position Uriel turned towards them, playfully throwing a round object up in the air and catching it several times.
"That was a tough one!" Uriel grinned at the leader of the pikemen at the same time the hulking beast collapsed on the ground and the crowd burst out into cheers as they dismounted their horses just to lift Uriel up in the air and carry him towards Alonso.
"You have to be the boldest hunter I have seen in my entire career." Alonso said to which the pikemen leader replied amidst chuckles.
"And that's saying a lot coming from the boss."
"Why is that?" Uriel asked.
"Well, it is a bit awkward to have to explain it myself but since we're friends," Alonso said, then took off his chest piece revealing a T- shirt with a japanese drawing on it. "I'm a bit of an otaku."
"That's why they call him the Mad hunter, but don't be fooled by his nickname, he's the best boss I've ever had." The female doctor who now held Luna on her arms like an overgrown baby said.
"This Tercio thing was his idea, same as the horses and the chemical lanterns." The pikemen added.
"I see how relying on horses is helpful since they aren't affected by cryptid's FOD and they provide extra mobility in and out of combat. Chem lights are also helpful and I see how you came up with those things. But how did you even know about the Spanish Tercios? Is that common knowledge in this country or something?" Uriel finally asked the question that had been taking laps inside his mind for a while.
"As you can see, I'm old... but I'm older than you may think. When the arrival took place I was already an old man, but you know how hunters supposedly have a higher life span. The thing is, before the arrival we had history classes that actually taught history and we had access to books, not those heavily revised and redacted versions but the original ones. Too bad most of them got destroyed for one reason or the other." Alonso looked sad for a moment which Uriel took as him missing his books, though what the old hunter was actually thinking was of the old mangas he had lost over the years.
As per their agreement, Uriel turned in the entity level flux orb trusting that he would eventually receive the proper compensation after their mission ended. Now that they took care of the beastly entity that lurked in the vicinity of Villanueva, they were finally able to enter the town.
It didn't take a genius to understand that most hunter teams weren't equipped to deal with an entity rank cryptid which is why most of those present just assumed that the missing hunting parties had fallen to that creature. Nevertheless, the day was young and they had free reins to raid the place to their hearts content.
"Before we start the salvage operation I would like to remind you that you get to keep whatever you find, but if a dispute raises up for whatever reason I will be the one deciding who gets to keep what." Alonso said to his men before giving them the go.
"Come on, Nika, I need you to give me a hand with something." Uriel spoke to his shadow and the beautiful huntress emerged in a grumpy mood.
"I'm on medical leave." Nika replied.
"Medical leave my ass, the only way you're skipping work is if you finish paying what you owe me." Uriel glared at her.
"I thought you forgot about it." Nika pouted and followed him meekly into what they thought was an antique shop.
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