Chapter 158: Spider Legion

HONG!

Leonel took a strong step forward. 

[Leonel Morales (Force Amplified)] 

[Strength: 2.59; Speed: 2.38; Agility: 2.43; Coordination: 2.61; Stamina: 2.73 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 2.63; Spirit: 2.92; Force: 0.60]

The grass beneath his feet swayed wildly, being pressed down by his momentum as he took yet another step forward. 

HONG!

[Leonel Morales (Force and Spear Domain Lineage Factor Amplified)] 

[Strength: 2.85; Speed: 2.62; Agility: 2.67; Coordination: 2.87; Stamina: 2.73 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 2.90; Spirit: 2.92; Force: 0.66]

With Leonel as the center, billowing winds spread out, leaving a trail of concentric circles as though a helicopter was descending from above. 

At that moment, Leonel smiled lightly. 'I haven't gotten back to Aina yet, I have no intention of dying in this place.'

"I'm sure you all heard that." Leonel said without turning back. "Aim well."

Leonel dashed forward, his speed so swift that it almost looked like his feet weren't touching the ground. 

To his back, the youths clenched their jaws. By now, in the chaos of the moment, those of the Eastern and Southern Lookouts didn't have the luxury of continuing to remain separated. 

King of Seas and Pisces were still fuming over what happened earlier, but did they have much of a choice? If they didn't band together now, wouldn't their slim chance at survival become even slimmer than it already was?

Still, despite the situation, those of the Southern Lookout had complicated feelings of their own. They couldn't help but feel odd about Leonel's actions to this point. Wasn't he supposed to be arrogant and insufferable? 

Someone with those kinds of personality traits would probably use their superior power to force them to act as meat shields. If it came down to it, and Leonel forced them to take the vanguard, would they even be able to say no? Where would they go? Without a pillar of support like Leonel, what were their odds of survival?

Leonel crossed the last line of grass and stepped onto the gravel-like land of death. To him, it simply didn't matter whether those to his back followed him or not. He was a person with a soft heart. This was precisely why he had taken on the role of their vanguard. However, it was impossible for him to put himself in anymore danger should they choose to hesitate. 

The loose land beneath his feet was kicked up into the air as his hair whipped about wildly. There was something freeing knowing that all of his opponents were just beasts, as though an inhibition on his heart had been removed and he could finally let loose. 

At that moment, a familiar roar sounded behind Leonel, causing his lip to curl into a more prominent smile. It seemed that they had finally decided to follow. 

'[Call of the Wind]'

The ease with which Leonel used this technique simply couldn't be compared to the first time he had done so. It looked as though he had only casually flicked his wrist a few times, yet several lines of white curled in the air, finding the gap between the head and thorax of several spiders in the blink of an eye. 

Leonel could at most use this technique a few times in the past. But now, using it over a hundred wasn't an issue. Before he had even met the frontline of the charging legion, almost a dozen large spiders had already fallen, their mandibles chopping at empty air. 

'As expected, the smaller ones have the same weakness as the larger one…'

How could all of these spiders be of the same sub species? Things would never be so convenient. Let alone this spider legion, even the legion of the tiger and bear weren't completely homogenous. 

But, what stood true was that like converged with like. The spider legion was mostly made up of  various mutated arachnids and different kinds of insects. The tiger legion was most constructed of large cat-like beast. So on and so forth…

Now that Leonel had a firm grasp of their weakness, he wouldn't allow them to stop his path forward. Especially not now that he had support coming to his back. 

In another few strides, Leonel had met the spider legion. The youths charging closely to his back couldn't help but be shocked by his dauntlessness. But, if they knew that Leonel first trial in this world was facing an army of Spaniards with no weapon outside of a bicycle… they would think much differently. 

This fearlessness, this dauntlessness, the firmness of his stride and the straightness of his back… he had earned them all with his blood, sweat and tears. 

Leonel's movements became ethereal, his steps carrying a bit of the elegance of the primitive woman. As devastating as [Call of the Wind] was in the long range, in the short range, it was even more so. 

Leonel carved a path, sliding past the sharp legs and chomping pincers of insects and spiders around him. 

If all he had to do was make it past, he would have long since stepped through the air. However, he held his ground firmly, every pierce of his spear reaping another life. 

Suddenly Leonel took his left hand off the staff of his spear, flipping his palm to reveal his pistol. 

His hips spun as he fired a single shot. 

In the distance, Precious Moment had fallen. She scrambled to pull back, ignoring the hard gravel scraping across her palms and bottom as she hurried back. The mandibles of a mantis-like creature snapped toward her, not caring for the tears and snot running down her face. 

"Emilia!" 

Seer roared from a battle to her side, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time. Disregarding himself, he pointed his staff toward the mantis, blowing it away. But, before he could sigh in relief, he realized the spider he had been fighting was now free to attack him. 

A leg glistening like steel shot toward his chest. He could almost see the scene of his chest being pierced right through. 

However, he could have never expected a single shot to find its mark at that very moment. 

The spider had hardly raised its legs before it fell limply to the ground, unable to get up again. 

Seer looked toward the direction of the shot, only to find Leonel's back looking back at him. A feeling of gratefulness welled up in his chest.

'He fired that shot even before I saved Emilia… Just how did he predict what would happen…?'

Unfortunately, this wasn't the time for him to ask this question, because his savior was facing his own problems now. After seeing Leonel take out so much of its own, the spider king which had been taking a backseat suddenly couldn't any longer. 

Leonel's jaw steeled. "Give me a rundown of this spider's abilities."