Chapter 96: Grindhall City, I Have Returned

As Lurenzo’s voice rang far and wide, Lucien’s landlord’s aura simultaneously burst like a tide, sweeping over the crowd for the second time.

"Ugh!"

The captain was once again hit by the pressure and the balance in his heart tilted.

We...might not be able to stop this guy anyway.

Then...just...

The captain sweated bullets, his heart twisted in agony as he slowly opened his dry lips.

"Open..."

The patrol guards around him subconsciously raised their voices,

"Huh? What— "

The captain finally shouted out, veins popping on his neck.

"OPEN THE GATE!!"

At the captain’s piercing roar, the patrol guards inside the posts scrambled to touch the crystal ball controlling the barrier.

"O-opening the gate!"

Woongggggg.

The tightly closed golden barrier slowly twisted and the city gate opened with a loud noise.

Creakkkk...

The people in front of the gate didn’t rush in.

If anything, they hurriedly stepped aside, eyes darting at the back of the crowd.

As the crowd parted like the red sea, an empty path stretched from the city gate all the way to Lucien’s current place.

The wind blew, carrying the captain’s solemn roar.

"Escort!"

"Y-yes!"

Patrol guards dressed in neat uniforms rushed out of their posts, each of them carrying long snipers with them.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of footsteps echoed.

A group of patrol guards lined up on the left and right side of the empty road in front of the city gate, their guns raised high.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The drone scanners flew out, covering the sky like a net.

Zingggg.

The cannons aimed at Lucien and tip glowed, ready to shoot at any moment.

After a series of noises, the scene fell into silence.

The hunters and ordinary people huddled together behind the patrol guards, all eyes fixed at the back of the crowd— at those pairs of amethyst eyes.

Lucien curled the corner of his lips as he tapped the spider queen’s head.

[Go.]

"Kiikkk!

The spider queen slowly dragged her body forward.

The moment the spider queen entered the patrol guards’ range—

Click. Click. Click.

The lined up guards simultaneously pointed their snipers at the approaching queen.

Shrkkkk.

Dust rose from behind the worm carcass, slowly covering the spider queen’s head and Lucien’s figure.

Everyone on the left and right side held their breaths.

Long, sharp legs slowly passed by in front of the patrol guards.

Tak.

Tak.

Tak.

The legs were so close that the patrol guards could see the fine sharp fur covering them.

Ba-thump.

Ba-thump.

The patrol guards sweated, their hands trembled as the gun closely followed the colossal figure.

Zingggg.

The cannons up there also moved, following the spider queen’s movement.

Grrkkk.

The sound of something being dragged echoed in the suffocating silence.

As the spider queen’s huge body slowly entered the gap in the barrier, the captain finally broke the silence.

"Guards!"

More guards poured out of the posts but this time, they lined up behind the city gate, pushing the ordinary passerbys aside.

"Huh! What the hell??"

The citizens inside the gate clamoured but when they saw the colossal figure slowly approaching their place, the citizens subconsciously froze.

And then they instantly scattered away like birds.

"M-monster!"

"Ah! Run! Run! Run!"

The captain’s voice quickly reached the patrol guards inside the city,

"Clear a path to the square!"

"Roger!"

The patrol guards inside the city quickly moved, their motorcycles blocking the flying cars.

"Move! Move!"

The one on the ground also forcibly stopped the land cars.

"Halt! Turn around!"

Honk! Honk!

"What the hell!"

"What the fuck??"

The citizens went into an uproar, honking and cursing as they moved to the side, creating a path in the middle.

Hunters and awakeners in the city looked at the source of the commotion, their necks craning.

"What’s going on?"

"The guards are clearing the way."

"Huh? Is an important figure coming?"

"I don’t know."

The commotion quickly reached the mayor’s ears and the mayor immediately called the captain.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?! What’s going on— "

"That person...is back."

The captain murmured as he watched the spider queen slowly pass through the city gate, only the worm carcass was visible.

"That person? Who??"

At the mayor’s sharp voice, the captain simply shared the 3D holographic image straight to the mayor’s phone.

"What? Isn’t this that criminal??" The mayor raised his voice to an octave, "Why aren’t you catching him— "

A huge, black spider appeared in the image, dragging an equally enormous four-petal mouth worm.

The mayor’s voice faded.

"Mayor?"

As the captain inquired, a ragged breathing voice came from the mayor’s side and he murmured in a small voice like a mosquito,

"W-what is he..."

What the hell is wrong with that spider?

And the worm?

Just looking at the moving image sent a chill down the mayor’s spine.

The captain swallowed his sigh and spoke,

"Please send a city-wide broadcast to secure the lane."

The mayor rolled his eyes and relented, 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Fine!"

The mayor reluctantly issued an order and the city-wide broadcast rang throughout all corners.

[Alert. Alert. Clear the street from the city gate to the city square.]

[Alert. Alert. Clear the street from the city gate to the city square.]

As the official warning was announced, the entire city buzzed.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Who is making such a big fuss— "

The hunters who were grumbling suddenly choked on their breaths.

Not far from their place, people lined up on the left and right side, creating an empty path in the middle.

And there, an enormous spider slowly crawled towards them—

With a person sitting on top of the spider.

The hunters who saw Lucien’s face sucked the cold air.

"Isn’t that the...the criminal?"

Was all the fuss from this guy? How come—

Then, their eyes landed on the enormous four-petal mouth worm behind the spider queen.

The hunters immediately clamped their mouths.

Fck.

That’s the boss monster from the death zone, right??

As the hunters looked at each other, news spread fast.

[Breaking news! The death zone’s boss monster is going to be sold!]

[Don’t miss this chance!]

[Gather at the city square!]

The hunters affiliated with smaller guilds, individual hunters, awakeners and even the members of Poison Ring Guild received the news from the hunters outside of the city.

Various pictures and videos of the worm, the spider and Lucien spread like fire, setting the city ablaze.

"This boss monster is for sale??"

"Fck! Isn’t that the guy who destroyed our dungeon?? Call the guild members!!"

Even those currently at the black market quickly sniffed the news like a shark.

"Oh, my, a big treasure is coming."

"Let’s go."

Various forces moved in unison, heading towards the city square.

And Lucien, sitting on top of the spider queen, slowly curled the corner of his mouth.

Grindhall City, he has returned.

And everything— has just begun.