Zero thought of avoiding the Arzuros but Arzuros were very territorial monsters and they could smell intruders entering their territory from hundreds of meters away.
There was no way he could get out of this place without encountering even one group of Arzuros.
However, he could decrease the number of Arzuros he needed to fight by getting out of their territory quickly.
A group of Arzuros made their way to take out the intruder that they had noticed. They had picked up the scent of incoming Zero and were waiting to kill him.
For these monsters, humans were the worst kind of creatures. They invade their territory and kill them. So, obviously, they were not planning to be kind to them either.
As I was sprinting through the territory of Arzuros, I saw a group of Arzuros ahead of me. It might have been more effective if they stayed hidden and ambushed me but they were just stupid monsters who would not think of such tactics.
I didn't intend to stop or turn around after spotting them. It would have been better if I didn't encounter them but since they are so eager to fight me, I can only fulfill their desire.
The Arzuros roared ferociously, vibrating the air. Arzuros bared their fangs and flexed their claws as they raised their massive frame on their hind legs. The average height of these monsters was 3 meters which is almost twice that of a human.
The Arzuros swing their large arms toward the approaching Zero like a streak of lightning.
However, what Arzoros hit was just empty air. Zero has already dodged and has passed through the first Arzuros.
Before the Arzuros who struck at Zero could even turn around, Zero had already impaled him on his heart from the back.
The first Arzuros fell down without much resistance. There was a torrent of blood oozing out from his body, quickly covering his entire body.
Zero turned around to look at the remaining Arzuros. They didn't attack him from behind as he expected. Looks like they don't know the concept of a sneak attack.
The other Arzuros took a few seconds to realize that their fellow comrades had just been killed. They roared furiously and charged at Zero almost at the same time.
The Arzuros used their claws one after another to tear Zero apart, but he dodged all of it easily. It was not that Arzuros monsters were slow, rather they are known for the vicious speed of their claws when they strike.
However, Zero's reaction speed was faster than their attack. They did their best to hit him but Zero kept on dodging their attacks.
Meanwhile, Zero would counterattack and seriously injure them.
The Arzuros became more agitated after their attacks failed to hit their prey. They began to fiercely attack the human.
Zero slowly took out the Arzuros one by one. The number of Arzuros decreased as time went on until only one Arzuros remained.
"Now you are the last one."
The last Arzuros was bleeding from head to toes. From the beginning to the end, he persisted until he was the only one left.
He charged at Zero with every last bit of power he could muster. There was no intention to retreat in the eye of the Arzuros.
Zero just shifted a little to avoid the attack before stabbing his sword straight into his heart.
The last Arzuros of the group fell to the ground.
The fight with Arzuros' group was just a warm-up fight for Zero. Arzuros was not difficult to defeat even if they were in a group.
Zero looked for the monster core but he could not find it among the Arzuros he had slain. He stored the bodies of Arzuros in the spatial ring and continued to move through the Arzuros' territory.
The body of Arzuros might not fetch a high amount of Ethan coin but since he has killed them, he would not want the body to become a waste.
Their claws will be useful for making weapons and their fur for defensive equipment. Though the money he gets will be just a drop in the huge amount of money he already possesses, he wants the monster he killed to be at least useful for something.
He didn't want them to be killed for nothing.
Not long after his first encounter with the Arzuros monster group, he encountered two more groups of Arzuros monsters. He managed to take care of them in a short amount of time.
After running through Arzuros's territory for two hours, Zero was finally out of Arzuros's territory. He checked his map again to confirm his current position.
"20 km to the northeast and there will be the territory of the Brutal Lion."
Brutal Lion was an elite monster at the rank of D+. They were faster and more vicious compared to Arzuros. Their tactics as a team were also more powerful than other monsters of the same rank.
The leader of Brutal Lion is the boss of this dungeon. The leader of those Brutal Lions is known as the Spectral Lion, a special existence with the ability to lead the Brutal Lions.
The Spectral Lion was not only a great commander of the other Brutal Lion, but its stats were comparable to those of a monster of Rank-C. It was also proficient at using fire abilities.
Spectral Lion was the monster that he needed to defeat in order to conquer the dungeon. Spectral Lion's fire abilities could be nullified by his Ice Art but the problem was that he needed to fight the other Brutal Lions that would be with Spectral Lion.
Spectral Lion alone would give Zero some trouble, not to mention fighting with other monsters at Rank-D +.
As Zero contemplated a plan to deal with the Brutal Lions defending Spectral Lion, he formulated a plan.
I slowed my pace after exiting the territory of Arzuros.
When venturing to the territory of Brutal lions, I would occasionally encounter Rank-D monsters such as Orge, Silver Wolf, and Lone Tiger.
However, they were just Rank-D monsters and they would also be alone, so it was easy for me to take care of them.
I would leave them alone if they didn't attack me. Fighting with them was just a waste of time and it felt a bit like bullying when I fought them.
I took a mana potion just before entering the territory of Brutal Lion.
"Here comes the real difficulty."