Chapter 130: Deadlight District (21)

Tinubu had decided not to send any of his gang members with them. According to him, they had received intel that something was about to take place at their base, and as such, he needed all the men under his rank to remain behind and defend it.Marlon had already suspected that it was most likely a gang war, judging by the nature of the Deadlight District and the tension that always surrounded it.

Because of that, he did not bother requesting his assistance.

There were exactly thirty hunters available, and that number was more than enough to raid five danger zones at once without any issues.

If Marlon did not possess his newly acquired mirror clone unit skill, he would have suggested that they form three groups with ten members each. That way, they could clear the danger zones efficiently while also minimizing casualties.

Nonetheless, with his skill at hand, he only needed to send four clones to complete the numbers.

Not only would he be able to monitor each raid simultaneously, but he would also earn a large amount of experience points in the process, allowing him to grow stronger at a much faster pace.

It was a win-win situation.

The team formation process ended rather quickly.

In less than ten minutes, five different raiding groups had already been formed and finalized.

For Marlon’s team, he selected Sandra and Clarissa first. After that, he picked three other hunters, namely Kelvin, Joshua, and Caleb.

Kelvin was an archer with a flame attribute, Joshua was an earth manipulation talent user, and Caleb was a skilled swordsman.

Together, they were the perfect additions.

Afterward, Marlon summoned additional mirror clone units and distributed them among the five groups, ensuring that each team had enough manpower before finalizing the entire formation process.

The summoner who had been humiliated earlier was assigned as the leader of his own group. Without delay, he summoned several massive flying creatures to convey everyone to their destination.

===

The groups soon arrived at a deserted area completely devoid of life forms and buildings. The entire place was shrouded in thick fog, far denser than what they had encountered at the Black Tower.

Nevertheless, while there were no structures or living beings in sight, the same could not be said for danger zones.

The area was riddled with them.

From the back of the flying creature, Marlon spotted at least five portal-type danger zones, all barely spaced apart from one another.

Not too far away from the gathering of portals stood a massive field-type danger zone, encircled by a towering red barrier that seemed to pierce straight into the clouds above.

In this place, only the familiar sound of swirling vortexes and the constant gusts of wind produced by them could be heard.

Some of the hunters gulped nervously upon witnessing such a sight.

Others whispered among themselves, discussing how strange and unsettling it was to see so many danger zones clustered together in one location.

Nevertheless, a few of them understood the reason behind it. The dwellers of the Deadlight District did not care to raid danger zones. It was widely known that they would only bother to slay the monsters when a break occurred.

And as someone who had experienced such a situation firsthand, Marlon knew that those rumors were not farfetched in the slightest.

Marlon tilted his head toward the summoner and gave him a signal.

The summoner immediately responded, controlling the flying creatures to descend toward the ground.

Marlon alighted from his clone.

While the others struggled to get accustomed to the troublesome desert soil beneath their feet, Marlon, with the help of his feather boots, was able to stroll with ease. He moved around calmly, inspecting each of the danger-zones while noting their respective danger levels.

They were all C-rank.

The field-type danger zone was also C-rank.

It was impossible to determine which of them posed a greater threat.

After completing his inspection, Marlon split the groups and directed them toward their assigned danger zones.

He purposely sent the weakest group into the field-type danger zone.

And after ensuring that every group had stepped into their respective portals, he and his party finally stepped into theirs.

The familiar sensation that accompanied stepping into a portal washed over them once more. Moments later, their vision darkened, and in the next instant, they found themselves in an entirely new environment.

Trees.

That was the first thing they noticed upon entering the new dimension.

The trees were massive, towering far above them, and they bore a striking resemblance to those found in Arden.

However, as they continued to scan their surroundings, they quickly realized that the place was not as familiar as they had initially expected.

Instead of the usual blue sky and white clouds, the heavens above were filled with dark swirling purple clouds.

Marlon scanned the area with his danger sense and detected no threats nearby. Once he confirmed it was safe, he signaled for the others to move in with him.

Just like most danger zones, the main objective of this one was to locate and slay the boss.

Nonetheless, finding a boss in such a vast area was always difficult and tricky.

Most times, one had to slay a large number of monsters before even finding clues pointing to the whereabouts of the boss.

They strolled into the forest and soon came across all sorts of strange vegetation, including a much larger and more dangerous version of a Venus flytrap.

Under their watchful eyes, it snapped shut and devoured small animals like rabbits and hares that wandered too close.

Fortunately, it did not trouble them.

Even when one of Marlon’s clones deliberately walked past it to test its reaction, the flytrap did not attack.

This made their journey into the forest far easier than expected.

A few minutes after they began moving forward, they were suddenly met with their first wave of attacks.

Dozens of massive wolf type monsters with purple fur and glowing red eyes poured out from different directions, quickly surrounding them.

The group did not give the monsters any chance to close the distance before springing into action.

Joshua and Caleb sprinted in opposite directions, each engaging separate groups of wolves. Meanwhile, Kelvin brought out his bow and stood beside Clarissa, guarding her position. He formed flame arrows out of thin air and released them toward the approaching wolves.

Sandra’s body was engulfed in a layer of white energy that boosted her strength and agility. Pulling a spear from her inventory, she charged straight into battle.

Her movements were graceful and agile, and it was clear she had mastered the art of the spear. Each swing followed her flow with elegance, cleaving monsters apart with clean and decisive strikes.

HOWL!

CLANG!

BANG!

Within seconds, the area was filled with a chaotic mix of howls, clashes, and explosive sounds.

Marlon sent two of his clones into action while he watched calmly from the sidelines.

The moment the clones stepped in, they immediately stole the spotlight. Each of them took down their opponents with a single punch.

Only a few wolves, those that were especially swift, managed to avoid being killed instantly. Even then, they suffered severe injuries that rendered them incapable of continuing the fight.

Although the wolves were massive and possessed great strength, they were still quite weak when compared to the average C rank hunter.

Based on levels alone, Caleb was the weakest in the group. Even so, he managed to land several successful strikes without much difficulty.

In less than ten minutes, the final wolf was slain by Sandra.

"It is much easier than I expected," Marlon muttered quietly.

While the others gathered together to catch their breath, he sent one of his clones to harvest the monster cores.

"If I may ask, how much of your power do your clones possess?" Sandra said while standing beside him in a reserved tone, her eyes on the clones as they worked efficiently,

"Seventy percent," Marlon replied half mindedly.

"Seventy percent?"

Not only Sandra, but the others repeated the words in shock.

Doppelganger type skills were not rare. However, only a few high ranking hunters could summon clones that possessed up to fifty percent of their power.

Even then, those clones were usually quite dull when compared to Marlon’s, which were capable of carrying out complex tasks like harvesting.

"That is insane. But I am curious, why didn’t you use this skill during your entrance exam? It would have boosted your reputation even more."

"Well, I didn’t possess this skill during the exam," Marlon replied calmly.

Hearing this, they were even more stunned.

Whispers spread among the group as they exchanged shocked glances.

Only Clarissa remained silent, her gaze fixed on Marlon.

By then, the clones had finished harvesting and transferred the monster cores to Marlon.

Without wasting any time, they proceeded deeper into the forest.

Unknowingly to them, a pair of eyes continued to follow from behind.