Hitman With A Badass System

Chapter 1208  Michael and Gaya’s problem

The colossal rock statue of Edros, now animated and wrathful, towered over the adventurers with a menacing aura of raw power. It swung its enormous club with devastating force, each blow causing the earth to tremble and sending shards of rock flying in all directions. The adventurers, though initially taken aback by the sheer might of the statue, quickly rallied and launched a counterattack.

Elrion and Lysandra, both agile and quick-thinking, utilized the dense forest to their advantage. They leaped from tree to tree, dodging the statue's crushing blows with grace. Facing the rock statue, Lysandra fired a volley of arrows, each one striking the statue with precision. Elrion, with his metallic wings in his armor glinting in the starlight, dove in and out, slashing at the statue with his long sword, each strike accompanied by a burst of golden energy.

The other adventurers, fueled by fear and adrenaline, attacked with whatever weapons they had at hand. Some used the discarded weapons of their fallen comrades, launching a barrage of attacks at the statue. The sounds of metal clanging against stone, the shouts and curses of the fighters, and the groans of the wounded filled the air.

"Damn it, this thing's tough as nails!" shouted one of the adventurers as he swung his axe at the statue's leg, only to have it bounce off harmlessly.

"We need to find its weak spot!" yelled another, narrowly dodging a swing of the statue's club.

Meanwhile, having retreated to a safer distance, Michael and Gaya used their Mark 3 grappling hooks to ascend to a higher vantage point in the trees. From there, they observed the battle unfolding below.

"This is insane," Gaya muttered, watching as another adventurer was swatted away like a fly by the statue.

"Yeah, but look at them go," Michael replied, his eyes scanning the battlefield. "They're not giving up. There's gotta be a way to bring that thing down."

As the battle raged on, Elrion and Lysandra continued to showcase their exceptional combat prowess. Elrion, with his sword glowing a bright gold, managed to slice off a chunk of the statue's rock arm, causing it to momentarily stagger. Lysandra, synchronizing her movements with Elrion, aimed her arrows at the newly exposed crevices in the statue's rocky exterior, her shots finding their mark with deadly accuracy.

Below them, the adventurers were coordinating their efforts more effectively now, inspired by Elrion and Lysandra's bravery. "C'mon, you big pile of rocks, fall already!" shouted a burly warrior as he and his companions charged in, swinging their weapons with all their might.

Watching the scene unfold, Gaya couldn't help but feel a surge of adrenaline. "We should be down there, helping them," she said, her hand gripping her bow tightly.

Michael, however, remained focused, analyzing the situation. "They're doing better than expected," he noted. "But this thing is not just a mindless statue. It's fighting with a purpose, almost like it's... testing them."

The rock statue of Edros, with its immense size and brute strength, proved to be an unstoppable force. Its movements, though seemingly sluggish, were deliberate and devastating. Every stomp of its gigantic feet caused the ground to quake, throwing adventurers off balance and into the path of danger.

One particularly gruesome moment saw a group of adventurers attempting to flank the statue, only for it to suddenly swing its massive arm, sweeping them off their feet. Their bodies were flung against the trees with sickening thuds, bones snapping on impact. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Damn, look out!" yelled an adventurer as the statue raised its club high above its head. The warning came too late for some as the club descended with earth-shattering force, crushing those beneath it into a bloody pulp. The sound of crunching bones and splattering blood filled the air, accompanied by the desperate cries of the wounded and the dying.

"Shit, this thing's a damn monster!" cursed another adventurer, narrowly avoiding a swipe of the statue's hand. The relentless attacks from the statue left the adventurers in disarray, their initial coordination now replaced with sheer panic and survival instincts.

The statue seemed to possess a cruel intelligence, targeting groups of adventurers with calculated ferocity. It moved with a purpose, its every strike claiming more lives, painting the forest floor red with blood.

Watching from her vantage point, Gaya couldn't help but feel a tinge of disgust mixed with admiration for the statue's effectiveness. "These poor bastards stand no chance against this thing," she muttered, her gaze fixed on the chaos below.

"It's like watching a predator toy with its prey. But there's a method to this madness. This isn't just mindless slaughter; it's a test, a brutal and bloody one."

The statue continued its rampage, its club swinging wildly, sending adventurers flying with each hit. The mages, unable to use their magic due to the dungeon's arrays, were left defenseless, their staffs and wands useless against the solid rock form of the statue.

As the death toll rose, the remaining adventurers began to lose hope, their attacks becoming more desperate and less coordinated. Suddenly, the massive ape statue began a new, terrifying assault. It started to pound its chest, a rhythmic, thunderous sound echoing through the forest. With each beat, the rock pieces on its chest shifted apart, revealing a heart that glowed with a bright, almost blinding white light. The adventurers, already reeling from the statue's brutal physical attacks, watched in horror as the statue's heart aimed directly at them.

Each pulse of the heart sent forth bone-chilling frost balls, hurtling toward the ground and the adventurers with deadly precision. The frost was so intense that the moment it touched the adventurers, it instantly froze them. The frozen figures shattered into grotesque chunks of red-tinted ice upon impact with anything solid, scattering across the forest floor.

"Damn it, what now?!" one adventurer cried out, trying to dodge the deadly frost balls.

However, Lysandra and Elrion showcased their combat readiness. They swiftly deployed retractable shields from their wrists, effectively blocking the frost balls. The sleek and metallic shields glistened under the forest's dim light, their surfaces absorbing the impact of the frost with a hiss.

"Looks like we're not the only ones with fancy armor," Gaya commented from her vantage point, observing the pair's defensive maneuvers. "Those shields... they're not ordinary," said Gaya.

After unleashing a barrage of frost attacks, the statue's chest closed up, resuming its earlier pattern of physical onslaughts. The adventurers, already diminished in number and spirit, faced this renewed aggression with a mix of fear and desperation.

"Shit, shit, shit! This thing's relentless!" an adventurer shouted, dodging another deadly swing of the statue's club.

Still using their shields, Lysandra and Elrion tried to coordinate the remaining adventurers into a more effective defensive formation. "Stay close and watch each other's backs!" Lysandra yelled, her voice cutting through the chaos.

Gaya, perched high in the tree beside Michael, watched the ape statue's ferocious attacks with keen interest. After observing the heart's chilling effect on the adventurers below, she turned to Michael, her eyes reflecting a mixture of curiosity and determination.

"Did you see that heart? That's gotta be what's powering this whole thing," Gaya remarked, pointing towards the statue's chest. "If we could just get that heart, like Silvaris suggested, you know, 'think like a thief'. Then we'll have the key to his treasure."

Yet, Michael didn't share her idea. Instead, he frowned, deep in thought, as he observed the ongoing chaos below them. "It's too obvious," he finally said, his gaze still fixed on the ape statue and its glowing heart. "Silvaris wouldn't make it that straightforward. There's got to be a catch somewhere."

Gaya nodded in agreement, understanding the complexity of the situation. "You're probably right," she admitted, "Silvaris loves his tricks and traps. We need to be smarter about this."

After watching the battle for a few more minutes, Michael decided to use one of his drones for a better perspective. He willed a drone to hover above the adventurers and the ape statue, careful to remain unnoticed. Through the drone's feed projected in his mind, Michael surveyed the chaotic scene, his attention shifting between the brutal attacks and the environment.

When the ape statue paused to open its chest again, unleashing another round of freezing frost balls, Michael froze the feed and zoomed in on the creature's back. The ape's gigantic form, with its large muscular back and exaggerated buttocks, dominated the screen. He scrutinized every detail, searching for anything unusual.

Then, as the statue stood still, firing its frost balls, Michael noticed a faint glimmer in the most unlikely of places — embedded within the crack of the ape's buttocks. Zooming in further, his suspicions were confirmed. There it was, a dimly shining metal key, cleverly hidden and only visible when the ape ceased its movements to attack.

Looking at the key, he couldn't guess whether to laugh or cry. "Of all the places to hide a key," he muttered to himself. He shook his head in disbelief, amused and slightly disgusted by Silvaris's bizarre sense of humor.

Suppressing his urge to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, Michael turned to Gaya, trying to keep a straight face. "So, I have good news and bad news," he began.

Curious and unaware of the peculiar location of the key, Gaya responded, "Alright, hit me with the good news first."

"The good news," Michael paused for dramatic effect, "is that I found the key to the treasure chest."

"Great, so what's the bad news?" Gaya shrugged.

"Well," Michael hesitated, "the bad news is that the key is..." He paused again, searching for the right words. "The key is in the ape's butt."

Gaya's initial reaction was one of confusion. "Oh... wait, what?!" she exclaimed, her face a mix of shock and disbelief.

Struggling to maintain his composure, Michael pulled out a mirror and transferred the drone's image of the key's location onto it. "See for yourself," he said, handing her the mirror. On the other hand, Gaya stared at the image with her eyes widening. "Fucking hell, how are we supposed to take the key from the ape's ass?" she blurted out, her voice rising in frustration.

Michael's face turned a shade redder as he tried not to burst into laughter. "We're not taking it... Remember how your armor can make you invisible? So, it's your job."

Gaya's face contorted in disgust as she struggled to form a complete sentence. "I... you... invisible or not, that's just... disgusting!" she stammered, clearly appalled by the task ahead.