"We need to get through the barrier and destroy the core." Osvald muttered and looked up.

"The old man said thunderclouds make the barrier unstable from above, but maybe we should go to the Hunters. We'll kill them, and the barrier will disappear." Wain suggested.

"No, I don't think we can do that. If I were them, I'd put the Core of the barrier on the inside, not the outside."

"So we have to go upstairs? Those clouds look formidable."

The clouds near the massive tree continually rumbled with thunderclaps, and vibrations went through the barrier, it quickly recovered, but the top was half-ruined.

"We can get to the top by jumping on the branches. Shall we begin?"

The tree's branches extended outward, making it easy to get to the top. The barrier narrowed toward the top, and the branches grew longer.

"No." Osvald shook his head, "Wain, you forgot something. We have to save the girls. I promised that to Irma."

"Ah, I completely forgot about that." Wain sighed, "Okay, they treated us to food, and Irma put on an amazing show, let's go save the girls, but just quickly."

"Okay, don't worry, we won't need much time, these Hunters are nothing."

...

"Boss! Our outpost by the tree has been destroyed!" Hunter ran into the room and said quickly.

In the center of the room, a tall Beastfolk of the Wolf Clan sat in a chair. He was muscular and very tall. He was the leader of the Pearl Hunters stuck in the area. He was smoking a massive cigar and blowing large puffs of smoke that filled the entire space.

"What, who? Did those wimps from the village decide to attack us?" Hunter Leader said menacingly.

"No, or rather we don't know who it is... There are only two of them, but they easily handled our group!"

"Hmm? You couldn't handle two upstarts? Weird... could someone else have gotten into this space."

"Boss, what should we do?"

"Nothing yet. Keep an eye on them. Where are they headed? To the tree?"

"No, they're going this way. Shall I ambush them?"

"Yes, but don't attack right away. I want to find out where they came from and how they got here." The head of the Hunters said slowly and shook off the ash from his cigarette.

The Hunters, as well as the villagers, came to this area by accident after the Merger of Worlds. Initially, the Hunter Leader tried every way to get out of here, but no matter what they tried, no matter how many resources they used, nothing worked.

However, when they finally found the Core, the Hunter Leader did not destroy it. His attention was drawn to the snow-white roots emanating from the Core, they looked like they were alive and were looking for hosts like parasites.

The Hunter Leader saw the potential in it and used the other people in the area for his own purposes. He did not want anyone to get in their way. The Hunter Leader understood that the Merging of Worlds was an important event, and they needed to make the most of this moment. They could absorb pure energy from Soul Pearl almost indefinitely.

"Well...it's time to test my new power, these two would be a great option." The Hunter Leader muttered, extinguished his cigarette, and left the room.

...

Wain and Osvald headed toward the fortress, and ten minutes later, they approached the gate.

"Here we are." Osvald said and stepped forward.

There was a knock.

"Ouch!"

Suddenly Osvald hit something, as if it were an invisible wall.

"They put a barrier around their base too, that's no surprise, but why is it so empty in here?" Wain muttered.

The fortress of the Hunters was like a medieval castle. It was massive and majestic, and equipped with various defenses.

The entrance to the fortress was a large gate followed by watchtowers, but no one was there now.

"Huh, looks like they decided not to greet us, but I like that, they got right to the point."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.historical

Osvald got into a fighting stance and his aura intensified. A white stream of energy burst out of him, and a phantom dragon head appeared around his fist.

"Let's see how strong this barrier is!" Osvald shouted and struck with all his might.

Roooooaaaarrrr!

There was a furious roar from the dragon, and a fierce wind stream took over the space.

Osvald's fist slammed into the barrier, and a transparent dome appeared over the fortress, it trembled, and vibrations ran through the barrier.

Crackling.

Cracks appeared in the barrier, and then Osvald struck again, and the massive barrier shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"Not bad. Couldn't you have done the same with that barrier?"

"No, this one is much weaker, okay go ahead, it looks like they're already waiting for us." Osvald mouthed and kicked the gate with his foot.

Wain nodded, and they went inside.

Beyond the gate was a square surrounded by walls and towers on all sides.

"Go!" Suddenly one of the hunters said, and the space trembled.

A seal appeared behind Wain and Osvald, blocking the passage and replacing the gate.

"Ahahahaha, they're really prepared, great." Osvald laughed.

'Hmm, and there are quite a few of them.' Wain inwardly muttered.

There were dozens of Hunters on the walls, and near the exit was a large group with a tall, muscular man standing in front. It was the Hunter Leader. To his right was a Hunter who immediately caught Wain's attention. He had no ear, thick black fur, and a wide scar on his neck.

'That's him.'

It was the Hunter who came to the village and stole several girls, one of whom was Irma's friend.

"Good afternoon." The Hunter Leader said smiling, "I'd really like to talk to you. I hope you don't mind?"

"What kind of nonsense are you talking?" Wain frowned.

"Oh, but not in this environment." The Hunter Leader smirked and pointed at them, "Capture!"