Chapter 26: The Encounter with the Light Unknowns

At dawn the next day, the group left Son Doong Cave, returning to National Highway 1A to continue their journey. The sun was high, but the morning fog still lingered in the mountains and forests of Quang Binh.

Nam now had his shield slung over his shoulder, complaining as he walked:

"Why does my whole body ache after coming back from a vacation?!"

Huong pouted, her eyes showing clear disappointment:

"Next time, remember to avoid caves."

Hoa immediately replied.

"If you're going to Ba Na Hills or Vinpearl Nha Trang, remember to invite me. Otherwise, count me out."

Suddenly, screams echoed from a distance. A group of survivors was running in disarray, their faces filled with panic, heading towards the group.

Nghia raised his hand, signaling for them to stop, and asked what was happening.

Hoa ran ahead, catching an old man who had almost tripped. Huong helped a young, breathless girl and asked about the situation.

"What's wrong? Are there Unknowns?"

The man panted heavily:

"At Paradise Cave! There's a high-level Unknown... It Appeared!!!"

"We saw... the barrier disappear, and then... a few of them flew out of the cave. They look like humans... but... they have wings on their backs... the most terrifying thing is... They Have No Faces!"

The man finally calmed down when he realized he was in front of "Players."

"There was supposed to be a barrier holding them in... But ever since someone cleared the Malevolent Ghost Cave... the barrier vanished!"

The group looked at each other. Nothing more needed to be said.

"Let's go," Nghia nodded. "We can't let what happened at Hai Hoa happen again."

At noon, at a desolate intersection leading to Paradise Cave.

Ai Hoa stopped, her heart pounding. An indescribable sense of unease welled up inside her.

"Do you guys feel that the mana around here is... strange?" Hoa asked, her face clearly showing her worry.

Before anyone could answer, three creatures appeared from the air. They were pure white with wings on their backs, their faces blurred as if obscured by a data fog.

Ting!

[Unknown – Light Element – Level 23]

Nam looked at the three unknowns, burst out laughing, and said to Huong.

"Look, Huong, they can fly."

"I think you got a really strong skill back in Son Doong Cave, right? Something about a 'Richter' scale?" As soon as he finished, Nam snickered.

Hoa added:

"Go on, sister, raise your foot and stomp again to give them a good scare. Haha."

"Tsk! You're all dead to me," Huong clicked her tongue, then shouted, looking straight at the three Unknowns with eyes blazing with furious fire.

They simultaneously flew higher. All three raised their hands, and from their palms, beams of light shot out like spears, raining down relentlessly on Nghia's group below.

Nam raised his oversized shield in a defensive stance, using [Defensive Pillar] to block the incoming light spears and shouting loudly.

"Be careful!!"

The light spears rained down. Nam could only block them for a moment before they began to pierce through his defense. A few spears stabbed into his thigh and arm before dissipating, leaving holes, but he still managed to hold his ground.

Seeing this, Hoa acted immediately, without hesitation activating [Spirit Shield] to block the incoming light spears, then switching to healing with [Recovery Wave]. Nam's wounds gradually healed as the emerald-green mist seeped into his body.

"Shadow Chase!" Nghia teleported behind one of the Unknowns and delivered a critical strike to its back, then vanished, leaving an afterimage. The other two Unknowns stopped their attack and turned to see who their attacker was, but it was too late. The ambushed Unknown fell to the ground, its body then dissolving into tiny particles of light.

Huong counter-attacked with [Destruction Lightning], causing another one to fall freely before it also disintegrated.

"These things have high damage but low defense. But their skills have a super high penetration rate!" Nam shouted, informing the group after he had mostly recovered thanks to Hoa's skills.

"Definitely an offensive, penetration-focused Unknown," Nghia concluded.

"Let's finish them," Nghia said, then activated [Shadow Chase], appearing next to the last Unknown and bringing down a clean, vertical slash. The Unknown just stood there, unable to react, as its body was suddenly split in two and vanished.

The group defeated all three creatures. But no one said anything, unlike in previous battles, these Unknowns evoked a strange sense of unease…