After the meteor hit the dungeon, everything within a fifteen-meter radius burnt to the crisp. Even the walls that stood the test against time for thousands of years crumbled down in a few moments. Seeing the huge crater on the ground, Hunter smiled with satisfaction. The light shrouded him for a couple of moments before fading away from the Shadow realm along with Hunter. When the bright light covering his vision disappeared, Hunter was hovering in the sky above a forest stretched far to the horizon.

The storm clouds grew darker by the second, indicating the approaching storm. The ominous sound of thunder claps and the howling wind pushed Hunter to find shelter before the storm. Hunter looked around to locate any villages or cities, yet there was nothing but green forest as far as he could see.

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[one of the queen's generals has woken up by your presence]

[Utmost caution required]

Hunter creased his brows. The last time Hunter fought a general, they destroyed an entire pocket dimension. He also entered a coma state because the general damaged his soul and body a little bit too much. He would have died that day if it wasn't for the system. Although he killed the general at the end of the day, Hunter didn't want to go through a battle such as that again in a different universe where the energy rules may differ from his.

"Can you sense how powerful this general is?" Hunter asked.

[You have a 50% chance to defeat if you use all your powers] The system said. Unlike Michael's system, which still had a tinge of mechanical sound, Hunter's system sounded completely like a serious woman.

"That means I have a 50% chance to die. Fuck that. It's a problem for the people who live here," Hunter said. He was a man who wouldn't do anything unless he could get something in return. He was building a criminal empire based on the sole principle. Fighting a general would not only give him nothing but also endanger his life. Besides, Hunter knew if he started a fight with a general, most probably every single powerhouse in this universe would arrive at the scene. At that time, his secret of being another worlder might be exposed.

[So you're going to ignore the badass points and experience you would get by slaying the general?] The system asked, almost sounding mad at Hunter for being overly cautious.

"Yes," Hunter simply said. He valued his life more than the badass and experience points. After all, no amount of points would save him if the general killed him.

Afterward, Hunter picked a random direction and flew in that direction. Hunter was flying in peace when his body trembled due to the sudden thunderous roar that resonated in the area. Even though he was in the air, his body shivered as though the roar had shaken the sky itself.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"Fuck," Hunter cursed. Since he had fought a general before, he instantly recognized the roar.

"We have to find out why we are here as soon as possible," Hunter creased his brows. Every time the shadow realm sucked him out of his universe and spat him into another, he had to complete certain tasks. Even the system had no control over traversing throughout universes. Therefore, he knew that until he found out the reason why he was in this universe, he wouldn't be able to return to his world.

He closed his eyes for a second as two majestic wings spread out from his back. The wings were enveloped in crimson red flames, almost making them look like they were made of fire. With a single flap of his wings, he flew forward at speed closer to the speed of sound, leaving a fiery trail behind him in the sky. After flying for a couple of minutes, Hunter noticed a bolt of lightning shooting towards the sky from the ground.

"Hmm," Hunter rubbed his chin before flapping his wings once again. Instead of flying away from Hunter, he noticed the golden lightning bolt approaching him. In a few blinks of an eye, Hunter and the lightning bolt met in mid-air.

"Hunter?" Hunter heard a familiar voice calling by his name. Soon, the lightning bolt turned into a black-robed youngster.

"Ghost," Hunter grinned, looking at his fellow earthling. Gradually, the flaming wings faded away out of existence.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Michael asked Hunter. After exiting the ruined castle, Michael stepped into the forest when he suddenly felt a strong surge of power in the distance. To his surprise, the system urged Michael to locate the power source. He was about to leave the castle when Michael heard the thunderous roar that made the castle completely collapse.

He followed the roar's direction but never expected to find Hunter Blade in the middle of the sky in a million years. However, due to Michael's recent visit to Hunter's universe, he could tell this time, Hunter was the one who must have traveled to another universe.

"You tell me. The shadow realm sucked me from an important meeting and spat me here. And that shout I heard a moment ago, it's fucking general of the queen,"

"Damn it," Hunter saw Ghost rubbing his temples. Hunter quickly tried to peek at how powerful Ghost was in his own universe, but surprisingly, Hunter was unable to see Ghost's power level. So, as his next resort, he tried to summon the system, only to realize the system had entered into an offline state for some reason.

"You've gone offline now? Fuck you system," Hunter cursed inside.

"Why do I have this feeling your appearance is somehow connected to the hydra waking up?" Michael asked Hunter.

"It probably is. If you're lucky, you guys might have a day or two before the general leaves its tomb," said Hunter.

For a few moments, Michael remained silent, thinking of a way to deal with the hydra. He might be at the Fusion stage but according to the system, he had no chance against it until he reached the Half Immortal stage. Luckily, with the skill Michael bought in the shadow realm to convert the cultivation stages to match the cultivation stage in his world, he was able to tell Hunter was stronger than a Half Immortal.

"If I could use Hunter to deal with the hydra, I might survive this without destroying this world," Michael thought to himself.

"Ghost," Suddenly, Michael heard the voice of Cain. The last time Michael heard from Azazel, he said Vedora was in seclusion. It seemed like they had to come out because of the Hydra's shout.

"Give me a sec," Michael said to Hunter and flew a couple of meters away from Hunter.

"The hydra. It's calling us,"

"What do you mean calling you?' Michael furrowed his brows,

"He wants us to meet him. Otherwise, he's saying he will destroy this world. We have six hours to meet him in the stormville mountain," said Cain.

"What do we do?" Ayag asked Michael.

"We have no choice," said Michael. If the Hydra comes out of stormville mountain, it would definitely destroy the world Michael has been trying to control. He had put so much effort just to let a hydra destroy it. Although he could just stand by and watch the Hydra destroy everything, including his enemies, there wouldn't be much left of the world after it was done. Besides, it would most certainly enslave him or just kill him.

Therefore, Michael chose to go meet the Hydra instead of waiting for it to kill him. He wouldn't have come to this conclusion so quickly if it wasn't for Hunter.

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Get ready to meet the Hydra," Michael said. Then, he turned around to see Hunter.

"I assume you have a plan to stop the general," asked Hunter.

"Might be,"

Seeing Ghost dragging his words, Hunter knew his plan must have something to do with him.

"But you need my help. Am I right?" Hunter sighed. It was Michael's bad luck that he had to ask for Hunter's help. But again, it was no one's fault that the shadow realm teleported Hunter to his universe, which caused the hydra to wake up. If Michael had to blame someone, he should blame the queen for creating such an abomination and putting it in his universe.

[Remember, you can't leave this universe until you complete the task given to you by the shadow realm] Hunter's system chose to come out of its offline status for a moment to instruct Hunter.

[Also, if the general wanted you dead, it would have started a battle as soon as you entered this universe. So quit being a pussy and be a badass]

"Says the one who went offline," Hunter ridiculed the system but received no response from it. Since the system itself urged him to face the general, Hunter decided to trust Ghost's plan. After all, he was the number one assassin back on earth. So Hunter was positive Ghost could come up with a plan that would include not dying.

"So what's the plan?" Hunter asked Michael.

"Well since we are both familiar with traveling to another universe, we know you can't get out of here until you get your task done,"

"No shit," said Hunter.

"It's safe to say the hydra has something to do with your task. So, why don't we go meet it in person?"

But as soon as Hunter heard Michael, he was taken aback by surprise. He furrowed his brows,

"You want to go meet the general. That's your plan?"

Michael nodded as Hunter let out a heavy sigh.

"Tell me you have a backup plan," asked Hunter.

Michael looked at Hunter and smiled.

Although Hunter looked like he was following Michael's plan, he had a plan of his own in case Michael's plan failed. After all, Hunter built a powerful criminal empire from scratch on his own. He was not stupid to follow Michael into the hydra's den just because Michael was from earth. On the other hand, Michael also knew Hunter must have another plan of his own. Simply put, they were using each other to finish their own tasks.