Chapter 377 - || || Swarmed By Monsters

The rain poured like a vague misty curtain. The strong scent of burning wood filled the air making one mind muddled and confused. The explosion was sudden. Terrible. And the smoke had yet to dissipate. For Jagra, the pain from the blast continued to pound against his limbs. Lifting himself on his elbows, his muscles tingled and trembled. He felt his head spin. The dizziness overwhelmed him greatly. However, this was no time to mull over the sting all over his body.

Jagra lifted his gaze, anchoring his attention to the rest of the men near him before the blast. Some were painfully groaning, blood staining their uniforms, while some were fortunate to come out unscathed from the explosion. What in the world happened? Who was responsible for this?

Just when the possibilities chaotically ran through his head, a dark figure approached the area. Unhurried steps echoed within their ears, ambling on wet wood. A dark aura oozed, making one's spine tremble in fear, choking their lungs with the heaviness of malevolence. It is strong, potent enough to make one cower. No doubt, it didn't belong to some ordinary creature.

'What is it?' Jagra thought in hesitation.

Emlen instantly raised his guards. A frigid cold swept over him as he cautiously rose from the ground, drawing his sword. His grey eyes narrowed perilously.

Finally, the footsteps ceased. An intimidating silence filled the area at its presence, exposed to anyone's eyes. Jagra froze, eyes widening. His breath left his lungs.

Its skin was a grotesque shade of green, almost black, like those of a rotting plant that was once healthy. It had no eyes, only three black holes, the third located above between the space of the other two. Its body is so much like a delicate maiden's slender curves. The differences would be its nudeness and its limbs akin to twisting vines. The creature hissed with its parted lips, plump and purple, flashing its widened grin and razor-sharp teeth within.

Finally, it swayed like a seductress. Raindrops poured on its elongated claws, gleaming like a black diamond. "Ahh… the smell of fear."

Jagra stared at it in apprehension, shaking his head. His heart pounded erratically. In the next second, it abruptly turned its attention to Jagra.

"How delightful…"

Jagra's blood froze. 'It… It can talk!'

"Jagra! Get out!" Emlen shouted.

Pushed out of his shock, Jagra flinched, realizing that the malibreed's jaws were open, sucking in the air with a whistling sound. His instincts blared inside his brain! And he scrambled back, heels kicking the wet floor.

Amused at his desperation, the female malibreed grinned. The skin at the corners of her lips ripped open, stretching unimaginably, exposing the terrifying sight of her jaws. Scorching heat curled at the back of her throat. She drew back and jerked her head forward, spitting out a massive ball of fire, rapidly shooting towards Jagra. With a thundering heart, Jagra mana spilled out. His feet moved before he knew it, and he stumbled several meters away from the opponent.

"Argh!" He fell on his side—the wood pounding against his bones.

In the next second, A huge explosion entered his ears. The shockwave almost threw him off the wooden platform. Pillars of smoke rose in the air, frighteningly thick.

Emlen gnashed his teeth, forced to activate his mana. A shield of ice stood before him and his men. However, they were still thrown back by the force of the explosion. His knees scraped the ground- the wood biting into his skin. What in the world was this thing? Where did it come from? It doesn't even look like it is part of the swarm.

The swarm…

Emlen paled. He turned his head in the direction of the swarm wave. His pupils trembled with unease. Giant shadows flitted over his form. Ravenous beasts with massive wings whooshed above him, flying towards the Tree!

'The swarm… it's here….'

Then there were screams. Monsters plucked people from the ground, tearing their limbs and wolfing them down in groups like scavenging animals. Chaos ensued. Blood spilled. He could hardly see the sky above him, blanketed by the horrendous forms of the swarm—thousands clawing against the skin of Gala'En's tree. Emlen stood, lost within the dense swarm, until one of the monsters took sight of him. Hurriedly charging towards him.

"You idiot, snap out of it!"

Emlen blinked when the words pierced his ears. His attention returned, witnessing a long spear ruthlessly penetrate the skull of the malibreed, opening its jaws before his face. A splatter of black blood stained his front, but he was too surprised to notice it. When the monster fell, he saw Malyana's annoyed expression. Her red dress fluttered with the wind.

"Harow! Chase these monsters away! I can't see!" She complained, running towards Emlen, and picking up her spear. With a hiss, Harow's form shifted into his gigantic malibreed forming. He roared with all his might, grabbing malibreeds from the air and breaking them in two.

"You!" Malyana shouted at Emlen, "If you want to see your little brother grow old, I suggest you start fighting!"

Unable to refute her, Emlen expressionlessly tightened his grip around his sword. Internally, he refused to accept that she was scolding him. Honestly, being scolded by her of all people.

"Take care of the malibreeds. I'll deal with the new one," Emlen spoke, eyeing the cackling female malibreed in the distance. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

Malyana furrowed her brows. In the end, she nodded, "Understood."

She hurried to Jagra, surrounded by vicious malibreeds, before taking one last look at Emlen's departing back. She hoped he'd persevere just until the High Lord returns.

................

The rain gradually lightened, unhurriedly plodding on the soaked wooden branches and damp leaves. A pale hand grabbed a branch tightly, veins bulging, looking like it'd snap the thick tree branch into two. On the wall of wooden vines, Moulin gnashed his teeth, feeling the strain from his arms and legs as he held onto the wall. His hair now fell loose, fluttering with the breeze. He couldn't care if most of his uniform was torn, exposing the gashes beneath the fabric. Anyone would agree that there were more 'important' things to worry about in his circumstances.

Like his life…

Moulin glanced down at the infinite drop. The trees and the greenery beneath him looked incredibly tiny. He could already imagine his body's state in his grip loosens even a little. Moulin shuddered, dismissing his thoughts, and averting his gaze. The elevated brick floor was gone, and now he was holding on to a tree for his life. He was sure to tell his elder brother, Maxille, of this.

Well, if he'd make it out alive.

"How… Pitiful…"

Moulin flinched. He turned his head, eyes narrowing gravely. The giant crimson bird beats its wings, tilting its head as it eyed Moulin's figure upon the vined walls of Gala'En. The maeruthan looked quite eye-catching against the dark wood. His lightness was irksome yet beautiful. 

No, he'd looked more beautiful, bathe in blood on our sacred table.

Uldher cries out. The ear-piercing sound cuts through the air, nearly turning Moulin deaf. Afterward, it dove towards Moulin, beak open with a screech. Silver eyes widened, and Moulin hurriedly lets go of the branch, letting his body fall to grab another branch openly. The gigantic bird banged against the tree, missing Moulin entirely in the same instance. In anger, it turned its head, gaze darting in search for the youth.

Hidden behind the dark vines, Moulin exhaled sharply. He gave himself a moment to breathe. However, his eyes remain wide and cautious.

"…"

The swarm… had already begun.  Moulin's heart clenched. How were his friends doing? His brother? Hadrian? Anxiously, Moulin balled his fists. Right now, he lost his sword from the fall. If he should beat that thing in the air, he must use his mana. Moulin turned silent.

'Why weren't the malibreeds attacking my location?'

…

"Why so… quiet?"

Moulin froze. His heart jumped out of his chest. Alarmed, Moulin turned, only to be welcomed by one glowing red eye peering at him through the hole of the vines. Uldher laughed in Moulin's mind and forcefully clawed through the vines, cleaving away the thick tendrils to catch his prey. The hole got bigger and bigger, exposing Moulin's terrified figure.

The chase thrilled Uldher. Perhaps, the prize would be even sweeter. Uldher grinned.

"Finally…"

The crimson bird's head slipped through the opening, moving slowly, intimidatingly. Inch by inch, the beast approached Moulin, who stood without changing his expression. So close, so close… Uldher could already imagine what to do with this vessel…

…

Suddenly, Moulin's worried expression fell, replaced by a dark aura and a sharp gaze. Knocking his right heel on the floor, a frigid sheet of ice, devoured the ground beneath him. In a split second, it reached Uldher, surrounding the beast's head, sealing the hole, and trapping the beast's skull within. Before Uldher could realize it, Moulin summoned his bow and aimed between those horrid blood-red eyes. 

He released the arrow, crackling with pure mana, shooting right into the beast's skull.

The force of the shot instantly threw the screeching winged-creature off the hole, sending it falling, winged stuttering as the pure mana began eating its way through its scales. It burned! Devouring the dark flesh beneath and cleansing the cage of its mind. Cracking the dark walls. In the darkness, there is a flicker of light.

The creature's winged stuttered as it bore with the pain. Anger boiled through its blood, but the pain overwhelmed it. It is like a persistent fever, coursing throughout its body.

Moulin's knees felt weak as he watched. One knee fell on the floor, and he panted heavily. His eyes stared at the bird within the air. Watching it struggle. 'My mana… entered its body….'

Moulin swallowed with trembling fingers.. 'I can feel its suffering.…'