Chapter 123 Forest Hunt

A decrepit creature could be seen hundreds of kilometers east of the city. The creature was at least three meters tall. It had a bulky black body resembling the one of a gorilla and had grey fur. Its whole body was excreting a nauseating green substance from its pores.

Around it, everything started to decay rapidly. Trees became skeletal stumps or were stripped bare by a foul-smelling fog. Bushes withered into dead twigs that fell over one another, and the decay spread to the surroundings like ripples in water. The air grew fetid with rot as the animal released the substance and left behind a weird goo made off the corpses of the creatures that were unfortunate enough to die inside the fog.

The Thaid's paws ended in talons that tore apart any object they touched. Even steel lost under its touch.

The thing staggered along at a leisurely pace through the forest until it reached what looked like a clearance. But even there, everything started to rot rapidly.

As if there was a disease with some blighting rot, the grass grew thin on its surface, then disappeared entirely under the trampling feet of this strange creature who came down out of nowhere like an apparition conjured up by nightmare.

The creature was on a hunt.

…

…

…

In another location, a group of soldiers was clearing out a cave infested by Nogiths, insect-like creatures that could only be described as a wingless mosquitoes. With six legs, a long trunk, and a sand coloration, the beast was thin but tall and preyed on other creatures. Although they were not exceptionally powerful, the Nogiths possessed excellent reproductive capabilities. They were not as large as other species, and their carapace was not as sturdy as that of others. However, their power did come from their large numbers.

The soldiers mainly used their rifles to thin the number of creatures down, but some of the Thaids were too strong and required the use of brain crystal powers. Some fell the creatures with their mana weapons, while others used their elemental powers to do the deed.

The strongest among the soldiers, mainly the ones with defensive powers or insanely high strength, were tanking hordes of insects while the others attacked from afar.

"Attack!" someone shouted from behind.

The sheer number of Thaids pushed the group of soldiers to their utmost limit.

"Throw all the explosives you can!" Shouted another.

The soldiers had been sent so far in the east to thin out the population of Thaid that could potentially join the vast horde that was migrating to the west. Whatever was affecting the other Thaids to move west was scary enough to make the weaker thaids run away regardless of the dangers ahead.

The Nogith was a thaid species that was usually in high numbers. However, recently the population spiked dramatically, and the soldiers were forced to cull their numbers to avoid problems later.

Their strategy was to lure the monsters out of the cave they were hiding in by sprinkling food all over the place and then bomb them with weapons and brain crystal powers.

As soon as the food was placed, the bugs started rushing out as if taken by a frenzy. Most of the beasts didn't probably eat for a long time.

The soldiers couldn't fight there for long, as the bloodbath would attract other Thaids, wanting to feast on the corpses left behind by the monstrous bugs.

The number of creatures left from the team's bombing didn't decrease much. Thousands were amassed in that cave, and the number of creatures killed outside was just a drop in the bucket.

"We must kill the bugs!" said someone.

"They won't end, the fuckers won't end!" shouted a soldier.

The situation was unsalvageable, mana was running out, and the melee fighters were almost exhausted. It was at that moment that the team's captain took a decision.

"Collapse the cave! Bomb that shit hole they consider home!" the captain said.

A surge of mana started swirling through the air as the ranged fighters prepared their brain crystal powers. In contrast, the others used bombs and rocket launchers to do the deed. After they finished channeling mana, a massive number of powers flew toward the cave entrance together with bombs, rockets, and other explosives.

BOOOOOOM

As the explosion dust settled down, the squad members observed the collapsed cave. They couldn't kill enough Nogith, but at least they would stop them from migrating anytime soon.

"This is all we can do," the captain said.

The mission was not fully completed, but at least they could come back here with more troops and weapons to kill all the remaining creatures. However, collapsing the cave killed more damn bugs; they just hoped they were a lot.

…

After finishing the few creatures outside the cave, the group started packing their things and treating the wounded.

"Next time, we will exterminate them all," a soldier said to his companions. The situation with the migrating thaids was a worrisome one. Most of the species inhabiting the east of the nation were moving west, toward the city, and whatever the reason, it was affecting every thaid species.

"Indeed, we'll do, soldier," the captain said.

Suddenly, a huge roar thundered through the air.

"What the fuck was that?" a soldier asked.

"I don't know but prepare yourself. This thing is coming here!" the team's captain said.

The beast probably heard the battle's commotion and ran toward it, searching for prey.

"Incoming!" shouted the captain. "Form a defensive perimeter!" he shouted again.

Immediately, the beast appeared on the battlefield. His huge black and grey gorilla body and dog's head scared the soldiers.

"What the hell is that?!" a soldier shouted.

"I don't know, record this encounter!" the captain said. "Send this to the higher-ups!"

Many powers were unleashed by the soldiers. The attacks rained and fell on the creature. Fire, water, and even laser from the rifles landed on the creature. A cloud of dust rose due to the attacks, and silence spread on the battlefield soon after. The soldiers looked at the dust from the bout with bathed breaths. Was the beast dead, or was it still alive?

Then, the Thaid came out madly dashing toward the soldiers from the cloud. It was directly running toward the soldiers but abruptly changed direction. Contrary to everyone's expectations, it did not charge right into them but went to the left and started circling the group.

"STOP IT!" the captain shouted. He could see that the beast had released a strange fog, but he didn't know what that was. The truth was that the captain had a vague idea what that creature was, a Blirdoth. However, the beast was insanely bigger than usual Blirdoths, and its head started rotting.

A toxic green fog spread all around the team. The soldiers were trapped and didn't know what to do.

These creatures were known for the gasses they released from their pores thanks to their brain crystal power, but it only served to scare predators away.

Blirdoths gasses were slightly corrosive, but as much as the captain was seeing, this creature could even melt trees. This thing was similar to Blirdoths, but the captain didn't want to believe it. Something must have happened to it.

Survival was now the most pressing matter for the squad. If the soldiers left their defensive perimeter, they would be killed by the beast's maws. If they didn't, the fog would slowly make its way toward them, killing them regardless.

"AAAAH AAAAH!!!" someone screamed with all his strength. His face was burning in pain.

"Joffrey!" one shouted. However, it was too late for the young man, as he started to lose the ability to see, and after a couple of seconds, he dropped dead on the floor.

After a few moments, nothing remained of him but a puddle of green-brown goo staining the ground.

"Don't let the fog get to you!!!" the captain shouted once he saw his companion, or what remained of him, on the ground. "CLOSE THE RAN…"

A colossal hand descended on the captain. The Blirdoth grabbed him, bit his head off, and then threw the body toward the other soldiers.

They had to scram to avoid the body falling on them. The team tried to calm down to get out of that predicament, but it was too late, as they were all surrounded by the fog and many soldiers started coughing badly.

The Blirdorth then dashed inside the fog it spread and disappeared from the soldiers' sight, but the truth was that the creature was killing the soldiers one by one.

The fog was too much; it limited the visibility. Someone tried to use their brain crystal powers to disperse it. Still, it was too much, and there were too few people capable of doing it. The creature was too powerful.

"Try to get away from the fog!" A soldier shouted, and then he started running, trying to escape the poisonous miasma.

As soon as he got out of the fog, the giant creature appeared in front of him, ready to smash its paws onto the soldier's head. And so it did.

The team, without its captain, could do nothing but succumb, and after ten minutes, it did so. Silence ensued in the forest. There was no human around anymore.