Chapter 194 That Which Lurks

Before Kaizen could realize it, he had already killed more than a dozen Copper Azucrinating Monkeys and was panting. Like it or not, using such a technique of controlling three different items required a lot of his mind, body, coordination, focus, and also a lot of MP.

Even though he couldn't get away without bruising, Kaizen managed to defeat most of the monkeys in his way, leaving everyone else in complete shock.

Exhausted, the Psyker exasperated as he realized the bloodbath he had made. He then put away the Snowy Limbo and Storm Eye and made his way through the forest.

The Copper Azucinating Monkeys definitely got the message and didn't even consider chasing him.

As Kaizen re-entered the forest with a few scratches and bite marks, he said to himself:

"At least I got a level up with that."

With a snap of his fingers, he produced a flame of fire that hovered over the tip of his index finger, illuminating the around himself a bit.

The forest was quiet and the rustling of the trees with the humming of the night wind was all Kaizen could hear. Despite this stillness, Kaizen was attentive to his surroundings at all times. Exploring such dense forests was something he was not a fan of, especially since there might be poisonous scorpions in the tree branches, snakes crawling on the ground, or skeletons crawling out of the earth to tug at the feet of lost adventurers.

With each passing minute, Kaizen didn't know what might happen the next, especially since he was crossing terrain he had no information about.

The deeper Kaizen went into the forest, the more his instincts told him that something was wrong. It had been ten minutes since he had encountered the monkeys and no new creatures had attacked him, not even mosquitoes.

I don't like this feeling. Every hour it seems like something is about to happen, but nothing happens. It's making me uneasy.' He thought.

Nevertheless, he didn't have much to do but keep walking, and so he did for a few more seconds, until the quiet forest allowed him to hear heavy breathing not far from him.

Immediately, Kaizen stopped walking.

He didn't know who or what breathed near him, or where he was, only that he was sure he didn't hear things. His natural instincts were telling him it was something dangerous.

"The worst of the bad guys is the one who protects himself in the shadows..." whispered Kaizen, loud enough for only him to hear.

With the pause in the rustling of the trees, all the sounds of the forest were clearer, and Kaizen was now sure he didn't hear wrong. Heavy breathing could still be heard and was close, making the Psyker finally understand why he hadn't encountered any creatures in minutes.

'I have definitely entered the territory of someone or something very dangerous.' He thought and began to look for the direction from which the sound of breathing was coming.

Kaizen focused on his hearing and the breathing became closer. However, just as he was close to finding the source of the breathing, a not so far away scream echoed throughout the forest until it reached Psyker's ears. This scream was not one of pain or fear, but of desperation.

This unexpected event turned into an opportune moment, and since the screams were coming from the direction Kaizen was heading in before, there was no reason for him to ignore it. So he moved forward without a second thought in the direction of the scream, leaving behind whatever it was that was lurking in the darkness of that forest.

Kaizen crossed several trees and logs, jumped over rocks and stepped on branches, running in the direction of the scream. The scream was very loud, but no other scream accompanied it. Still, the male voice of the one who shouted was not strange to Kaizen. In fact, he had heard this voice only a few minutes ago.

Finally, Kaizen reached what appeared to be a clearing, where there were several men with horns and scaly tails. Most of them were fighting against a large tree with a face, whose branches dangled in the air like the tentacles of a giant octopus.

Around the tree, the same Descragons from the previous encounter with Psyker were fighting this creature.

In the middle of that mess, Kaizen spotted the one who shouted earlier.

Being protected by all his companions, was the Descendragon watchman from before supporting a companion with a hole in his belly, who was already pale and dead. The watchman was a bit thinner than all the others and also had much smaller horns than any of his fellows.

Although the descendragons were very fast, the branches of the tree were both fast, powerful and unpredictable.

They were fighting as hard as they could against this monster, but they couldn't find a way to defeat it, there was even a descendragon wrapped around the roots of the tree, near the trunk.

"No way! We won't be able to beat it!"

"He got Boris and killed Heprax, we can't back down now!"

"That's it! We have to help Boris and then we will avenge Heprax!"

"But Heprax was one of the strongest among us, what are we going to do against this thing if even he couldn't do it?"

"Pay attention to what I'm about to say! Now it's kill or be killed! We can't sully the honor of the Descendants any more than we have today. This monster is only one, there are seven of us. We can beat it."

In that instant, Kaizen knew that he needed to help these men defeat the tree, because it was his fault that they had run into the center of the forest instead of the direction of the road. This fight was a consequence of his decision, and the Psyker also thought that it wouldn't be bad at all if they gave him a reward for helping them.

Kaizen didn't have the luxury of a second thought, and without much ceremony he summoned the Snowy Limbo and the Eye of Storm and entered the battlefield.

Hearing footsteps running, the Descragons turned their heads and saw the black-haired man who had defeated them earlier.

For a brief moment, they thought he was there to finish the job from before, however, Kaizen passed by their side and ran straight towards the tree. His swords flew beside him, and all the branches that tried to hit him were cut off as they approached.

The Descendants watched in amazement at the way Kaizen advanced, as well as at his power. They had never seen a mage use a sword, let alone three.

"Give him some cover! He's on our side!" The Descragon watchman pleaded with tears in his eyes.

As Kaizen advanced against the tree, which was approximately ten meters high, the horned men approached and joined the fight.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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