The beast immediately jumped toward him, its huge jaws trying to rip him in two from his chest.
Flustered, Zac rolled on the ground down in between the beast’s legs, hoping to gain access to the more vulnerable belly. He knew now he needed to thoroughly enrage the beast so that it would blindly charge through the bushes and into his palisade. He was now in an awkward position in between the front legs and could only rely on Cosmic Energy to generate force in his swings.
He slammed the hatchet up into the torso of the beast a few times, hoping to puncture a lung. It was effective, as a stream of blood showered him, and the monster elicited a painful yelp. He only had time for a few swings, though, as he suddenly was slammed on his left side by a kick. Zac flew away once again like a ragdoll, and this time, he felt that he had broken at least a rib, as breathing felt like getting stabbed.
He could only grit his teeth and circulate more Cosmic Energy to keep his injuries in check. He was already starting to run dangerously low, and fatigue was starting to set in.
He kept running toward his trap, but was still afraid to run into it. The beast was enraged, but it hadn’t lost its reasoning completely, and Zac was afraid that it would notice the trap. Then he would be well and truly screwed.
He needed at least one more effective assault.
The herald was soon upon him again, this time swiping with its front paw, hoping to catch Zac in its claws. Zac could only frantically dodge and jump out of the way. He tried to get a swing in every now and then to hurt its legs, but it largely proved ineffective. He hit true a few times, but only some flesh wounds were created.
Zac once more tried a riposte after dodging a swing, but this time, its large head closed in with extreme speed. The herald tried to chomp off his arm during his swing.
Zac quickly retracted his arm, and it was almost too late. The maw closed a fraction of a second too late, allowing Zac’s arm to disengage. His hatchet wasn’t as lucky, however, and the monster chomped down on the head. A crunch was heard, and when Vul opened its maw again to try to take another bite, the axe was released.
The already worn axe was now completely deformed and had essentially turned into a stick with scrap metal on top. The edge was gone, and instead, it more resembled a mace now with some random sharp edges.
A flame of rage ignited in Zac’s eyes when he saw his trusty companion being completely ruined by the herald, and he completely forgot about safety. With a roar, he stopped backing away, and instead forced most of his remaining Cosmic Energy into his right arm and legs. With a desperate lunge, he jumped straight for the herald, surprising it for a split second. That was all he needed as Zac plunged the scrap weapon into the left eye of the beast.
The demon forcefully jerked backward from the pain, for a second standing only on its back legs, reaching an impressive three to four meters in height. Pained yelps quickly transitioned into roars of blazing fury, and Vul stomped down toward Zac, trying to flatten him like a pancake.
Zac had no time to care about his beloved hatchet being stuck in the eye of the monster, and started a mad dash away from the beast. He saw that the monster was completely and utterly raving with anger and pain right now, so this was his chance.
He focused the last of his energy on maximizing his speed as he dashed the last distance toward the trap. The herald was hot in pursuit, not caring about anything anymore, completely smashing through any smaller rocks or trees that were in its path.
Finally, he reached the bushes where the poles were hidden, and by now, the huge beast was right on his heels. Zac could even feel the heat from its maw. Zac dove through the bushes headfirst, making sure to keep at a height below that of the placed spears in order to not skewer himself.
It was with great relief Zac could sense that the herald thundered straight into the bushes right behind him, intending to simply rip through them.
As Zac landed on the ground, he felt a huge impact behind him, which caused the ground to tremble.
One of the trees had struck the herald straight in its chest, entering at least a meter and impaling it where it stood.
The beast shuddered and let out a miserable roar, which echoed in the surroundings. Blood was flowing out of its mouth like a waterfall, drenching both Zac and the surroundings. It immediately started wildly thrashing around, heedless of its wounds. The contraption couldn’t take the weight and almost immediately collapsed.
Even if it was almost blinded and bleeding out, the herald wouldn’t go quietly, as it incessantly wailed and thrashed about. One of the swings hit Zac square on his left arm, punching him down in the ground before he could get out of the way. A loud crack could be heard, and Zac almost passed out from the pain.
It followed up with a few frantic swipes with its claws, which rent long gashes all along his back while he helplessly lay on his stomach beneath the impaled beast.
Luckily for Zac, the thrashing didn’t continue for too long, as a huge amount of Cosmic Energy entered him. Some helped replenish a small part of his severely depleted reserves, while most worked toward leveling him up.
The surroundings felt extremely quiet after the sounds of battle had subsided. He lay panting on the ground and couldn’t help but smile with bloodied teeth. He’d done it.
But just as Zac felt elated over his victory, a responding roar echoed in the distance. And then another, and suddenly, the forest was filled with a cacophony of bestial roars.
Backup was coming.
21
Hurt
Zac only knew pain as he pushed forward through the forest, not even knowing if he went in the right direction. From all directions, he could hear the roars from different beasts closing in. His consciousness was hazy, and he only moved on instinct by now. He had been fleeing for a while since being forced to run from the roars in the forest. He had only had time to yank the mangled hatchet out of the herald’s eye socket before using the little Cosmic Energy he had to speed away.
He heard a crash to his left, and a barghest bounded toward him to intercept his flight. He intuitively tried to dodge, but his feet did not listen to his commands, and he fell over. It was lucky too for Zac, as the demon dog flew straight over his fallen form.
Zac numbly got to his feet and continued on. Soon the barghest had managed to run around and came toward him again. The scant Cosmic Energy in Zac’s body circulated as he suddenly turned toward the demonling and, with a growl, swung his mangled hatchet down in a mighty overhead arc.
The strike hit clean on the beast’s forehead, slamming the maw closed and its head into the ground. The power was so strong that its thick cranium cracked, and both blood and brain matter covered the axe. The beast was stopped right in its tracks and lay on the ground, convulsing.
Zac had no time to finish off the beast, as a movement in his periphery made him instinctively swing outward. The axe-head hit a dark shape and elicited a pained yelp. It was a gwyllgi, which had planned to take advantage of the fight and strike a finishing blow at his head. Unfortunately for the hound, this had happened dozens of times by now, and a response had been engraved in Zac’s subconscious.
The gwyllgi fell down, likely with a few broken ribs from the impact of the axe. It had hit the beast with its blunt side, but with Zac’s power and Cosmic Energy, such a strike was still lethal if positioned correctly. Zac wasted no time and finished it off with another swing down on its head.
The physical exertion worsened his wounds even more, and he suddenly puked out a mouthful of blood with chunks of something else.
But he didn’t stop. Zac trudged on almost like a zombie, felling any foolish oncoming beasts with an eye-for-an-eye type of disregard for his own body.
After either a few minutes or a few hours, the onslaught of demons had ended. A familiar sight jolted his almost dormant consciousness awake. It was a large oak standing solitary in a glade, with an assortment of flowers strewn across the ground. The sight gave almost a spiritual impression, like the oak was a spirit tr
ee of some woodland elves.
And more importantly, this tree actually represented salvation for Zac. He shakily put his axe into his belt and started to slowly climb the tree. His left arm didn’t quite respond, and he had to arduously move upwards with his right arm and legs. On a normal day, he could be at the top of the tree in seconds, but now it felt like climbing a mountain.
He had completely run out of Cosmic Energy, and it felt like each cell in his body had been completely wrung out. Every movement was powered by force of will rather than anything else.
Finally, he was roughly five meters above the ground and crawled up on what looked like a plateau. It was three sturdy branches that grew in close proximity in a row, with the middle branch slightly lower. Together they formed almost an enclosure. Along the branches there were vines wired to make walls and flooring, and finally, some cut-off branches full of leafy growth had been placed around to insulate and hide the enclosure.
It was one of the many camps Zac had created over the last few weeks. Every time he found a tree, a cave, or some other natural formation that could be turned into a secluded resting stop, he had stopped and turned it into a camp.
One never knew when one had to hide from beasts or wouldn’t be able to get back to camp, so he had prepared these as a precaution.
Zac slumped down on the blanket of leaves that were placed on the middle branch and dragged out a bottle of water placed next to the trunk. It had been placed by him there when building the hideout. He greedily drank half the bottle before the pain in his ribs simply stopped him from continuing. Finally, he could take it no longer and drowsily closed his eyes and passed out.
He spent the next few days stuck in the tree. For the most part, he had slept, as he had problems staying awake when he was so utterly drained of Cosmic Energy. His amulet helped, but it seemed it would take a few days for him to recharge.
Even though he had survived, it did not feel like a victory anymore. The glorious feeling from right after the kill was long gone. He was incapacitated from pain and blood loss, and even with his high Vitality, it would take time to heal. His left arm was broken and possibly a few ribs as well, and the large gashes that crossed his whole back felt inflamed. Every time he moved, different parts of his body screamed in protest, and he could only helplessly stay in the tree.
It was only after three days that he felt strong enough to get ready to head down. He could actually move his arm somewhat, but he wouldn’t try putting any force on it yet.
By now, he was ravenously hungry and couldn’t wait to get back to his camp. He hadn’t left any food in the small tree hideout and had actually resorted to eating leaves and acorns the last two days. He had no idea if they were poisonous, but it felt like he had no options. Since his body had gotten stronger from the System, he also had to eat a lot more compared to before. That was why the food he and his friends had prepared had run out in only one week instead of two.
It was with a tinge of bitterness he prepared to get back. The three-day convalescence unfortunately meant that he had failed in his goal, as the deadline of finishing within a month had passed yesterday.
He still had two more heralds to kill, and also the general, which he still hadn’t seen. He could only hope that he had been paranoid, and that nothing bad had happened now that a month had passed. He was, however, quite disappointed that he might have missed out on some extremely powerful building awarded for a quick completion of the quest.
Zac guessed that he would find out during the coming days, and there was no point in ruminating over it now.
He slowly got down from the tree after making sure no beasts were in the vicinity, and started making his way back towards his camp.
Zac tried to glean if anything had changed on the island since the deadline had passed, but he could find no indication of that happening. The two suns still shone in the sky, and the malevolent pillar of energy from the incursion still glared in the distance. It did seem to have intensified somewhat, but Zac wasn’t sure if it wasn’t just his imagination.
The oak he had stayed in the last few days was close to the edge of the island, in the western direction, and it would take some hours to get back to his camp.
This time, he walked carefully, as he felt he was in no condition to fight any demons, especially not if they had gotten empowered even further.
His axe was for all intents and purposes now simply a blunt weapon after the herald had slammed down on it. Killing monsters now would require a higher energy expenditure than before, as he couldn’t simply bleed them out with a quick swing.
So it was with great care Zac made his way through the familiar forests until he suddenly heard rustling in the bushes ahead.
He immediately crouched down and hid behind a tree and some bushes while trying to see what lay ahead. After a quick glance, he almost instinctively got up and shouted out to get attention, as what he saw was three people slowly making their way through the forest.
Luckily, he managed to stop himself in time as he noticed a jarring discrepancy.
The people had horns.
22
Scouts
Azzun walked through the forest with his two companions, irritably swatting branches and flies away. It was his first time off-world, and the change in climate was jarring. He missed the soothing monochromatic environment of his clan. Now the only reminder of the familiar red was the incursion in the distance.
Of course, they knew that being able to invade a newly integrated world was a great opportunity. The House of Azh’Rezak had celebrated for ten days and sacrificed ten thousand slaves for luck when they had found out that they had actually managed to get a slot. They were only a medium-sized clan in their sector, but this opportunity meant a chance to grow to a large clan. Maybe they could even gain enough resources to overthrow the regional Lord.
Everyone knew that that the Ruthless Heavens mainly opened up the passageways to introduce a challenge to the indigenous inhabitants of the planets. The Ruthless Heavens wanted to test if the original inhabitants were worthy to stay alive, and whether any powerhouses would emerge among them. That was why it let invaders through, but imposed limits on how strong they could be. The challenge needed to be hard, but possible to overcome.
Of course, most powers in the Multiverse were more than happy to be treated as a test by the System. The potential gain of both rare treasures and new domains to own far outweighed the potential sacrifice of some of their young and their untalented. It worked as a great training ground for their young elite, providing opportunities to lead, battle, and gain precious resources.
The elders of the clan were even more ecstatic when they learned that the world had been given a D-rank classification. It was no secret that when the System integrated new worlds, the huge influx of energy could create all sorts of rare and invaluable treasures all over the fresh worlds. The higher grade the new world was, the more treasures would appear. A fresh D-class planet wasn’t top tier, but at least it was above average.
It usually wouldn’t be the turn of some middling clan to get access to this type of smorgasbord. Normally, some arch-daemon would have nudged the heavens and snatched it from them, but luckily, the Great War was reaching a white-hot intensity. All the real powerhouses had their hands full and couldn’t focus on this matter, even though the potential gain was great.
Azzun had grown up hearing stories of how even lowly imps and thralls had managed to turn into arch-daemons after entering a fresh world. They had found some treasure or natural oddity that had helped them shed their lowly heritage and emerge as a powerhouse in their galaxy.
Of course, Azzun knew that even if some treasure was discovered, it wasn’t his turn to enjoy it. It would all enter the greedy hands of their general. Even though the general couldn’t be considered a top talent of their clan, he had managed to snag this great opportunity. He guessed it helped to have a great daemon as a great-grandfather, who spoiled him rotten.
The old daemon
had forcefully elected his only great-grandson, Ogras Azh’Rezak, to lead the incursion. Azzun and the rest had discovered his incompetence even before entering the new world.
Afraid that there would be strong resistance on this world, and that losses of their forces would reflect badly on him, he had simply unleashed beast hordes to kill everything around the incursion for the first month. He had chosen four evolved beasts to lead their packs and simply let them run loose without any supervision from a Beast Master or Tamer.
Even many of the elders had disapproved of such cowardice, but the great daemon quashed any dissension.
He only dared to enter when the first limiter was loosened. Everyone had been shocked to discover that both Ur’Khaz and Vul were dead when they finally arrived.
While neither were particularly strong, both were elites who had been chosen among the thousands of beasts to be leaders of the beast packs they’d sent through to clear the area. They were almost at the limit of what the Ruthless Heavens would allow to pass through the incursion, and it had cost the clan a fortune to send them through. They had been heavily nurtured and given many supplements to increase their physiques. After the restrictions lifted, they would be like kings in a newly initiated world.
Ogras immediately further cemented his erratic leadership upon noticing this fact. He had simply called the heralds trash for dying so easily, and was more focused on the construction of his palace than finding out the reason for their demise.
He had simply sent out a few scout parties, Azzun’s group included, in order to gain information about the surroundings. Getting the order felt almost like a death sentence to the unlucky scouts. If something in this forest could kill their alpha beasts, how would they survive? They were only level 30 to 35 with common classes, the weakest of the army that had arrived.
Defiance of the Fall: A LitRPG Adventure Page 11