Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Ch 8: Rian's Death

As soon as Emrys shouted about the second monster, everyone in the squad was shocked. They weren't expecting to face two Ravagers at once. Korin's eyes widened, and even Jerek seemed surprised, but there was no time to panic.

"Stay calm, everyone. We have trained for this. Korin, you are the strongest in the team, and I believe you can keep that first Ravager busy. So, keep it busy until we deal with the second Ravager. Emrys, keep scanning for more!" Jerek shouted in his strong voice, giving orders immediately after the situation changed.

The ground trembled again as the second Ravager burst from the earth behind them.

"Roar!"

Its roar echoed through the dark forest. This one was just as large and fierce as the first. Its sharp claws and glowing red eyes were filled with killing intent.

Korin gritted his teeth and slammed his fists into the ground, raising more rock spikes to stop the first Ravager. But the monster was too fast. It easily dodged the rocks and swept its massive claws at Korin. Korin barely managed to jump out of the way, rolling across the ground.

On the other hand, Jerek brought Lira and Rian to battle the second Ravager. Lira could be seen firing her deadly eye beams at the second Ravager.

Shua~

Bright energy rays shot from her eyes, hitting the creature’s tough scales. Sparks flew in all directions and the Ravager cried in pain, but it clearly wasn't enough to slow it down. The Ravager charged at Lira with all its might and snapped its jaws, forcing Lira to jump back to avoid being bitten.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew and a hurricane-shaped attack landed on the Ravager, pushing it backward. At the same time, the sound of a firing gun echoed in the air and numerous wounds appeared on the ravager's body.

"Roar!"

The Ravager growled in pain and turned at Rian who was holding a giant electromagnatic rifle in his hand.

Seeing that the bullets fired by these rifles could penetrate through the Ravager's strong defense, Rian got excited and started firing again.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

The battle had already started becoming chaotic when Jerek joined Rian and Lira to attack the Ravager.

Emrys stood frozen far from battle for a moment, watching the chaos unfold around him. The battle had already turned into a terrifying war where his ability was of no use. If he wants to stay alive, he has to stay behind these four people.

Once again, he felt useless.

Taking a deep breath, Emrys closed his eyes again and focused on the vibrations in the air and the ground. His heart was already pounding hard and he knew he had to stay focused.

And then, he felt it again. He felt a new tremor in the air. This time, it was something different, something far more dangerous. This one was coming from above.

Emrys opened his eyes in fear and shouted in a hurry, "Everyone, be careful. Another enemy is coming. It is coming from the sky, and it is fast."

The squad members were stunned, not expecting the situation to get out of hand not long after they arrived in the enemy's domain. They hurriedly pushed back the Ravagers and looked up, only to be shocked to see a massive creature flying towards them. It was an insectoid-type monster. This insectoid's huge wings buzzed loudly and its sharp bony head gleamed in the faint light. Its long stinger was dripped with poison as it flew toward the team.

It was an insectoid called the Bonehead Giant Wasp.

"A Bonehead Giant Wasp?!" Lira gasped in shock as her eyes widened with fear.

Jerek cursed under his breath. "This is bad. Everyone, fall back. We can't fight all of them at once!"

But it was too late. The Bonehead Giant Wasp swooped down as its wings created powerful gusts of wind. It flew straight at Rian, who was standing near the back, holding an electromagnetic rifle to aim at the Ravager.

Although Jerek orders everyone to retreat, they still have to avoid being killed by Ravagers. Rian was focused on the Ravager so that it would not attack the team. Moreover, due to Ravager's roar and rifle's firing sound, he was unable to clearly hear Jerek's order. He was completely focused on attacking the second Ravager.

"Rian, look out!" Emrys screamed when he saw the Bonehead Giant Wasp aiming at Rian, but his warning came too late. The wasp's stinger struck Rian in the chest, piercing through his armor.

"Ahhhh!"

Rian let out a terrible scream as the poison spread through his body immediately. His body turned purple and black. He collapsed to the ground as his eyes widened in shock and pain. Dark blood poured out of his wound, and within moments, he stopped moving.

"Rian!"

Jerek shouted in fury, not expecting one of the team member to dall here. Tears fell out of Lira's eyes. She was stunned at first before and pointed at Rian, unable to speak anything. Her voice reached a breaking point as she saw her teammate fall.

Korin's face also twisted in anger.

"Damn it!"

Korin shouted in anger and clenched his fist. Then he slammed his hands into the ground again.

Woosh!

A massive wall of earth rose between the squad and the Ravagers all of a sudden. Korin wanted to give everyone a few moments to regroup and then retreat.

But the Bonehead Giant Wasp wasn't done. It hovered above the team, its wings buzzing menacingly. Its glowing red eyes locked onto Emrys who was standing frozen in shock after seeing Rian die.

"Emrys, move!" Jerek shouted at the top of his lungs, rushing at him and pushing him out of the way just as the wasp dove down again. The Bonehead Giant Wasp aimed its poisonous stinger where Emrys had been standing but missed due to Jerek's timely intervention.

Emrys stumbled to the ground. His heart was racing crazily. He had never seen someone die like that before. His mind was spinning.

Is this war?

Is this how humans have been fighting their enemies, risking their lives every second just to give another moment of safety and comfort to those living between two lines of defense?

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter