Chapter 425: Harvester
Vlad took a deep breath as he calmed his mind and body, allowing his stamina to return. The cold mountain air filled his lungs, and he felt his heartbeat slow to a steady rhythm. Thirty minutes later, he opened his eyes, and a sharp light appeared in them as he glanced at the other three.
Freya, Jormungandr, and Ouroboros nodded, understanding passing silently between them.
In the next moment, the group rose from the ground and began to descend the mountain range. They moved through the shadows, always avoiding open fields, hiding their figures with the objects around them. Rocks, trees, and the natural contours of the land became their allies as they slipped through the terrain like ghosts.
Hours passed as the Depravitas and the Viking princess marched forward, moving closer and closer to the coastline of Kylen Country. Their senses were as sharp as possible, each of them covering a different angle, always alert for the presence of Leviathans. Every rustle of leaves and every distant sound was analyzed and assessed, putting an immense strain on their minds. Unfortunately, they could not count on the help of Overlord’s Sentinels; the presence of those artifacts could arouse the suspicion of the hive mind. Vlad and the others knew they could only rely on themselves.
The journey was arduous. As they ventured deeper into the mountains, the weather turned harsh. They moved carefully, pressing close to the mountain walls, their footsteps muffled by the snow yet ever cautious of the hidden dangers beneath.
Navigating through the snow-laden peaks, they encountered sheer cliffs and narrow ledges. Descending from the snowy peaks, the terrain shifted to dense forests and muddy lowlands. The melting snow turned paths into quagmires. The forest was silent, devoid of the usual sounds of wildlife—a sign that Leviathans were near. They communicated with hand signals, every word potentially giving away their position.
Finally, after three days of travel and many close calls, the Depravitas and the Viking princess found themselves on a massive cliff from where the coast of Kylen Country could be seen. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden hue over the vast expanse of ocean stretching out before them. Waves crashed against the jagged rocks below, sending sprays of foam into the air.
The first thing that caught the attention of the group was the massive congregation of nearly two hundred Leviathan warriors and tens of thousands of aerial units. The warriors stood in formation along the shoreline, their grotesque forms bristling with deadly appendages. The aerial units swarmed, their wings ready to propel them into the air at any second. There was not a single normal drone in sight; it seemed that the hive mind only wanted its most powerful units present in this place.
Even for those four, facing hundreds of High Champions and tens of thousands of Champions that knew no fear and acted as a single entity was terrifying and could easily spell doom. But despite all that, smiles arose on their faces.