Chapter 224: Fuck
They fought. Hard. The spider monsters lifted from the sands and poured down on them, sticky legs blurring as they rushed forward. The team got ready, and soon the air was filled with the bright flashes of skills and techniques.
The fight lasted longer than Azaroth thought possible as more monsters joined them, but they wiped them out. Not without taking hits themselves, and they had to wait to heal before they could continue.
Catena decided that the spider monsters had too little meat to be worth eating, but they still managed to harvest some essence stones. They walked the dry desert throughout the day, the suns overhead and the monsters rushing them like starved wolves.
Throughout the day, they encountered so many monsters, none of them easy to kill, so they were forced to constantly wait and heal, gathering energy to continue. Not that the suns helped matters, not even when one of the three suns sank below the clouds.
It was near night when they stumbled out of the desert and onto more solid ground. But by this time they were tired and only had the mind to find a place to camp for the night. Azaroth took the first watch as the others slept, and then used that period for meditating before Alex took the second watch.
The next morning they were able to explore the new location. The ground was made of red-brown earth, and their surroundings were filled with low-growing trees.
The others didn't say much among themselves, and Azaroth, as usual, ignored everyone, since their objective was known and clear. They ate and began exploring forward, killing the small monsters that showed up.
Unlike the previous day when the monsters rushed them, things were easier today.
Until they weren't.
Catena was the first to notice and gave warning as something disturbed the earth around them. The ground in front of them heaved, then erupted upward, uprooting trees and snapping roots with sharp cracks.
A long, leathery-looking snout made of brown stone jutted out, yellow eyes gleaming, quickly followed by the rest of the body. The creature shook itself and roared, a howl like wind tearing against rock.
It was fourteen feet tall and about the same length, lizard-like with a tail that ended in a spiked ball. Fangs gleamed black and sharp, and it opened its mouth, turning on them.
"A drake," Alex breathed. "A stone drake."
Azaroth's face tightened and his eyes narrowed flatly as power rolled out of the monster. It was Acolyte-rank, but it might as well have been higher with the power that crackled around it.
They studied the monster just as it studied them, but that didn't last long as the monster sucked in a deep breath and then released it in a wave of superheated air and shimmering heat that melted anything in its path.
Catena grasped the earth and hurriedly made a curving wall around them, far before the drake's breath touched them. They watched as the breath touched the wall and melted through it as if it wasn't there, and although the attack was weakened, it still carried enough force as it blasted forward.
The team scattered. Catena made a pillar of earth that jutted out and shot him forward and away. The others also made their way out of the line of destructive force.
Alex grunted as he hit the ground. "That's a monster with a unique bloodline! They are usually stronger than normal, even in the same rank. They are always powerful!"
Azaroth didn't need to be told twice. The ground from the monster's side to their position was charred and running with cooling magma that gave off intense heat. If it was a drake, then what about a dragon? A flash of jealousy and envy filled Azaroth. This was the type of power he wanted, the type of heat he wanted around himself. A force of nature.
But he forced it down until his thoughts spun with no emotion again.
He'll get there, he assured himself.
Fortunately, it seemed the monster couldn't release another breath attack yet, but it was still the size of an elephant with claws and fangs.
And it put them to good use as it bounded toward them, walking through the pools of magma without care. Stallus was the first one it met, and the stone drake pounced on her without hesitation, snout open to tear out flesh. But she danced back, avoiding the fangs and the claws, though she wasn't fast enough because the monster jumped at the last minute, giving itself extra reach.
The monster bit down, but just then lightning flashed through the air and slammed into its open jaws, making it flinch back. The monster froze for a second and shook its head, then turned toward where Alex was standing, lightning crackling on his raised hand and a grin on his face.
Stallus used the opportunity to run, but the drake wasn't done with her. Or at least it was more focused on Alex because its tail lashed out, a blur that slammed into Stallus's side, ramming her into a tree with such force that the tree cracked.
Her essence forge flickered, and she cried out in pain, crumpling.
No one had time to check on her as the drake bore down on Alex, faster than a blink, lips rolled back to show gleaming fangs. But Alex didn't wait. He sent bolts of lightning at the monster, but it jumped away at the last moment, claws lashing out at him. Alex jumped back only to lean forward and cut upward with his sword.
Clang!
His sword met stone, and the vibration made his hand tingle. He gritted his teeth, and the monster turned smug eyes on him. He had thought his sword would cut deep enough, but it barely made a scratch.
Now Alex was directly beneath the opened mouth, and his eyes widened in fear.
"Fuck," he muttered as the jaws closed down on him.