The horde of monsters trampled trees and raised dust, but gradually, they thinned and then stopped. Litha couldn't help but look at their retreating forms in frustration, that was her money running away.
What in the hell is going on in the forest?
She removed the shield around us, and the smell of dust and the musty stench of different monsters enveloped us. "Let's be careful. Whatever can make monsters run like that shouldn't be taken lightly."
"I will take the lead since I have the best eyesight and hearing," I said. Then I activated my 'sword.' My right hand cracked, the flesh shifted, and then fangs started to grow upward, their tips sharp and deadly, forming wing-like shapes, but instead of feathers, they were all long fangs.
I started to lead them through the undergrowth, our steps softened by the trampled ground. The forest was now silent, almost too silent.
Even the wind seems to have stopped.
I suddenly caught a distant woosh, a brushing of leaves against flesh. Alertness surged through me immediately.
"Something is coming!" I raised my weapon in readiness as we stopped moving and put our backs against each other.
A crack, like the splitting of a tree, followed, and this time we heard it clearly as whatever it was got closer.
Then it burst out of the clearing, a mass of scales and sharp claws, the monster was shaped like a kangaroo, but its body was all red scales, with long claws and a long snout filled with fangs.
It crouched in front of us, its eyes taking us in.
My first thought was, This is not the monster that shook the forest, and I felt relief.
My second thought was that the monster didn't look strong enough to justify being the same height as me.
The monster growled softly, almost in confusion, as it looked at me. Its eyes dilated as it sniffed, sniffed me! It was smelling the chaos in me but seeing soft human flesh. Then its mouth opened, and a long tongue darted out, tasting the air.
I also felt familiarity with it. Hermit sent it through our connection. It's a chaos monster. More images and emotions followed through our link.
"Be careful. Their claws and fangs are covered in a substance that can rot the blood."
The others didn't question where I heard that, they just nodded.
Thankfully, it seemed like a rank C Iron monster. One of us should have no problem dealing with it. Temur and Litha slowly, but steadily gave me space.
The monster finally decided that I was food and leaped at me.
Its speed was surprising, an explosive power that tore into the ground and propelled it forward like a bullet.
It brought its two hands down, clawing at my face, and I easily held it back with my big hand sword, pushing it away as the claws bounced aimlessly against my transformed hand.
And that instantly made me relax. The monster cannot penetrate my sword. So instead of waiting, I made the second move, uncoiling forward like a spring.
The monster moved to meet me, and we rammed into each other.
The monster had no chance.
Every slash I made felt like thirty blades striking as one, and the strength behind it drove the monster back rapidly.
Woosh!
The monster dodged one of my slashes, and it hit a tree instead, tearing it apart and cutting the whole thing down in one go.
I could feel Temur watching. At first, I hadn't been sure about my power against the monster, but now I was realizing just how powerful I was.
It wouldn't last long.
I acted as if I was going to slash again, and the monster brought its hands together in a defensive posture. Instead, I kicked it solidly and sent it flying back, then l followed up with a thrust into its skull.
The monster collapsed.
I looked at it. I wasn't even out of breath. The essence rose from the monster like invisible smoke and settled into me.
I flicked my hand. "That was easy."
"It could be far easier. A single C Iron monster like that should be brought down in one hit. You don't have time to waste. Don't try to fight it. Just kill it in one powerful strike," Litha said as she went to the monster and put it into her ring.
"But he's here to train. Fighting like that can help him…" Temur began.
Litha shook her head. "I can feel the flow of mana here. Something is wrong in this zone."
"Then let's go. We'll see what it is soon enough," I said.
We began to move forward. This time, we didn't try to be silent, we increased our speed. Another monster appeared, and this time, I didn't try to fight it.
I waited until the monster was close, then used my sword, sending it out like a whip and tearing the monster in two while it was midair, spraying us all in blood.
My 'sword,' which was my right hand, could be extended forward a few feet since Hermit could make my hand longer. That was what I was doing. Each time a monster appeared, I killed it so fast it didn't even know what hit it.
The combination of my natural speed and strength made it like a quick-draw technique I'd seen in old vantage comics before the global Awakening.
Then Temur stopped suddenly after I killed the sixth rank C monster. "This is wrong. It's like they're testing us by sending out weak monsters. You see the way they come one at a time when they could all just rush us?"
"Monsters setting traps? There must be an S ran....." Litha suddenly stop frozen, then she raised her hand and constructed a hasty shield around us just in time as the next moment, something tore through the forest around us and struck with such force that we were swept backward.
And Litha's shield shattered like a mirror.
Then.....that something strode casually into the clearing.