Chapter 322: Battle of life & death (2)

Conrad’s thoughts about the beast dried up as he remembered hearing a rumour about a man who died in a fight against a dragon, saving Evanna and the others; that man then returned days later, risen from the dead with newfound powers. Most began to fear him. It was said that man could shapeshift.

Was this beast Ger?

Conrad jumped back, yanking out his large blade from the Faceless creature, guts splattering as he landed and blocked a blow from another creature, his attention returning to the battleground. He kept a sharp eye on the dragon, though, snorting when said dragon had to be Ger after witnessing his ’dragon fire’.

Blue flames erupted from the beast, but there was more smoke than flame as it barely caught a few Faceless alight. The fire was so small the creatures swiftly put it out, rolling on the floor. Ger growled in annoyance, a snort of puffy smoke blowing from his nostrils.

He had yet to grow his skill in flame-throwing. The beast in his head was too lazy to teach him, mentioning how ’one will not learn through coddling’. That wasn’t coddling! It was a simple request!

Although he might be unable to perish all these creatures by dragon fire, Ger could still squish them and rip their heads off. It wasn’t pretty, but these ugly creatures needed to go. He hoped one might try to get in his head again and awaken the dragon that was currently curled up like a snake in his mind, happily dozing away and ignoring his requests. Maybe then the beast might help him.

The more Ger crushed beneath his claws and ripped apart with his teeth, the more the creatures began to swarm him, aware that he was a threat that could eliminate them swiftly. More and more began to crowd him and try to crawl over him, attacking him.

A low growl rumbled through his scaley chest. He hadn’t killed many before they started their assault. Axel and Ronan were nearby, trying to fend them off, but there were too many, and it wouldn’t be long until they would be killed. Snapping the neck of another and tossing it into three others charging at him, Ger then focused on shifting back into his human form. Unlike before, when it took ages, he had been practising daily to quicken the speed for moments like this.

In seconds, the pain ripped through him, and black spots covered his vision until Ger realised he was falling from a great height. His sword was falling by his side as two Faceless creatures were mid-leap trying to tackle him. Grabbing the sword, Ger mid-air sliced the first one in half in one strike, and the other he decapitated before landing on the ground, fist hitting the ground with a loud thud. Strays of his dark locks from the knot at the back of his head clung to his forehead as dirt puffed up from the impact.

The Faceless bodies crashed down beside him, causing the others to screech. Ger used the distraction to sprint out of the group of creatures that tried to kill him through their overwhelming numbers, even as a dragon that was too much- a dragon in training that was. While sprinting forward, Ger didn’t hold back from swinging his sword, causing the monsters to lose limbs as he went. Many collapsed and couldn’t move, their cries almost piercing his eardrums.

"These blasted things!" Ronan shouted as he finished off one that Ger was about to leave. Its screeches stopped immediately at the strike of Ronan’s blade across its neck. Like Conrad’s strategy, Ronan and Axel planned to stay with Ger; grouping together was better to tackle these beasts.

Axel threw one of his axes at another behind Ronan, who crept up behind him. "Stop dawdling," he grunted, rushing past him as he brought the large axe out from behind his shield and swung it mightily at the creature. The squelching sound of the blade slicing through it made Ronan grow nauseous and worse when Axel yanked his weapons out of the thing before it fell on top of another.

Ger tapped Ronan’s shoulder, a devilish grin on his lips, eyes alight with excitement. "Come on, let’s have some fun." His grin was infectious, and so was his excitement; it melted away the initial fear Ronan had and the nausea that kept creeping in.

He’d fought many times before, but it was quite possibly his fear and not the sight or sound of guts that had him feeling that way. Well, the nausea was gone now as he happily followed Ger, who, for once, wasn’t being a grumpy git. It was odd, considering how close he almost was to death again. Or maybe he hadn’t been. Ger appeared in complete control, aware of how much he could do.

As the trio began running through and slicing down the creature’s legs first to make them incapable of moving, Ger caught sight of Evanna and Arawn. The slight pang in his chest at the sight of such a powerful couple back to back, their gifts in full use, faded as swiftly as it came. He could see Evanna was in her rightful place by Arawn’s side.

"Ger, watch it!"

Evanna’s head swivelled to the side at the sound of Ger’s name. The alarm in Ronan’s voice caused her to panic, almost making her heart leap from her chest, reminding her of the time Ger died. But there was no need to. Ger swiftly ended the monster.

With a sigh of relief, Evanna flicked her wrist and the vines that were whipping back and forth swept through five Faceless creatures, its large human-size thorns gutting all of them. It required a lot of power, but the monsters kept trying to swarm them. After Ger returned to his human form, the creatures turned to the next most powerful on the battlefield.

Many surrounded Conrad, but he looked almost insane, blood-covered and laughing at times. The others had barrelled towards Evanna and Arawn. The elven prince- well, King, covered her back, using icicles to slice through the others. He even made monsters of his own, tall beings made of ice that squished the Faceless beneath their feet. They were mighty and useful, just a little slow. That didn’t stop the icy giants from killing at least ten at a time.

Though the Faceless death rate was increasing greatly, there were just so many! How? What was the purpose of these beings?!

"Help!" A woman screamed to Evanna’s right. The terror in her voice made Evanna leap down from the icy tower Arawn created in the direction of the woman. "My baby! My baby!"

What was someone doing out here? There was a small village nearby, but they all assumed the villagers fled. Most of the buildings had been torn apart, crumbling now like ruins.

"Evanna!" Arawn shouted, his hand reaching towards her. But his wife had already leapt from the tower in search of this damsel. "Be careful! It could be a trap!"

"I know! Keep the others from following me!" Evanna called back as her garden of thorny vines continued its onslaught on the creatures. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, the distance between where she was controlling the plants and her growing. It was getting harder. She wouldn’t let them fall, though. Otherwise, Arawn would deal with more by himself.

"Help!" The woman cried again, tearing at Evanna’s chest.

The princess rounded a rock and skidded to a halt at a ditch before the fallen village. A woman stumbled backwards, holding onto a baby in her arm as a Faceless creature tried to hypnotise her. The woman refused to look at the being, though, her fear evident on her face.

Evanna sprinted towards it, leapt and sliced through its extended neck with her blades. The woman screeched at the blood and shuffled backwards. "My baby, my baby!"

"Are you okay?" Evanna started approaching the woman who looked to be a farmer of some sort from the look of her attire. The baby in her arms wasn’t making a sound. Evanna frowned, wondering if this woman was in shock and might be holding a lifeless baby. Sadness spread across her features as she kneeled in front of the woman who remained on the slight hill of the small ditch.

The woman started sniffling, her face cast down, shoulders moving up and down. The sniffles slowly turned into a dark, humourless chuckle, and the icy sensation that had been stabbing into Evanna’s stomach made sense. With all of the fighting on the battlefield, Evanna had grown accustomed to the feeling. The sensation had been prickling into her skin like little needles all over her.

"What did you think of my performance, princess?"

Stunned, Evanna stared as the woman looked up to meet her eyes, a broad smile on her lips. She looked almost crazed. Just as she registered, the woman was Scarecrow; he threw the baby at her. Threw a baby!

Evanna gasped, reaching forward and catching it. Upon unwrapping some of the cloth to inspect the baby’s condition, she let a low growl of frustration, dropping the wrapped potato just as Scarecrow leapt towards her.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read