Erik looked across the sun-baked grassland, a never-ending sea of green waves fluttering in the wind. The hissing of the Venomstrike Packstalkers rang menacingly behind him, accented by the loud rustle of grass as the monsters chased their human prey.
Erik sprinted through the tall grass, his pulse beating in his ears and adrenaline driving his limbs. He took a quick look behind him and saw at least forty of the terrible, green-scaled animals.
Their sleek bodies blended in with the greenery, giving the impression that they were fatal apparitions. Their sharp, predatory eyes betrayed a lethal will to kill.
A shriek from his right immediately sent him alert. A Packstalker lunged at him, his talons dripping with venom.
Erik unsheathed his Flyssa and faced the beast, driving his blade into its exposed belly as it was mid-air. It fell, writhing in the grass, with a sad cry. The young man was temporarily safe, but he was well aware that one down didn't mean there weren't others coming.
As he began his desperate flight, his heart raced. The landscape ahead rose rapidly, heading to a rocky outcrop surrounded by tall grass. Erik pushed harder, intending to take advantage of the high ground.
However, another Packstalker appeared from the left, a jumble of mottled green scales and lethal talons. The beast became silent as Erik's Flyssa arced into the air once more, killing it.
"Shit! Shit!"
Erik resumed his run, but the dangerous situation did not end there, with that Venomstrike Packstalker's death.
Three more thaids jumped out of the swaying grass that stretched before him, baring their teeth and pointing their claws, preventing Erik from reaching the outcrop.
Since their scaled shapes, honed for stealth and agility, blended in with the surrounding grassland, the young man had no idea when or where the next monster might appear, making it difficult for him to react to these beasts.
Erik's senses heightened as the predators drew in, their eyes gleaming with predatory intent, but he was forced to come to a halt to combat the beasts. He could quickly murder one, but killing three was going to be more difficult.
Erik reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, his prowess set to outmaneuver the onslaught. He dodged the first Packstalker's lunging assault, skilfully sidestepping the venomous claws that nearly caught him. His quick shape pivoted to avoid the second Packstalker's vicious attack, its talons tearing through the air where Erik's body had been just a couple of seconds before.
"You are not smart enough to kill me!" Erik exclaimed. He was using the Xeridon Anteris power to kill them quickly, thanks to the speed and strength he gained as a result, but he wasn't consuming much mana or even taking advantage of Nathaniel's brain crystal power. That wasn't necessary.
Erik somersaulted over the third Packstalker's snapping jaws, the predator's powerful bite meeting only air, undaunted by the menacing presence closing in around him. As he danced amid the attacks, Erik's body seemed to defy gravity, moving with supernatural grace.
The awakener turned the tables on his opponents, transforming his evasive moves into a lethal onslaught. He killed the first Packstalker with a fast and lethal blade swipe, executing a smooth aerial spin. He shifted his weight to confront the second predator, his blades shining with lethal intent.
Erik launched himself into a series of agile twists and somersaults before unleashing a barrage of attacks on his remaining opponents. Each slice and thrust was delivered with accuracy and power. The kid was too fast and swift for the Packstalkers, so they didn't even have time to fight back. His blade found its mark and instantly killed the remaining two beasts.
[MULTIPLE HOSTILE CREATURES KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 393 EXPERIENCE POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
Now that the surroundings were clear, he had to start running again. He took a quick look around. The metallic scent of blood mingled with the earthy sense of grass in the air.
The once-vibrant green blades had become scarlet, their tips encrusted in viscera and fragments of the dead beasts. Guts and entrails littered the ground, evidence of the brutal confrontation that had just occurred.
He just had seconds until the rest of the pack surrounded him, and he wasn't sure he could battle that many thaids at once, especially when they were this powerful.
Even if Erik was effortlessly dispatching them, this did not imply they were helpless.
He would have died if he didn't have the Xeridon Anteris' brain crystal power, as the creatures had the same level of strength without the ant's power. Moreover, the problem was that strength and speed could save him from numbers only to a certain point.
However, something horrific occurred before he could resume his movement: a haunting wail resonated through the air, resonating with the chill of impending doom. The problem was that the source of the noise was not around him but above.
Erik's gaze was drawn upward, and what he saw took his breath away. A swarm of flying thaids dressed in brilliant feathers that glistened against the cerulean sky soared far above on the hunt. The young man recognized the beasts right away; they were Galewings.
"FOR FUCK SAKE!"
Erik had a shudder up his spine. These monsters were powerful enough to pray over most creatures, as most flying thaids could. However, because they were too large to move through the foliage generated by the trees, they frequently searched around these free areas. The awakener saw a slight shift in the wind as the Galewings' penetrating gaze fastened on the hunting party.
The Galewings produced a powerful gust of wind using their brain crystal powers. The grass shook furiously as the Packstalkers and Erik were exposed by the wind, which lowered the grass around them and removed their cover, their hunger screams drowned out by the Galewings' shrieking calls.
The avian giants descended lower, their massive wings fanning the air and scattering the Packstalkers.
The Galewings slashed violently through the air, releasing cutting wind blades. Packstalkers were caught in their tracks and killed by the elemental power. The hunter had become the prey at this point.
Predatory ballet dancers, the Galewings, whirled in the skies, their dazzling talons preparing to attack. Each swoop and shriek was precisely timed and performed.
Under this intense aerial bombardment, the Packstalkers were in disarray, their numbers falling. Each dive by the flying thaids resulted in a Packstalker being seized and lifted into the sky.
Others were stuck to the ground and slowly slaughtered by the beasts, who ripped their bellies open or plucked their arms and legs out of their bodies with their talons. Some Galewings even began from the Stalkers' heads, making them erupt into pouring fountains of warm blood that drenched the earth.
Several Packstalkers reassembled in an attempt to defend themselves from the flying predators. They tried to protect themselves by channeling mana via their brain crystal and injecting potent venom into their talons, but their efforts were futile.
The Galewings, lords of the skies in this place, just struck from afar with their wind blades, killing some of the lizards in a matter of seconds as they flew through the skies; their gigantic wings cutting through the air as they danced around.
The Venomstrike Packstalkers, on the other hand, were simply too many to be chased down all at once. Because this type of flying creature frequented their hunting grounds, it was part of their survival strategy.
Because they knew they would be hunted if spotted, they could only increase their reproductive cycle and hunt in large groups to ensure the pack's survival. They would sometimes go into the forest to hunt, but their camouflaging advantage would be nullified if they did so.
However, their venom was potent enough to kill the majority of the thaids, and they were quick enough to kill practically anything in their path, so there were ways around that problem.
As the commotion unfolded, Erik saw it as an opportunity to flee. The trouble was that he had no place to hide in the surroundings. If he made trees or plants grow, they would stand out because there was nothing else in the area save grass, and even if he did create massive grass blades, they would be plainly seen.
However, that wasn't the most pressing matter. The Galewings were not stupid, and it was obvious they noticed him among the lizards.
The young man was desperate, and he truly believed he was going to die. That emotion was heightened when Erik observed a Galewing flying toward him as he darted through the landscape.
With its massive wings stretching the sky, the gorgeous monster fastened its eyes on Erik, its goal apparent. The Galewing released a wind blade with a rapid and purposeful motion.
"FUCK!"
Erik focused all his available mana on Nathaniel's and the Xeridon Anteris' brain crystal powers. He was drastically increasing his strength and speed. Still, even with all that raw power, he was having a hard time looking around because his dexterity was less than half of what he was currently exerting in speed.
Brain crystal powers depended on the mana used, and if one used all his or her available mana at the same time, they could create very powerful attacks. In this case, Erik was using the mana he had without caring about how much remained of it. This was to avoid the incoming attacks.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢