What happened? What was the unexpected phenomenon that left even Bassano with his jaws dropped?
Well, it all happened just a few hours after their big departure.
At the start of their journey, they never dropped their vigilance, even once. But it didn't stop them from getting attacked multiple times.
At one point, they were chased by what looked like a messed-up version of giant bees. And in another situation, the slope they stood on while checking the map suddenly moved, revealing itself to be a demonic turtle.
A TURTLE! Can you believe it?
Its speed should not be underestimated.
Snap!
One of Bassano's team members lost an arm while pushing a newcomer away.
F***!
Rudolf and the others almost screamed in disbelief. It was the first time they had seen someone lose a hand so brutally before.
Emily placed her hands over her mouth, trying to stop her sobs from spewing loud noises. She was saved because of this man. His actions made her 10 times more fond of him.
Bassano and Rudolf quickly bandaged his hand, as the entire group hid in a small clearing.
The journey was only 2 hours, and they had nearly died over 20 times now.
They still had another 30 or so hours left to go. Where was the hill? Where was the hill with food supplies?
This one experience made Rudolf's group grow overnight.
They continued to advance cautiously, until...
Shoop!
The sky in a region several hills away suddenly burst open, with a blinding light corroding their senses.
"What's going on?"
"Has this ever happened before?"
Bassano's face was grim. "No..."
"Grawwwwwllllll!!!!~
A sudden overwhelming level of hunger suddenly took hold of the creatures, as though something had triggered them and raised their hunger levels to 100.
Bassano made his decision immediately. "Fall back!"
Return! Return!... They had to go back before any unexpected doom fell on them.
~Grawwwwwwwwwwlllll~
The red skies grew darker by several shades, and the clouds swirled even faster than before.
What was going on? No one had time to think anymore, as all sorts of crazy beings began emerging from their surroundings. And it was now that even Bassano knew true fear.
The ground rumbled, and the trees quivered with eyes that could suck their souls away from a single glare.
"RUN! RUN! RUN!"
Chris and others hugged the badly injured comrades, as they tried their best to keep up with the others in this wobbly forest.
Bassano looked back and gritted his teeth fiercely. "Everyone stick together! Form a barricade, use your weapons and form a wall!"
Breaking apart was bound to make some of them lost. Humanity in this world depends not only on strength but on numbers.
"Stay together!"
Their chances of survival would be significantly higher!
Look left; look right.
Everyone kept moving their faces to all corners, as their eyes became haunted by their reality.
"Wait. Does everyone feel that?"
The rumbling action from the floor suddenly grew at an alarming rate, causing their pupils to constrict and their hearts to swell.
A stampede?
"Bassano!" Rudolf called. "We can't keep moving like this! Yes! Every place is dangerous, but surely there must be a safe place around these parts, right?"
That's right they can't keep running forever, especially since the place is getting so chaotic.
They were 2 and a half hours away from the base. So it wasn't practical given the number of injured people they had.
What's more, it wasn't advisable for them to be out in the open during such a wild stampede.
Everyone looked at Bassano's team with burning hope.
C'mon, man! Think! Think! Think!
"There!" Merlin gestured at a moving tree shaped like an umbrella. "It's a safe tree!"
A safe tree? Yes. It has saved many of their lives before.
It was a bit evil, but it was nothing they couldn't handle!
"Then what are we waiting for?"
Move. Move. Move!
Everyone gritted their teeth, seeing the stampede of creatures raising dust from afar. Despite looking far away, these creatures should arrive in about 3 minutes.
The distance between them and the safe tree was akin to a block away. So now, the question was if they could make it on time.
Apart from their base and the hill that grew human food, no place in this world was safe, including the so-called 'safe' tree.
It was just that the dangers the tree offered were one of the lowest danger tiers in this world.
Every creature or tree has a difficulty rank. One of the weakest trees of all was the safe tree.
Seeing the tree here, Bassano and the others thanked their lucky stars.
Merlin, being the first to arrive, quickly took out his dagger and stabbed the trees mercilessly.
~Aaaaaaaooowww~
The safe tree cried and began stupidly smashing itself from side to side. Soon, its eyes blinked, causing Rudolf's team to take a step back in shock.
Seeing it come alive was different from hearing it from a person's mouth.
Rudolf felt that even if he someday escaped this world, he might never look at trees the same again. And what was up with its ugliness?
Why was it that whenever any creature, object, or being revealed their tree form, they were always so ugly?
Can't there be good-looking ones?
The moment the tree came alive, several holes began forming on its surface, and the entire tree began wilting at a visible rate.
It was decaying, with all sorts of ants, termites, maggots, and whatnot crawling in and out of its body.
As a result of seeing so many minutes on the way here, Rudolf no longer puked at such a sight.
However, this didn't stop him from gagging and feeling his mouth turn bitter.
Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock.
Time was not on their side, as the stampede was drawing closer by the second.
C'mon. C'mon.
"Everyone get ready."
Merlin stabbed the tree again, causing it to wobble even more.
Aooooooorrr~
"Now!"
Everyone darted into the tree's fully-opened mouth in the nick of time. But was this truly the end of things?
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