Chapter 45: The End of the Beginning
Far away to the northeast, a heavy silence fell over the area where the spider woman had previously lived, her vast web nest had been destroyed, and it and everything around it had been leveled to the ground.
Almost all signs of life had disappeared, and nothing remained except flying dust, and absolute silence, but as they say, even among the ruins of death, life always finds a way to bloom.
Amid the destruction, a small tree continued standing tall. Green covered its small vibrant leaves, and on its slender trunk, some ants that had also miraculously survived were present.
Suddenly, its leaves trembled, sending a little dust clinging to them flying, and after a short while, they trembled again, or more precisely, shook, causing them to emit a faint rustling sound.
But that was not the end of it, for they shook again, and again, and each time the intensity of the vibrations increased. Its leaves began to fall, and panic crept into the ants on it, and they scurried in every direction.
Boom!
From a place not far away, a thunderous footstep sounded, approaching little by little, making the ground shake violently and sending small rocks a few centimeters into the air.
Boooom!
A massive foot stepped on the small tree, leveling it completely with the ground, making it like everything else around it, nothing but rubble.
Unconcerned by what its feet were trampling, an extremely massive monster walked through the place, its shape resembled a giant lizard, and from a certain angle, it looked like a wingless dragon.
Its body was covered in a thick layer of hard scales, and its eyes were yellow, with a vertical black pupil. Its mouth was filled with rows of sharp fangs, and with every exhale it released, faint black smoke and some fire sparks came out.
The massive monster stood in the middle of the ruins of the spider woman’s nest, swept the place with its cold eyes filled with killing intent, then let out a thunderous roar, resembling the sound of grinding metal.
Its thunderous sound traveled like thunder in every direction, reaching distant parts of the forest.
...
On the borders of the wolves’ territory, amid a ground filled with torn carcasses, the white wolf stood tall and proud, and on his soft white fur were several blood stains, some belonging to him, while the majority did not.
Behind him stood dozens of his pack members in a fighting stance, some of them injured, and others completely unharmed, all their eyes filled with killing intent, and they growled with extreme savagery threatening the enemy before them.
On the opposite side, a large group of goblins retreated backwards very slowly and cautiously, they maintained their composure, and did not let the scattered carcasses in their path trip or impede them.
Even though most of them were in a very bad state, whether mentally or physically, they did not flee or retreat impulsively, they kept their weapons and shields directed toward the wolves, and moved in an organized formation.
At the front stood a massive hobgoblin with a muscular build, his solid body radiated a powerful aura, and unlike the rest of the goblins whose clothes were tattered rags, he wore armor of metal and leather crafted primitively.
He tightened his grip on his massive, precisely crafted metal sword, and with extreme coldness, stared at the white wolf, and the white wolf did the same.
Their eyes were filled with enmity, yet neither of them dared to attack, or make any kind of reckless moves, the many scattered carcasses around them were proof of how intense the battle they had fought was.
Both had suffered great losses and could not afford to lose more. Stopping the fight was a wise decision, but unfortunately, it was only temporary until they reorganized their ranks.
Both leaders, especially the wolf, were aware that the war would not end, except with the death of one of them, and the submission of the rest.
The white wolf continued watching the goblins until they left his territory, and only then did his tense expression relax. He turned around, and looked at his pack members who were licking their wounds and those of their companions.
Some signs of disappointment appeared on his features, and he sighed. ’If the situation continues this way, the goblins will take over more of our lands, this is not good.’
There was a lot to think about, but, despite his intelligence, he was merely a monster, and for this reason, his understanding of the future was very limited, and he focused on the present more.
He raised his head high, then let out a powerful howl, celebrating their victory, the rest of the wolves raised their heads, and followed his lead, releasing a unified howl, and from every other place in the wolves’ territory, howling sounds began to emerge.
When the retreating goblins heard their sounds, they trembled with fear, except for the hobgoblin who gritted his teeth in anger.
...
Time passed and night fell over the desolate forest, darkness swallowed everything, and fear imposed its control over the weak monsters. The unknown lurked from every direction, patiently waiting to ensnare its next victim.
Shrrk!
In another distant place, Alvin sat beside the faint campfire that was breathing its last. With a trembling hand, he slowly sharpened his sword, while his eyes remained fixed on the dancing flame.
Beside him, Selene lay on a simple bed, and despite the late hour, she was not sleeping, or rather she was unable to sleep, like Alvin, she did not say anything, and was content to stare at the stars, with a sad expression.
This was the state of everyone, for none of them were able to get over what had happened the previous day, even the members of the second team who had survived, sat hunched over, drowning in silence.
...
The night passed very slowly, and with the arrival of the following day’s noon, Arthur had covered a very long distance to the west.
With great difficulty, he forced his trembling legs to continue moving, he panted madly, and his tongue stuck to his mouth from intense thirst, his eyes were hazy and sunken, and he could barely see his surroundings.
He had spent the past twenty-four hours walking without stopping, and in truth, he was in a state that could only be described as wretched.
He turned his head a little, and fixed the spider woman with an almost pleading look, and said in a very hoarse voice: "Can I stop?"
"No." She replied without any hesitation or compassion.
He opened his mouth, and barely forced a few words out: "I, can’t... can’t continue, I will stop."
The spider woman furrowed her brows, she was aware that he had reached his limit, but she did not want to stop in this place, she wanted to move further away.
She took a careful look at their surroundings, which were filled with massive dry trees, and many strange mushrooms. After a little hesitation, she replied in annoyance: "Fine."
The moment he heard her reply, Arthur froze in place, like an old tree trunk.
She dismounted from his back, then raised her hands high, and at that moment silk threads began shooting in every direction, forming several massive webs.
The webs intertwined with each other, and little by little, a massive nest formed around them, it was like a palace, with large corridors, and what resembled rooms.
When she finished, she let out a long tired sigh, and after that said coldly: "From today onward, you will do everything I tell you, and if you do not, I will kill you."
Silence fell, and after a few seconds, she received a response, but it was not the answer she had expected, but the sound of faint snoring.
A slight frown appeared on her face, she turned and looked at Arthur, and found him asleep in his standing position.
She opened her mouth, but could not find anything to say, and in the end she decided to leave him to rest. After everything he had been through he truly deserved the rest.
— — — —
[ End of Volume One: The Lone Wolf ]
