Chapter 44: The Hannis

I left the clearing along with Whity. A smoke can be seen coming out at the center of the crater. Garka's body laid there fully incased in dark flames. His unmoving body is burned to the core to make sure he will never get back up again. After what they did, did he really expect a mercy from me? 

Before I depart, I made sure to milk him enough information before ending his life. It seems Juha was able to hinder the Sentient Lord's plans even in death. He will be busy  for a few years to come before resuming his intended plan. For now, I need to get as far away from him as possible and plan my next course of action from there…and get a few new sets of clothes. Garka's clothes is fine and all but the holes and tears would make me look like a hobo. Some of them almost reached my crotch. I needed new ones, fast. And by some miracle, I stumbled upon an abandoned house. I went inside, quickly killing the undead residents and went to their closet. I opened it and saw a green hoody jacket, a red shirt, and a few black jeans. I immediately took them and put them on. At the side of the table, I noticed a peculiar white gas mask. This one is designed in a small structure that it would be mistaken for a face-mask. I took it and put it on my face. My reason? I just can't stand looking at my rotten face. Plus, it might help me avoid conflict if I'll ever encounter a few hannis one day. Once that's done, I scavenged some more. I took a few weapons that may aid me in battle. Like a few knives and a machete. There's no guns in here but I don't think I'll ever need those again due to my new found power. With that said, I moved out the house and resume my journey with Whity. 

We walked for days, killing any undead that tried to ambush us and as we walked for another hours on end, I saw a quite peculiar sight right ahead. Before me is a mountain. Not just an ordinary mountain though. This one is currently floating upside-down. Below it are multiple gigantic chains that are attached to the ground. And on top of it is what appears to be a city. 

I could see multiple aircrafts from above. Those things are weirdly shaped. They are quite enormous in length. From this distance, they look like flying snakes. There are also many small aircrafts around it. All of them are quite armed and ready to fire at any moment.

A civilization being built at the top of a floating upside-down mountain. Well that's a first for me. It made for quite a beautiful scenery however I narrowed my eyes when I saw a few of those smaller aircrafts heading on our direction. We immediately fled to avoid being spotted. As we continued to ran, I turn around and notice that they are rapidly gaining on us. To avoid being captured, we hid at the nearby pile of dead trees and bushes. A few moments later, one of those ships had landed a few distance from us. Thankfully they didn't notice us. 

Now that we're up close to the ship, I saw that it was designed similar to that of a grasshopper. It stood tall at an estimate of twenty feet and forty-five feet in length. Quite large for an aircraft now that I think about it. I stopped pondering when the door opened. I heard multiple sounds of steps and the clanking of metal. People that wore a full body armor came out of the ship. All of them are armed with multiple guns and swords. The designs of their weapons are quite peculiar but I didn't think much about it. A last person came out with the same armor as they have however this one has a cape. From the shape of the person's body, I could tell that this one is a man. A big one at that. This guy is build like a strongman competitor as I notice that most of the other soldiers are small compared to him. 

"Any sightings?" The big man said.

"None at all General. This one is quite sneaky." 

"Keep looking. He won't be far."

…

General Klasuv have been serving the Hital Citadel for quite a few years. During his services, he had experience battling a large number of undead as well as a few sentients. The previous attack from the Sentient Lord was successfully held back because of him and his troops and due to that, he was regarded as the beast. His large frame is noticeable to his enemy and his brutality is often considered far worse than most of the sentients. It was no mistake that he is largely respected as a soldier and feared as an enemy. Right now, his troops had alerted him of a sighting of a sentient near their borders. Right after that, he immediately rushed out his headquarters and brought a few strong armed troops with him. Having a sentient near their borders is a cause for concern as they are quite feared due to their strength and abilities. 

So far, there are still no sightings of the Sentient nearby. The last time he saw it fled was from this part of the forest. 'He won't get away that easily.' He thought as he loaded his gun and started joining his troops for the hunt. 

His walked slowly through the lush of plant life. Trees had shelded him most of the sunlight. His eyes remain focus and looking signs of any traces of the sentient. 

"Any sightings yet?" He spoke to his communicator. 

"Negative, Sir."

"None here, Sir."

"Mine as well, Sir" 

All of his troops had the same answer soon  enough. All of them had yet to find any trace of their target. Even the ones scouting up ahead had still not found even a small clue at all. 

"Roger that, still keep looking. This bartards are always as sneaky like a snake so all of you better not let your guard down."

"Yes, Sir."

"Yes, Sir. Wait! I think I caught a sight of hi-" 

The radio immediately shut off. 

"Shit! All of you, find his coordinates. That must be him."

One of them had located the last coordinate of one of their troops and immediately sent it to their respective troops. Moments later, all of them had went to the specified location. They expected a dead body but they only saw a knocked out trooper minus his armor and uniform. The entire crew is now on high alert as they resume their search. However, they still couldn't pinpoint his location. And before they know it, each of them is starting to get targeted one by one. They never saw it coming. They barely had enough time to react before they instantly collapse to the ground. General Klasuv immediately called for back up and was relieved that they immediately answered. 

"Men! Turn on your suits!"

And with his command, all the remaining soldier had turn on their suits causing it to rapidly change form. Their armor let out two tenticle arms that are shrouded in red lightning. It also expanded as well and gained a few sizes. Now they all looked like mechas except it's only thirteen feet tall. General Klasuv also activated his suit and is scanning his surroundings. It didn't take long for him to find his target and immediately tried to shoot it but unfortunately, he missed. He tried to follow it but he was suddenly tackled by a drakier. It bit his leg and flunk to the nearby trees. He crashed hard causing a small devastation in his wake but he is fortunately fine. The armor took the blunt of the damage so he didn't sustain any injuries. The other troopers saw the drakier and quickly rained numerous bullets towards it. The drakier ran and used the trees for cover before dissapearing in the woods.

"A drakier. What is it doing here?" Klasuv muttered. He didn't thought much of it and just stood as well as resuming his mission. 

The forest is silent now. The attacks had stopped. Despite this, the general and his soldiers remained vigilance. They searched through the forest in great focus. Unbeknownst to them, Jerome is at the top of a tree silently observing them. His red eyes followed the soldiers with every step of the way. Whity is with but is hiding on the bushes so to speak. His large frame would have been problematic but thankfully, the bushes of the forest in here are quite big. After a few seconds of waiting, Jerome made his move. Despite their armor, none of them are able to brace themselves for what's about to happen as all of them are still being taken out. Each and everyone of them all had fallen to the ground. Jerome had destroyed their armor with ease and knocked them out. Whity had also his fair share of bodies and thankfully for them, all of them got a concussion as the drakier only smashed them to the ground with only a force to knock them out. Soon enough, only the general is left. He cursed his luck at the sudden turn of events.