Will to live(1)

The full moon shone in the night sky, drowning the world in its ghostly red light.

The red light carried resentment towards humanity, and yet it gave hope to lost people. Guided by it was a group of cultivators sitting in a circle around a big bonfire.

The group was on high alert, as anything could jump on them at night. Taking turns to watch the creaky forest.

The days were better to roam around the twilight forest for people, as only lower-ranked demons and beasts roamed around the forest.

In comparison to the day, the nights were far more dangerous. The real abominations came out of their dens during these hours. Despite the danger, the solution to prevail over it was in the same place.

Every demon in these woods was afraid of fire, or, to be exact, of light.

Only fear‌ could be felt in their hearts when they come in contact with it. The light was a concept of purity, holiness, and everything good, thus it acted as the bane of all evil except certain mutations.

The forest was named Twilight for that sole reason; it embraced demons and beasts who were afraid of the light.

The bonfire they lit was not just for warmth and light, but also to ward off any potential threats that lurked in the shadows.

Many people were surrounding it, yet none spoke, only resting their bodies for the coming of the next day.

The only sounds that could be heard were the rattling of fire and occasional roars of beasts with a hint of rustling of leaves from the cold night winds.

Breaking the unbearable silence, one of the cultivators facing the murky woods asked in uncertainty, "How would we survive from now on?"

This question broke the solemn mood, yet nobody answered it. In a way, nobody had the answer to it as they were all dragged into this, with no option to turn back on.

With his back facing the group, Ruel said solemnly, "Agon and his scouts seem to have found a path out of this forest."

Just as Ruel said that an optimistic smile crept onto everyone's faces, but it only came crashing down with his next words.

"But.. the path is littered with lesser horncreepers and judging by their numbers, presumably a Baleful creeper."

"Are we really doomed to die here, then?" asked one young man with his body trembling under the hopelessness of the situation.

"No." Continuing his statement composedly, Agon said, "We will have to push through them."

"That's the only way to survive. There is no guarantee that help will be coming. Let me be frank about this."

With a heavy breath, Agon announced, "There aren't many supplies left right now. The attack ruined most of them."

"So there is no way to survive..." said another person, as if resigning to his fate.

"No, we will push through the path tomorrow and fight the Baleful creeper," said Ruel with a composed face.

An agitated voice said, "But that's just suicide!!"

"So?"

"Isn't staying here waiting for false hope and starving to death just the same?" said Ruel, scoffing at the man's remark.

The camp became silent when they heard this.

They all took a deep breath as they seem to realize how screwed the situation was. Both ways presented death. They had to choose between a certain death or just a slight chance of survival.

But was fighting a Baleful Creeper such big of a horror?

Yes!

Baleful creeper was the progenitor of lesser horncreepers and the plant-based demon which was hard to kill on its own territory, a forest.

Not to mention the amount of lesser horncreepers surrounding it. This was a suicidal operation.

But this abomination's horror didn't just end here. It was in the Foundation establishment realm, the next realm after Qi cultivation!

All the people in the camp were in Qi cultivation. The gap between realms was well established and only some prodigies could fight above their realm.

The gap was too big for the people here to cross.

Not to mention that the power of a cultivator in Qi cultivation was just slightly greater than that of an average human.

Qi cultivation was the starting point in cultivation and helped in attuning the body to spirit energy.

"Now, now, no need to be so down, we have thought this through."

Continuing his statement, Agon said with a smirk on his face.

"We have thought of a plan to win this fight, but it will be quite difficult to pull off, as every group will have to do well."

"Groups?" asked a man with a perplexed face.

"No worries, no worries, listen, so the plan works like this..." said Agon

In the dark night, surrounded by unseen horrors, the group listened to the plan intently as their life and death were based on it.

With a sigh, he concluded the discussion. "So that's it for the plan. I have already assigned you guys to groups."

"Now go and take a rest and be vigilant of the surroundings"

Everyone stood up to find a place to rest, while still staying within a certain radius of the camp.

Looking towards the blazing fire burning in front of him for a few moments, Ruel stood up from his spot.

Looking around for a bit, he found a sturdy-looking tree to rest on.

Climbing it up in a jiffy, he rested on the broad branch in a slumped-down position with a sword near his chest, resting in its scabbard.

Seeing all this, Agon couldn't help but notice how distant Ruel seemed. He felt like he was a different person altogether.

Ruel's demeanor had changed so much that he seemed almost unrecognizable, yet some things didn't change.

He looked utterly distant from what he used to be, and Agon couldn't help but wonder what caused this drastic transformation.

*****

The night had passed.

The field where the battle between cultivators and lesser horncreepers took place stood empty and silent. All that remained were ashes left behind by all dead lifeforms, leaving no clue what happened during the fight.

The night had seemed especially long and dreadful for them. Even a small noise from rustling trees and insects woke them up in the middle.

As a result of the way things turned out, their condition was not the best, with the multiple wounds they sustained. The coming fight would be extremely taxing on their bodies.

The party advanced early in the morning, moving discreetly but steadily towards the Baleful creeper's lair. They came across some stray beasts, but with such high numbers on their side, they easily dealt with them.

Beasts were the original inhabitants of the world even before humans took a step on it. They had their own realms which converged on them, gaining sentience.

Moving for a few kilometers, they finally saw a vast field. It took them hours to reach this place. With the position of the sun, it could be inferred that it was soon going to noon.

It had neither grass nor trees, and no natural flora and fauna could be seen except the little red imps.

It was filled to the brim with them, their menacing gnaws going up and down, drooling with saliva. Sometimes their tails intertwined with each other, creating sparks in the air.

The most notable thing about this unnatural scene was the greenish-brown seed-like structure growing out of the ground. It seemed like a plant in the shape of an almond, yet opening slightly from above.

The structure had unnatural creases all over its body and roots all over the field. Sometimes lesser horncreepers fell to the ground while walking because of poking roots.

Yes, this was the Baleful creeper. But it was in a dormant state at the moment, yet it kept giving birth to little imps at certain intervals.

They were just thrown out of the slight opening at the top.

Near this area, behind the bushes, Ruel and others were discussing the strategy one last time and distributing the supplies needed for it.

Observing the field and the Baleful creeper from a safe distance.

Steve whispered to them, "This plan depends on the success of the team confronting the Baleful creeper. If we kill it, all the remaining imps will die on their own."

"Let's do it guys!"

As soon as Steve said this, everyone rushed to their designated positions and began to prepare for the battle ahead.

With one step on the field, the real battle was about to begin.