7 Peril in The Forest of Mist

They're travelling in high speed. Kyran turned his head, he couldn't see Hex and the group anymore. Fifteen minutes later, the scenery changed to a sea of forest covered in the thin mist, making the atmosphere more otherworldly. The owls seemed to be unaffected by the pain despite occasional swaying and keep heading deeper into the forest. In the distance, several gigantic trees towering in grandeur amidst the sea of trees came into sight. Each one had approximate height around 170 meters and 18 meters in diameter. There were at least fifty, making them looked like a small mountain protruding out of nowhere. Several faint wailing came from the distant trees.

"What's that?" Kyran gasped. He never saw anything close to that before.

"That's the wailing tree! We're in the deeper part of the forest of mist! "Carol turned serious.

"It's one of the most perilous zone around this area for those under intermediate rank. The enormous trees were well known as the nest of wailing owls. But that's not all. Horde of beasts were also recorded wandering around here!"

Facing fifty of this creature that feast on the troublesome giant earthworm they fought earlier, did they stand a chance? Kyran ironically smiled. Hot blood rushed inside his veins. His heart beat fast. If he would still die in the end, then he won't die without putting a good fight. He's born of a warrior lineage of Lowell Kingdom after all.

After another five minutes, the owl slowed down and headed to one of the enormous tree. There's a hole slightly larger than its own size in the trunk. If one observed closer, one would realize almost all the wailing tree had similar holes. The wailing owl flew inside and drops Kyran and Carol. It didn't stay long before flying away.

"It left?" Kyran uttered in disbelief.

"Look!" Carol exclaimed.

The interior of the tree was quite spacious. It's dim, but with their demonic trait, they could still perceive the surrounding. Various size grotesque creature ranging from strange caterpillars to black earthworm the size of a human kid and even red furred rats, filled the hole. Kyran had a bad feeling.

In some part, there were beast carcasses scattered around. Some were slaughtered with their guts hanging out, several other were dismembered, the rest left with only slick bones. The air reeked of a putrid smell. If a normal human was present, he would certainly passed out. Fortunately they're not one, so they could handle it to a certain degree.

The beasts finally noticed them. They let out a growl as if they had not had a proper meal in a long time and very delighted to see a prey. As they were approaching, suddenly several wailing in low pitch that sent the chill down the spine came from deep inside the hole. All beasts, hearing the sound, became nervous.

"That's...that's the owl's offspring! The wailing means they're starving!" Carol shivered.

They realized what this place truly was. It's the feeding ground to nurture the young owl. The other beasts were terrified and some had even started to flee toward the exit. As they ran, they assaulted and tripped up each other, hoping the one left behind would be feasted on by the owls so they could buy time to save their lives.

"Run!" Carol urgently said.

They had a confident if it's a fair fight, but faced with the chaotic situation, this would be the wiser choice.

They dashed like mad toward the exit. From behind, loud scream was heard from the beasts that fallen. From the wailing sound, there seemed to be at least five of the owls. The group of beasts slowly shorten the distance between them and Kyran. Kyran paid no heed as the entrance was just 5 meters ahead, but unxpectedly one of the owl's offspring flew passed and blocked the way. It's half the size the adult, but still it could pose danger if they weren't careful.

"Carol!" Kyran yelled.

Carol did not answer. She focused on channeling her rwach and chant an incantation.

Kyran stopped 1 meter from the owl, bending one of his knee forward, he stomped with a loud noise. Using all his strength, he thrust his spear in rotating manner.

"Spear of destruction!" he roared.

The impact of the strike was massive enough to blast off half the owl's body. It instantly turned into puddle of blood. The other owls behind them were enraged, emitting a loud shriek to call for the adult owl. From the distance, a bone-piercing shriek response could be heard. The other offspring began to fly towards the exit to hinder them until the adults arrived.

"Firewall!" Carol timely casted the tier one spell right behind without looking back. A wall of fire appeared behind them, burning any beasts who dared to approach. To some stronger beasts, the firewall would not be lethal. It's just a basic self-defense spell any spellweaver could cast, but if being used in right situation, it would be a life saver.

"Jump!" Kyran ordered as they reached the exit.

They had no choice but to jump from almost 50 meters off the ground. As they're descending with insane speed, Carol casted a spell on them to reduce half the impact when they hit the ground. Fortunately, the nest where they fell from was not located on the top. If not, the outcome would be different. In this forest, there were some beasts stronger than the wailing owl and certain wing-type beast even specifically prey on them. Wailing owls did not dare to build the nest up above because of this exact reason.

As they recovered, they stood up, wasting no time, dashed toward the thicket, preventing the owls from stumbling upon them. In a place like this where unknown danger lurked everywhere, the basic survival principle was to preserve strength and avoide meaningless fight. There's a possibility you'll be ambushed by other beasts while engrossed in fighting the other.

Once they ensured they're far enough, they breathe a sigh of relieve. They had no idea what danger awaiting next, but all they wanted now were a good food and good sleep, a safe one on top of that.

......

Smoke swirling from a cavity inside a hill. The sun was up, yet its radiance, hindered by mist, couldn't penetrate impeccably into the ground. Chewing sounds and occasional chatter came from the cave.

Three days had passed.

Kyran and Carol had ventured far from the gigantic trees area.

Although they made a bonfire, they didn't use it to grill the food. Instead, it only served to give a layer of protection from the cold.

Noone talked. The flickering flame blent in harmony with the popping and cracking sound of the burning wood

Kyran took another bite of the green hare meat in his hand. Fresh blood dripped from the meat, indicated it's killed not too long ago.

Kyran opened his mouth and asked, "Where are we now?"

Carol had stopped eating. It's difficult for her to savor any food in this situation.

"No clue. I think we should head west. I believe we can meet with Hex and the other if we go there. The western border of the forest of mist was not far from Tyrgat. I'm sure, they had reached Tyrgat. It's a better chance than to look for the way back."

Kyran nodded, finishing his last piece of meat and threw the bone away.

"Let's move!" Kyran said as he wiped his mouth.

They carefully approached the cave entrance and scanned the surrounding. After ensuring there's no beast around, they ran toward the west.

It's a normal day to them, just like these past three days. Who knows less than 5 minutes later, they would meet another unprecedented peril.

"Stop!" Carol exclaimed abruptly.

A huge beast resembling a bull standing upright was roaming around. Perhaps it's looking for food. Its body was adorned with robust, muscular body, and it got a large hump on its back that's even larger than its muscle, sizing almost half its body.

"What's that?" Kyran asked.

"Shh! Lower your voice! Don't move!" Carol whispered

The beast realized something and quickly charged forward with his whole strength. It crashed on a huge tree next to Kyran and gripped it tightly. With its raw strength alone, the huge tree was uprooted as if it's nothing. The creature threw away the tree and checked the surrounding.

Kyran and Carol restricted their movement. They even didn't dare to breathe soundly. It made a sudden turn and stared at Kyran right in his eyes. Cold sweat rushed from their forehead. Unexpectedly it just turned around before strolling away. It's really strange that it didn't notice them although their distance was just less than three meters.

"What's that huge bull thing? It's like a hunchback minotaur with insane strength!" Kyran gasped.

"They're Arbaros, sometimes were called hunchback lesser minotaur. They have the strength of a giant, but their eyesight are terrible. They hunt by detecting sound. As long as you didn't make any movement and sound, you won't be exposed! But once they have spotted you, it'd be useless!" Carol explained.

" Then, what are we waiting for, let's get out of here!" Kyran said.

"Wait!" Carol said as she grabbed his cloth as he just began to run, causing him to stumble.

"What now?" Kyran grumbled.

"Don't 'what' me, you moron! Listen, Arbaros always hunted in a group, so it's highly possible there're more of them around. Are you courting death?" Carol retorted.

Kyran had not yet had any chance to rebuke when a loud roar came from the direction where the Arbaros was just headed. The Arbaros suddenly turned back and ran towards them. If they fought now, they might still have a chance, but they're worried about the other Arbaros' advancement. They ran with all their might as if their lives depend on it. In the adventurer's guidebook, the key to survive from an Arbaros was to prevent them from spotting you by making no sound and movement. But once you had been spotted, one should run for their lives. They should have added more useful guide other than to tell people to run!

They sprinted with all they got, hoping it would lose track of them. Betraying their expectation, as they're being pursued, another Arbaros joined the fray. Then came another one, and then another one until there're close to ten Arbaros chasing them. What really shocked them was another two Arbaros suddenly appeared ahead, blocking their path. Now they had no choice but to engage in a fight.

"Kyran, use that move you used earlier!" Carol said.

"Spear of destruction!" Kyran roared, charging full force at the Arbaros closest to him. The Arbaros was caught in surprise as it took the clean strike and was pushed back several steps. After the impact, it just suffered a scratch. Kyran was shocked.

"Lightning strike!" Carol cast the first tier spell to two of the Arbaros, pushing them back further. The flash from the lightning strike combined with their terrible eyesight rendered them temporarily blind. Carol, making use of her small build, swiftly slided through between the feet of one of the Arbaros, escaping from its blind spot. Kyran, on the other hand, sprinted and leapt, stepping with one foot on the chest of the Arbaros he pushed back earlier. Thanks to the lightning flash, it couldn't react in time. He leapt once again, passing the Arbaros utilizing the earlier momentum and continued to dash.

The distance between them increased again, yet the Arbaros persistently chasing them. They could still outrun the Arbaros when running in full speed, thanks to their large hump that seemed to restrict their speed.

"What's with those guys? They're tough!" Kyran said as they ran.

"Arbaros had strength and defense comparable to an elementary rank, late stage beast even though they're a middle stage beast." Carol explained while running.

As they ran further, the mist was thicken. The visibility became very limited. The Arbaros, although unaffected by the mist, seems to be troubled by something else. They decelerated and inspected the surrounding before completely halted. Kyran and Carol realized their unusual behaviour and decided to slow down a bit.

All of a sudden, a terrifying roar came from the midst of the Arbaros' group. Kyran and Carol turned to checked the situation. They caught a glimpse of a huge shadow, even larger in size than the Arbaros, resembling a beast with its sharp fang was tearing on one of the Arbaros. The Arbaros caught in its deadly fang, struggling for a while before completely stopped.

Kyran's heart skipped a beat. He never imagined there's even a beast that dare to prey on those Arbaros, even killing it in one hit. Still, the Arbaros was praise-worthy for its persistance. They divided themselves into two group. Four of the Arbaros made an encirclement and assaulted the unknown creature. The rest continued with their pursue.

Kyran and Carol ran carefully, dodging trees in swift manner. The Arbaros, despite their huge size, kept shortening the distance, taking advantage of the prey's poor visibility. They had lost track of time. For Kyran and Carol, it felt like a long time had passed, yet the world seems to be rotating in slow motion. It's said that when one's in the moment of impending death, time would decelerate until it felt like almost stopped.

It began to drizzle.

The cold air and wet ground made each step heavier. Exhaustion started to seep into every cell of their body. Even worse, the rain came down heavier with each second passed.

Carol stopped to catch her breath. She could ran no longer and slumped to the ground. Kyran, seeing her condition, halted as well. Four Arbaros were approaching quickly. Is this the end? Kyran moved forward to protect Carol, gripping his spear tightly. His eyes were still sharp even in the face of death. He resoluted to die as a proud warrior. It's just a pity he'd die before he could exact revenge on the devil and regain his human life. Kyran gritted his teeth. If only he could use his rwach, they might still had a chance to escape this peril.

All the Arbaros stopped abruptly. They sniffed into the air and observed the rain as if they're being careful about something. With their terrible eyesight, they gazed at the sky as if they could see it clearly. There's nothing. But there's always someone who could see the unseen.

No other sound was heard except the pouring rain and their prey's quick heartbeat.

Kyran loved when it's raining, but in that situation he can't indulge in it at all. The Arbaros grew restless and turned back before vanishing from their sight. Kyran and Carol were puzzled, yet they did not feel relieved. If something could made a group of Arbaros in pursuit turned back, then it could only be something more dangerous.

Carol fell into deep thinking. Nothing seemed strange except the downpour.

Rain? Carol widened her eyes, remembering some folklore she once heard in her village. Among the demon-kind, there's a certain tribe which only appear when it's raining. But rumor said they had been wiped out when the war erupted 10 years ago.

Time ticked. Suddenly, a bizzare sound resembling prayer chants was faintly heard. Kyran and Carol were confused. What normal people would chant in such a remote place like this? Following the sound, a demon-kind creature resembling a ghoul with half-melted body appeared from the shadow of the rain, approaching Kyran and Carol and stopped five meters from them. The chanting grew louder, as well as the mysterious creature keep appearing one after another, encricling them in all direction. Kyran could not counted their exact number anymore. They're trapped with no way out.

The creature flocked in the middle suddenly separated to the side and made a wide path. Heavy steps were heard from the opened path. Emerging from the misty rain, two enormous beasts approached slowly. Kyran recognized the beast. It's the same with the one who killed the Arbaros earlier!

But what made him more cautious were the two figures riding on the back of the creature. The first one on the right seemed to be their leader, could be distinguished from his tribal headwear made of several bird-type beast feathers usually worn by a tribe's chief. Next to him riding the second beast was a demon-kind holding an adorned long whip on his hand. Kyran recognized the whip, it's a weapon commonly used by a beastmaster.

"Capture!" The leader commanded.

"A shaman and a beastmaster. It's the rain tribe, Euri!" Carol shivered.

The good news was, they're not really tough to deal with. The strongest among them was usually had strength just in the middle stage of elementary rank. The bad news, they usually travelled in large group of at least a thousand.

.....…