War

I learned from my earlier encounter, decapitating them would only slow them down as they had beady black moles underneath sagging flap which are extra eyes.

I am sure these things could survive for some time without a head.

Ho'thaw had given me a wonderful dagger, it was made of a mix of steel and silver making it durable and mana resistant.

Making a long blade out of my mana I slashed across the midsection from five yards away.

The wave of energy I unintentionally let out acted as a beacon to the rest of them.

Instead of turning their heads the body would jerk and begin to move in whatever direction mana was sensed.

These guys are weaker physically but they had no fear of death, they ran towards me swinging and launching their bodies.

There pathetic attempt to tackle me only backfired as they are bisected by my energy blade.

'What in the hell threw that spear'?

I kept my eyes open but I couldn't find a single one with the physical prowess to chuck a spear from that distance and through all that vegetation.

I finish them quickly and continue running in the direction the spear was thrown.

I found nothing but a slanted hole that ran underground, it was wide enough to fit a car through and covered by thick trees on all sides.

I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't have my mana sense.

'Are you going down there'? Ava asked me.

'Not worth it' I replied leaving as quickly as I came.

I jumped in the air and continued west keeping my eyes peeled and using the highest branches to move.

'No point walking into an obvious trap, but how in the hell are they able to spot me before I spot them'?

I was shaken by the amount of unknowns around me but remained calm.

Using the time that Ava slept I meditate and send my mana out as far as it can go with each breath.

The world energy moving around the sphere of mana I created.

World energy made its way into me from above the sphere, It resembled a small electro magnetic field.

I didn't care if I was scaring the wildlife, sometimes you just had to claim your land.

I open my eyes and get down low on my stomach.

I felt them within the edge of my senses, unsheathing my dagger I move quickly and quietly.

Climbing to the very top of the tree my arms spread, I allow gravity to pull me down.

I fell in the rear of the moving formation but they are ready for me, converging on my landing spot as I fall from above.

A pulse of energy and I change my trajectory and grab a vine swinging up and away.

The creatures are in a wedge formation, making it difficult for me to pick them off one by one.

Some of them are on all fours resembling dogs and others walking on two legs.

I head to the other side of the formation but this time on the ground.

Unlike before they didn't see me coming and I was able to get the drop on one of them stabbing into the brain in the center and sending a strong pulse of mana rearranging the insides.

The are separated by five and seven yard stretches making it hard for me to sneak up but once I did my silent kills go unnoticed.

That was until the second death and the stench of blood filled the humid jungle and a third one ran towards the smell.

'It seems something is watching me from above' I thought.

The up close and personal kills allowed me to inspect the guts and make of these things.

They reminded me of a short flabby human but everything was wrong with them.

Extra kidneys and multiple orifices across the body.

The skin was slimy and secreting oils.

I couldn't tell male from female even after playing doctor with the entrails.

The sack carrying the brain was rubbery and well closed off but the muscles are not strong enough to toss a spear fifty yards let alone the distance I saw.

One by one I gutted them quietly, by the time I got to my last target I was accustomed to ending them.

Instead of bisecting it I decapitated it quickly from behind while stabbing at the lungs at its shoulder leaving majority of internal organs functional as the head only housed sensory organs.

By taking care of a lung I made it hard for it to call for help just in case their are any more.

I slowly invaded its mind located in it's round hard belly.

I needed to find how these things are tracking me.

It felt like I opened the door to a baseball game and everyone was talking over each other.

I instantly disconnected and finished the job, my hands bloody and I smelled like bile and feces.

Using the thick trees as cover I run away one question answered and a dozen more replacing it.

A hive mind... I don't know how it's possible but if what I just felt is what I think it is I am in a tough spot.

The thought of being surrounded on all sides by these creatures that communicated via a mind link made me cringe.

I don't know the limitations of the mind link but I should avoid these things at all costs.

'How are they creating a mind link without any tendrils of mana'? I ask myself.

A long distance mind link would be toxic to the ecosystem and get them hunted by predator's.

I doubled back and watched the ones I dismembered, no one came for them.

While the next group continued on to my last known location I did what I did best, I ran away.

By the time Ava woke up I was miles west but I was seeing more and more of these things.

The morning light made it easier to spot me, slowing my pace down.

The holes in the ground began to look like huge ant mounds and they can be seen getting on all fours and crawling inside.

The elbows popped and re-arranged making them look four legged.

'Are you going to eat them'? Ava asked as I stared at the colony.

'Probably not, too many of them'.

'They are very sensitive to mana so don't send any out' I warned.

'Are you going to keep going'? Ava sounded excited only because she was ready to cross the mountain and get her cherished chocolate.

'Of course not, were heading back and going further north, no point in taking any unnecessary risk' I kept my eyes on the mound the size of a small apartment complex.

Some of them moved faster then the others, but they all had one singular purpose.

They brought food to the colony, they are omnivores bringing dead beast carcass and tree branches alike.

The line at the top of the hill stopped and along with it the rest of the creatures, whether they are coming or going.

A head poked out over the hill and one by one seven foot yellow creatures began to make their way out, all of them taking a defensive position around the large mound.

The rest began to scurry inside, afraid that I alerted them I stayed completely still on the branch.

More and more of them are coming out until the group began to reach my location.

I heard a loud guttural clicking from the opposite direction.

I didn't bother to turn my head and check I could tell by the sound what it was.

Jun.

These are much larger then the ones I fought in the desert but the large ant like body with fist size antennas are hard to miss.

They came crashing like a wave into the defensive line, the once quite jungle was turned into a chaotic mess in mere moments.

I found myself right in the middle of a war.