The forest was bathed in the soft glow of the afternoon sun as Kain and his team made their way back to the meetup location.
Despite their fatigue, the mood was buoyant in both groups. Especially since the successful completion of his mission Kain had handed the badge needed for their task to Dwayne.
As they walked, the path was clear, although they took care to bypass the lake that they had seen many spiritual creatures around.
Suddenly the jubilant chatter between groups was interrupted by a loud mix of crashes, roars, and screeches.
“What the hell is that?” Addison exclaimed, her eyes scanning the horizon for the source of the commotion.
Before Kain or anyone else could answer a black cloud was observed in the distance slowly approaching their location. Then came the loud rumbling noise, getting higher in volume with each second, and the vibrating ground.
Finally, they could see the source of the “cloud” it was a massive stampede, that was kicking up the surrounding dirt into the air.
The sheer number of spiritual creatures was staggering—hundreds, if not thousands, of creatures stampeding through the forest, uprooting trees and crushing everything in their way beneath them.
The cloudy mass surged forward with a frenzied determination. Gradually more distinct forms could be made out among the rising dirt. A chaotic blend of scales, feathers, and ethereal glowing eyes would be revealed every once in a while, letting Kain know that this was a true beast-tide, not an attack by a single spiritual creature ethnic group.
In front of the wild stampede were six students, their faces filled with panic and desperation. They stumbled over each other, struggling to keep their footing as they fled. The lead student, a tall figure with a wild mane of brown hair, clutched a large, spherical object wrapped in a shimmering, protective cloth.
“Is that…an egg?” Fiona questioned, her voice barely audible over the roar of the approaching creatures.
“It must be,” Kain said, his eyes narrowing at the 6 unfamiliar students. “And based on the cloth used to conceal its aura and appearance it is probably quite valuable.”
In a burst of realization, Kain and the others understood that the stampede was no random occurrence. The students must have disturbed a powerful spiritual creature who just so happened to be one of the parents of that egg.
“Everyone, move!” Kain ordered, his voice rising above the loud chaotic sounds. “We need to get out of here—NOW!”
The group turned and sprinted through the forest, their hearts pounding as the ground seemed to quake due to the relentless purs. They dodged trees and leaped over fallen logs, their legs burning with the effort.
As they fled, Kain glanced back, catching a fleeting glimpse of the source of the mayhem. A spiritual creature whose location had been marked as a great threat on his map. Although its current location differs from where it typically resides. It was a Glacial Leviathen—an ice-attribute green-grade spiritual creature.
The Glacial Leviathan was a behemoth of ice and frost, its serpentine form had translucent scales that reflected the sunlight like shards of broken glass. Each of its movement sent ripples of cold through the air, and its blue eyes glowed with a menacing intensity. From its massive jaws, thick plumes of white smoke escaped. However, he could tell that the “smoke” was most definitely not hot.
It was a manifestation of how ice-cold its breath was that it caused the air to condense. As a result, an aura of freezing mist was produced that clung to everything it touched.
The Leviathan’s roar echoed like the cracking of icebergs, a deep, resonant sound that seemed to shake the very earth. It was clear that the egg, likely its own child, had triggered the Leviathan’s rage, unleashing a horde of “younger brothers” to retrieve it.
Kain’s group pushed themselves harder, knowing that their survival depended on their speed and their ability to navigate the treacherous terrain.
The spiritual creatures in pursuit varied widely in appearance and ability. However, they were all single-minded in their pursuit of the college students. Including Kain and the others who they clearly regard as accomplices.
Kain felt resentment at having his life put in danger due to a classmate’s greed. If you were going to steal, don’t steal from a creature 3 power levels higher than you. Not to mention that the terrifying creature even has some Frost Dragon blood. Amongst the creatures of green-grade it was within the top tier in strength.
Suddenly with a rage filled roar that almost brought Kain and the others to their knees form the spiritual power pressure, the Leviathan launched an attack.
Dense clouds appeared over all the fleeing students, and Kain’s instincts immediately screamed DANGER!
He was unable to continue caring about concealing his contract’s abilities. He summoned all 12 Vespirae guards.
“Recall your contracts and jump on!” Kain yelled.
Suddenly each fleeing member of Kain and Addison’s group was then carried by a guard into the distance.
Fortunately, despite the weight of having a rider, the wind-attribute guards known for their speed were still several times faster than the students or most, if not all, of their contracts.
Two guards without riders served to clear any spiritual creatures in the students’ paths.
Soon Kain’s group of ten was outside of the range of the clouds. However, they had never been their target. The others of that group had also likely sensed the danger and employed all kinds of lifesaving measures. Two of the more resourceful ones just managed outrun the clouds that were gathered the thickest over the fleeing member with the egg.
Pouring rain began to fall from the clouds, however before the droplets touched the ground they were struck by an incredibly low temperature and turned into crystal clear gems of ice.
They fell, no longer liquid, but solidified into a string of ice beads softly falling in the air with a mysterious beauty.
The trees, spiritual creatures…and even the 4 fleeing students unable to escape in time. Everything touched by the ice skill was covered with a thin layer of ice shells in a short time.
If the instant death of 4 of his colleagues wasn’t so terrifying, Kain would have admired the strange and charming beauty of the scene filled with ice sculptures that appeared intricately carved.
Even from where he is Kain could feel the piercing cold dig through his skin almost to the bone.
‘Too strong… are we going to die?’
Kain released a frozen puff of air with a pale face. This was the first time in his life he had experienced such power. Seen what the top spiritual creatures were capable of. Before the Leviathan, Kain and the others were no different from ants.