Five figures moved through the dense fog.

They all moved at an unnatural speed, a mundane human looking from the sidelines, wouldn't even be able to tell anything if not for the fact that the Mateo's movements displaced the veil of fog creating a clear path for the four figures behind to follow.

"Damn... The visibility is so less." Korg complained as he steadied himself after fumbling a few steps.

"Just look for the beast shit, Korg," Sarah's voice floated from behind him, slightly amused. Her eyes glowed with a faint green luminescence that seemed to cut through the veil of fog. "With feet that big, you're bound to step in it eventually."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Cyclops," Korg retorted, though he kept his large shield raised in front of him.

Sarah's skill allowed her to pierce and look through anything within fifty meters of her eyesight. So she had no problem navigating through the fog. Ishiki too had no problem, he was just walking with his eyes closed and relying on [Ghost Blade].

Korg and Julien were slower because they didn't have any skills to help them. But the fog was slowly going away... retreating back as the Silver Night approached nearer.

'Damn it, for how long have they been on the bridge?' Ishiki frowned. The beast's most probably were moving close to the bridge during the last Silver Night and for some unknown reason, they must have been forced to climb the bridge.

'Maybe the Silver Night ended and they had nowhere else to go, to save themselves from the trees.' Ishiki scowled. That too had a problem though, Withering beasts living in Crimson Canopy had their hiding places during Crimson night.

Their instincts were honed for who knew how long. But nonetheless, he dismissed the thought. Unexpected things happened every now and then and this was not the first time such an event had happened.

The group didn't have to go too far. Three kilometers down the bridge, Ishiki was the first to notice them... actually he saw them in form of a monochrome picture in his mind. And his expression suddenly darkened.

"400 meters ahead of us..." He instantly said. "There are more than 20 of them."

Everyone's ear twitched and Mateo immediately stopped his advance.

Korg and Sarah stopped just besides Ishiki, their posture's tense. Julien was closer to the captain, who was looking in front with narrowed eyes as if trying to ascertain the things with his own eyes.

"We move slowly... get within 100 meters and take formation." He ordered after looking in the direction for about a whole minute.

All of them followed the order and approached the abominations with slow efficiency like shadows.

As they closed the distance. The air grew thick with the stench of rot and copper. It was vile with a mixed smell of rotten meat and unknown acids.

The fog had pretty much cleared by now and the abominations had sensed the approach of threat. They too were ready and hungry as well.

Suddenly, something jumped from the sides of the group out of nowhere. Ishiki had deactivated Ghost blade because it had started to take toll on his mind. The sudden attack startled them.

"Take Formation..." Mateo barked as he punched the beast that jumped on him with his hand. He wore a leather glove which suddenly seemed to radiate a cold aura of steel.

The squad froze, falling instantly into formation.

The fist connected with the ghastly beast and punched straight through it, sending a rain of blood and gore.

The giant man threw the corpse and gritted his teeth and barked. "Korg, hold the line with me. Ishiki, Julien—flanks. Don't let them circle us. Sarah take the back."

Before they could fully set, something creamed from up ahead. It was a wet, tearing sound, followed by the thunder of feet.

"Incoming!" Sarah yelled.

The mist ahead swirled violently, and then they burst through.

Ishiki stepped backwards, his cheap steel sword heavy in his hand as he stared.

"What... are those?" Julien whispered, his voice trembling slightly and his features turning into a ugly scowl.

There were twenty of them in the vanguard.

They were bipedal beasts, but only just. The abominations walked on inverted, double-jointed legs that looked like snapped twigs wrapped in pale, wet meat. Their bodies were bloated and distended sacs of flesh that pulsed from time to time.

Thick veins were throbbing outside of their bodies, black and utterly ugly in contrast to their translucent skin.

They had no arms, instead... they had bone spurs that were as thick as human spines, erupting from their shoulders. They took shape and were sharpened to cruel points.

Their faces were a by far the most hideous horror show: a mashup of wolf and human, frozen in a rictus of eternal screaming.

Ishiki was sure, something like this was going to scare in him nightmares for some days and yet the horror was still not over.

Behind the weaker, frontline beasts there stood four larger beasts, armored in chitin that gleamed.

And behind them all... there stood something that could only be called a nightmare material.

It was a monstrosity. Three meters tall, draped in a coat of dripping, black sludge that hissed when it touched the pavement. The most disturbing part was that It had no eyes.

There were Just empty sockets that looked as if its eyes were gouged-out and the abomination cried with black blood from his empty sockets.

Ishiki gulped hard. 'What a screwed up thing.'

There was no time to think anymore. As soon as the scream was swallowed by the distant silence... the world bust into motion.

The twenty bipedal creatures charged with a speed that defied their bloated, cumbersome forms. Their inverted legs snapped, propelling them across the cracked pavement in a terrifying movement.

"Korg! Brace!" Mateo roared as he summoned a shield of his own.

Korg ran and stopped just besides Mateo and slammed his tower shield into the ground. A shockwave rippled outward, shattering the bridge material and creating a makeshift barricade.

Besides him Mateo did the same.

CRASH.

The first wave of beasts slammed into Korg's and Mateo's shields. The sound was like a car wreck. Korg grunted, sliding back a few inches, but Mateo held firm and pushed the beast backwards.

"Sarah! Shoot!" Mateo commanded as he dismissed the shield and summoned a great sword. Meanwhile the sword formed from motes of light, he engaged the closest beast with his hands.

As soon as the weapon formed, he attacked. His greatsword, currently shifted to the density of lead, cleaved through the air with a mournful whistle.

SQUELCH.

The blade connected with the first beast, bisecting it from shoulder to hip. Black ichor sprayed in a foul arc.

"Flanks! Engage!"

Ishiki didn't need to be told twice. He and Julien rushed from both sides of Korg and attacked the beasts that were in a shock.

Ishiki dodging a sweeping bone spur that was aimed to decapitate him and moved like a ghost.

He wasn't the strongest here, nor the fastest without his skills active, but he was the most efficient, because of his experience of living for months in the Crimson Canopy.

He sidestepped the attack, pivoted on his heel, and drove his cheap steel sword into the beast's exposed armpit. As he did, he activated [Ghost Blade] too.

The steel sword, enhanced by the sharpness if his skill... cut through the flesh and bones with ease.

Ishiki changed the trajectory mid motion and swooped through the beasts heart. The abomination shrieked like a human, that sound made Ishiki's skin crawl.

The corpse collapsed in his legs.

[You have Slain a Rank 2, Blighted Forse]

[You have received 50 Data Fragments]

Ishiki looked at the notification and grimaced. 'That's so low... Screw that.'

To his left, Julien was dancing with his rapier. He had a skill that made anything his sword touch into a time bomb... kind of. He was slicing through the mob, severing their limbs and slowing the advance.

"Die! Die, you ugly bastards!" Julien screamed, partly in rage, partly in terror.

The beasts touched by his sword either fell to the ground and burst into sludge or fell on other abomination, however the blasts were not strong enough to kill the other beasts... they did make them loose their balance.

The battle devolved into chaos pretty quick. The twenty grunts were relentless, throwing themselves at the squad with zero regard for self-preservation.

Korg was slamming the beasts with his shield and turning them to sludge pastes, while Mateo was a whirlwind of death; Sarah picked off stragglers with pinpoint crossbow shots from the rear.

Ishiki and Julien were dealing with the beasts from the sides.

But the real threat hadn't moved.

The eye less bastard stood back, its sockets tracking the flow of the battle. The four armored lieutenants flanked it like a royal guards.

Suddenly, as soon as the number of initial beast's went down. The wretch threw its head back and screeched.

The four lieutenants charged, joining in the battle.

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