novelraw Chapter 1513 - 1512 - Hunt
Chapter 1513 - 1512 - Hunt
The world of shadows answered Lind's call as he flowed through the border of the Phantasm Forest.
It was not a place even Fiends came to willingly. Their unique case was actually quite weak to it! If not for it being lethal to the other races, it could have been a bastion against them. Still, the Fiend Qi was in the air.
Some kind of searching Art? The residue was not too old so they could not be far. He did not betray his Shard Tier aura. He also used poison and acid Qi to leave a few markers or ward off any areas that his draconic instincts warned him of.
He had come to study and use the forest, not be its next victim.
It took a good part of the night before he felt a shift in the air. It was unnatural but it was not from the forest. It had a flow to it contrary to a normal forest but still a pattern. What he felt was a disturbance to both kinds of natural flow.
His eyes narrowed behind his binding and he flipped up through the twisted branches. A cat would be proud of his silent stalking.
His armor made no noise thanks to some Forging effects. His short sword was safely in its sheath but his dagger was out and ready.
To anyone looking on, it would look like a shadow had merged with the tree branches before vanishing to the next one.
In a few careful leaps, he finally heard them.
"This place is too spooky. Can't we go home?" A woman's tired voice came from the flickering light of a campfire. He saw about a dozen cloaked figures and her question was met with stares.
Lind frowned. It seemed normal but his instincts screamed at him. Those were not humans or demons but Fiends!
More conversation or simple acts of a group camping for the night proceeded but one of them stood out. He was young and held a metal half of a sphere. A disc spun over and over but nothing else.
He seemed irritated before a faint golden glow finally appeared. It pointed towards the cavern Lind had just left!
The previously frivolous conversations stopped as an intense aura came over the camp.
They turned as one to the direction of the golden light. They were tracking him but could not detect his actual position?
He recalled his ability to suppress his true aura was imperfect until he stabilized and upgraded his disguise but now Lind felt something brush against his harmony!
No, his soul! He did not dare breathe as they quickly packed up and put the fire out. They moved in perfect sync with far too perfect grace that marked their race. He waited until they had gone and then counted to 30 for good measure.
He used his current demonic aura to carefully latch onto a shadow and vanish from his perch.
Some kind of soul tracking artifact! It made sense they would have such a thing but he had grossly underestimated how precise it could be!
If he had not chosen to disguise himself for travel, they would have been hunting him since day 1! Still, he did not let his guard down. He carefully made his way to the other direction from them until he left the edge of the Phantasm Forest.
He was about to take another shadow leap when a battle instinct kicked in. It was not draconic that time but centuries of fighting the bastards. They were hunting him and had been able to trace him to a remote and isolated area that all avoided.
It was the perfect place to lay a trap!
They had plenty of time as he stabilized his condition and even that little play at camping was for those they did not care about.
Humans, demons, aether children, and all other races could leave. If they could trace his soul, they could key a trap to him too!
He had to believe they had such an ability.
He summoned a harmonic stone he had created. He infused a tiny piece of his harmony before throwing it as far as he could straight ahead.
He did not wait but vanished into the shadows instantly. He did not stop but the sky suddenly lit up like the sun. Vile Fiend Qi was what he expected but instead it was natural Qi!
They had brought traps from the other races to hide their involvement!
He dove deep into the forest now. It was the only safe place.
Yet, he felt the stone he left behind shatter suddenly. They had gotten to it very quickly and were likely very angry!
Still, he had no gauge for their strength. Sovereign Fiends varied as much as anyone else but the group had moved too well. They were a trained unit and clearly had long experience working together.
Such response time could only be a well coordinated effort. He was in very deep trouble.
A dozen Sovereign Fiends could possibly kill him with ease if well prepared. If they were not used Fiend artifacts, or their Qi, he no longer held an advantage!
They had truly begun to adapt to him! First was the contamination they used their souls for. It was nearly undetectable until it was triggered or a person was exposed to harmonic Qi.
It was still death for them but it was a way to find it. Prevention was the only real way to stop it and that method eluded him. The Frey Clan and the Harmonic Dragons were working on it but it could take centuries as it did for the Fiends to counter his methods.
Now, he realized they had focused on him personally! They were thinking of ways to kill him because of all the harmonies, his was their antithesis! He also had no doubt the Great Bastard had given such an order.
It was also possible they were not trying to kill him but to cart him up to the Divine Lands like a take out meal!
Either way, he had to find a way out without alerting his foes.
He was only a kilometer into the forest when he felt something new. It also felt familiar. He had not felt in a very long time and it was from the time when he had no body!
He felt spirits!
Not spirits born from created items, but the spirits of Heaven and Earth!
Why were they in the Phantasm Forest? He wished to indulge his curiosity but his enemies seemed to change tactics.
He felt a shift in the air. The Qi flow seemed to become stale and he froze in place entirely. He did not even breathe as he understood they were trying to locate him another way. Without the normal flow of Qi, any living being would begin to stand out!
It was normally not easy to cause stagnation due to various arrays, other cultivators, etc. The Phantasm Forest was different. It was able to disrupt souls but the Qi was still normal otherwise.
Without resistance, a dome of isolation was easy to erect and cause the flow of Qi to be controlled. It would still cost vast resources to maintain it but if all they wanted was to lock onto him, it would work.
He thanked all the spirits that he had chosen his demonic disguise! If they were looking for a human or other natural Qi oriented lifeform, they would not find one!
The sky was misty above him now so the sun would not reveal him in his current location, but he kept his senses tuned to the now dead silent forest.
No beasts, insects, or even the breeze broke up the silence. Yet, he waited. They were coming for certain.
He was a demon now but they would still come. He was not so deep into the forest that even Sliver and Shard Tier Immortals could not come for him.
It only took a moment for a sickening taint to enter his range. Lind did not react but he waited. They were clearly baiting him to act but he did not rise to it.
A twig snapped as one of the cloaked figures appeared in her peripheral vision. They had discarded their own disguises to reveal their perfect beauty. The vile feeling always made it more horrifying to see such perfect beings but now that he knew the truth about their origin, he realized Heaven's punishment was clear.
A reminder of what they sacrificed forever.
"Yarendil said there was something here but there is nothing but this twisted forest. Pretentious bastard thinks he is above us." The Fiend spoke about complaints but Lind narrowed his eyes as his nose realized the scent was not a male Fiend near him but a female one!
A trap!
The sword in the Fiend's hands sliced a branch away with ease but Lind noticed that was a mistake.
Rather than rotted wood, a liquid oozed out of the cut and the air changed.
"You fool! You were warned!" The female Fiend's voice suddenly came from his left as she appeared out of thin air. She did not hang around as the air changed.
Lind felt the shift in the spirits but it was not a good one.. He felt a threat vaguely before a scream reached the pair of men. The female Fiend died?
What killed her? Lind was now understanding the warnings were not comprehensive. The Phantasm Forest was not just a threat to the Fiends, it was lethal!
"COME ON THEN! I WILL ADD YOU ALL TO MY FOUNDATION!" The sneering ash gray face made Lind suddenly smirk. The fool did not sense him despite being so close! Lind then exhaled before a slice of the dagger cut the air.
It was not the flash of metal, however, but of emerald that spelled doom.
The Fiend slowly turned before looking at Lind in horror.
"That makes 2." Lind finally moved but the dead Fiends were only the beginning. If he wanted to leave, they all had to die.