Chapter 353: Mantis

Brandon felt the shadow of death cast over his soul and the sound of that roar, his heart thrumming hard as his flames blazed into a condensed burst, launching him to a sprint for his life.

Elaine and the others didn’t have time to ask questions or wait for a reply, feeling genuine fear, the human soldiers didn’t hesitate to retreat in the slightest.

Unlike Brandon, Elaine didn’t have any recollection of the future that had occurred, it was as though only Brandon had the experience of what happened.

He had to battle against voices telling him it was all just a hallucination, a deep daydream, anything but confirming that his death had been a reality.

Brandon had no clue how time could reverse as it did or if it was even possible, but despite being mired in this mental sea of confusion, the fear of death and the culprit remained fresh among everything else.

Allowing his survival instinct to take control, his flight mode activating in full throttle, streaking through the wind, he caught the feel of a familiar presence from afar... Jack!

Brandon cast a brief glance back, trailing closely behind him was Elaine, and further back were the soldiers...

"Not right, if that thing strikes from behind they won’t be able to survive it." he yelled while reluctantly reducing his speed.

Elaine comprehended his words and gave him a solemn nod as he sank behind, the cold essence coiling around her frame spreading around the void, as she spearheaded the retreat.

Despite his own fears, Brandon felt he would stand the best chance against the beast when it came, since he was a bit familiar with it.

His speed plummeted, his soldiers whisking forward around him, while he dragged behind. A flame barrier formed around his frame, as his pace regulated the moment he got to the very back.

And then he began to hear it, the unnerving clicks, the crunch of its legs piercing into the earth and wood as it moved.

The wind howling as it flowed around its frame, Brandon could feel it gaining on them, his heart went cold, the scene of his death on constant replay.

As he felt the halo of death around him grow thicker, Brandon was afflicted with an insane level of unnatural fear towards the creature.

His death most likely had something to do with this effect, somehow he couldn’t just get past the fact that he just died.

Feeling the fear reaching paralyzing levels he bit down on his lips hard enough to tear through his own defence and draw blood.

The pain jolted his senses awake, as the tree behind him began to move, it was close... No, it was here!

Brandon had to fight with his might to resist the gnawing urge to flee past the humans, somehow he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them to die.

The flames swirled around him, a flaming portal forming behind him as the small flame fox hopped out and onto Brandon’s shoulder.

"Okay little sprite, give me the essence..." Brandon ordered, to which the companion pet answered with a resonant howl.

The flame essence in the air responding to the flame fox’s call, brewing in amplified density, as the flow of Brandon’s essence not only doubled in speed, but the essence unit bar instantly began to shoot up in numbers.

The blazing element around him condensing into an armour and a sword, the flames spreading across the land around solidifying and actively reshaping the battlefield.

Last time, Brandon was killed before he could display his true capabilities, but this time he’d be damned if he went out just as easily.

The world around him glowing with a fiery hue, a shadow burst into Brandon’s makeshift domain, the frame blurry and slender swept past the obstacles of trees, the trunks slicing into pieces just as it bolted past them.

Brandon, gathering himself for an attack, felt a cold presence looming from behind him, Elaine sensed the commotion and was moving to reinforce him.

Her doing this wasn’t according to their plan, after all they couldn’t be sure that this monster was alone, after all it was an all-new strain of corrupt beast, meaning they had most likely finished passing the territory of the four-eyed devil monkeys.

The wind churned around his frame increasing the activity of his flame essence, the blur of the creature, breaking into Brandon’s range.

The charmed beast’s reflection flickered off Brandon’s eyes, four agile, spear-like legs, its abdomen section as thin as a human arm, a thick scarlet carapace shielding its frame, while its lanky hands carried a pair of glistening, barbed-edged scythes.

Its natural weapons were already drawing streaks in the wind, striking towards Brandon with a familiar intensity, the blade teeth tearing toward Brandon’s neck.

The glow in his eyes flickering intensely, as the attack struck faster than his reaction speed could keep up with, the blade scraping against the flame shield surrounding his being tearing through it and clashing against the piece of armour shielding his neck. ℯℯ𝑙.

Flame Armament gene skill, Brandon’s skill that allowed him access to convert energy to matter, forge items or other constructs from flames and give him the freedom to assign a random flame-related ability to any of the crafts.

And this flame armour was given the ability, Flame Veil...

A cold resolve settled over Brandon, as the opponent’s scythe tore right through his neck with such unexpected ease, the monster stumbled forward from excess momentum, Brandon’s frame flickering like dancing embers for a split second before reforming back into a physical form, his flaming red sword arced.

Slicing through the wind, as the surrounding reacted promptly, Brandon was wielding his genetic abilities to the fullest, restraining from using his class skills recklessly due to his limited essence pool.

The mantis beast’s mouth clicked, its mandibles snapping audibly, its narrow abdomen allowing it a ridiculous amount of flexibility, it ducked, weaving past the sword slash.

Brandon wasn’t done yet, if this beast escaped this exchange there was no predicting what could happen next, he might just die in the next clash...

From behind, Elaine leapt into the fray, carried by a frozen beast from her army, the staff in her hand let out a cold cadence, her essence blooming thick in the atmosphere when suddenly...

Out of nowhere from her own shadow a frame pounced...