Chapter 262: Different Movements

Something huge fell, and a booming roar rose, the trees collapsed and tore apart, the ground split like a spiderweb forming small trenches that stretch dozens of meters in every direction.

The rocks scattered and a cloud of dust rose dozens of meters, from inside it a blood-curdling roar boomed, the ground trembled like something huge was trying to get up.

At that moment a human-shaped silhouette moved and sank into the dust cloud, the sunlight reflected off the silver spear in his hand, its sharp head wrapped in a layer of essence.

His feet landed on the flesh of the big monster that was trying to get up, but like those feet weighed several tons, they pressed on the monster and made it stick to the ground... the pressure distributed on the small human foot made the dark flesh tear like cloth.

With one hand Demir raised his spear wrapped in essence and stabbed downward... his spear gaining a speed that passes the speed of sound in a moment, and the moment its sharp head touched the monster’s head its mass multiplied hundreds of times which made the impact of the sharp head like a meteor falling from space.

Instead of a sharp wound forming, the monster’s human-sized head exploded into a bloody mist, the fluids and the remains of the brain and the teeth scattered in every direction, even the ground under it collapsed and formed a crater several meters across.

"Hoh..." That’s when Demir took a deep breath mixed with dust, he cancelled his ability and his mass went back to normal, which lifted the pressure off the dead monster’s body and let it swell upward like a cushion with the weight taken off it.

He pulled out his bracelet and looked at it, it showed they had six islands with 180 points an hour ago, but now it was down one island with 20 points which means they lost one of the two islands at the second level.... and without any alert message.

It didn’t take a genius to know who did it, it was Erebus because they’re the only ones whose stats changed during this period.... and that also means they lost three other people which made them seven in total.

Slowly the dust started settling on the ground and drifting with the wind, revealing the twisted, torn body of the Rank 4 monster.

With a push from the muscles of his legs Demir jumped and landed on the ground away from the bloodbath, his armor was twisted and dirty with layers of dried blood.

He raised his head and glanced at the bottom part of the higher islands above them, and a soft, calm voice crept in from beside him. "Those bastards took most of them."

It was none other than Dana, standing there with her hands laced together, her black hair stuck to her olive skin with the dirt from the heavy fighting, her sandy eyes fixed on Demir.

She ran her hand through her hair as she went on. "There are twenty days left now, we lost seven of us and all the islands at the second and first level, to those bastards!... Solaria has taken 7 out of 9 islands at the fifth level, sitting at seven hundred whole points now, and we’re still here taking our time playing around while those arrogant people come from behind us, and the others close the road above us!"

Demir sighed in protest. "I said it, there are still twenty days."

Dana clenched her jaw as she stepped toward him and stood in front of him, like a dwarf facing a giant. "They follow you because you’re the strongest, Demir, not the smartest! Don’t forget yourself and your place."

Demir stared at her, their eyes meeting in tense silence and the air getting heavy, his grip on the spear tightened for a moment before he loosened it and planted it in the ground beside him... the air trembled with his heavy voice. "You want to fight them now?... fine, it’s yours, do what you want with the others but I won’t step in except when I want to."

"Tsk!..." Dana clicked her tongue as she turned on her heel, and walked away toward the camp.

Demir fixed his eyes on her back for a few seconds longer than he should have before he grabbed his spear again and moved.

...

"Fuck him!" Dana muttered with resentment as she walked across the ruined ground to reach the edges of this island.

"Because he’s a little stronger than me! He thinks he’s everything!" For a girl of the west who was born inside Auerlion as a high-level noble, staying under Demir’s shadow was a big blow to her pride.

After all Demir was like a nobody in the past, someone born in those tribes outside Auerlion’s borders and inside the great desert.

Dana didn’t understand why those people still live in those places in this era, things had changed and humanity had passed its first century here, so what’s the use of refusing to join the Empires?

And now they’d been following his leadership for ten days, climbing slowly through the islands and splitting up sometimes, leaving a few people behind them to watch the places they’d left.

But she was fed up with this!

Fed up with the Erebus bastards below them, and fed up with Solaria above them, she felt like they were trapped in a cage... which is what it was.

So she wants to break the cage now before it’s too late, not follow Demir pretending to be wise and calm.

While she was walking she raised her head and looked up, at the fifth level islands where Solaria had taken most of them.

Even the ones that stayed empty were only the islands surrounded from every direction, which means if they purged them the Solaria group would be able to attack them from different places.

She reached the camp at the edge of the island soon enough, there where there were nearly forty people, some of them resting inside the tents, and others cleaning the mess the fighting here left behind, some of them simply getting their energy back and receiving treatment.

As for the others they were spread across the islands, most of them at the neighboring islands of the fourth level purging them.

But Dana didn’t need everyone here, these were more than enough.

So when she entered their field of vision and got some attention, she opened her mouth and her voice carried across the camp like a declaration of war.

"Everyone get ready!"

...

Far from Auerlion on the other side of the Hanging Islands.

On one of the vine bridges that stretch across the sky and connect land to land, five people walked upward across the big roots toward an island at the third level.

"By the way, I think we’re doing well guys... we haven’t had to fight monsters so far!" one of them spoke as he glanced over his shoulder at his companions with satisfaction.

A girl avoided tripping on a root sticking out. "That’s thanks to Theo." She looked proud saying that, but the guys didn’t share the same feeling.

One of them clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Stop it, we know Theo is strong, but it’s too much to give him all the credit."

The others nodded in agreement, which made the girl frown.

During these days, they’d been moving under Theo’s leadership... avoiding fighting and finding the islands that had been purged and taking them over.

It wasn’t always without fighting... but with small groups scouting ahead they could alert the rest, and ask for support in any battle.

And the best thing in all of this, is that none of the other groups whether Luminar or Auerlion ever answered them with a counterattack... it was great!

Very easy!

So now while the five climbed upward, the conversations rose and got lost in the open sky, until they finally reached the edge of the island.

It was empty.

Shattered trees and craters of destruction on the ground, corpses thrown everywhere on the withered grass.

It was obvious it was an island that had been purged, but there was nobody on the horizon, still the five pulled out their weapons and got ready for any surprise attack.

They weren’t fools in the end.

"I think we should send a message first... we still have three, so let one of you do that," the girl alerted them as she stepped onto the ruined ground with her eyes combing the area.

One of them nodded as he planted his sword in the ground, and raised his bracelet to send the message to the rest... or that’s what he wanted.

The next moment, unbearable pain rose from the side of his stomach, like something had pierced him and come out the other side... which is what it was.

He lowered his head slowly to be surprised by the edge of the dagger sticking out of his stomach, barely avoiding his vital organs so he wouldn’t die, and while the light wrapped him announcing his elimination, he gave one last look at his teammate standing behind him and a broken question came out of his mouth. "W... why?"

But he’d already disappeared, and he wasn’t the only one.

A meter away another person disappeared after his companion stabbed him from behind without words.

Two were eliminated in a heartbeat.

The young man’s hand tightened on the dagger wet with blood as he gritted his teeth, his eyes fell toward the girl and his other teammate already reaching behind her, he opened his mouth to warn her... to scream at her to watch out, even knowing it was too late.

But he couldn’t open his mouth... he couldn’t move his hand.

And neither could his teammate.

With bloodshot eyes, he stabbed the girl who trusted him in her back, the sudden pain made her open her mouth in a silent scream.

Before she could see what happened to her the light wrapped her and she faded away, that’s when the two of them stood there, the last of what was left of this small group.

They stood like statues, their hands trembling on the weapons and heavy breaths leaking out from between their gritted teeth.

Their eyes opened wide, bloodshot, with a late realization of what had just happened... and what caused this.

Only then did someone come out from behind the trees, his blue hair reflecting the sunlight and his dark eyes fixed on the two of them with obvious contempt.

Silas stepped toward the two of them, empty-handed... he didn’t need weapons, because they were his weapons.

Without words, the weapons were thrown on the ground with a faint sound, and against his will one of them reached his hand to his bracelet and pulled it off his wrist with trembling movements, his muscles contracting more than they should, and his teeth looking about to break.

With the same trembling hand he offered the watch to Silas who had already arrived in front of him, staring at him calmly like he’s studying an insect he’d never seen before... only then did he open his mouth and indifferent words leaked out of him.

"Good work."