Chapter 57: Monsters Everywhere!
Raven fired off another of his pistols that were reserved for emergencies. Well that and quick executions. 'Fucking Haebens!' He cursed as he slashed at another.
Haebens were four legged creatures, their skin was heavily armoured. Three horns stood in a line along their snout with three eyes on either side of their head. Their ears were long and floppy, dangling down to just before touching the ground.
Their heads were situated at the end of a long neck. Their agility and speed was made apparent by the slender, toned and long bodies they sported. Their height reaching up to an adult mans chest area.
The worst thing was that these creatures huntedbin packs like wolves. Their armoured skin made it extremely difficult to harm them with conventional weapons. Magic was definitely the first choice against such beings.
"For fuck sake! Don't anymore of you fuckin' die on me!" Raven yelled as another of his crew went down. Bringing the remaining number to six, not including himself.
The whole thing had just been one giant shit show. He had never had to deal with so many setbacks on a single trip, it was like the island was toying with him!
"No more holding back!" He growled as he stared at the Haeben prowling before him.
The crew felt a chill enter the air. 'Fuck! The captain's gettin' serious!' They all yelled mentally in unison. Panicking about being caught in the crossfire. Each of them threw their bodies to the ground, praying they'd make it out alive.
A cold curtain of mist began to envelop the immediate area. The crew felt their teeth chatter as the temperature plummeted.
A cold light had entered Ravens eyes. Full of murderous intent and devoid of any emotion. The Haebens growled threatingly as they felt the sudden shift in the situation. They were confident that they would be eating well soon.
As the closest one pounced at Raven another lunged for one of the helpless crew laying on the ground. The Haeben that was pouncing towards Raven almost assuredly was grinning in delight. Its prey was not even attempting to fight back.
There was a nasty shock awaiting it though as it passed through the serious looking image of Raven. Its ear wagged as it regained its balance while a high pitched yelp reached it.
Glancing over to where it had come from, the human it had attempted to rip apart was standing over the body of its friend. A bloody icicle was present in his hand. 'Fuck me! I never saw him move!' The beast thought as an unfamiliar feeling surfaced within.
If it was capable of recognising the feeling it would label it as fear. Having never experienced it before it was just simply at a loss. The image of Raven began to fade as two more yelps resounded. Having reappeared and slain more of the beast's pack.
Without understanding what exactly was happening, the remaining members of the pack all charged at once. As a single cohesive unit they targeted different parts of Racens body.
Before they could reach him though the mist around them condensed. Taking the shape of a pair of hands without substance for each of them. When the Haeben were about to pass unobstructed the mist hands suddenly turned into ice.
The cold hands of death flexed their fingers and grabbed a hold of every Haeben in the area. Lifting them off of the ground. They thrashed and squealed as the hands squeezed them tightly. Their eyes bulged from the pressure being placed upon them.
Tearing sounds soon followed as one by one their torsos were ripped in half. Their innards rained down upon the jungle's floor, becoming fresh fertiliser for nature to consume.
As the bodies were dropped to the ground the mist began to recede. The hands made from ice evaporated. Leaving no evidence of what had caused the carnage behind.
Silence dominated the area. A few moments passed, then a few more. One by one the crew lifted their heads to take a look. Realising the danger was over the unsteadily climbed to their feet. Whispering their thanks to their captain. While also praying his face had simmered down.
"That's enough of that! Get yer shit together and let's move!" Ravens voice was full of force, even though he no longer had the strength to back it up.
'Used too much mana that time and it'll be daybreak soon. Whats it been? Three days since we lost those two shits? Ah fuck me. We're running out of time here.' Raven questioned himself while cursing under his breath.
They were so close to the foot of the mountain that he had guided them to. Another few hours and they would be there. Another day and they would reach the outcrop.
"Right fellas listen up. Keep an eye out for a good spot to rest up. Let's go!" He bellowed his new order. Doing all he could to keep them in line and motivated.
After another hour of trudging through the dense, humid jungle without being ambushed a voice was raised. One of the crew had spotted a decent place to set up for a few hours.
It was only a small bare batch, left untouched by the growth of the trees and fauna. A stream trickled down the slope leading up to the mountain and into a pool of seemingly fresh, clear water.
"This'll do lads! Get yourselves some well deserved rest!" Raven was delighted. The water would help to refresh his men and cool them off. Hopefully enough of their fatigue would be cleansed away for them to cover more ground when they set off again.
He himself decided to get some sleep, he had to try and regain some of his mana before the next stage. Otherwise, none of them would make it off the island alive.
He entered a peaceful dream. One that soothed his very soul. He was standing in a mansion, piles of gold at his feet. A pale skinned woman with long, flowing silver hair entered the room. The soft white short dress she wore accentuated her curves, exposing her long legs.
Her grey eyes locked onto his as she gave a seductive pout with her full red slips. Drawing him in. 'I've missed you' he thought as he stumbled towards her. 'Come here, So...'
Boom!
He was abruptly awoken by earth exploding over his face. The dirt almost turned to dust from the power of the impact.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!!" He roared with unbridled anger. His fists clenched tight turning his knuckles whit as colour rushed into his face.
His crew were roaring obscenties, not knowing what had happened either. Everyone of them had fallen asleep. Who could blame them? It was such a rare opportunity on this island.
Looking to see what had caused the impact a large spike of solidified Earth stood upright in the once clear pool. Dirtying the water that was meant to relieve his crew.
Flying through the trees at breakneck speeds more of such projectiles headed straight for them. Mustering his strength Raven moved to intercept them. Determined not to lose even one more of his men.
As he deflected the two that would have caused damage to his group he noticed that these things were not actually aimed at them. Instead it looked as though they had been broken and knocked in this direction by whatever had been their original target.
'Fuck me! It would take at least two more monsters fighting with each other to cause something like this! Can't a hard working captain such as myself catch a damn break around here!' Raven shamelessly complained to himself.
Readying his sabers he prepared to deflect more if they came this way. Urgently ordering his men to get their shit together so they could get the hell out of there.
The ominous sound of breaking branches filled the air. Drawing ever closer to them. Signalling the impending arrival of another projectile.
Drawing all his focus to the direction it would arrive from Raven raised his blades. A moment later the silhouette of it quickly approached through the air, flying between the trees. It was a damn miracle, in this case a curse, that the thing did not strike any tree trunks. Only severing a few weak branches.
"Fuck! It's a person!" Raven yelped as he jumped aside.
A brown travelling cloak and ripped bandages flew past his eyes. Hiding the form beneath them. The large, heavy body slammed into the first projectile before sliding down into the water.
Rushing towards the figure the crew dragged it from the water. Laying it on its back.
"Cap'n it's the mute!" One of the men shouted at him, before pulling back the hood. "Fuck me! Cap'n! Cap'n! It ain't human!"
Raven rushed to the man's side and grabbed him by the shoulder. Tossing him bodily off to the side to get a look at him without the bandages.
"Where's the other one?!" He demanded, completely unsurprised by the revelation.
Just then, a low warning growl came from behind him...
***
Important Author Note Please Read
Hey folks! I've had to edit this is to quite a few chapters so that as many people as possible see it. Please read to the end as it is important.
First off. I need to thank each and everyone of you for the massive show of support in the past few days. You guys are the heart and soul of why I do this.
Second. You deserve to be rewarded. You have shown so much support that I feel you deserve something more in return. Therefore I'm going to try to start releasing two chapters a day. They may be a tad shorter but you'll end up with more to read overall.
Third. Some goals! We're doing well in quite a few of the charts. So let's aim for more. See below for targets to meet and the rewards to go with.
1. Enough votes to make it into top 100 in power Ranking. Two extra chapters to be released next Monday.
2. Top 50. You get 3 extra chapters.
3. Top 25. You get 4 extra chapters.
4. Top 10. You get 5 extra chapters.
5. Top 3. It's a secret but will be worth it.