Chapter 90: Serena's job
That night they didn't sleep well, even with the fact that Severin and Serena killed some of the dark cloak. It was just too uncanny.
The monsters stared at them with the intent of killing them without making any sound or making any moves. It was unnerving and it affected their sleep. freēwebnovel.com
Even Severin had to jerk awake to count the number of his team and make sure none went past the camp of light. Although they still took time to keep guard.
The next morning everyone was grumpy and cranky with the lack of sleep and privacy.
Even Severin felt it, because it's not every day that he sleeps with light shining on his face like that.
"What are we going to do today?" Julius said. He'd adjusted his glasses five times in three seconds. His eyes were red and the dark circles beneath had grown thicker.
He'd drunk up to five potions to keep his energy replenished while he was awake. Sleep would have been the most dangerous time to get their minds influenced by the monsters.
Severin looked at Serena. "The monsters will make their move today. It might seem like they are the only monsters here but they did cohabitate with another monster."
Ethan stiffened. "There are other monsters here?"
His reaction was understandable.
If just the dark cloak were that troublesome, then what would happen to them if the other monsters joined?
Severin waved his concerns away. "Serena will take care of it. But first let me tell you about the other monster. The reason they're not mostly known, just like the dark cloak, was because both share the same attributes and only the dark cloak could wake them from their slumbers."
"The provocation we gave them yesterday will prompt them to wake up the tree monsters."
Derrick raised his eyebrows. "So, you provoked them just so they could wake up the tree monsters. That must be for a reason, right?"
Indeed.
The tree monsters that are affiliated with the dark cloak are not that strong of a monster, but their flesh is made of a type of wood that's rare. And Severin wanted to get his hands on them.
It was one of the things that actually set up Lucas Dawn for life in the book. The value of the tree monsters was huge.
"...I guess there's still some lucky events I can still reap..."
Severin answered Derrick. "That's correct. The tree monsters have high durability because of their skin, but they are very reactive against fire. They can't stand it because it's their nemesis."
They began to walk after eating a breakfast of soft bread and sauce-fried meat.
And true to Severin's word, they began to hear the monsters.
It began with a rustle of leaves.
And then the small snap of twigs breaking, and in a forest that's been so silent, the sound was like a gunshot.
Severin called for a stop.
The tree monsters were awake.
No need for them to keep walking. It was time to fight.
"Serena, they're here. Do your thing."
The trees around them creaked and groaned, the ground around cracked as if the roots had gained life of their own. Then the bark of the trees peeled away, opening like a door to reveal the inside.
The face of the monsters was wrinkled, a face of an old person with dull red eyes. Hollow mouths filled with rolls of teeth that seemed like thorns.
Then the trees stood, roots erupting from the ground and branches interweaving to form hands.
For all their tall and bulky builds, the monsters moved fast on their feet. They moved like spiders, nimbly and quick. And between the monsters, the space was dark, filled with flowing darkness.
The dark cloak.
The first wave surrounded them, hands reaching to snatch them, but just then a shockwave of force ripped outward in a circle, the force tearing the ground away and lifting the monsters far from them.
"I've created the space you needed," Ethan said.
Already the monsters were picking themselves up, and the other tree monsters around were also climbing over their fallen comrades to reach them.
Serena nodded. She took a deep breath and then she opened her mouth wide. The halo above her head glowed with blinding light that only Severin could see.
Ashes formed around her like dust, more poured from her mouth and ears, her nose produced the same black and red substance. They formed around her like a cloak and above her in a large ball.
It wasn't only the ashes.
It came with intense heat that made the air around them shimmer and difficult to breathe in. The other team members began to sweat, but not as much as the tree monsters.
They hated fire because fire killed them.
The trees around them began to retreat, making dry cracking sounds.
Serena didn't let them go.
She raised her hand and the ash ball above her dissolved into two giant hands holding swords, and then a third formed. The hands were made of the black and grey ashes while the blades were made of the embers.
Julius adjusted his glasses, his face covered in sweat. "Well. It seems like this is going to be quick. Why don't we just use Serena as our main hitter to clear the forest, since?"
Julius was right.
One swing and three of the monster trees were cut into two, their bodies dripping with brown blood.
"Be careful, Serena. Their bodies are just as important as their death," Severin said.
In the book, Lucas made the mistake of burning the trees, and only those that survived were sold, and even that was a lot of money. It would have been more profitable if they could just kill and sell them when they are in their unmovable state, but they wouldn't fetch any money.
They needed to die as a monster before their bodies became valuable.
Severin nodded in satisfaction. "Time to build the House."
Then they all watched as Serena went to work.
Her three swords cut as one.
A single strike was enough to end the monsters.
Derrick looked at Ethan and then Serena. "Did he really beat her?"
Celia, who was seeing her power for the first time, blinked. "He did?"
Ethan just shrugged. "She has improved."