Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 104: The Mangroves (3)

The group traveled mostly in silence, one part being to keep their wits about them, and the other, well...

After Professor Sterling’s outburst, no one stepped off Marcus’s path again. The swamp had grown a lot quieter the deeper they traveled.

Aren scanned the area again: the mangrove trees, the muddy water, the overgrown roots. They all lacked one thing that he realized after a few minutes of traveling.

There’s a serious lack of beasts around here for supposed ’mid-level danger’.

"Oh!" Emily’s voice cut through the silence.

Aren tensed, seconds away from summoning his blades, before something else approached them.

Above them, one of the tiny dragonflies she had conjured earlier dipped slowly through the branches before hovering beside her shoulder.

Emily closed one eye, focusing through it for a moment before her expression brightened.

"I found it."

The group immediately looked up.

"The plane," she continued quickly. "It’s just ahead. Maybe... a hundred meters? Past those trees."

Relief spread through the group almost instantly.

"Well, that’s good news," he said, taking a long breath before rolling his shoulders.

Marcus was a gigantic person and had been constantly bending over to create their path for thirty minutes already. Aren couldn’t imagine how much pain his back was in right now.

"It’s not that far, we can make it about five minutes—" Marcus continued.

Thunk.

His head slammed straight into one of the low mangrove branches.

"Ow..." Marcus rubbed the top of his head with a small grimace.

The branch above him swayed slowly side-to-side. For a brief moment, nothing happened.

Aren was already looking upward though. Something about the movement just didn’t feel right. The mangrove branch trembled once more, bending awkwardly like its weight wasn’t distributed evenly.

That’s when he heard it...a faint buzzing.

At first, it blended with the distant sounds of the swamp, soft enough that it might have been mistaken for ordinary insects. But within seconds, the sound grew louder.

Sterling’s expression changed instantly as she saw the shapes emerge. "Shit..."

"Everybody move!"

Aren followed the professor’s gaze, only to see the danger she was looking at. Clinging to the underside of the branch was a dark mass the size of a large backpack. It twitched once...twice...before bursting open completely.

Insects burst outward in a large cloud, wings beating furiously as they flooded into the air above the group. Their bodies were long and narrow, patterned with green and brown that blended perfectly with the mangrove bark.

Damn it! We disturbed a Razorfly nest!

The entire swamp turned into chaos immediately as the insects made their way towards the group. Marcus was ahead, trying to make the path as fast as possible while the others summoned their Bloodline.

Light appeared from the other side of the mangrove tunnels, and Aren could see the land ahead. Marcus had already burst through the tunnel of mangrove roots ahead. The giant pushed through the narrow passage while the rest of the group followed close behind

But as soon as he did...one of the Razorflies was already waiting for him. It dove straight toward his exposed side, its jagged mouth opening wide as it went for Marcus’ neck.

Aren summoned his twin swords and dashed, but from this distance...

Shit! I’m not gonna make it!

BANG!

A sharp explosion fired off from his side before he felt the wind tear right past him. A bullet of compressed wind traveled across the space and struck the insect mid-flight before detonating with a violent pop.

The Razorfly was immediately shredded, its remains spiraling into the muddy waters below. Aren blinked in surprise before glancing back.

Iris stood several meters behind them, one knee planted firmly on the ground while a sleek rifle rested against her shoulder. The stock seemed to be made of large glowing green feathers, while the barrel itself fired compressed air bullets.

Aren’s eyes widened.

She can use Morphing too?! This group really isn’t normal...

Even while running through a swamp labyrinth filled with murderous insects, she had still managed to line up a perfect shot.

Yeah...definitely not normal.

"Keep moving!" Sterling snapped from behind them.

The Razorflies surged again, the swarm thickening as more insects poured from the broken nest behind them. Individually, they were weak. But combined in a horde like this? They could easily be considered a King-Class beast.

Aren ran beside Marcus now, blades in hand as he swatted another Razorfly out of the air before it could reach Emily.

"Plane’s just ahead!" she shouted.

Even so, the swarm kept coming. Aren slashed another Razor fly out of the air, Daniel managed to pierce one with his lance, and Luna was taking them out with her ice spears.

But the more they killed, the more they realized the swarm wasn’t thinning any time soon. There were simply too many.

"Just keep running!" Sterling called.

Through the tangled roots ahead, the mangroves suddenly thinned. Light appeared between the trunks.

"Opening!" Emily shouted.

The ground dipped sharply into a dark swamp lake that stretched across the center of the clearing. Half-submerged within the murky water was the twisted wreckage of the plane, its broken wing jutting from the surface while the rest of the turbine lay crookedly in the mud.

The group finally slowed.

Everyone bent slightly, catching their breath after the sprint through the mangrove maze. Aren wiped the sweat from his brow, his blades still in hand as he glanced back toward the forest.

The swarm had stopped.

The Razorflies hovered at the edge of the mangroves, circling restlessly between the roots but refusing to enter the clearing.

"...That’s weird," Marcus muttered. "Why’d they stop?"

Aren frowned.

The insects buzzed angrily at the edge of the trees but never crossed into the open swamp. Something about that made his stomach tighten.

Before he could say anything—

Sterling suddenly moved.

Her hand clamped over Emily’s mouth while her other arm reached out to grab Luna’s shoulder.

"Don’t make a sound," she whispered sharply.

Her eyes had gone completely serious.

"Everyone. Now."

The urgency in her voice sent a chill through Aren’s spine.

Without question, the group obeyed. Daniel raised a hand over his mouth. Marcus froze mid-breath. Even Iris lowered her rifle slowly.

The clearing fell into complete silence.

Aren saw it clearly in the distance. At first, it was subtle, just a small ripple spreading across the swamp lake beside the crashed plane.

But then, the water surface parted slowly...

And a pair of massive golden eyes rose from the dark water.