Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 129: Mayhem

Despite the tremors leaking inside the barrier, the defensive measure still shielded Liam’s team from much of the outside world’s chaos.

Liam couldn’t really hear or sense much from inside that ethereal sphere, but didn’t need to. His eyes were more than enough to discern what was about to overrun the area, as well as gauge its danger level.

The twisted creatures Liam’s team had faced the previous day had returned in far more numerous fashion. Those not-alligators charged recklessly at the area, slamming on and crushing any tree on their path, ready to trample anything else that dared to stand before them.

The assault wasn’t homogeneous. Magical beasts surrounded the area, but some directions had fewer of those.

That was simply due to the magical beasts’ origin. The marsh had a lower population, so the chime had attracted smaller groups of twisted creatures, while the very opposite happened on the other side of that converging assault.

The magical beasts coming from the deeper areas of the swamp weren’t only more numerous. They were also bigger, some matching the size of the three pack leaders Joel and Maxwell had killed the previous day.

And something even bigger hid behind those likely level two magical beasts. A silhouette too distant to reveal its features but tall enough to show itself advanced alongside that tide, as if leading that chaotic charge. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Since the plan wanted Liam to reach the swamp’s deeper areas, he focused on the more crowded side of the converging assault, his mind inevitably producing an internal gasp.

’There must be hundreds of points here,’ Liam calculated, using that value system to obtain an immediate understanding of the threat.

Truth be told, one look at the other teams would have provided the same answer. The assault on the spherical barrier had ended exactly because everyone else had laid their eyes on that incoming sea of monsters, claiming their utmost attention.

Watching those incoming hungry, unnatural mouths could make anyone freeze in fear. That would be a normal reaction, especially due to the huge, fearsome silhouette behind the charging sea of monsters.

Yet, Liam didn’t feel prey to such hesitation. He wasn’t stupid. He acknowledged the danger and experienced the natural fear it should cause, but he faced it calmly.

The threat wasn’t unknown anymore. Liam had seen those strange monsters fight and realized where he stood compared to their strength. He was outclassed, more than he had ever been in regard to direct danger.

Still, with knowledge came clarity, and, with that, confidence.

Liam was basically in his natural element, and his opponents were animals. He also had a strategy. Everything else was about implementing it successfully. It would have been nigh-impossible to do so alone, but Liam had his Brothers with him.

Moreover, Liam’s extensive preparations had the ruins’ snake in mind. His almost obsessive immersion in alchemy had the goal of defying the odds, and he had never been readier. He only had to survive to turn his efforts into tangible proof of his growth.

And if death did arrive, Liam would follow his Master’s teachings and laugh in its face, knowing that he had done his best to live without remorse.

The incoming packs overran the area in no time, violently crashing into each other and immediately delving into frenzied fights. The pale-red swamp soon turned darker, tainted by the blood that flooded it.

Nevertheless, one tiny place remained safe from that chaos. The spherical barrier flickered to no end but held strong. Countless bodies slammed onto it, even walking above it, but the disposable magical item proved its worth.

However, that peace only lasted a full second before all hell broke loose.

The barrier suddenly shattered, losing its solid properties to vanish into the air while revealing pure mayhem.

Tides of scales and fur encircled Liam’s team, shielding it from the morning light. Reptilian feet, furred, clawed paws, and hooves began to invade the area previously protected by the sphere, and blood rained on the rising shallow waters.

An overwhelming amount of sensations assaulted Liam’s brain, almost making him dizzy due to the abrupt, radical change from the previous, comfortable silence.

However, Liam only looked ahead, his gaze fixed on the direction he knew he had to follow. No path existed there, but his Brothers soon opened one.

Joel charged ahead, performing two rank 1 martial arts in quick succession. His Forward Impulse generated a sudden speed burst that he paired with his Seismic Palm.

The attack slammed on a tide of scales, pushing it aside and revealing the reddish morning light. A narrow passage had opened, and Liam was already charging into it.

Yet, as Liam was about to squeeze himself through the passage, a reptilian head with wolf fangs appeared in his way, virtually blocking the path, even opening as soon as the creature noticed him.

Nevertheless, before Liam could even summon his Qi, something flew right beside his left ear, whistling through the air and stabbing that open mouth’s insides, remaining stuck into the moist flesh to push it aside.

The path suddenly reopened, and Liam jumped, exiting the chaotic clump of magical beasts the barrier had created and kicking the stabbed reptilian head mid-air, flinging himself even further ahead.

The swamp was unrecognizable. It wasn’t even a swamp anymore. That heavy, extensive advance had lifted the previously submerged muddy ground, only leaving occasional puddles amid the endless sea of deep footprints.

Also, huge, twisted figures littered that destroyed environment. Some were dead, already being eaten by their companions. Instead, other magical beasts were busy fighting, while a few were still charging ahead, trying to join the bloody mess at the area’s center.

Liam subconsciously recorded that spectacle but kept focusing on the horizon. The trees had disappeared, allowing a perfect view of more distant areas. Liam couldn’t see any plants ahead, but he knew he couldn’t stop until they appeared.

Qi aided each of Liam’s moves. As soon as he landed on the muddy, footprints-ridden ground, he darted ahead, disregarding anything that his powerful steps could lift.

A furred and three reptilian heads were ripping a scaled body apart, rolling on themselves to tear that tough flesh and lifting their mouths when they succeed.

Yet, a nimble shadow jumped across the mangled prey, even kicking it mid-air to fling itself ahead and vanish among the following mess.

Two huge creatures were in a deadlock, their triangular heads clinging to their opponent’s neck, occasionally spinning to rip each other apart.

Yet, when the last spin ended, a shadow slid under those bleeding necks, its dirty figure blending with the environment’s colors.

A five-legged creature with a wolf’s head and three hooves was charging straight ahead, seemingly ready to fall at any moment due to that unnatural foothold.

The creature was too big for Liam to dodge, but it was a level one magical beast, so his Qi began to move, ready to remove that hindrance.

Yet, a shadow flew past Liam’s right, reaching the charging beast in no time. Maxwell jumped off his flying sword and grabbed it by its handle, slashing down at the creature’s neck.

The sword cleaved the wolf’s head cleanly. The beheaded creature took two more steps out of mere inertia before crashing into the ground, lifting a wall of mud.

And, a shadow promptly crossed that wall of mud, running over the corpse, seeing nothing but clear horizons ahead. Liam was finally out of the mess the converging outbreak had caused, but he didn’t stop, doing his best to accelerate instead.