Modern Cultivation : The Strongest Couple Bonded by Vampire System-Chapter 677: Looking for Shelter

Alice found herself inside a forest.

Dry black trees rose around them, their bark cracked like burned stone.

Pale mist hung between the trunks, and the air smelled like iron and wet soil.

The Veyr and the Khaldrin dropped to their knees the moment they landed.

Their faces were pale, and their chests heaved.

Alice steadied herself and looked around.

"How far did we move?" she asked, turning to the Veyr.

He swallowed hard and wiped blood from his mouth. "I used all my strength. It should be at least a hundred miles."

A hundred miles was not far enough to relax, but it was enough to buy time.

If it’s Alice in the past she could easily pass this distance within second, but now they all lost their power.

Alice looked at the Khaldrin. "Do you still have strength? We need to move."

The Khaldrin nodded,"I can walk. But I couldn’t fight much."

The Veyr shook his head. "I can’t teleport again for at least an hour. I also can’t do help in a fight."

Alice nodded.

Being along for many years has allowed her to train her survival skill.

Their goal now, is to find Shelter first, then recover, then move again and start hunting.

"Stay close," she said. "We need to find some shelter."

They pushed into the trees.

Branches scratched their clothes as they moved, and the ground was uneven with roots and stone.

Now and then, Alice saw small bones half-buried in mud.

After ten minutes, the Khaldrin’s steps started to slow. He kept glancing behind them.

Alice slowed just enough to keep them from collapsing. "My name is Alice. How about both of you?"

The Khaldrin hesitated, then answered. "Karr."

The Veyr coughed and forced the words out. "Silen."

Alice nodded once. "Alice."

Silen gave her a quick look. "You won’t abandon me right?"

With his situation now, Silen know he’s nothing more than a burdern.

"If I was," Alice said, "I would alreayd kill you."

They kept moving until the trees thinned, and the mist opened into a shallow valley.

Ahead, half-hidden by vines , was a ruined structure sunk into the ground.

It looked like an old watch shelter, made from black rock blocks, with a collapsed roof and a narrow entrance.

Alice’s sighed a relief. "Finally found our shelter."

But their relief doesn’t last long.

Something was inside.

KRRRRTT!!!!

A low scraping sound came from the ruin, like claws dragging across stone.

The vines near the entrance trembled, and a heavy breath puffed mist out in short bursts.

Karr reached down and pulled his stone shard up again, but his hand shook.

He was still too tired to fight.

Alice held out her hand. "Give me the shard."

Karr stared at her for a moment, then placed it into her palm.

The stone was sharp, uneven, and stained dark from earlier blood.

Silen swallowed. "Our life is on your hand Alice."

He know from instinct that in this situation he and Karr couldn’t outrun this beast

"Don’t worry I won’t leave both of you here," Alice said.

She’s not a saint, she would have leave them if not because of her goal.

Alice doesn’t just want to survive.

She need to gain enough strenght here to gain information she needed.

She motioned them back behind a thick tree trunk, then stepped forward alone.

She picked up a small rock and tossed it toward the ruin’s entrance.

Clack.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then something moved.

A shape slid out of the shadow.

It was the size of a tiger, but its body was long, too long, making it look like a lizard.

Its skin was dark gray, covered in small plates that overlapped like armor. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Four arms carried it forward, each ending in hooked claws that dug into stone.

Its head lifted.

The beast don’t have ears, just a blunt snout split by a mouth full of thin teeth.

Silen’s voice came from behind the tree. "That’s a Rift Mauler."

Alice did not look back. "Any unique trait?"

"It sees heat, and movement" Silen said.

The Rift Mauler’s chest expanded, then it let out a hiss.

Karr tensed. "Be carefuly, it could call for it’s comrade."

Alice’s fingers tightened on the shard.

They need the shelter, but If the beast called more, staying here became suicide.

Alice stepped sideways, trying to pull it away from the entrance. The Mauler’s head tracked her like a predator.

Then it dashed forward.

Its front arms slammed into the ground, pushing its body into a long leap.

Swossh!!!!

Alice moved at the last moment.

She rolled to the side, and felt claws scrape the air where her neck had been.

The Mauler landed and spun fast, its back arms slamming down to turn.

Alice rushed in before it could leap again.

She drove the shard into the joint where one front arm met its chest.

Clang!!!

The shard is not sharp enough to pierce the plate.

The Mauler hissed, and its tail whipped around .

Swossh!!!

Alice threw herself back.

The tail smashed the ground where she had been, cracking stone and spraying dirt.

Even the trees behind her shook from the force.

Karr stepped out from cover and threw a rock at its head.

His goal is to distract it.

The Mauler’s eyes snapped toward him instantly.

It charged Karr.

Karr tried to shift away, but his movement were too slow.

His body still to tired to sprint.

The Mauler closed the distance in two leaps.

Alice sprinted.

BAM!!!

She slammed her shoulder into its side before it could strike.

The impact hurt her ribs, but it knocked the Mauler off line just enough.

Karr stumbled back and caught himself on a tree.

"Just stay here don’t try anything til you recover," Alice said.

The Mauler recovered and struck again, front claws stabbing down like spears.

SWOSH!!

Alice dodged one, blocked another with her forearm, and pain shot up to her shoulder as the claw raked her sleeve and tore skin.