The First Dragon God-Chapter 142: Hunting In The Forest

[You have acquired Level 16 Shardmonkey Life Force!]

This was the notification that Leo got when immediately the Shardmonkey died due to the bleeding hole in its head, caused by Leo with Nightshade.

He looked at the dead Shardmonkey one more time, before walking to one that was still alive.

He didn’t hesitate as he drove Nightshade into its head, killing it. He got the same system notification again and he nodded in satisfaction.

Leo turned and saw that Ves and the others had already made their moves, killing off the rest of the Shardmonkies, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Let’s start moving in deeper. We should get ourselves accustomed to this place, then the three of you can continue with your evolution requirements," Leo said, after they have killed off all the Shardmonkies.

....

Leo and his group pushed forward, venturing deeper into the dense forest. As they moved deeper, the towering trees stretched higher, their canopies thickening until they nearly blocked out the sunlight, casting deep shadows down below.

The air was rich with the scent of damp earth and the distant musk of unseen creatures. The deeper they went, the more unnatural the silence became—no birds, no insects, only the occasional rustle of foliage in the distance.

Tatiana took the lead, her crimson eyes scanning the shadows with practiced focus. Ves and Miguel flanked the group, while Mia kept to the rear, her energy poised and ready. Fiona, though still recovering, moved with a quiet grace, her fur bristling at every shift in the wind.

It wasn’t long before the tranquility shattered.

From the underbrush, a monstrous creature erupted. It stood on four thick legs, its body covered in overlapping plates of hardened bark-like armor.

Jagged vines twisted along its spine, pulsating and glowing with a strange, greenish energy. Its face was elongated, insectoid in structure, with mandibles that dripped a thick, glowing sap.

Leo barely had time to react before the beast lunged.

He dodged to the side as one of its vine-covered limbs crashed down, splitting the earth where he had stood. The sheer weight of the impact sent tremors through the ground.

Tatiana moved fast, summoning a spear of blood and hurling it at the creature’s exposed underbelly.

The weapon struck true, piercing the softer flesh between its armored plates, but instead of recoiling, the beast let out a gurgling growl and absorbed the weapon. The vines along its spine pulsed, glowing brighter.

"It’s using the energy from attacks to strengthen itself," Tatiana muttered, stepping back.

Miguel cracked his knuckles. "Then we go for raw power."

He charged, his muscles hardening as he slammed both fists into the beast’s side. The impact sent a deep tremor through its body, forcing it to stagger, but its armor absorbed much of the force.

Ves took the opportunity to leap forward, her enhanced speed allowing her to slash at the creature’s exposed joints with her [Bone Claw].

Unlike Tatiana’s blood spear, her weapons dug deep, severing some of the vines. The beast let out a strangled, unnatural screech and reared back, its mandibles snapping wildly.

Leo saw the opening. Moving with the precision of instinct, he activated Shadow Step, blinking behind the beast before it could recover.

Nightshade gleamed as he slashed at the creature’s exposed back. The blade cut deep, severing a section of its pulsating vines.

The reaction was immediate.

The beast thrashed violently, its entire body pulsing with an unstable glow. Without warning, the vines detached from its back and shot outward, lashing at everything in reach.

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Mia reacted fast, raising her hands and sending out a force wave, pushing everyone back before the vines could strike them.

Leo landed in a crouch, eyes narrowing. "We need to kill it now."

Tatiana nodded, raising both hands. Blood coiled around her arms before she sent out two razor-thin whips of condensed energy. They wrapped around the creature’s neck, cutting deep as she pulled.

Miguel took the opening, charging in with a massive, full-force punch. The impact caved in the creature’s lower body, forcing it to collapse.

Leo didn’t hesitate. He dashed forward and drove Nightshade straight through its skull. The beast let out one last rattling breath before going still, the glow in its vines fading.

A moment passed in silence before Tatiana exhaled. "That was... interesting."

"Pain in the ass is what it was," Ves muttered, wiping sap from her blades.

Leo stood, breathing heavily. He could feel his muscles aching, but there was no time to rest.

"Let’s keep moving," he said.

They advanced further into the forest, the air growing heavier. The deeper they went, the more they felt an unnatural pressure weighing on them.

The trees changed as well. Their trunks grew darker, twisted as if they were sculpted by hands. The foliage above turned a deep crimson, filtering the light into a strange glow.

Then, without warning, the shadows moved.

At first, it seemed like a trick of the light, but then Leo saw them. The figures shifted through the darkness, using it as a cover and blending seamlessly with their surroundings.

Their bodies were elongated, draped in tattered, flowing shapes that made them appear almost weightless. Where their faces should have been, there were only hollow voids.

"Wraithborn," Tatiana whispered.

The creatures didn’t wait as they struck as one unit.

Leo barely had time to raise Nightshade before one of them phased through the space between them, with its clawed hands reaching out.

The moment it touched his blade, a cold unlike anything he had ever felt surged through him. His limbs felt sluggish, his vision fading in and out.

Ves intercepted another wraith, her claws cutting through its form, but instead of flesh, her blades met resistance like striking thick fog. The creature recoiled slightly, but it didn’t bleed. It didn’t even seem to feel pain.

"They’re incorporeal," Ves hissed.

Tatiana didn’t hesitate. She raised both hands and sent out a pulse of crimson energy, forcing the wraiths back.

"Normal attacks won’t work well. You need either overwhelming force or energy-based strikes," she instructed.

Miguel stepped forward, his entire body glowing faintly. "Then let’s see how they like this."

He slammed his fists together, sending a shockwave of pure energy through the air. The impact sent several wraiths recoiling, their forms flickering like dying embers in a storm.

This was a skill he learned recently during on of their hunts, and this is the first time he’s using it.

[Aura]

Leo, recovering from the earlier cold, focused. He activated Shadow Step and appeared behind one of the wraiths.

Tatiana followed suit, her blood constructs morphing into glowing crimson stakes. She launched them, pinning several wraiths to the ground where they dissipated into mist.

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As the last wraithborn dissolved, the oppressive energy in the air lessened, and the forest seemed to return back to normal.

Leo exhaled, sheathing Nightshade.

"I really hate things that don’t die properly."

Tatiana nodded. "This forest is more dangerous than we thought. We need to be careful."

Leo glanced around, scanning the twisted trees. Whatever was lurking in these depths, it was only getting stronger.

"We keep going," he said. "We’re not done yet.