Kapitel 7: Swarm

"Stop!" Auopi suddenly raised her arm, silencing the group.

The abrupt command left the inexperienced fruit-folk no time to react. People violently bumped into one another, and the organized column quickly fell apart.

She cast an incredulous look behind her.

"Bluog, come to the front." Not trusting her incompetent peers, she made eye contact with the only other qi-refining combatant and ushered him to the lead.

"Did you spot something?" Bluog asked hurriedly, the urgency in her tone putting him on edge.

Auopi pointed towards the distant foliage. "I heard the rustling of leaves up ahead. I'm afraid it might be the same creatures that chased us last time."

Reminded of their old pursuers, Bluog immediately readied himself for a potential battle. Even though they had never engaged in direct combat with the beasts before, he was confident they could win.

Bluog shot a subtle glance at the recovering column.

This time, they wouldn't face the enemy alone. Though rough around the edges, their group still numbered over thirty, including two qi-refining and twelve body-tempering experts. The latter consisted of seven at the early stage, four at the mid stage, and one at the late stage.

But he'd still prefer to avoid fighting if possible. They were quickly approaching the edge of the forest, and the monolith was just a little distance beyond that. If one of the creatures slipped past their defenses and killed a regular fruit-folk, it would be truly upsetting.

In an attempt to avoid bloodshed, the duo began discussing an alternative route.

Unfortunately, their old enemies weren't about to let them go.

The rustling of leaves intensified, and the distinct clattering of jaws grew louder.

"Curse these mindless beasts!"

With the enemy heading their direction, there was no time to change course.

Auopi shouted at the disorganized group behind her, "Tempered bodies, form a circle around those with weak flesh! Quickly!"

Luckily, they didn't have much trouble forming a basic perimeter. In a couple of minutes, a solid defense was established.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The clattering of jaws soon reached the ears of the untrained fruit-folk. Cold sweat formed on their bodies as the ominous sounds drew closer.

After a suspenseful wait, three canines slowly appeared from within the forest, their bulky stature and earthen skin unblemished by the passage of time.

Auopi looked at the creatures with a bemused expression.

"Tempered bodies, maintain the circle! Bluog and I will take care of them." Auopi shouted orders at the formation before brandishing her wooden saber.

With her qi-refining strength, she could easily discern the rough power of these creatures. Each one was roughly as strong as a mid-level tempered fruit-folk, meaning she could single-handedly defeat the trio.

The dogs kept a ten-meter buffer zone from the duo, their hungry eyes focused on the encirclement behind.

"Hmph. If you won't come to me, then I'll just come to you!" Bluog was the first to initiate an attack.

The air whizzed past him as he lunged towards the creature in the center. He raised his sword above his head and delivered an overhand strike.

With a loud swish, pieces of dirt were flung into the air as the canine was cut in half.

The dogs reacted quickly, with the two on the sides charging in opposite directions to form a flank.

"Too slow!" Bluog carried his momentum from the initial strike to mercilessly decapitate the dog on his left. Its head flew twenty meters into the forest.

"Let me have this one!" Auopi easily caught up to the remaining dog and slashed its body in two.

Within seconds, the duo had dispatched the beasts.

"Ha. To think I was scared of fighting these critters. We should have just carried the group straight through." Bluog let out a dry chuckle as he looked at the bisected dogs.

"It's...it's over just like that?" Relief washed over the remaining fruit-folk. The battle had gone by too fast for them to see, but the three corpses denoted a clear victory.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

A cacophony of clattering jaws and heavy thuds erupted from the surrounding woods.

"Keep formation! There's more of them!" Auopi retreated back to the encirclement, her wooden sword ready to strike.

"Don't waver! We are the creations of the divine and will not falter here!" Bluog joined Auopi in falling back to the larger group.

Let alone the regular fruit-folk, even the duo was rattled by the harrowing cries coming from the forest. The sheer number of canines made distinguishing any particular sound impossible.

A tremble coursed through the earth as the oncoming tide of hounds ruthlessly pounded the ground. Clouds of dust crept over the horizon to welcome the approaching swarm.

Their quick feet soon reached the cornered fruit-folk. Hundreds of earthen dogs had encircled the formation. The crescendo of clattering jaws stopped, replaced by an eerie silence.

A standoff had begun between the two groups. Neither party wanted to be the first to engage.

"Dammit, why are there so many of them?!" Auopi cursed under her breath, her earlier arrogance instantly suppressed by a gnawing sense of dread.

"What should we do? We'll be exhausted long before we thin the horde." Bluog nervously turned to Auopi and whispered in her ear. He was careful not to alarm the rest of the group; the last thing they needed was anarchy.

Startled by the question, Auopi turned and took a hard look at their shaken group.

Some of the weak fruit-folk had already collapsed in fear. The rest were barely holding on, likely to break at the first sign of battle. Even the trained combatants were jittery.

A blind man could see their imminent defeat.

Auopi took a deep breath.

"We are too far from the lord's domain. We'll have to make...make..." The word got stuck on the tip of her tongue. She couldn't bring herself to mention the need for sacrifices.

Seeing her hesitation, Bluog only nodded.

"Break formation! Charge straight ahead and don't stop till you reach the monolith!" Bluog didn't wait for the others to react. He grabbed Auopi and made a beeline for the safe zone.

There was a brief moment of hesitation before the unified formation devolved into a mad dash. It was now everyone for themselves.

Even the dogs were momentarily stunned. It was only when Bluog started to cut through their frontlines that they reacted and tightened the encirclement.

However, the expected bloodbath didn't ensue. The originally fierce dogs moved at an unnaturally slow pace through the mob. Other than some stragglers who had been paralyzed in fear, the rest found success in breaking free.

Spatial Boundary

Daozi watched in disbelief as the duo abandoned the group.

'This is...really quite unexpected.'

He knew that a qi-refining cultivator could escape from his hounds if they really tried, but doing so would require sacrificing everyone else.

From his observations, he felt confident in the fruit-folk having a strong sense of comradery. Coupled with their solemn promise to Weodrothis, the duo should have fought tooth and nail against his dogs.

Then, only after sensing their inevitable defeat, should the dormant faith power have been activated and the effects of the two anomalies made clear.

However, with Bluog and Auopi being the first to rush out, there was no longer any point killing off thirty sapient lives.

Daozi cast another glance at the escaping duo.

He was aware of the blueberry's love for the flowery apple, though he quite clearly underestimated the severity of emotions involved.

'Were you not a piece of fruit, I might have mistaken you for a reincarnation of cupid.' He mused.

Well, he was not averse to a change of plans.

They were currently heading to the monolith for sanctuary, but this time he simply wouldn't stop his canine. He would mercilessly hunt them down till they one of them caved under the pressure.

It was not like he had a choice. To develop a thriving realm, he needed to gather a deep understanding of these new influences.

So, Daozi dutifully spectated the pairs escape. He watched them kill their way out of the siege, leave the forest, and eventually arrive at the monolith.

As they rested by the stone, he could sense their mixed feelings. Guilt, relief, and fatigue seemed to be the major three.

Unfortunately, he wasn't going to let them catch their breaths.

The forest erupted in a deafening clatter, and the swarm of earthen dogs sprinted towards the pillaring stone.

The duo didn't seem bothered by the pursuit. They continued to relax on the soft grass, baring no mind to the approaching canine.

Though that quickly changed as the dogs showed no sign of stopping.

Their relief morphed into confusion, that confusion turned into worry, and that worry soon became terror.

They hurriedly got off the ground and tried running deeper into the grasslands.

They did find some initial success running away, but they were already tired from the earlier escape, and his dogs didn't know the meaning exhaustion.

After just an hour of panicked sprinting, intense fighting, and desperate hiding later, the duo was forced back to the monolith.

Their bodies were bruised and battered. Both of them had suffered various injuries, the most severe of which were Bluog's missing left hand and a chunk of Auopi's flower.

Although their condition looked terrible, he knew the damage wasn't lethal. Under his careful gaze it would be impossible for the dogs to accidently kill them.

But they were none the wiser.

Daozi watched from the spatial bubble as the duo had their backs forced against the solid rock. Their strength just barely enough to hold their weapons.

The Monolith

"Bluog...we tried our best. Maybe, this is what we deserve for forsaking our people..." Auopi dropped to the ground as the last of her energy slipped away.

Bluog hurriedly caught Auopi on his chest while being careful to keep his sword positioned against the encroaching dogs.

Looking at her slumped body, he couldn't help but reminiscence of their short journey. He saw scenes of their triumphant breakthrough, of the group's joyous atmosphere, and of their ultimate defeat.

In the end he had failed to defend Auopi, he had failed to protect the group, and he had failed...his creator.

As the last thought crossed his mind, a sudden anger welled up within him. He raised his head to face the vile dogs.

It was these beasts that had ruined everything. They killed his people, ruined their mission, and challenged the creator.

His eyes began to turn hazy from fatigue, but he persisted. Something spurred him on, he could feel an energy fueling his body.

Looking at the sky, he saw it.

A golden leaf had materialized above his head. It was exuding a faint energy, just enough to keep him awake.

Turning back to the dogs, he witnessed a faint red 'X' materializing on their torsos.

He stared in bewilderment at the scene before him.

But then he thought about it.

He was originally but a meagre leaf on his lord's crown, and it was thanks to its mercy that he was given life.

With the enemies of the fruit-folk in front of him, he would turn into a vessel to release retribution.

A smile crept onto his face. He closed his eyes and focused his attention inwards.

His dry mouth slowly parted as he muttered, "I invoke the name of the great Weodrothis, cast your eyes upon this humble servant and release thy eternal fog on the damned!"

Following those words, the golden leaf shone with a resplendent glow. A deep vibration rattled the surroundings.

Bluog only saw a twirling mist on his sword before he passed out from the exertion.