Free Web NovelChapter 29: Chapter 28- The People Of The Woods (Part 1)
Chapter 28- The People Of The Woods (Part 1)
The bear stormed through the forest like an invincible tank. Its large body slammed into every tree, breaking it as if it were a twig. It didn’t need to stop or even look around it. All it focused on was the two humans running away from it.
For something that size, its speed was nothing to scoff at. Even Cipha could barely keep that distance between them, and it would naturally grow closer the longer it continued.
Looking over her shoulder, Cipha clenched her teeth. ’It won’t let us be. Damn it. I need to lose it.’ She thought to herself.
Looking around her, the forest was naturally a very good environment to use for camouflage, especially during the dark hours of the night. So, Cipha decided to suddenly take a sharp turn to the side as she started running in a different direction. She made sure not to cut any vines.
For several moments, she only ran in that direction, and then suddenly, she changed her direction again. She kept moving left and right randomly. The bear, meanwhile, found itself completely confused as its prey were suddenly out of sight.
It looked around before it started sniffing them. Then, it suddenly turned around and started running in the direction of the smell. However, by then, the two had already created an even bigger distance.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
On her shoulder, she could hear Zen’s weak breaths. Just a single glance at his face told her everything she needed to know. He was extremely pale, almost as white as a sheet of paper; his body was shivering, and he was sweating profusely.
’His condition is deteriorating rapidly.’ She thought to herself. ’I need to find help. I need to find help as soon as possible.’
However, the reality was simply too harsh. There were at least several dozen miles away from the closest human settlement. Even if she ran at full speed, it would take her hours to reach that destination.
"Zen..." She muttered. "Please hold on, I will figure something out."
The boy didn’t even reply; he had finally succumbed to the exhaustion and fainted. That only made Cipha panic even more as she looked left and right. ’I need to find a spot where he can lie down a bit and rest. We won’t be able to make it to a human settlement any time soon, and running continuously will exhaust him even more.’
Stopping for a second, Cipha looked left and right before she finally decided to start heading north again. The bear was still in hot pursuit, but he was very far. Cipha thought they were going to be safe for the time being. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
For the next few minutes, she ran as she had never run before. She wanted to create as much distance as she could. Cipha herself was very tired, and running for such a long period of time without taking a breather was very taxing and brutal on the body.
However, as if things weren’t already bad enough... The worst happened.
Cipha’s vision was completely tunneled toward cutting her way through the forest. Her sword swung left and right, severing one branch after the other. The only sound she could hear was that of her breath. She was so focused that for a second, she didn’t even realize what she was heading toward.
It only dawned on her when she cut the last branch and emerged into an opening. That was when...
"...." She stopped, her eyes wide open as she breathed heavily. In front of her was a gigantic cliff that went down into the darkness below, and her foot was simply an inch away from falling into it.
Her body leaned back in a hurry, almost falling to the ground. Her heart was racing loudly in her chest. She had almost fallen down that cliff to her death.
"Fuck..." She cursed under her breath as she looked left and right. The cliff stretched into the distance in both directions with no way down. "Not now... Not now!"
At the same time, she heard the roar of the beast in the distance as it tracked them down. Cipha clenched her teeth as she started running along the cliff’s edge, trying to find a way down. That was the only path toward their destination from what she could see.
However, for minutes, she ran and looked for a way to climb down with no sign of it. It was a very steep slope.
’Fuck, fuck, fuck.’ She cursed in frustration. This was a big problem. A very big problem. The bear was closing the distance between them very rapidly.
Eventually, its silhouette emerged from the darkness, lunging at Cipha. The girl quickly stopped as she tried to side-step the monster. Its claws passed a few inches away from her face, almost blinding her.
She jumped back as she looked at the beast.
"..."
She was completely clueless. ’I can’t fight it... Not when Zen is on my back.’ She thought to herself. The creature was extremely strong, and it would be a deadly battle even if Cipha didn’t have Zen to weigh her down.
She had to find a way to escape this, or she was completely dead.
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The creature didn’t give her time to think as it attacked again aggressively, throwing several claw attacks and bites. Using her sword, Cipha deflected some, being thrown back from the impact. She fought to keep her balance and protect Zen.
He couldn’t suffer any more injuries, or he could die on the spot. However, the bear didn’t spare her or hesitate to attack aggressively.
*Swish*
’From the left?!’ She clenched her teeth as she saw the claw coming toward her. If she didn’t dodge, it would hit Zen. So, she quickly stepped back, only for the bear to suddenly attack with the other paw.
’Dammit!’ She cursed. ’It tricked me.’
With her body completely off balance and her momentum all over the place.
’Zen.’ She clenched her teeth as she used all her core strength to turn her body around, completely facing the hit. At the same time, she stabbed her sword into the ground.
*BANG*
"Agh..." Cipha groaned loudly as she felt the paw slam into her torso at full speed. It felt like a train had slammed into her, shaking her to the core. She was sent flying back several dozen feet. However, her hands gripped the sword tightly as she slid on the dirt without falling on her back.
"Hah... Hah..." She tried to breathe, only for it to come out pained and weak. Blood oozed out of the spot where the claws landed, soaking her clothes. "Zen..." She muttered as she looked over her shoulder. Zen wasn’t hit, luckily. He seemed completely fine, all things considered.
Then, she stared up at the beast as it charged toward her. ’What could I even do?’ She asked herself. Death was charging at her, and she was completely powerless. All she could do was stare in horror as the beast lunged at her.
But, just when everything felt completely doomed, suddenly, something moved out of the darkness. Before Cipha could react, several silhouettes appeared before her.
