Chapter 66 66:Hunting Field Test[4]
Spurt…
Blood splashed, making the person\'s clothes drenched in blood.
With a thud, an overgrown man dropped dead to the ground. Kicking it, a man sent the corpse flying.
"Mouses are really hard to deal with. Not only are they useless, but they also don\'t possess anything crucial."
"Truly a waste of time."
A smile formed over his blood-drenched face, baffling Ami who stared at the discarded group of people.
KRRRIING!KRRIIING!
Snapping them out of their gaze, a series of high-pitched whistling voices echoed in the air, followed by screams and shrieks.
"The golems are acting weird. Their settings had been changed."
Frowning, Ami attempted to connect to the control room.
BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!
"It seems the control room has fallen."
Ami heard Harris\'s hoarse voice. Looking up, she saw his eyes flashing with coldness. There was no emotion in those eyes as if human life was insignificant.
"It seems the letter was correct. Omen had acted. We should cancel the drill."
"Just send a message to the higher authority. We need to make a move personally. You stop the golem and the traitor guards from advancing. Meanwhile, I will protect the targeted ones. Try to finish things on your end as quickly as possible."
Harris\'s figure flickered, disappearing from Ami\'s sight.
Clenching her fist, Ami focused her attention on the shadows heading towards the site.
From the moment she received the letter, she wished it to be false. The chances of things happening in the letter and Omen infiltrating Horizon were quite less.
Nevertheless, it happened, crushing all her hopes.
Ami turned her gaze, locked onto the people. In one swift movement, her figure covered hundreds of metres.
[Explode]
BOOOOM!
A thunderous explosion that shook the surroundings echoed throughout the air. A bright light enveloped the sky, and the ground trembled.
The explosion was quick, it lasted for a few seconds, illuminating the sky for a moment, but the effect of it was quite deadly.
.....
SCREECH.....SCREECH…SCREECH…
Following the marks left by him the other day, Lucas, after a quick detour, finally arrived at the place where he was going to hide tonight.
There were safe zones for resting, but for today, every safe zone is a danger zone.
The place Lucas chose was neither far away nor too close to the track. The place was a bit open at the front, covered by a dense canopy at the back. There were no traces of the beast.
For further safety, Lucas had scattered tiny devices that constantly radiate waves. The waves would be reflected by a person\'s presence and would alert him.
Since everything was allowed, Lucas had also brought his smartphone, which will ring if the devices detect anything.
"I would rather call for help than send an emergency signal. Unfortunately, I only have three teacher\'s numbers."
Taking a sigh, Lucas climbed over the third-highest tree in the region. The night was dark and except for the occasional creaking of insects, no other sound could be heard.
Resting his back against the trunk of the tree, Lucas stared up at the sky, sitting over a branch.
A line of stars filled the sky, starlight pouring down bathing the surroundings was occasionally blocked by the red clouds hovering in the sky.
Lucas, being a bit tired, wanted to take a short power nap, but he was not courageous enough to do so.
Chaos was destined to occur tonight.
Blood was destined to be washed.
Death was imminent for some.
A sense of loneliness followed by guilt flashed in his eyes. Knowing the future event was not necessarily good.
On closing his eyes, Lucas recollected the action of Seers who speak of their helplessness.
[We are nothing but mere observers of the vast world. We are forced to only sit and watch.]
[Whether it\'s a period of mirth or world-shattering calamity, we don\'t have any influence to affect the flow of the world.]
[The only thing we are capable of, is to advise you by dropping subtle hints of the price for changing the pre-existing flow.]
Unlike seers, he was not suppressed by anything. If possible, his attempt could have averted the entire disaster, preventing many parents from grieving about the loss of their precious children.
How can he not sympathize with a parent who lost their children, who are innocent and had nothing to do with the ploys of Omen?
The noble heirs may be arrogant and conceited, but that does not mean they deserve death.
However….
Kindness only feels good if the one showing it is capable enough.
Does it make sense for a beggar to give his food to another when he can\'t have his fill?
Feeling the burden, Lucas massaged his forehead, trying to suppress his uneasiness.
"I wish my heart were a bit cold. Being soft is a major weakness." Lucas laughed bitterly.
"I don\'t know them nor do I have anything to do with them. Grieving for strangers whom you don\'t even know about is nothing but foolishness."
Coldness arose in Lucas\'s heart as he muttered to himself. He had done what he could do, now everything was up to the faith.
The Omen would attack tonight, and the field test would be cancelled as soon the authority sensed something amiss.
Surviving was his only priority, as long as he can stay alive, everything will be alright.
BEEP!BEEP!
Lucas\'s body jolted upon hearing the warning bell.
Taking his phone, he examined the situation.
The device was still in the preliminary phase and the software was underdeveloped. It can only detect the presence and can\'t relay the number of enemies and their positions.
\'Who the hell is this?\'
Lucas bit his lip, seemingly frustrated by the sudden intrusion. A thousand questions flashed over his mind, making him more anxious with each passing second.
Who is the person?
Is he a student or a member of Horizon?
How did he come here?
What is their intention?
Was he looking for him?
He wanted to run away but feared disclosing his presence.
The guards would rush on getting an emergency signal. Omen members disguised as guards would start creating a situation of panic, making more people fire the emergency signal.
Their main targets were the noble children in the safe zone. Life or death would depend on your worth.
Commoner, middle class, higher class, fallen aristocrats didn\'t matter. Unless you are children of a reputable noble family, you are going to die.
Yeah, if you stay away from them and don\'t actively seek your death, you are safe. As long as those psychopaths don\'t catch you, there is no threat.
Lucas almost bit his lips due to anxiousness.
\'I can find a way to escape if it\'s close to my level, but if it\'s higher than that then I am finished.\'
TANG!TANG!TANG!
Sounds of battle echoed in the forest. Lucas caught flickering light due to rapid clashes one after another.
The distance was great, still, Lucas was able to keep track of their movements. The resonating battle cry made Lucas discern the strength of the warriors fighting against one another.
There were two and both of them seemed to be 3-Star. This, fortunately, gave Lucas an air of relief to breathe.
One of them might surely be a student of Horizon. His identity might be difficult to guess, but not impossible.
There were only 19 or so 3-Star in the 1st Year.
Frederick, Rose, Charles, and several others should be in a safe house, so they can\'t be here. Narrowing down the possibility, Lucas thought of someone from other classes.
"I don\'t care who you are, just defeat the bastard." Lucas cheered for the unknown teammate who in a way was risking his or her life for him.
Fighting might be difficult at night but awakened have a better vision than the rest. They can also enhance their eyesight by manipulating mana and guiding it to the eyes, but lower ones could not do it properly.
Lucas using mana vision could only see for a radius of 15–20 meters after which the sight became dark, so even though the sound was drawing near, he was unable to discern the identity.
Lucas, who squatted on the branch to look down, suddenly stumbled forward as the whole tree shook.
BAAAAM!
Something struck the tree he rested, making it sway to and fro. Lucas\'s expression became pale.
Just as he adjusted himself, trying to stop himself from falling down, the tree shook violently
The tree bent to one side, causing the branch on which he sat to break.
"Kyakkkk!"
Lucas screamed in horror as his body accelerated down. He swung his hand rapidly trying to catch a branch to prevent himself from falling, but the branches shattered one after another.
The only help the branches offered was to decrease the momentum of his fall.
CREAK!CREAK!CREAK!
After getting his body bruised and beaten by a series of branches hitting him, Lucas\'s body crashed onto the floor with a loud thud…
"Ahhhhhh."
Groaning painfully, Lucas rolled on the ground, holding his sore waist.
Fortunately, everything was in one piece, but he did not have the luxury to examine his condition. Lucas quickly yanked on his feet to see what was going on while suppressing his inner desire to curse at his stupid, hateful fate.
As soon as his eyes fell on the figure resting against the trees while coughing blood, his eyes almost popped out of his socket due to the sudden shock.
For a moment, he felt as if his balls would come out if he vomited now. Seeing such a coincidence, Lucas thought that one day he might die due to a heart attack if shocking events happened like this over and over again.
Opening his trembling lips, he freaked out with a soft scream of despair.
"Ch..... C… Charles...."