"What?! Don't even think about it!"
Upon hearing this request, Tifa's expression turned bad, and she quickly shook her head. "I'm clearly the one who gave you the money, so why do I need to listen to you?!"
What kind of joke was that? If she let Emerson make the decision, how would she get her revenge?
However, after she said those willful words, Emerson Cole did not react at all.
With that, he made Tifa feel uneasy.
Was Emerson angry of her?
To be honest, Tifa was a little afraid of encountering mutated creatures again.
It was exciting, but there was nothing she could do about it.
She was just a tier 5 genetic warrior. Although she was strong, facing such a situation where there were thousands of tier 6 to tier 8 mutated creatures attacking her, she was helpless. It was even a problem for her to survive.
In fact, not to mention Tifa, even if a tier 4 elemental genetic warrior were to come and save her, they would most likely die together.
A huge number of mutated creatures attacking was not something an elemental genetic warrior who had yet to learn a forbidden spell could deal with.
"Someone's coming."
Emerson, who had walked into the darkness, suddenly spoke.
The sky had yet to fully brighten, and there were tall trees everywhere in the dark forest. As a result, Emerson, who was dressed in a black robe, had fused perfectly with the darkness. If one did not get close to him, one would not be able to notice Emerson was standing here.
Tifa was stunned.
She looked at the white fog around her, but she could not see anything.
"Who's there?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a flurry of footsteps sounded from afar.
"Damn it, how did we provoke such a terrifying mutated creature!"
"Where is the person who was scouting ahead? Did he come back?"
A man's voice sounded.
"Only Johnson came back. The rest are all dead," Another man answered.
"Damn, what's going on up ahead?"
"Johnson said there's a fire. Thousands of mutated creatures are gathering there."
"What did you say? Thousands?"
"I can't believe it either, but it's true. And they're all crazy. They seem to be attracted by something. Many of them are rushing toward us."
"..."
The man kept quiet before he said something, "Everyone, listen to my command. Spread out on the spot... run as far as you can."
"Captain, but how!?"
Behind Emerson and Tifa, people were talking, as if they were discussing something.
Suddenly.
Thud...
Thud...
Thud...
A sound rang out. The sound was accompanied with an oppressive feeling that Tifa was very familiar with.
It seemed to be the terrifying mutated creature that they had encountered when they first entered the dark forest.
They stopped discussing.
"It's here..."
The ground seemed to tremble. Emerson frowned as he looked into the depths of the dense fog, pulling Tifa, who was still in a daze, into the shadows.
Then, he rummaged through his bag for a while, took out a Broken Sight Bead, and slammed it on the ground.
Suddenly, a lightless barrier was activated, just enough to cover the 2 of them.
"This is..."
Tifa stared at the pitch-black barrier curiously.
She actually did not recognize that thing.
"Broken Sight Bead. It can block sound and light."
"Oh..."
Tifa poked the edge of the barrier with her hand, and when she found that her finger could easily pass through it, she could not help but withdraw her finger. "How come I've never heard of it?"
"It's usually used to start a fire in the fog or to fight against mutated creatures."
Emerson looked at her suspiciously. "How can you not know of it? You haven't used it before?"
"I... Of course I have used it before! It's just that it's much better than yours!" Tifa's gaze flickered as she replied. Pretending to be calm, she said, "Aren't you an all-rounded genetic warrior? Why would you use such a low-grade item?"
Emerson turned his head away, ignoring her.
Tifa heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. This was her first time stepping into the territory of a mutated creature, so how could she have used such an item.
Fortunately, Emerson did not ask her a lot of questions. Otherwise, her identity would...
Wait...
Tifa suddenly seemed to have recalled something, and she turned her head to stared at Emerson.
"Why did not you use it just now?"
"How did I know that you would chase a pregnant Molten Cow into its territory?"
"..."
Emerson's reason made her speechless.
"It's coming."
Emerson lowered his body and maintained a posture that he could attack at any time. At the same time, he pressed his hand on the ground.
"Isn't the Broken Sight Bead able to block sound?"
Tifa's eyes widened. How did Emerson know that the mutated creature was approaching?
"Intuition."
Emerson explained. Suddenly, his nose twitched, and he smelled a pungent smell.
It was the smell of blood.
The genetic warriors were attacked by the terrifying mutated creature.
What about after they died?
Would that monster discover Emerson and Tifa?
Behind them, there was still a large group of mutated creatures chasing them. There was no way out.
The only option left was to rely on the Broken Sight Bead to muddle through under the creature's nose.
However, due to the existence of the Broken Sight Bead, Emerson was no longer able to determine whether the monster was nearby through sound. He could only rely on the palm that was pressed on the ground, from the degree of vibration he felt, he could judge whether the mutated creature had left or not.
Upon seeing Emerson's focused look, Tifa seemed to have noticed something. She gripped her soul weapon tightly and hid her petite body behind him.
Thud...
Her palm was a little numb. It seemed that the creature was very close.
"Emerson, you smell so strong..." Tifa, who was behind him, complained softly.
Smell?
Emerson's eyes shook and he lowered his head to smell his own body.
Indeed! She was right!
A fishy smell assailed his nostrils.
It was the smell of the blood left by his close combat with the Molten Cows.
He was careless!
He was wearing a black robe. Even if he was stained with blood, he would not be able to realize it!
Although the smell was not very strong, it was extremely deadly at this time!
The mutated creature's sense of smell was abnormally sensitive, and the Broken Sight Bead just happened to be unable to block the smell!
A strong sense of unease suddenly arose in Emerson's heart. He raised his head to look at the barrier with a frown.
Emerson was right! A huge palm just happened to stomp down at that moment!