The group began to get into position. Those noises that they were hearing weren't common. Also, if Clay said that something was coming, then it should be right.
No one was a better scout than him. The man had a spell called "Danger sense". For a certain amount of "Willpower" every minute, he could sharpen his hearing, vision, and smell. It was quite useful when someone was traveling through an environment such as a forest.
However, even though he was capable of identifying any strange movement in the surroundings and notice if a threat was coming, it was hard for him to know exactly if it was a Dread or not. It wasn't a problem, though, because Rick was there.
"Yes. Clay is right, I can feel a great amount of "Chaos" around. 6th generation, at least. Two Dreads. You all know what to do." Rick took the chain attached to his right hand, wielding his sword with the left. That was how he usually fought, but he didn't do it in the first battles with Dean not to show his powers.
The group began to get together slowly. The sound seemed to be near, but they couldn't see anything yet.
Dean and Paul were the last ones to get into the formation, finishing the circle that they were making.
When the group didn't know from where the enemies would come, they usually would position in a circle, so they wouldn't be caught by surprise.
It made the long-distance fighters of the group get vulnerable, which wasn't something good, but they had to take that risk so they would preserve more lives and have better chances of surviving.
"Keep attentive, it is coming..." Rick spoke. Nonetheless, he himself didn't know whether what he said was right or not. After all, the sound was the same for a long time already, it was quite near, but it didn't seem to be approaching at all.
He was finding it quite strange. The first thing that Dreads prioritized was to take food. If they smelled something that had a reasonable quantity of "Willpower" or "Chaos", then they would surely go chase after them.
Rick's group was strong, they had a huge reserve of "Willpower" and it was very refined. Nevertheless, the Dread didn't get closer as fast as they thought that it would be.
Dean was beside Paul while holding a sword. Thanks to his constant training, wield a sword as heavy wasn't a struggle anymore. Now that he was truly entering the phase of puberty, his muscles started to develop properly, also as his brute strength, his training of years was paying off.
The boy looked to all sides, but he also couldn't see anything. Looking at Paul's face, he could see that the boy had a guess.
'This guy is very good. He is smart and perceptive. I bet that he has something in mind.'
Paul noticed Dean's stare. He knew that he got caught, so he tried to hide it by dart his eyes around.
"You can't deceive me with this cheap acting, Paul. Spill the beans now."
The boy was sweating coldly. He didn't want to draw the attention of the group for himself. They thought until now that he was an average boy in all aspects. If they knew about his intellectual capability, then he would be the target of Rick's group.
Sighing, he leaned his body towards Dean, murmuring.
"Promise me that you will get the credit for everything that I say here." He asked, timidly. Nothing was intimidating in his voice. It was even pathetic that he was trying to impose some rule on Dean.
Anyway, obviously that he accepted. Dean wasn't willing to die that day just because he was afraid of getting some blows with the rope on his back, legs, or arms.
"I think that it is coming from the ground. Not on the ground, but under it. I can feel it digging under my feet.",
Dean pondered for a while, then widened his eyes.
"It's a Screamer!" He yelled, looking around and trying to find which tree seemed to be getting out of the soil, at least its roots.
Once Rick's group heard it, they knew exactly what was going to happen.
"Hector and Clay take the torches. I, Kevin, and those two scumbags will hold it as much as we can!"
Just as he said it, a root got out of the ground, piercing the air towards the skies, then falling again like a giant whip. It was aiming at Rick.
'Damn it!' The man thought, giving a step away, but knowing that the root was just too fast and thick to dodge in the last moment.
"Titanium armor!" Someone approached him, chanting with a shield on his arm.
Before the giant root could reach Rick, it smacked the shield, causing a crack on the ground.
Anyone who saw that would assume that the person who received the impact of that monstrous blow was dead or had its legs broken. Nonetheless, that wasn't the case.
"Thanks, Kevin. Titanium armor is amazing as always." Rick patted Kevin on the back.
The only discomfort that the bulked man felt was his left shoulder. Hold a shield firmly against an attack of that magnitude would left, at least, a dislocation. Thanks to his spell, it didn't happen.
Kevin's body got grayish, a consequence of his spell. His joints seemed to lose their elasticity, he was stiff as a rock. However, now his body was as stiff as titanium. Mobility was a low price to pay.
"Let me take care of these annoying whips, Rick." He requested with his eyes shining.
Rick nodded to him.
"I will take some in the way. Let's just draw its attention to us while they get and lit up the torches.
The torches were in the bags that the horses were carrying. They let the horses right behind the group, not much distant. Soon the torches would come, but they would need more than one to put an end to that tree.
"Dean, Paul. You two come as well. While Kevin holds the numerous roots that will appear, we aim to the main body." He ordered, starting to run afterward.