Dean felt a chill run down his spine once he saw the imponent figure of the Stone Gorilla.
He faltered for a while, giving a step back. For a second he had the urge to just run away to where he wanted, but Emperor's touch didn't let him do it.
Anyway, he wouldn't do it. He was willing to get out of that situation alive, and the only way to do it, unfortunately, was by following Rick's orders.
The Stone Gorilla was almost 3 meters tall. Red cracks were spread all over its body, and the light emitted by them was stronger than the average Dread. His hands, chest, and feet skin had an aspect similar to stone, which gave them this name. It also contributed to a huge strength added to their blows, also as more protection. Depending on the generation of the Gorilla, its body could be almost all made of stone.
'It will be troublesome if we wait for the other Dreads to come. I think that it's time to do it. They are close enough anyway. And this Gorilla won't just stand still while glaring at us.'
Dean's guessing was right, obviously. After a second or two looking at them, the Stone Gorilla roared, hitting his own chest several times and rushing toward Dean, who was emitting more "Willpower" than Paul at that time.
'Time to start!' The boy thought, running toward the forest, aiming to get out of that glade.
"I am counting on you, Paul!" He screamed, using all the strength that Hector's "Power-up" gave to him.
Before he could vanish between the trees, the other Dreads began to appear on that glade. They weren't in low numbers, but some dozens of Venom monkeys and Stone Gorillas began to appear in a wild rush to catch up with the two boys.
Paul ran in the opposite direction as Dean. He wasn't as fast as his partner, but it was enough for him to be able to prevent the Dreads to catch up with him easily.
Dean thought that it would be easier once he got in the middle of the forest since he would have the trees helping him as obstacles.
He was aware of his high agility, after all. The boy believed that, with the buff he received, it would be more than enough to keep away from the Dreads easily. However, he was dead wrong in his guessing.
Those animals were used to that environment. They moved there as swiftly as any other animal would while on plain fields. The trees seemed more like an advantage for them rather than an obstacle.
Dean was zigzagging between the trees and brushes, doing his best not to struck them while running. He couldn't lose speed no matter what.
A Venom monkey suddenly jumped from a tree and got in front of him.
It wasn't as tall as the Stone Gorilla, nor his body was as bulked. However, what stood out in his humanoid figure were his huge claws that had a red liquid pouring for them, also as the sharp fangs popping out from its mouth.
It didn't lose any time and jumped toward Dean.
The boy, though, was quicker than that animal and somersaulted over the ground, causing the monkey to pass above him.
'That's dangerous! Its legs seem like strong springs! If I don't pay attention I will be easily caught. Their venom is mortal, so I can't get scratched, even.'
Without waiting any further Dean stood up and pressed forward with all his might.
The monkeys continued to jump from tree to tree, eventually landing in front of Dean, or then on his sides and assaulting him with strong leaps.
Dean needed to worry more about those Dreads than the trees at that point.
His reflexes still needed to improve a lot, but that situation got the better of him. If his mind wasn't fast enough to catch up with their speed, his instincts accomplished the task to keep him away from them.
'My legs are burning in pain! But the end is near... It's near, so... just a little bit more!' He gritted his teeth pushing his body to its limits.
The horde of Dreads behind him seemed like a tsunami coming his way. The pressure that those monsters exerted on his mind just by their presence made it even harder for him to run away.
Also, Dean was sure of something that was terrifying for him and nearly made him lost strength in his legs.
'I know that the Dreads of the 5th generation are coming after me! I can feel them clearly from here. I don't know how close they are, but I am sure that I am their target. That's the disadvantage of setting an Ascendant and a normal human as baits for Dreads!'
Dean's heart nearly stopped once he began to feel the ground trembling. He was closer to the spot where Rick ordered them to go than ever before, but if that huge monster kept coming at him at such speed, he wouldn't be able to get there in time.
His instincts kicked in once his hair stood on end. He knew that he was being attacked.
The boy acted quickly, jumping to the air as high as he could and turning his body at the same time to face whatever that was coming.
He didn't have time to see the Dread, just its stone hand coming in his direction.
Dean put his legs and arms in front of his body, taking that hit in middle-air, which launched him several meters away.
The boy fell over the ground in another glade with a weak smile on his face.
'I won...' He thought before fainting due to the huge pain and the exhaustion.
The Dreads invaded that glade, looking at Dean with greedy eyes, prepared to eat him right on the spot.
However, before they could reach the boy, Rick appeared from the other extreme of the glade.
"Got you, mindless bastards!" He swung his chain with all his force, striking four trees that were positioned lonely in the middle of that glade.
Suddenly, cracks began to appear all over their bodies, their roots emerged from the ground and something looking like a mouth opened and let out a sharp scream that paralyzed all that horde of Dreads at once.