Running out of the cave in a hurry, another wave of explosion erupted a few meters away that frightened the young woman. Her shout of surprise successfully attracted the attention of the two groups engaged in combat.
Multiple lines of sight locked onto her slim figure with either a mix of curiosity or murderous rage.
Feeling these gazes that lacked any sign of warmth, Xin Yue shuddered nervously as she took a step back. Biting onto the bottom of her pale lips, bright almond eyes flitted past the crowd in an attempt to make sense of the situation.
"It's her!" In a matter of moments the stalemate broke under the shouts of fury directed at the woman in white. Rushing over with their weapons raised, a few of the bandits in the back released clusters of arrows as support. Penetrating the air at a frightening speed those glinting bolts gave off a desire to kill.
Xin Yue: "?!"
Protecting the small object within her embrace, Xin Yue prepared for the pain of piercing flesh that never came.
"...?"
Cracking open a tiny crevice from trembling almond eyes, long eyelashes flutter open as it widens in surprise.
Sharp arrows quiver in place due to the obstruction created by a frozen wall of water which abruptly appears before her.
"Stand back." Emerging from the depths of the deep cave, the enormous serpent finally revealed its whole glory. Slithering out beneath the glare of the blazing sun, jaded scales glitter like the finest of jewels whilst large cat's eye aims its sight at the shore.
"W, what is that?!" The group of bandits exclaimed in terror.
Raising its twenty-four meter long body high in the air, the reptile tilted her triangular head at the peculiar wall blocking her path. Considering how the placement of this strange barrier is blocking the entrance to her house. The irises of its slitted eyes enlarge and shrink as she lifts the end of her long tail. Giving a quick swipe to the left a loud crack of solid ice boomed in a much louder volume than the explosion of bombs. Huge chunks of ice flew in the air and sunk to the bottom of the lake in loud splashes. Successfully soaking the people located by the bank, icy dust billowed then settled on the surface of the lake.
"I-It's the Guardian of the Forest!!" Shouts of astonishment broke like waves upon the panicking bandits.
"Stay as close as possible to the entrance, if anything just run back inside."
"En!" Listening to the creature's advice, Xin Yue stuck her body near the opening of the cave. "Be careful!" She warned while sending the snake away with her eyes as she clenched the egg closer to her chest.
As an additional player entering the arena the enormous serpent gave a thundering roar of anger prior to rushing in. Under its calling, numerous smaller snakes swam up from the bottom of the lake and out the depths of the forest. Not wanting to give them any time to think, they focus their attention on the humans near the shore and strike with the fast precision of an arrow leaving its bow.
Facing this unexpected extension in the already messy battlefield both groups were unable to react in time and suffered injuries to many degrees.
Thanks to many similar experiences where they were required to escape and dodge the dangers around them, Xiao Fanyu's group only acquired minor bite or slash wounds. The most heavy wound they got was a poisonous bite Seven received when he tried to defend Xiao Mei. Of course, this type of toxicity could easily be taken care of by their team's healer.
Contrary to them, the group of bandits had it much worse. Days of tyranny and unrestrained lustful violence have emptied their energy and caused these criminals to lose caution along with alertness. Unable to react to the sudden charge of assailants, more than half of the bandits suffered from severe injuries. From deep cuts to multiple venomous bites, they are lucky that their body has been restructured by the system. Otherwise, they would have been a pile of corpses already.
"Shit!" One of the bandits cursed while slicing off the head of an approaching snake. "Boss! There are too many of them!" Black colored blood began to flow from a newly opened cut.
"Gather together!" The leader of the bandits commanded as he threw another explosive towards the enormous snake. Clucking his tongue in anger to see the bomb reflected by a swipe of the serpent's tail, he slipped his hand into the small leather pouch hanging on his waist. "Only two left.." There weren't many given to him by the man in the black cloak in the first place. Now that there are only two left, the percentage of completing the task given to him is slim…
"Hey! You players over there!" Trying to capture the attention of the other group of participants on the other side. The Leader of the bandits tried to give an appeal, "let's work together to take down that monster!" Most of his men are injured and cannot fend for themselves, even he has his hands full trying to avoid oncoming attacks let alone protecting those useless guys. The best possible choice is for them to band together against a similar enemy. While those players happily tank for them he can plan for his escape then.
"Big Brother Xiao, they're calling to us." Zhitao reminded as he stepped on the body of a writhing snake.
"Just ignore them." Xiao Mei snarled, "I remembered that guy with a scar on his cheek. He was the one that gave Brother Xiao the wound on his chest! Why should we help those assholes that were only chasing us around a day ago?!"
"Agreed."
"That's right."
Answering at the same time with a nod, Seven and Cipher leaned back to back in support of each other's blind spots. Eyes flitting past the swarm of reptiles and landing on the face of their unresponsive leader. The whole group could only see their leader slaying the snakes while opening the path up towards a single direction. Gaze focusing intently on the figure in white, the determination emitting from his eyes holds an almost frenzy purpose even he hadn't detected.
"Brother Xiao?" Xiao Mei murmured under her breath with a tinge of anxiousness.
On the other side…
Unable to receive an answer to the alliance request, the leader of the bandits clucked his tongue with furrowed brows. Pressing his thick lips together the man's malicious eyes lock onto the delicate figure hiding near the entrance of the cave.
Passing through the rampage of hissing snakes and hollering men, they center on the small oval object cradled on her chest. Murmuring a short exclamation of anger, he slid his hand into the depths of his inventory space. "I was planning on saving this…"
_____
Protected by the tides of small subordinates belonging to the large serpent, Xin Yue still felt a touch of unease squeezing at the corner of her heart. Holding the tiny egg closer to her chest, numerous worries pulled at her attention to the point that she couldn't notice the change of the object in her hand.
The strange little egg gradually started to steam until the warmth of its outer shell suddenly turned scalding hot.
"?!" Unable to keep her hands around the burning object, the young woman let go with a bewildered cry.
"No!"
Reacting just as quick as the juncture of that releasing action, the young woman dives after the fallen egg, tumbling onto the rocky floor of the cave entrance. Sharp rocks scraped open her arms and knees due to the quick reaction that induced pulses of throbbing pain. Fortunately, the egg safely returned to the palm of the young lady's hand.
The unbearable heat from a while ago had abated to a normal warmth of water left in a cool room. As if the sudden movement of this small child was only a figment of her imagination due to a nervous state of mind.
Following right after…
The loud explosion of breaking rocks and roaring pain of fury reverberated in the air. Blood mist sprayed into the atmosphere of inexplicable tension and colored the lake a frigid red. Varying pieces of crimson flesh flew into the air, showing a large hole the size of a cannonball on the body of the huge snake. Through that opening still oozing with liquid, Xin Yue could see the arrogance presented in the malicious face of that man known as the leader of bandits. Cracking awide his dry lips to show the yellowing of crooked teeth. The man gave a bellowing laugh while blowing superficially at the billowing smoke of the item in his hand.
The object in his hand is a normal sized handgun with the logo of a goat with two long curled horns shining on the barrel of the gun. Grinning savagely in their direction, he proceeded to load another silver bullet into the magazine which could only hold one bullet at a time. "This time I won't miss." Aiming the loaded gun in a specific direction in front of him the leader of the bandits curved his lips while giving an oily wink. "For you darling."
"Bam!"
A building grey light appeared and shot towards the cavern entrance within a matter of seconds so fast that Xin Yue barely had time to react. Still kneeling on the ground, the sense of oncoming danger did nothing to disperse the numbing of her injured legs. Moisture steadily builds up on the corner of her eyes as they witness the grey light approaching closer and closer.
"Danger!"
Being pulled into a warm embrace, Xin Yue widened her eyes at the familiar contours of the man in front of her. Sharp phoenix eyes flashes with a tinge of worry as he holds the woman close to his chest. Summoning several ice walls to block the might of the oncoming attack, beads of sweat began to form as his body shakes with fatigue.
Bang!
The layers of ice broke under the pressure of that mysterious grey light. Chunks of ice broke and exploded like fireworks as they were fortunate enough to defend the strike.
"Ngh!"
Specks of blood colored the youth's pale lips as they pinch in a serious straight line, "hold on tight." The hue of his pupils darken with an startling icy pigment churning with murderous rage.
"You…." Taking in the sight of this unknown but highly familiar face Xin Yue was in a momentary daze when she suddenly stretched out her pale fingers. Lips as white as a sheet of paper opened slightly as they began to form words.
Sensing the movement of the person in his arms, Xiao Fanyu thought she was worried about the injuries he sustained. Glancing down at the delicate figure, the corner of his lips tug into a stiff curve, "no worries."
But who knew that instead of a beautiful smile or an understanding nod in return. The woman he had been thinking about for these past few days would do something so unexpected.
Grabbing onto a fistful of hair, Xin Yue yanked those strands of healthy strings with the same amount of power needed to pull a jumping dog back. "Fuck! Let go of your slimy hands!" She yelled while rolling away from the loosened grip of his hands.
Dashing past the now broken walls of ice, the young woman pounced on the extremely wounded body of the large serpent, "let's run!" Looking hopefully into the eyes of the snake, she expects to see even a glimmer of agreement. But to her dismay, was unable to.
Brushing the girl's body away from her, the serpent shook her triangular head, "no." Staring past the clamor of battle and locking onto the figure getting ready to load another round of fire, the determination in her eyes became more firm in the face of an adversary.
"These people came for a reason. There will only be one victor today, either I win or perish together with the enemies of my children." However, as if remembering something, the creature tilted her head at the figure beside her. Seeing the expression of unconcealed concern, the killing aura of her eyes lowered to a more gentle level before saying. "But you cannot stay here. As the guardian of my child, you must leave to a higher level."
Leaning closer to Xin Yue, she continued, "in a moment when I create an opportunity for you to escape, run towards the area where my husband sleeps. The door to leave this level is at that location."
Without waiting for her to process the information, Xin Yue could only see the serpent raising up its body and roar loudly towards the heavens. "Husband!! These disgusting humans dare to tread into our territory and injure me!! I feel so aggreived!!" Her words contain a layer of pitifulness and anger.
In an instant the ground began to tremble and the area where the cavern is starts to show numerous cracks in the earth. Two yellow pupils the size of a car tire opens as a triangular head four times larger than the female snake gradually rises from the cracked ground. The entrance of the supposed cavern closes and reopens to show two sharp fangs the exact height of a grown human male. As tall as the skyscrapers of a modern city, the new appearance of this creature struck fear in the hearts of the witnessing humans.
This is the true guardian of the forest.
"Go!" Giving out one last holler the kind serpent along with her husband flew towards the group of bandits. Taking the brunt of each dangerous bullet the couple silently shield the only human they could trust from harm. Even if it is to their last breath they must protect the only remaining child they have and the person who promised his well being.
Biting onto the bottom of her lips, Xin Yue swallowed the swelling of bitterness rising up her throat. Remembering the instructions given to her, she ran towards the area where the husband of the serpent arose. However, only a deep dark hole appeared in her vision instead of a resemblance of a door. An unending abyss without a shred of light, this hole looks more like the entrance to hell then to another level.
However, gripping tightly onto the warmth of the little object in her hands the young woman whispered a small encouragement to herself while looking down at the egg. Noticing a clump of dark hair between her fingers the young woman blew the strands away with a look of scorn before taking a deep breath.
"Haa…"
Without taking another look back, she threw herself into immeasurable darkness.