In his past life, Neo hardly fought with anyone much less did he kill others as he did now. When he got into trouble, usually he decided to run away, or if he couldn't just simply accept his fate and allowed himself to get beaten up, severely at that!
Nevertheless, it did not mean he had no clue just how wicked human nature truly was, especially on a battlefield such as this one. Carnage, dread, bloodlust, and sinful desires. He knew way too well such things ruled everywhere when a war, no matter just how large, broke out between two sides.
After all, he was a human too and read books in his life as well as watched quite a few movies.
And exactly because he knew all that he understood that once everything was over what remained was only... Death. Piles of corpses, rivers of blood, and total annihilation. All of that was the inevitable consequence of a war, which, in a place such as the Wilderness bore the fruit of an even bigger issue.
Monsters.
'Curses!'
Realizing how the smell of blood and flesh of those who have fallen lured the dreadful abominations from within the forest to them, Neo clenched his teeth in frustration and looked at the many approaching shadows around him.
Some hid in the veil of swirling fogs, waiting, some climbed atop trees and stared down with ravenous glares, while some just stood still with their fangs bared.
There were many of them around, over ten and who knew how many more in the far distance where Neo's senses could not reach!
"Cough! Cough... This is not good."
Coughing a few more times, Stella looked at the horrors around them with a pale face, realizing that they were completely surrounded.
Neo swallowed nervously.
"They... Seem to be waiting. Why?"
Stella remained silent, then shifted her gaze at the two fighting in the distance.
"Because of them."
Neo followed her gaze to the side while keeping vigilant, watching how Drax and Rose were still in a frenzy, causing even bigger destruction wherever they passed by.
"Them? What difference do they make?" Neo asked with a frown, then added, "Yes, they are strong, but even they would be helpless in the face of so many horrors!"
Stella, however, just shook her head.
"You are wrong."
Neo's frown turned into a scowl and as he looked at the nightmares, still waiting around him, he asked;
"How so?"
Stella glanced at Neo then slowly moved closer to Logan, who lay on the ground, struggling from pain.
"Despite being someone from the Hollow Mountains your knowledge is quite lacking."
"That's..."
Neo wished to say something, but before he could a powerful ripple swept through the forest again, earning eager and famished growls from the beasts around them.
It seemed the fight was slowly approaching its end.
Stella, after taking out something from her pocket before pouring it onto Logan's wound, causing him to hiss and groan, sighed and looked at Neo.
"Those Monsters are only Infected while Rose is a Transformed and that bastard an Infected with both a powerful Infection and an Artifact. There is enough reason for them to wait."
Watching as Logan despite being pale and looking exhausted slowly pushed himself up, Neo frowned.
"And? Not taking into account the ones still hiding from our sight, we are talking about close to twenty Infected! Even if we add ourselves to the count, there are just too many of them!"
However, again, Stella shook her head but instead of replying, Logan was the one who spoke.
"A single Transformed, even with a weak Infection can slaughter tens of Infected just as an Infected could do the same if in the possession of a powerful Artifact."
Pushing himself up onto his knees, Logan groaned softly and looked at the numerous Ice-Claw Panthers around them.
"The reason they have yet to attack is that they are waiting... Waiting for one to die and the other to get exhausted and injured, vulnerable enough for them to have a chance."
[That is indeed the truth, Master.]
"So they do have some level of intelligence in the end. That's quite the bad news for us."
Upon hearing both Aurora's and Zen's voices, Neo grunted, then asked;
"And what about us? None of us are Transformed so..."
"In fact, that is not entirely true. I'm a Transformed, however, unfortunately, my powers are not suited for combat hence why I lost against him in the end."
"Moreover, we do have Artifacts that could raise caution in those abominations' hearts, both your cleaver and that sword Dax used to wound me. However..."
Logan sighed dejectedly and as he grabbed the hilt of his greatsword he continued;
"The real reason we had yet to be swarmed by them is pretty simple. We are already dead meat in their eyes."
Knowing what Logan tried to say with those words, Neo clenched his teeth in frustration.
Indeed, while it was true that Logan was Transformed, he not only was severely injured but he stated himself his Legacy was not suited for combat, much less against several enemies at the same time! As for him, while he had his Artifact and two powerful Legacies, he hardly doubted he could survive the assault of numerous beasts!
The only one who would stand a chance would be Stella, but even she would get overwhelmed by the number of fiends pouncing on her sooner or later! Thus, what Logan said was correct. They were just pigs, waiting to be slaughtered!
'Curses!'
Neo felt flustered, and helpless as he couldn't think of anything that could allow them to avoid their death...
Which, became even more inevitable in the following seconds.
Suddenly, the branches on the trees began to shiver and shake wildly, the mist started to grow thicker by the second, and the temperature began to drop bit by bit. All of a sudden, the whole forest came alive, almost as if getting woken up from its deep slumber by something powerful and... Dreadful!
And sure enough, a few moments later, a massive shadow emerged from the woods in the distance, causing all the colors to vanish from Neo's and everyone else's faces in a split instant!
The thing before them was a horror with a frame and size twice as large as that of an Ice-Claw Panther, and an aura more terrifying than that!
It was a Monster on the Transmuted Stage as well as an Alpha, a beast with both horrifying strength and intellect. For a Transformed, it meant a true challenge to face, as for an Infected...
It was a true nightmare!