Rise of the Blood Weaver - Chapter 71 (Patreon)

Arlo panted. In front of him, Beasts lay in piles. There were at least 50-60 of them. Merc, Elian, and Justin had killed the majority of them, but so had Louis. In fact, from what Arlo had sparsely seen, Louis had out killed the archer's lineage; Elian.

But he didn’t have time to worry about that. He looked down at his chest. His Remembrance [Waker Uniform], was torn at the chest. And so was his flesh. A deep, three clawed wound had stripped away his flash. It was hot. It was painful. Arlo trembled at the pain, but it was slowly healing. The blood stopped a few seconds later.

It looked bad, but he would live.

It was the same for Merc, Justin, and Elian. Wounds covered their bodies. Some were worse than others. However, it was Arlo who was wounded the most. His frail body made him susceptible to the sharp claws of the creatures. And with only a basic protection Remembrance, he was lucky he wasn’t torn to shreds. He had Justin, Merc, and Elian to thank for that.

[You have slain a Tier 3 Beast, Hound.]

…

| Your blood becomes stronger.]

In total, he had killed 9 Beasts. 7 of them being tier 1. One being tier 2. And the final being a tier 3 Beast. In total, Arlo received 12 Blood Fragments. He felt the added strength seep into his appendages. It was small, but noticeable.

No Remembrances or Reflections. Damn.

Merc walked up to Louis and slammed him against the wall. He was uninjured.

“What the fuck was that?” She spat, embers flitting within her eyes.

Louis didn’t hide his gaze. “We handled it.”

“One mistake,” She said, furious. “One mistake is all it takes for us to be mortally wounded. Look at Arlo. if that wound was any deeper, his regeneration wouldn’t save him. We have no healer. He would have died right there and then. Because of you.”

Louis appeared to fight with himself for a moment. He looked at Arlo, bit his tongue, then nodded. “I don’t know what overcame me. Maybe that previous fight made me too confident…”

“Don’t let it happen again,” Merc warned. She let go. “Justin, check if there’s any creatures coming.”

“Right away, boss,” Justin said as he disappeared into the shadows.

“Quickly take your cores,” she said as she immediately got to work plucking the murky cores from the skulls of the fallen.

Five minutes had passed, and they had finished. They were now waiting. They didn’t have to wait very long. He emerged from the darkness.

“We have–”

Before Justin could get the words out of his mouth, an ear piercing howl scratched Arlo’s ears. He resisted the urge to cup them as he felt the ground underfoot tremble with each step it took.

“To the narrow passage,” said Merc.

They all rushed to the small path between the walls. It was around 2 to 3 metres wide. They were almost within its confined space.

The monster quickly approached. Arlo readied himself as much as he could. But from the sound of the beast, and the tumbling steps. It was undoubtedly a Monster. One that focused on strength and size. Maybe it was even a late stage.

Rounding the corner, its head emerged from over the mound of corpses. It was a hound. A long, curved, savage horn protruded from its skull. It rammed through the corpses, sending them flying through the air. Any creature in the way of the horn was split down in the middle. Their innards fell out and sprinkled the dark-grey slab flooring.

The dog was at least eight feet tall. It had razor sharp claws. One of them was larger than the others, like a raptor.

Just as Arlo stepped close to the passage, the walls trembled. They moved. Slow, but they were inching closer together.

Frowning, Arlo shouted, “Merc, the walls are closing!”

She glanced over her shoulder. No-one could see what was on the other side. The distance was unknown. If they entered, there was no way of knowing if they would make it to the other side without being squashed.

So Merc made the tough decision. “We have to fight!”

Louis smirked.

Arlo readied himself.

Merc was the first to intercept the crazed creature. She swung her sword in a wide arc. The huge space in between the walls made it perfect for her weapon to reach its true efficacy. Blazing with white fire, she hefted it to the creature's neck.

Dipping its head, the hound met the blade with its horn. Sparks flew. Merc lost the exchange. Arlo watched in horror as Merc flew backwards. She slammed her blade into the ground, sliding to a stop.

The hound gnashed its teeth and dashed forwards.

Emerging from the darkness, was a black lance. It shot straight up from the floor with no warning. It bore through the creature’s underbelly, splashing red.

Eyes turning to wrath, the beast shot forward with a sudden burst of movement. It was so fast. Merc raised her sword. With a deafening clang, Merc careened through the air, into the narrow passage.

Arlo acted. He was close to the creature. Arlo thrust his appendages at the monster. One directed to its eye, another to its chest.

The hound ducked its head. One lance missed. His other hit. It pierced the chesty fur of the beast. Red seeped down, but Arlo could tell it wasn’t deep enough. The flesh was tough.

“Aim for the lower stomach, near its cock,” Justin said from the side.

Thanks for the tip!

Not. It was too late. The hound moved, widening its maw. Arlo flung his body to the floor. Mouth open wide, Elian fired a well timed arrow straight into the fleshy mouth. Hitting the back of its throat, the beast choked and spluttered. It couldn't dislodge the arrow.

Louis charged ahead.

Louis! Arlo wanted to shout, but his words caught in his throat.

Louis dashed between the beast's legs. His machete cleaved into its fear. The beast stomped, and thrashed, but it was as if Louis could discern the future. He moved to where he needed to be, and continued his attack.

He wasn’t strong enough to deal much damage. That was until he reached the underbelly. He sliced a long line down its stomach as blood fell to the floor in large quantities. He then found himself behind the beast. It wanted to turn, but Merc leapt out from the darkness like a blazing beacon.

She screamed, cleaving the air with her massive two-handed sword. It clanged against the hounds horn. This time it wasn’t Merc who retreated, but the monster.

Justin continued to turn the demonic hounds innards into pulverised flesh.

With a savage howl, the hound swiped its tail behind it. Louis leapt over it, but its foot snapped back in the next second. It struck Louis, sending him hurtling backwards.

Like an enraged hell hound, it renewed its attack. This time, it had figured out their fighting style.