Seeing his companions would have filled him with ellation, if not for the bloodthirsty monster that still had him in its vision.

It was just about to commit to another charge when a projectile scythe tore through the air, slicing against the hallowed monster’s throat.

The monster stumbled a few feet, then glared at Gluttony. But he was already darting forward, he went to attack, swiping the air. At the last second, Gluttony dashed to the side, toward Noah.

The golden armoured zombie struck air, allowing Noah to mount Gluttony.

From there, the battle turned from survival, to a beatdown.

Everytime the zombie attempted to move, Noah was there waiting with a spear thrust. If the monster attacked, Noah would dash back into the shadows, and have Krall, and Thraz take the brunt of the damage

Only for Noah to lash out from the darkness in devastating fashion. With the speed Noah was not able to move thanks to Gluttony, it was game over for the corrupted human.

However, it wasn’t easy.

The monster had a terrifying strength, and honestly, it was almost at the level of the lord knight back in the castle dungeon. If it wasn’t for the zombies' overly simplistic attacks, perhaps it would be even stronger than it.

It meant that whatever the host was, the human in golden armour, was powerful.

Where he came from however, confused the hell out of Noah.

Blasting out of the shadows for a final time, Noah’s spear pierced the air. Even the sound of his muscles contracting were heard as his weapon tore through his enemies skull.

Finally, the hallowed human was murdered.

You defeated a - Level 68 Hallowed Corruption

You have Levelled up!

| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 57 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 59

Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.

| Krall level 57 -> Krall level 59

Gluttony has Levelled up.

| Gluttony level 42 -> Gluttony level 45

You are being watched…

A skill is ready to evolve!

But Noah wasn’t given the chance to look at his reward, for more hallowed screams pierced from the veil of fog that had surrounded them all around.

And by the number of them, their hopes of surviving were quickly diminishing. It had taken their strongest forces to handle the zombie in golden armour. If there was more like him, then Noah, and his companions, would be immediately overpowered, and overrun.

But Noah didn’t know what to do. He looked at the people around him, and judging by their grim expressions, and trembling limbs, it was clear that they had resolved themselves.

Noah’s vision turned to the children cowering behind Samira, and the others they were used to being around. They were crying. They were weak. They had no right in being here, not in this hell.

So Noah resolved himself.

He headed toward the threshold of the broken wall, and peered out. Although he couldn’t see the approaching monsters because of the fog, and thick trees, they were coming. Noah could feel their killing intent against the fine hairs of his neck, could smell the putrid stench of their crimson breath. It was a feeling that was manifesting itself. A feeling that he didn’t have time to question.

“What are you doing?” Declan asked.

“The plan is the same,” Noah said. “Head to the castle, I’ll keep them off your back.”

“Are you insane?” Declan raised his voice, shouting. “You’ll be heading to your death.”

“I’ve had that same question since I arrived.” Noah grabbed hold of his lance, then tightened the strap on his breastplate to make sure it was secure. “Yet I still live. Protect the children, they don’t deserve to be here. Hold out for the teleporters, then take them back to Earth.”

Noah gazed at Declan with intensity. “Can you do that?”

Declan sighed, then nodded. “I can do that.”

“Good.” Noah was about to head on out, wasting no words, but a sudden thought entered his mind. “There’s an open mole dungeon about two hours that way.” Noah quickly pointed in the direction of the mole tunnels.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“If you can’t make it to the castle, you should be able to defend the caves quite well.”

Finished with his words Noah bolted out of what little safety the walls provided.

Thraz followed behind, and although Noah would have preferred Thraz to stay with the other group for their safety, the dragonborns face told him not to say anything.

It seemed his dragon companion wanted to stay with him, but it wasn’t going to be a journey filled with rainbows, and unicorns.

Of course, Noah wasn’t heading straight for his death. He had a plan. It was one formulated out of haste, but in theory, it should work.

His plan was to take all the zombified humans toward the beach, then enter the kobold cave dungeon. However, he was putting his life on the line, banking that the dungeon was even still open for visitors. If it wasn’t, he’d have god knows how many hallowed monsters at his back.

Well, here goes nothing. Noah patted Gluttony’s ever growing back, and sprinted toward the tree line. He had to make sure to keep his pace a little slower than what Gluttony could move. Considering if he charged ahead, Thraz, and Krall, would be on their own.

Gluttony, with Noah on his back, ran through the gaps in palm trees as the greenish mist seemed to swallow them whole.

The screams were getting closer, but some of them were moving in another direction. Straight for Declan and the others.

Krall, let them know we are here. Noah gave his stalwart companion a mental order, and he listened.

Krall reared his head back, then belted a primal roar. Sound reverberating against his throat, the cry pierced through the veil of mist. In an instant, those that were interested in heading toward Declan, and the other survivors, headed straight for Noah.

And they were quickly approaching.

“Pick up the speed!” Noah shouted to Thraz.

Understanding Noah’s mind seamlessly thanks to the activation of his Monster Shard, Gluttony picked up the pace.

Although Krall was huge, and wasn’t generally built for speed like Gluttony was, his high strength allowed the mole kobold hybrid to move at high speeds in a straight line.

Krall had to be careful of slamming into the iron-like trees, but thankfully he had enough manoeuvrability to deal with the obstacles.

Thraz on the other hand covered his feet in rock. At first, Noah couldn’t see the benefit as the dragonborn was only making his body heavier. However, Noah was pleasantly surprised at what happened next.

The rock around his teammates' feet caused a reaction with the land below him. The soft, brittle jungle floor saturated in soggy soil, terraformed into hardened rock. Thraz tensed the muscles in his leg, then used the solid platform to move at high speeds, quickly catching up to Noah.

Interesting. Noah mused. It allowed the strong dragonborn to ignore the detriment of the land around him. Instead, he created his own footholds to improve the purchase he was able to gain from his high strength.

However, Noah didn’t have time to complement Thraz’s makeshift mobility skill.

The hallowed zombies had arrived.

Noah’s brows rose at the sheer number of them. He was expecting a few, but they now numbered in the tens.

Four were clad in gilded armour and judging by the quality of the corpse, it hadn’t been long since they had died.

Six of them belonged to survivors, or Otherworlders. Noah had seen a couple of their faces before, but since he wasn’t that interested in committing them to memory, his mind was a bit hazy with the details.

But they weren’t a problem. Although they seemed to become stronger after being tainted by the mist, those that belonged to the Otherworlders were weak. Noah could crush them with both hands tied behind his back, however, the same couldn’t be said for the golden warriors.

Whatever they were, whoever they belonged to, were not enemies he could take lightly. And that’s why Noah continued to frantically retreat through the jungle.

Thankfully, Noah had been this two three times already. The trees all looked the same, but Noah had a strong sense of direction. Of course, that wasn’t always the case, but thanks to his companions' beastly senses, Krall could sniff the ocean.

That was the only guidance he needed.

The trip wasn’t easy. Noah, as the fastest with Gluttony, was in charge of fending off the attackers so that Krall, and Thraz, could continue running.

He would lash out his lance, stopping the crazed charge of the hallowed monsters. The six hallowed belonging to the Otherowrlders weren’t able to keep up as their bodies were deteriorating at a rapid pace.

It was just a guess, but Noah surmised that it was because their bodies couldn’t handle the extra power given by the mist.

Noah was also very careful not to suffer a scratch from their sharp claw-like fingernails. He had read his own fair share of zombie novels and movies. After all he had lived through, turning into a mindless zombie was the last thing he wanted happening to him.

He could handle dying in a fierce battle of life and death, but turning into a flesh eating zombie?

Gritting his teeth, he used all of his offensive skills, and blasted a gilded hallowed to the ground before blending into the shadows, and catching up to Thraz again.

From their high speed, it took only two hours or so before the smell of the salted ocean appeared all around them. Then came the gentle sea breeze that sifted through the jungle foliage.

They had made it.

From darkness… darkness came. It was already night time, and the only source of light was from the multiple moons looming high above, yet it wasn’t enough to cut through the shadows.

But it mattered little to Noah. In fact, he was happy. Wherever shadows were, the stronger he became. However, that confidence was shattered when he heard powerful steps booming against the jungle floor behind him.

Each step caused a shiver to crawl into his ear canal, and without even looking back, Noah used [Shadow Blink]

Reappearing to the side, a massive figure erupted the soil from where Noah, and Gluttony once stood. His fist that was made from black rock smashed into the tree, and even the material that Noah was unable to peirce, had completely obliterated it with a single punch.

With shining golden armour, a winged helmet, and rippling muscles. The monster caused Noah’s breath to quicken.

It was an enemy he didn’t have a hope in hell of beating.