Chapter 78 – The Eye of Trouble (7)

The more the hunting team ventures on this forest. The more they feel the dread of this thing that they are chasing. Joshua followed them through thick forests and areas bustling with wildlife. There were animals that were alive. But most of the ones they saw were feasting like hyena’s on the corpses of the dead.

In a particular clearing, Joshua saw a cub getting its head torn off by a panther-looking animal with a curved horn on its forehead. The hunters didn’t want to waste their energy in hunting the monster down so they just let it get away without firing a bullet at it.

The hunting team got lethargic. The stress of not knowing the enemy or whatever it was and the fact that all the enemies of the thing they encountered were laying dead made the hunting team feel like they are facing a dragon with flimsy weapons. It didn’t help that the weather was worst. At night they couldn’t make a fire and they had to do with the tin can they brought. It was cold and humid. Their food was unheated and they had to be careful about their surrounding as if they were being stalked.

In the evening they are easily awakened by crunching twigs or the rustling of leaves. The rain pouring down their heads, and the cold wind coming from the mountains made it worst.

This continued for a week. The hunting team was weary and battered by the forest’s weather. The morale was also getting lower each day.

Every day they witnessed carcasses of the dead, yet they found no sign of the thing that they are hunting for. All they get were dead and more traces of massacre.

Joshua was tired as well. He was getting no proper sleep. He was getting sick from all the cold. His limping wasn’t going well. There are times his injuries would hurt. The wrist and foot he broke were hurting. He didn’t know why it was hurting. But he can at least tell that his living conditions weren’t helping him. To Joshua, this chase seems like a fruitless hunt for something that they don’t even if they can beat.

Joshua could tell that whatever it was they are chasing. It was dangerous. It could tear through them and kill them like nothing. The whole group has acknowledged this and they know that fighting it isn’t a viable option. The hunters were vengeance filled. But they were not stupid people. They can see that they will not stand a chance just by the trail of corpses the thing leaves behind.

They only wanted to see what the enemy was. They want to know what it was and study it. To fight an enemy they must first know it. If it was dangerous then they only had to find a way to deal with it. But that was thinking with optimism. And that optimism was draining as a sleepless day passes.

...

The boulder was covered in moss. There were to gray tree that stood in front of this boulder. Ferns and wild grass grew beneath the boulder. There was a smell of gravel around. The patter of rain dropping down, as it slid down the boulder making path. Joshua stood near the boulder, observing its mossy appearance.

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The rest of the hunters investigated the other side of the boulder. Where a tall and lean giant of yellow-brown skin laid beheaded, planted, its head smashed on the rocks. Its head was still connected to its own spine. The hunter’s had this grim look on their faces as they gaze upon this monster.

“A high ogre with a blessing...it died this miserably?” Kars said.

“Yes. Damn it, how can we fucking against a thing that made a joke out of a high ogre?”

High ogres are wayfaring creatures that pilgrimage around the world to seek spiritual guidance. Unlike their lower ogre brethren, the High Ogres have no concern other than their own homes. They do not kill. They do not steal. They are considered reasonable beings that trade with humans. And they are blood strong, enough to match a dragon in raw strength.

“Look at it Kars,” one of the hunters said. “The Hogre has the blessing of its War God yet it loses this badly. Godgre’s blessing isn’t something to scoff at. Back in the Midland wars, we saw this kind of Hogre fighting the Werelion Clan to stand a still. It didn’t die despite being struck hard by cannons and artillery. Yet it died this horrifically? Look! There is even a gleam in its eyes. That is enough to tell me that the thing died without any resistance at all.”

“What kind of monster are we truly facing here?”Kars lowered his rifle. His head bowed.

Everyone’s got even more down. The gloom aura surrounding them increased. Joshua glances at the splattered head of the Hogre. It was not surprising anymore. He has seen many kinds of beast. To him, this beast was just another one. Initially, he was surprised but now he was feeling apathetic to it. In fact, he thinks that maybe this will scare the hunters into backing down and retreating. Maybe he will get out of this bug infested forest and get some good rest in a satin bed.

Of course, life wasn’t that easy. The constant movement of the hunters and their roaming around the forest caught the attention of something. That something was curious at the various movements it has detected. It was trying to get more samples from its dead owners but unfortunately, the hunters caught its attention.

So when Joshua was about to take a rest on one of the mossy boulders. He caught sight of an eight feet giant splitting the trees. His eyes widened. His limbs stiffened as he sees this bloody body with a metal orb of a head appearing out of the forest. The giant caused tremor. It approached the hunters with a few quick steps.

The hunters stumbled back in fear. Their jaws chattered. They felt despair as the eight feet giant released a bloody aura belonging to a war god. It then released this blue light that scanned them from head to toe. Joshua saw its eyes flickered blue and red. But the moment it turned red. The combat drone that was using the body of the ogre suddenly extended its sub-arms.

Then, time slowed down as Joshua floating words appeared before him.