Born in Blood

Chapter 382 Abominations

Three explosions happened.

The cloud, the Cloud Leeches, and the Imperialist herself.

A few fingers were flung off Liam's hand.

His mind was momentarily rocked, causing his vision to swim.

A layer of skin was gruesomely stripped off Jax's face.

Elder Jane and Aki, along with eight or more Elders, were closest to the Imperialist, and suffered the most.

Jane lost an arm.

Aki a hand.

Ryu and all the other Elders were in a similar situation.

Some lost an eye or ear.

Everyone was flung in different directions.

The explosion was not normal in the least.

The Imperialist used everything in her being as a sacrifice.

An Abomination of some kind.

But the force that spread from it wasn't normal.

It affected the mind more than it did the body.

Still, there were three dozen Elders aboard.

The reflexes of a Rank 4 Zenith were not to be underestimated.

But instead of protecting themselves, they did their absolute best to try and keep the explosion as quiet as possible.

It was an instantaneous decision for the best possible outcome.

Wind and water cultivators muffled the sound as best they could.

Thankfully, there wasn't anyone hiding in the clouds surrounding them.

The reason the Imperialist had imploded herself here was for the border guards to notice the invaders.

The border guards glanced at the area of explosion with confused expressions.

"A thunderclap?" one Imperialist said, confused.

"In broad daylight?" another questioned, furrowing her brows. "Where's the rain?"

"Thunderclaps don't always have to follow rain, stupid," the first Imperialist rebuked. "It's something else. Plus, it's daytime."

"Rain doesn't always happen during the night, either, retard," the second countered.

"Someone check that out," a higher ranking Imperialist said to them. "Maybe they had faulty Cloud Leeches. Wouldn't be the first time."

In truth, the vision of the Imperialists wasn't made for long distances.

They were specialized for the control of an Abomination.

Thus, they couldn't see the single humanoid figure dripping from the cloud like a raindrop.

"Fine," the first Imperialist grumbled.

She took off a strange, bird-shaped pendant from her neck, then threw it in front of her.

KRSH!

BLERGH!

CRACK!

The pendant expanded to form a gruesome-looking vulture, with an unnaturally long white neck, beady red eyes and powerful talons.

The Imperialist perched over the vulture, and it shot forward.

Meanwhile, for Liam, there was a much, much bigger issue at hand.

Liam was shooting towards the earth!

At a very, very fast speed.

The world spun around him, as though he'd been shoved inside a washing machine.

43 meters.

His hair and cloak were dragged upwards, fluttering wildly.

97 meters.

Liam steadied his head, enough to spare a glance at the elders.

162 meters.

Jax's eyes darted around to look for him.

251 meters.

Liam and Jax's gaze connected.

They were exactly 280 meters apart!

Both of them noticed the Imperialist steadily flying their way.

If Jax were to shoot towards Liam, he'd get noticed.

And the mission to covertly weaken the Empire of Fear from within would be flushed down the drain.

Jax was about to go forward anyways, but Liam sent him a sharp glare, mouthing the words:

'Don't.'

'Meet later.'

'Hide.'

Liam uttered a nasty curse under his breath and twirled around, focusing his attention towards the ground.

Right now, he was at a height of 1,300 meters, and with every 4 seconds, he plunged a hundred more.

Liam was no stranger to falling from great heights, but this took it to another level.

It was so damn high!

But strangely, there was another emotion Liam was feeling.

An adrenaline filled thrill!

A smile appeared on his face.

In an instant, Liam's eyes scanned the best possible landing place for him to crash into.

Even at such a height, it wasn't impossible to survive.

In fact, on Earth, there were several incidents of regular humans that fell from higher altitudes, but amazingly lived.

The first step was to look at a suitable landing place.

Liam's eyes constricted and he saw a giant, dark-red, circular, fleshy… thing.

It was an Abomination.

Something that resembled a mushroom.

Nevertheless, it looked soft, so Liam aimed for it.

Next, Liam put his arms behind his back, thinning himself out like a needle.

Instantly, his speed increased, and the air around his ears tightened like a violin string!

891 meters.

766 meters.

544 meters.

213 meters.

The Earth slowly filled his vision.

Covering himself with his shadow, Liam held out his four arms to create an 'X' shape, bracing himself for impact.

BOOM!

The mushroom was indeed soft, but it had an uncomfortable consistency.

As soon as Liam made contact with it, it softly met his collision, like a needle through rotten, wet dough.

All kinds of soft, viscous liquids of dirty colors washed over him.

Liam groaned as his descent came to a stop.

A disgusting, putrid stench soured his nose.

Liam groaned as he picked himself up and climbed out of the mushy insides of the mushroom.

All kinds of slimes clung to his figure, pulling him down.

Eventually, Liam climbed out, taking in a deep breath of air.

'I'm alive.'

'That's good at least.'

Liam glanced towards the sky.

The Imperialist hadn't noticed him, and she continued flying towards the cloud where Jax and the other Elders were.

Liam furrowed his brows.

The stone slab was with Elder Jax.

As long as they managed to succeed at the mission, Liam was fine surviving on his own.

Liam took a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings.

Dark.

There was darkness everywhere.

Right now, he was on the giant, rotten fungus that was growing out of the ground.

It gave him a view similar to a five-story building.

And below…

Hundreds and hundreds of Abominations.

They had no fixed form.

They were just lumps of flesh, some of which walked on legs, and others that slithered on the ground like snakes and slugs.

They either had no eyes, or they had several.

Deformed, unnatural limbs and decayed skin was a common theme among them.

The sight was revolting.

Liam was deep in thought when the mushroom he stood upon let out a soft squelch, as though it woke up from its slumber.

Liam sighed, then clicked his tongue.