692 The moving catastrophe
“Ahhh!” Awa screamed. The view of her father on the brink of death and her mother unconscious or dead was too much to take.
A surviving archer and two spearmen also screamed. Out of eight total injured Dullahans lying unconscious on the ground, five of them were friends or family members, while the sixth was Labh’s mother, the previous greedy clan chieftain.
“Although it is a worrying sight, no one in front of us is dead yet...” *Boom*
Vincent was cut short after another boulder landed close to the side of the broken log wall. The boulder rolled, and the ground trembled until the boulder collided with the mountain.
While a powerful monster was sieging the village, more and more Cefeyes covered in blood poured into the village. They were desperately running toward the cave to hide or escape if the small tunnels connected to an exit in a different location.
[Vincnet. We do not have much time left. Not to mention the duration of Overheat is running out.]
Vincent understood what Kazumi was trying to mean, but as he watched so many people depend on him, Vincent didn’t want to fail their trust in him.
Vincent became their clan leader because he wanted to give them a better life. He also hoped the Dullahans would accept to protect his family, and also some of them work in the tanning company Lilith’s parents were preparing to open after finding a lot of trustable workers.
As such, Vincent had to make the challenging decision to save at least one extra good Dullahan.
.....
“Awa. I will save your father and the man beside him. Everyone, prepare to carry the others.”
“Really? Vincent, can use that miracle power of yours to...”
“No, Awa. Minor Heal will not be enough. Their life can only be saved because I am special.”
*Gulp* “Are you going to make them your retainers?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“No. ” Vincent responded while lowering on his knee. He raised both arms and straightened his fingers like a blade.
*Swish* With one swift swing of his arms, Vincent chopped the crushed leg of Lamin and the Dullahan beside him.
Awa almost fainted from shock. Zero had to hold her from falling while the Dullahans became too shocked to utter a word or complain about such an inhumane act.
Everyone heard Vincent mention he had a chance to save their lives, but how can one save a life by severing limbs? The Dullahans and even Awa couldn’t understand.
[Vincent. You better hurry, or they are going to bleed to death.]
Vincent nodded. He opened his hands, and a green mutated Limb Seed formed in each hand above the fabric covering his arms.
Vincent flipped the seeds in the air like a coin. As soon as he grabbed them, Vincent shoved the seeds inside the fresh stump of Lamin and the Dullahan beside him.
Vincent stood up. He pointed at the fainted Dullahans and ordered, “What are you all staring at? They are unconscious, so grab them and let’s leave before we get crushed by a boulder.”
“But... but what about my father.... he... he is going to bleed to death soon...”
“Have you not looked at your father?” Vincent questioned.
Awa moved her gaze to her father. After she took a second to try comprehending what Vincent meant, Awa soon noticed the bleeding had stopped. Additionally, a plant-like fungus was covering the stump.
“That is called Limb Seed. Only I can create a few every day. But after giving most of them to Zero, I do not have much left to help the rest.” Vincent looked at the injured archers and continued, “I will only use the seed on missing legs since we need to run and not fight.”
“T-th-the fungus is sprouting vines!” Awa exclaimed.
“Limb Seed can become a parasite if it touches blood. It will connect to the nerves, and it should form a missing limb. The person with the parasitic plant limb should be able to move their fake limb as if it is real.”
Awa became happy to hear this. Her father was not going to die from bleeding, and a new leg to move with was created.
The Dullahans became awestruck to see vines form a skeletal leg and newer vines form muscles similar to a real leg. Furthermore, Lamin and the Dullahan beside him stopped bleeding, as Vincent said.
Vincent touched Lamin and said, “Soul Power Minor Heal.”
.
[Notice]
[-20sp used for Soul Power Minor Heal on Lamin. 20sp Remaining.]
.
Lamin’s body became covered in green healing light. Vincent looked at Awa and said reassuringly, “This is the most I can do right now. Your father can survive for a little longer, but now I have one miracle left.”
“Use it on yourself. Hurry! I don’t want you to die, not after you did so much for me. ” Awa said unhesitantly.
Awa started to feel terrible for making Vincent use a healing spell when he was also in need of healing. The wounds Vincent suffered and the actions he kept taking made Awa realize how strong Vincent’s willpower was.
[Vincent! I can see another boulder being thrown at us with Mana Sense.]
Vincent spared no moment of hesitation. He grabbed Plow from her tail and Zero from its arm. He placed both in front of the child before moving the three of them on Awa.
As Awa lost her balance and was about to fall on her bottom, Vincent swiftly lifted Awa with the child on top of her, Zero on top of the child, and Plow on top of Zero.
Vincent looked behind him. The spearmen were already carrying six of the eight unconscious Dullahans.
“Another boulder is about to land here. Hurry and follow me! Hesitation means death.” Vincent ordered.
In the nick of time, the spearmen helped each other to quickly move out of the way before *Boom* a large boulder landed nearby. The target wasn’t them but the cave.
The boulder caused enough extensive damage to the entrance for the walls to break and the entrance to get almost completed and sealed. Only by climbing a hill of rubble could a small person enter the cave’s small opening.
Boulders were falling like meteors, and Cefeye were running for their lives while stampeding on each other to enter the cave. The village was lost, and the chances of more Dullahan being alive were slim to none.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe village needed to be abandoned. Even if they didn’t want to follow the orders of their new human clan leader, no Dullahan had a choice now.
However, after moving further away from the cave, the Dullahans started to look up to Vincent as their new clan leader. Instead of running away, Vincent remained leading them while treating some of the wounded. Vincent had won most of their trust.
[Vincent... look at the entrance.] Kazumi urged after looking at the broken log gate.
Vincent stopped running. He moved his head toward the entrance, and a concerned expression appeared on his face.
The Dullahans assisting their fellow injured people stopped. They looked at Vincent and noticed he was looking in the direction of the broken log gate with a concerned expression.
The moment the Dullahans looked at the entrance, the despair they felt made their legs tremble. Their bodies became weak the moment it became certain they were going to Valhalla in a few more minutes, and not in a proud manner at that.
The proud Dullahans were not people who were frighted of death that easily. However, right at this moment, they became frightened to go to Valhalla for shame. Getting massacred one-sidedly without inflicting a single wound wasn’t going to give them a satisfying warrior’s death.
At the entrance was a colossal figure shaded in the dark. The monster moved on four legs, yet even with its colossal size, the ground didn’t tremble from each and every step.
The colossal monster moved its body forward and attacked the log wall with a swing of its front leg, causing dozens of logs to break and shooting deadly splinters randomly.
In the blink of an eye, dozens upon dozens of Cefeye running for their lives were impaled by one single devastating attack.
The colossal monster moved forward, yet no footstep could be heard again. As the view was becoming clearer and the body illuminated by the moon’s light, a massive bear’s head with body parts of eaten Cefeye falling from its huge mouth appeared in their view.
The view sent a chill rush down their spine, and the bear of disaster in front of their eyes was breaking their courage.
The log wall that made all Dullahan sleep comfortably by knowing they were safe was destroyed in the blink of an eye. The thought of being protected by such an easy-to-break defensive wall lowered their morale even further.
[What is that thing? I can see chaotic mana swirling around it. Not only that, but how can a bear about seven meters tall remain undetectable by the city watch?]
Similar to Kazumi, Vincent had a lot of questions about what his eyes were witnessing. However, now was not the time to ask questions. Now was the time to escape.
Vincent countered the monstrous bear’s bloodlust with his. He looked at the Dullahans, starting to lose their determination to escape, and shouted, “Stop staring at that damn bear and move your legs if you want to live. Valhalla isn’t inviting you today.”
The monster moved forward again while dragging its feet. The head lowered swiftly and ate dozens of fainted Cefeyes on the ground along with the dirt.
The Cefeyes who fainted because of Vincent became an easy snack. Vincent’s Lion’s Roar was currently buying them a bit of time.