Tales of The Demi Human

Chapter 7 : Peril in the Forest of Mist

They're travelling in high speed. Kyran turned his head, he couldn't see Hex and the group anymore. Fifteen minutes later, the scenery changed to a sea of forest covered in the thin mist, making the atmosphere more otherworldly. The owls seemed to be unaffected by the pain despite occasional swaying and keep heading deeper into the forest. In the distance, several gigantic trees towering in grandeur amidst the sea of trees came into sight. Each one had approximate height around 170 meters and 18 meters in diameter. There were at least fifty, making them looked like a small mountain protruding out of nowhere. Several faint wailing came from the distant trees.

"What's that?" Kyran gasped. He never saw anything close to that before.

"That's the wailing tree! We're in the deeper part of the forest of mist! "Carol turned serious.

"It's one of the most perilous zone around this area for those under intermediate rank. The enormous trees were well known as the nest of wailing owls. But that's not all. Horde of beasts were also recorded wandering around here!"

Facing fifty of this creature that feast on the troublesome giant earthworm they fought earlier, did they stand a chance? Kyran ironically smiled. Hot blood rushed inside his veins. His heart beat fast. If he would still die in the end, then he won't die without putting a good fight. He's born of a warrior lineage of Lowell Kingdom after all.

After another five minutes, the owl slowed down and headed to one of the enormous tree. There's a hole slightly larger than its own size in the trunk. If one observed closer, one would realize almost all the wailing tree had similar holes. The wailing owl flew inside and drops Kyran and Carol. It didn't stay long before flying away.

"It left?" Kyran uttered in disbelief.

"Look!" Carol exclaimed.

The interior of the tree was quite spacious. It's dim, but with their demonic trait, they could still perceive the surrounding. Various size grotesque creature ranging from strange caterpillars to black earthworm the size of a human kid and even red furred rats, filled the hole. Kyran had a bad feeling.
In some part, there were beast carcasses scattered around. Some were slaughtered with their guts hanging out, several other were dismembered, the rest left with only slick bones. The air reeked of a putrid smell. If a normal human was present, he would certainly passed out. Fortunately they're not one, so they could handle it to a certain degree.

The beasts finally noticed them. They let out a growl as if they had not had a proper meal in a long time and very delighted to see a prey. As they were approaching, suddenly several wailing in low pitch that sent the chill down the spine came from deep inside the hole. All beasts, hearing the sound, became nervous.

"That's...that's the owl's offspring! The wailing means they're starving!" Carol shivered.

They realized what this place truly was. It's the feeding ground to nurture the young owl. The other beasts were terrified and some had even started to flee toward the exit. As they ran, they assaulted and tripped up each other, hoping the one left behind would be feasted on by the owls so they could buy time to save their lives.

"Run!" Carol urgently said.

They had a confident if it's a fair fight, but faced with the chaotic situation, this would be the wiser choice.

They dashed like mad toward the exit. From behind, loud scream was heard from the beasts that fallen. From the wailing sound, there seemed to be at least five of the owls. The group of beasts slowly shorten the distance between them and Kyran. Kyran paid no heed as the entrance was just 5 meters ahead, but unxpectedly one of the owl's offspring flew passed and blocked the way. It's half the size the adult, but still it could pose danger if they weren't careful.

"Carol!" Kyran yelled.

Carol did not answer. She focused on channeling her rwach and chant an incantation.

Kyran stopped 1 meter from the owl, bending one of his knee forward, he stomped with a loud noise. Using all his strength, he thrust his spear in rotating manner.

"Spear of destruction!" he roared.

The impact of the strike was massive enough to blast off half the owl's body. It instantly turned into puddle of blood. The other owls behind them were enraged, emitting a loud shriek to call for the adult owl. From the distance, a bone-piercing shriek response could be heard. The other offspring began to fly towards the exit to hinder them until the adults arrived.

"Firewall!" Carol timely casted the tier one spell right behind without looking back. A wall of fire appeared behind them, burning any beasts who dared to approach. To some stronger beasts, the firewall would not be lethal. It's just a basic self-defense spell any spellweaver could cast, but if being used in right situation, it would be a life saver.

"Jump!" Kyran ordered as they reached the exit.

They had no choice but to jump from almost 50 meters off the ground. As they're descending with insane speed, Carol casted a spell on them to reduce half the impact when they hit the ground. Fortunately, the nest where they fell from was not located on the top. If not, the outcome would be different. In this forest, there were some beasts stronger than the wailing owl and certain wing-type beast even specifically prey on them. Wailing owls did not dare to build the nest up above because of this exact reason.

As they recovered, they stood up, wasting no time, dashed toward the thicket, preventing the owls from stumbling upon them. In a place like this where unknown danger lurked everywhere, the basic survival principle was to preserve strength and avoide meaningless fight. There's a possibility you'll be ambushed by other beasts while engrossed in fighting the other.

Once they ensured they're far enough, they breathe a sigh of relieve. They had no idea what danger awaiting next, but all they wanted now were a good food and good sleep, a safe one on top of that.

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