Chapter 70 - Danger (1/2)

Cui led them towards the entrance of the tunnel but because of the illusion formation it wasn't visible. She walked up to the rock formation and disappeared into it.

”Like I thought...” Kuo stopped for second and then followed after, entering the tunnel. Inside another child was waiting by the entrance next to a campfire, looking at them warily.

”It's okay, they are the same as brother Hao,” Cui whispered to Wei and he nodded back in response, of course still slightly scared of the new visitors.

After Kuo came in the rest of them. The entrance obviously wasn't big enough to accommodate them all so they started moving further inwards.

”S-Stop! Don't go in there please. Brother Hao said there is a scary monster in there that could kill everyone in the jungle,” Cui ran in front of the soldiers to warn them.

”Monster? Here?” Maddy slowly walked deeper into the tunnel with a furrowed brow and his sword drawn. Hao Xuan knew how strong they all were, if he thought there was something here stronger than them then he was most probably right and staying here would be a VERY bad idea.

The tunnel was extremely dark and nothing further than a few meters was visible. This wasn't your normal darkness either but something more sinister. It felt like it was ”absorbing” all the light and turning the surroundings even dimmer.

”Hmm?” Kuo and Hashirama took out their weapons in an instant. The light from the campfire was getting dimmer and dimmer the further Maddy walked into the tunnel. It wasn't that the fire was getting smaller but just the light from it that was illuminating the surroundings was being ”restricted”. As if it was scared to touch the darkness that was invading the tunnel.

*Crunch*

Maddy stopped. He had just stepped on something in the darkness. He removed his foot and it was a bone fragment, probably from a beast but there was no way to tell since it was too small.

Bending down, he picked it up to examine it.

”Come back!” he heard Kuo's order from the back and turned around to see but out of nowhere a sudden sense of danger hit. Like death, not something he could fight against. It was telling him that this was it. He was going to die no matter. It was an absolute certainty.

But he wasn't a normal soldier either. Hundreds of times he had seen death in the eyes and turned back. How could this scare him?

The 'darkness' had morphed into a strange silhouette and a claw-like appendage was coming straight towards him.

The bandages on his right arm loosened in an instant. He turned his head back towards the tunnel and lifted the now exposed right arm with his fingers outstretched and said one word, ”Burn!”

*VOOOOOOOSH*

A gigantic stream of red fire came out of his hand like a flamethrower and fell on the dark silhouette. The silhouette struggled for a couple of seconds and looked at Maddy and then at Kuo, Hash and finally Hao Xuan. It's hideous mouth opened up and from it came another mouth with its tongue out and licked the area around the mouth.

”FUCK OFF!” Maddy shouted in anger when he saw it ignore him completely while he was attacking and turned his hand sideways. The fire got even redder and the rocks around the tunnel started to melt.

*Kek*kek*keK*

The creature opened its mouth in a strange way and a noise came. It was obviously laughing at Maddy, or attempting to at least. Finally after a few more seconds it couldn't endure anymore and got washed away in the fire and disappeared.