Vol 1 Chapter 5 (1/2)
Chapter 5 – The Mysterious Jewel
Cloudhawk had just barely been able to escape, but he ed to find a quiet corner to hide behind and rest in His chest was blazing with pain When he pressed a hand against it, his hand cah he couldn’t tell how badly he had been injured, the wound was definitely a serious one Wounds like this were extreerous; even if he didn’t die due to bloodless, the wound would probably beco death
Perhaps due to his physical weakness, or perhaps due to his severe loss of blood, Cloudhawk’s an to droop doards He really wanted to close his eyes and rest for a while, but he knew that he absolutely could not do such a thing
This was a dangerous place, filled with countless dangerous creatures, and the stench of his blood would definitely attract those bloodthirsty beasts For hiht now ain
He was tired He was in pain He was beaten up His willpoas alht
Cloudhawk forced that thought down He hadn’t even been able to leave the ruins, much less the wilderness He hadn’t fulfilled any of the promises he had made himself How could he accept death in a place like this? The old-tih at him He had to survive He had to live!
His desire to stay alive enkindled his spirit, like a stubborn flicker of flaan to rise once more His spirits roused, Cloudhawk removed his bloodstained clothes, then tore several strips of cloth and used it to tightly bandage his wounds He had to find the exit as soon as possible He had to leave this damnable place!
The light froue idea of where to go However, the underground tunnels were laid out in such a coo lost his sense of direction He had no idea which way he should go
But right then, that strange, subtle sensation appeared onceout towards his subconscious
Cloudhaasn’t certain as to whether this feeling was a real one or an illusory one, but by now he had no other options to take He decided to entrust his destiny to this sixth sense and follow the coround tunnels in a doards descent
His physical condition was rapidly deteriorating, and this place was as complicated as anyable to make it out of the tunnels, but that subconscious sensation was growing stronger and stronger As he continued tofroht
He had made it! He had escaped! This had to be the escape He had finally found it!
fuck those diggers The only thing theout of this alive!
Overjoyed, Cloudhawk quickened his footsteps Just as he was about to walk out from the ‘exit’, he came to a sudden halt as a stunned look appeared on his face No NO! shi+T!
This place was a five-way intersection The so-called ‘light’? That was just torch light co in this place The walls here were filled with neatly arrayed bone spears and various tools, as well as a large aiant hooks What really terrified Cloudhaas the fact that there had to be at least thirty or forty sweepers here!
This was no exit This was the sweeper base! Instead of finding the exit, Cloudhawk had stumbled upon the heart of the maze?!
There were also four or five tied up scavengers who had been captured alive and brought to this place by the sweepers Like anihter, they were completely unable to move or flee Their faces were deathly pale with despair and horror, but theiranything at all
Given the brutal disposition of the sweepers, it was guaranteed that the scavengers would have horrendous fates in store for them
There were actually both adult sweepers as well as young sweepers here However, all of thehtly knotted with those strange growths of flesh that they looked like tree-men These sweepers were able to e mutation, and they could even pass down their eneration This truly was quite rare in the wastelands
The sweepers were gathered together, kneeling in front of an upraised dais as they ible words It was alher power
At the very top of the dais there was a pitch-black jewel that actually defied the laws of gravity and simply hovered there in the air It was most likely this supernatural phenomenon which caused the foolish sweepers to feel a sense of veneration and dread towards it, which hy they prostrated themselves before it as if it were a divine relic
Cloudhaas stunned as well What on earth was this?! He had an inexplicable feeling that the strange, subtle sensations see fro that strange song which had drawn Cloudhawk to this place, and when he actually saw it he was actually spellbound for a few moments
He was nothing er, after all When had he ever seen such marvelous items?
The sweepers couillotine-like instru-tied captives over They lifted up the guillotine’s blade, then pressed the hands of a scavenger beneath it
“No NO!” The scavenger let out a screa crunch
The scavenger let outhowls as his two hands were coers were so terrified that their bodies turned so limp that they lost complete control of their bowels The sweepers filled a vessel with the spurting blood, then poured it over one of the young children
The skin of these mutants seemed to have an absorptive property After the blood was poured over the child, it was quickly absorbed into his body The dozens of sweepers began to celebrate wildly, using the guillotine to chop the scavenger’s aretables They then linked theto smoke the meat
Brutal Berserk! These twisted creatures delighted in torturing other living beings!
The crazed cries of the scavengers brought Cloudhawk back to reality He frantically shook his head, quickly cohtened that his body was once more covered with cold sweat
Cloudhawk really wanted to slap himself! How could he fall into a daze at a ti? This place was filled with deadly sweepers If he was captured by theers They’d first chop his hands and legs intohim die
Better to run right away!
Cloudhawk carefully rose to his feet and edged backwards But right at this er at the very end was released from his bonds Just as they were about to force hiain a burst of terror-born supernatural strength and speed He soed the nearby sweepers and fled froht towards Cloudhawk’s tunnel
His struggles were useless One of the sweepers sunk a flying hook into his leg, causing hied back, fro backwards through the tunnels
Cloudheart’s heart clenched He had a bad feeling about this He frantically dove back into his original hiding position… but it was too late
“Save me!”
“Save me!”
“SAVE ME!!!!”
As the scavenger was being dragged back, he clawed at the ground with his fingernails, leaving deep furrows in the earth He was screaernails were splintering apart
He knew that there was no way he could be rescued… but he wanted to stay alive! Like a drowning man he would clutch at any straw he could find, no matter how thin!