Chapter 331 (1/2)

Book 3, Chapter 67 – Overtures

Woodland Vale was miraculous place, separate from the conflicts of the wastelands and Skycloud Back in the day, a utopia like that was exactly the sort of place Cloudhaas searching for Now he looked back at that desire as naive There was no place where humans lived that was peaceful

That said, a place like Woodland Vale was a rare sight in the post-apocalyptic world Cloudhaould have liked to take a look, but the rapidly changing state of his body ive up the chance, for his oell-being, and put his fate in the hands of the Dark Atom Only their scientists could help him at this point Yet at the same time Autumn couldn't spend any more time out here either They had to split up

Before the others left, Cloudhawk ; Gabriel had to et payment in full If he could find a way to squeeze ht never have to work again

Rumor was Woodland Vale hid a treasure the likes of which the world had never seen What a shame if they were to find the mother lode and come back empty handed

Cloudhawk prepared plenty of alcohol for the old drunk Barb was still untested, and although Gabriel was strong he was famously… unstable The old man was more level headed even half-drowned in wine He was the one responsible for whether they made it to the valley safely

Autuoodbye

Cloudhawk didn't get this girl, there was always so that she wanted to get back to her valley as fast as possible? So why the fuck was she all huffy after he arranged for a crew to help her do exactly that? The girl's brain was too scraure out But whatever, he didn't care hoillful or obnoxious she was as long as she paid

The travelers left for Autuht

A gourd filled to the bri on the drunk's back Half a dozenfro of early , before the sun rose, to muffle their steps and conceal their departure He lead the while, while Gabriel and Barb took up the rear Autu order for fifty kilometers or so

By now the sky was painted with ht They paused for a moment to let the mounts rest

By the tih three bottles of alcohol His ruddy cheeks and blurry eyes showed he was already mostly sloshed A hand raised to throw an empty bottle out into the desert when suddenly he stopped The glass container slipped froers and out into the air, followed by a squeal

The bottle stopped, then a ht down the round with a raspy thud

A black fog rolled in, spreading toward theure bundled in darkness could be seen in its ht blade in its hands were clearly seen Those eyes were fixed on the drunk

“Careful!” Barb just caught on to the change in circuripped the string “It's an ambush!+”

Fifteen or sowastes They'd been preparing their attack for so they'd been near before the drunk spotted theet this close and avoid detection, they weren't normal bandits

Their estured with his hand His ry shadows

Barb released her first arrow It sheared through the chest of her target However, even before the first victiround his companions had closed the distance Barb didn't have tihosts, soundless as they dashed through the pockets of darkness not yet burned away by the rising sun It was a hair-raising scene of which they were on the receiving end

But as the masked men jumped toward them they went limp inblood as they fell

Gabriel's fingers danced as he controlled the threads of his relic Twothe blonde-haired deht breeze pushed their severed heads from their shoulders The brutal scene left Barb breathless It was the first time she was confronted hat Gabriel was capable of

His fingers continued to pluck and pull A dozen threads slithered through the air at his coht, and impossible to spot now

Closing in fronet, Gabriel left no space for the hter, but as he closed his fist to shred his target, the man in black dissolved into mist

In the same instant, Autumn heard a muffled thud fro blackher way Gabriel scowled, surprised to find that their foe was a de he'd seen before He was a step too slow to protect Autumn from the surprise attack

The deadly gleam of the man's sword drew closer

A hand shot forth frorabbed his weapon

When he turned his face to see who interfered, the rin He didn't knohen or how the old otten so close, but he found he couldn't wrench the sword free of his grasp

The old man pulled his arm back and whipped his open palm toward the masked man's head

The instant before it struck, the drunk felt his other hand release His target had reengaged whatever strange power and turned both hie and incredible power – the ability to teleport over short distances and ignore obstacles An assassin with these capabilities was a deadly threat

Barb swapped her bow for an exorcist rod and ive chase