Struggle

"Master! Master! Wake up! Wake up!"

The little Tauren murmured weakly as he carried Tamara on his back and struggled forward, a black tide surging behind him.

He had long since become dizzy with exhaustion. Sweat ran down his fur and into his eyes, his chest heaving violently, his contracting lungs seeming ready to suck out even his heart.

Even though she was a slender woman, his master was still an adult Tauren. Her weight was not something an eight-year-old calf could bear.

Tamara's heartbeat was still strong, proving that her unconsciousness was not a serious problem. With sufficient rest, she would soon be lively again.

But they did not have that time.

Enemies were pouring in from all directions. All around them, those terrifying rifts continuously spewed out Nightmare creations, raising wave after wave of foul-smelling filth.

Hearing the strange sounds behind him, Sian propped up his master's limp body, gritted his teeth, grabbed the bow at his waist, and turned to fire an Arcane Shot.

It was as accurate as ever, and it even pierced through two targets—a rare feat. Two flesh monstrosities were sent sprawling, only to be brutally devoured by the companions rushing up behind them.

Their companions showed no concern for brotherhood. Instead, they tore at the arrow-struck creatures with sawtoothed fangs, greedily sucking down their filthy flesh and blood while letting out satisfied growls. That bought them a little more time.

The shrill screams were quickly drowned out amid the frenzied biting. Watching the cruel scene, Sian's face went pale. It was not hard to imagine what would happen if they were caught.

Fortunately, these aberrations were terribly stupid, their minds filled with nothing but the urge to feed. That was the only reason he had been able to distract them again and again.

But this method was becoming less and less effective, because the rifts never stopped spewing out aberrations, all day and all night.

As their numbers grew, their appetites grew as well, and the time he could buy became shorter and shorter. The flesh of one or two creatures would soon no longer be enough to satisfy them.

Cold sweat kept breaking out across Sian's forehead. He hammered his own head desperately, hoping to think of a way to save both their lives before despair arrived.

Another rustling sound came. Sian's heart lurched, and he tried to raise his hunting bow to fight back, but the instant his hand lifted, the longbow fell soundlessly to the ground.

Only then did he notice that three fingers on his right hand had already been sliced bloody by the bowstring.

But those twisted creatures would not give him time to rest. In the brief moment he froze, two flesh beasts pounced on him.

His master was thrown aside, and the two creatures knocked him to the ground. They sprawled across the little Tauren's back and savagely bit down on his shoulders.

Blood splattered everywhere. An agony that pierced straight to his bones shot into his mind, and little Sian let out a heart-rending scream before struggling with all his strength.

He desperately protected his neck and tried to choke those wildly biting jaws, but the aberrations were simply too strong, and there was more than one of them. No matter how desperately he fought, it was useless.

His strength drained away rapidly. His struggles grew weaker and weaker, his cries more and more faint, driving the two beasts into even greater frenzy.

Sharp teeth sank into his arm. The arm he had raised to block them was easily forced aside, and before Sian's despairing eyes, a gaping maw was about to bite through his throat.

Was he going to give up...?

At that final moment, his mother's face suddenly flashed through his mind. He remembered the vows he had made. That lingering echo struck his soul like a heavy hammer, and he let out an angry roar.

A crimson shockwave burst from his small body, violently flinging away the two aberrations that had been sprawled atop him, ready to enjoy their meal.

It happened far too quickly—so quickly that he had no time to understand what had happened.

By the time he came back to his senses, the two disgusting flesh aberrations were already curled up some distance away, wailing in pain.

A shudder ran down his spine. Sian immediately realized that this was his last chance.

So he threw himself forward with all his strength, using his full weight to pin down one flesh creature while fiercely choking the other's throat. Then he drew his axe and hacked down at their necks with all his might.

The two corpses collapsed limply. Sian let out a long breath, then crumpled to the ground.

His strength had been completely drained, and both arms were nearly numb. A cold sensation seeped from the gruesome wounds on his shoulders. Worse still, his sense of pain was already fading.

An exhausted body or an exhausted mind was torture enough. To suffer both at once could perhaps be called a dead end.

Sian lowered his head wearily. Enemies surrounded him on all sides. On this lonely hill, an archer with no arrows and no supplies was making his final stand, and his ultimate fate would be an end he could not escape.

But so what?

He had already experienced the despair of losing someone he loved. No matter what, he never wanted to endure that nightmare again. No matter what, he could not give up!

His master's haggard face entered his sight.

At that moment, Sian remembered how she had desperately shielded him with her body during the explosion. He let out a long breath, and suddenly, strength filled him again.

Little Sian coughed violently. He fumbled around his body and dumped everything he had at his feet.

His mind raced at high speed, waiting for a sudden flash of inspiration.

Medicinal wine, a handkerchief, Peacebloom powder, an empty potion bottle, dried Purple Lotus, a quill, spare bowstrings, two hand axes, a bow, and seven or eight arrows.

He picked up the medicinal wine, pulled out the stopper, gritted his teeth, and poured it directly over his shoulder. The wine stung the gruesome wound so badly that he hissed for a long while before recovering.

He panted for a moment, then picked up the half-full bag of Peacebloom powder. He swallowed, but stuffed it back into his clothes.

He had just fed some to his master, and there was not much left. He had to use it sparingly.

Then he noticed the dried Purple Lotus.

It was what the High Priest had left over after using it on him. He had originally intended to give some to his master, but had not dared due to the risks.

Anyone familiar with herbalism would know that Purple Lotus had a wondrous effect—inducing sleep.

Interestingly, most potions with Purple Lotus as their main ingredient came with the side effect of putting people to sleep. Take the Sleeping Potion, for example. Although it could greatly restore the user's spirit and vitality, whoever drank it would fall into a deep sleep regardless of the situation. Using such a potion in battle required carefully weighing the pros and cons.

Then there was the Dream Potion, a rather interesting concoction. It allowed the drinker to gain dream-sight, observing dangerous places as though their soul had left their body.

Of course, how could an ordinary person possibly leave their body? The more common belief was that the drinker's sight entered an additional plane—the great Emerald Dream.

The dark tide stirred again. Those hungry flesh aberrations opened their gaping maws, drool dripping as they stared greedily at the meal before them.

Those greedy gazes made Sian's fur stand on end. He gritted his teeth, endured the searing pain in his fingers, gathered Arcane energy, and fired another arrow. Just as expected, it killed another flesh aberration.

But something unexpected happened!

This time, the delicious body did not stop those greedy creatures. They trampled viciously over their companion's corpse and charged forward madly.

It's over! Sian's mind nearly went blank for a second.

But then he suddenly realized that the monsters were not charging at him!

Several shrill squeaks rang out from within the black slaughterhouse, then everything fell silent again.

It was probably a nest of pitiful prairie marmots. They had survived famine, escaped predators and explosions, only to die here.

As he took in the sight before him, the little Tauren's eyes slowly widened, and a terrifying suspicion entered his mind.

Excitedly, he pulled out his herb pouch and another arrow. He dabbed the arrowhead with saliva, rolled it through the Peacebloom powder, then nocked it and fired.

The arrow quickly disappeared into the black tide, causing a small disturbance amid the wave of flesh aberrations.

Sian gulped down air, joy at surviving a desperate situation surging through his chest. At last, he had discovered the secret behind how these Nightmare creations hunted!

They did not track prey by scent or sight. Their simple brains were nowhere near capable of processing such advanced signals!

What they pursued was actually something very simple—something every living creature possessed: life force!

Sian picked up the medicinal wine bottle, clamped the wooden stopper between his teeth, and yanked it out. Then he dumped all the Peacebloom powder from the herb pouch into it, along with the crushed dried Purple Lotus.

The essence of those herbs was fully extracted. Although drying and crushing had weakened the effects somewhat, this was still an irresistibly tempting gift!

Come on, bastards! If you want life force, then I'll give you life force! So much that you won't know east from west!

The little Tauren shakily stood up. He took a deep breath, then hurled the full bottle of medicinal wine with all his strength.

Never doubt a hunter's aim. Sian saw it clearly: the bottle burst against one unlucky creature, drenching it from head to toe.

The next instant, terrifying howls erupted from the Nightmare army, and chaos broke out.