章 8: The beasts
Wade's words left everyone present confused. They quickly turned in the direction he was pointing, but surprisingly, they couldn't see anything.
The strong winds carrying the sand and the dense darkness made it impossible for them to know what was hidden on the other side.
Not knowing how to react, the soldiers looked at each other, with some wondering if this was just one of Doyle's pranks.
Taiger, who was an evolved being and therefore had the best vision of the group, couldn't see anything either. He hesitated, unsure of how to act, since Doyle often played these 'pranks.'
However, seeing the serious expression on his master's face indicated that this time it was something real... But how could Doyle see something that even he couldn't?
Sensing that something was wrong, and noticing that the soldiers weren't reacting, Taiger drew his massive sword with one hand and struck the sand with great force. The blow caused an enormous sandburst, leaving a giant crater in the ground.
"Soldiers..." His imposing voice reached the ears of everyone around, making them instinctively turn toward him.
"Prepare to defend!"
Wade watched in awe. For the soldiers, Taiger's words seemed to carry infinitely more weight than Doyle's, despite Doyle being the heir and owner of each of their lives.
Once they heard the order, every soldier abandoned any hesitation, and in just a moment, they had prepared to defend against any attack. 'Impressive,'
Wade thought as he observed how quickly the soldiers readied themselves for battle.
It was clear that, somehow, Taiger held far more authority with the soldiers than even the heir to the throne.
Wade simply couldn't imagine the feats Taiger must have accomplished to earn that level of respect and trust from the troops.
The soldiers formed a defensive line where the first row held large, heavy shields that covered their entire bodies, leaving only their heads visible above. With their other hand, the soldiers held massive spears with silver tips over the top of the shields.
Each shield bore the engraving of a phoenix with open wings, which was the symbol of the Skyf tribe. The phoenix was surrounded by a dark mark, with three lines at the top.
Behind them, a smaller second row of soldiers prepared to provide support or quickly replace any fallen soldier from the front line.
Further back, four riders positioned themselves on the sides to stop any potential escape.
The ranks stood alert, waiting for any sign of an enemy that might be near.
Suddenly, a deafening sound reached the soldiers' ears. The ground around them shook as if an earthquake had struck. It was as if a gigantic herd of horses was charging violently in their direction. The sound was overwhelming and made more than one soldier tremble.
'He was right after all.' Taiger, at the rear of the formation, was astonished.
As surprised as he was, his focus never left his soldiers. He had noticed that they were afraid, even though they didn't yet know what they were about to face. Sometimes the mystery was worse than the nightmare itself.
Resting both hands on the hilt of his sword, which was planted in the ground, Taiger lifted it a few inches and slammed it back down with force. "Stand firm!"
As if his words had cast some kind of spell, upon hearing them, the soldiers stopped trembling, and the doubt in their eyes turned into a fiery look of determination.
Taiger's eyes left the soldiers and instead focused on the dense darkness ahead. Suddenly, he shouted with all his might, "Prepare your shields!"
A huge beast, over two meters tall, emerged from the darkness and charged at the soldiers with incredible speed.
The beast had four legs, which looked like elongated tentacles. It moved by whipping the ground with its tentacles, making erratic yet fast movements.
At the front, its face was elongated, with several tentacles hanging beneath its mouth, giving the impression that it was looking down. However, its eyes were on the sides of its head, allowing it a good view of its surroundings.
On its head, two enormous horns grew in strange directions as it charged forward, seemingly aiming to impale the soldiers with its rush.
'A tribulation beast!'
This beast alone completely intimidated Wade. However, he knew it didn't stop there. Thanks to his vision, Wade could see, before anyone else, 'It's a stampede!' he thought in terror.
Within seconds, the other beasts broke through the dense darkness, becoming visible to the soldiers. This induced considerable fear in them, but their commander remained steadfast. "Activate the shields!"
To be honest, Wade didn't have much faith in the soldiers. After all, the difference was too great. Not only were the beasts larger and stronger, but there were also far more of them! However, what he saw next gave him hope.
When Taiger shouted, the first beast had already closed in on the soldiers. The sight was disheartening, as it seemed like a group of small cats was about to face off against a pack of wild dogs.
In an instant, the black mark on the shields began to glow red, expanding to generate a kind of transparent shield, more than three meters high.
The shield activated just as the beast slammed its huge horns into them. However, astonishingly, the soldiers didn't budge an inch. The shields had absorbed all the impact, and they didn't even take any damage!
Contrary to what Wade expected, the heavy blow had destabilized the beast, causing it to fall to the ground in confusion.
The soldiers, taking advantage of the moment, extended their spears without abandoning their shields and crushed the beast's skull. In just a moment, it had stopped moving.
'Do they have an evolution?!' Wade thought in surprise. But he quickly dismissed the idea, 'No, there's no way all the soldiers have the same type of evolution. Then... artifacts? But how?'
Wade was even more astonished, as artifacts were something only the evolved could use. Yet, right now, he was watching a group of soldiers using an artifact right in front of him.
For a moment, Wade kept observing the shields until he noticed that the marks were glowing, just like the shields.
'It has to be the marks!' he thought, surprised. Despite having Doyle's memories, he didn't have much information about them, as those memories seemed clouded.
Wade was amazed by the use of these marks. 'Not only can common people use them, but they are also quite strong!'
He was certain that if he could somehow figure out how to use these marks, it might help him become stronger. And if he revealed the information to the world, humans would have a powerful weapon to use against the tribulations!
Wade tried to search his mind for more information about the marks, but it was impossible. Instead, he was interrupted by another loud crash that shook the entire area.
The beasts behind the first one had finally crashed into the shields, with the same result: the beasts on the ground and the soldiers impaling their skulls with spears.
Soon, the soldiers' morale had risen. What had seemed like a crushing defeat was turning into a relatively easy victory for them. However, it was still too early to celebrate, as the number of beasts didn't seem to decrease.
They realized this sooner rather than later, as after some time holding the line in the same way, some soldiers began to tire, their shields trembling with each attack, while sweat dripped onto the sand beneath their feet.
'It seems the marks provide a great enhancement, but at the cost of wearing down the users too much.' Wade made a mental note.
"Switch!" Taiger's powerful voice sounded from the back.
In an instant, the soldiers waiting behind moved forward, ready to take the shields from those in the front. However, at that moment, they were stopped by a terrifying roar that forced them to cover their ears, leaving them paralyzed.
From the back, a beast twice the size of the others emerged from the rest, its red eyes fixed on the soldiers with a murderous gaze.
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