Chapter 645: The Stench of Death

The remaining two figures froze as they watched their companion die before their eyes. Only a moment ago, the three of them had been confident that the newcomer was nothing more than an easy target.

Yet, before they could even release their attacks, one of their companions had been killed in a single strike.

Their confidence vanished, replaced by a fear that spread through their bodies and left their limbs trembling.

"RUN!"

The third figure, who had been acting as their lookout, screamed at the top of his voice before turning around and fleeing without another glance at his companion.

He no longer cared about anything. At that moment, all he wanted was to escape with his life.

Unfortunately, his decision came too late.

A sharp whistling sound suddenly echoed behind him, cutting through the darkness and reaching his ears before he could take more than a few steps.

The figure wielding the dagger had barely registered the grim situation when the same sound entered his ears.

His body stiffened, and his eyes widened as an instinctive warning rose from deep within his mind.

’Danger!’

His instincts screamed at him to move, but before he could even turn around, a powerful gust of wind swept through the trench.

Swiss!

The wing struck with the hardness of steel, carrying enough destructive power to slice through flesh and bone as though they were nothing.

His body was cut cleanly in two.

For an instant, he remained standing, his expression frozen in disbelief as his mind failed to comprehend what had happened.

His cold body collapsed onto the muddy ground with a sickening thud, the dagger slipping from his fingers and landing beside him.

Until his final moment, he had never understood how he had died.

As for the last surviving figure, he was already running for his life.

He sprinted through the narrow trench with everything he had, his boots splashing through the mud as he desperately tried to put as much distance as possible between himself and whatever that was attacking them.

’Dammit! Dammit!’

He cursed repeatedly in his mind, his thoughts racing as panic threatened to overwhelm him.

They had thought the newcomer was easy prey.

To them, he had been the perfect target, someone they could kill in the trenches before taking whatever valuable possessions he carried.

Now, he finally understood how foolish that assumption had been.

This was no prey.

This was a monster in human clothing.

He wanted to look behind him, but he was too afraid of what he might see.

And therefore, he simply ran.

His breathing grew heavier as he forced his legs to move faster, while the darkness ahead seemed to stretch endlessly before him.

The uneven ground threatened to trip him with every step, but he barely noticed the danger beneath his feet.

He had only managed to run a couple of meters when the familiar sensation of danger suddenly descended upon him.

His body reacted before his mind could fully understand what was happening.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and a cold shiver travelled down his spine. For a brief moment, the surrounding air seemed to grow heavier, making every breath feel difficult.

Then he smelled it.

The stench of death was right behind him.

"Noooo!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs as he unsheathed his blade in one swift motion and swung it backward with all the strength he could muster.

He did not bother checking what was attacking him. He simply poured everything into that desperate strike, hoping to create enough distance to escape.

Clank!

A shower of sparks burst through the darkness as his blade collided with something immensely hard.

The impact sent a powerful force through his arms and into his entire body, making his fingers go numb around the hilt.

His weapon shook violently, and before he could recover his balance, the force of the collision threw him backward.

He stumbled several steps before falling hard onto his backside.

For a moment, he could only stare ahead, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to understand what had stopped his attack.

The young man’s heart nearly stopped. His fingers trembled around his weapon.

He wanted to stand up, but his legs refused to obey him. Every thought of fighting back disappeared beneath the overwhelming fear that had taken hold of his mind.

The undead Skybreaker Roc slowly raised one of its massive talons.

The young man watched the movement with widened eyes, his mind already imagining the terrible fate awaiting him.

And in that moment, it dawned on him. He had finally reached the end of his road.

The undead Skybreaker Roc brought its talon down.

However, instead of tearing through his body, the deadly claw stopped just above him before gently settling against his chest.

The young man froze.

He could feel the immense weight of the talon pressing against him, yet the creature made no attempt to kill him.

Its sharp claws rested against his chest with enough control to hold him in place without immediately ripping him apart.

For several seconds, he remained motionless, unable to understand why he was still alive. He had already closed his eyes, fully prepared to meet his end, but the expected pain never came.

Instead, he heard something else.

Footsteps.

They were slow and unhurried, echoing softly through the trench as someone approached from behind the undead creature.

The young man swallowed with difficulty. His throat felt dry, and his heart continued to pound violently against his ribs.

He wanted to open his eyes, but a part of him feared that doing so would reveal something even more terrifying than the death he had been expecting.

Unable to contain his curiosity. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

A young man stood before him.

He wore a calm expression, and his deep blue eyes examined him without displaying any obvious emotion.

He simply looked down at the helpless figure as though the entire encounter had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

The young man’s breathing became unsteady as he stared into those deep blue eyes. Slowly he shifted his gaze away from Thoren.

His eyes moved toward the massive creature standing over him, and the moment he saw the eerie soul fire burning inside its hollow eye sockets, his heart skipped a beat.

He recognized those characteristics..

His lips trembled as he tried to speak, but the words refused to come out properly.

"Necro...."

The word escaped his mouth in a weak, broken whisper.