Chaos' Heir

Chapter 940: Terror



As tiresome as those constant worries were, Khan couldn't feel angry at Lieutenant Dyester. The old soldier's concern felt warm in Khan's chest, but he couldn't lie to himself. Khan had long since crossed the point where he could lie to anyone.

Still, talking was pointless. Khan had tried to explain himself. He had done his best to share his unique perspective, but to no avail. Khan was simply different. He had always been.

Even the fearsome Bruno couldn't fully get it. His perspective was deeper but not broader. His understanding was technical, burdened by his narrow human mindset.

Of course, Khan couldn't expect humans to treat the mana with the same mystical reverence as the Niqols and Nele did. He didn't even feel it fair to divide those approaches between right and wrong. They were simply different, reflecting the species that had originated them.

That was the issue or at least part of it. The human evolved warriors could already see the world Khan was in, so maybe those born in his organization would eventually understand his perspective. Khan only had to wait, and someone would definitely appear.

'Maybe,' Khan thought, his eyes falling toward his chest. The scar and dried blood tainted his defined muscles, but Khan looked past them, almost feeling his beating heart.

Khan instinctively placed his hand at the center of his chest, recalling old memories, a simpler time when all he had were pain and peace. Those days would never come back, and he was to blame for that.

'Adding the Nele to the planet will finally bring a different way of thinking,' Khan sighed internally, putting those thoughts aside. 'Who knows? Maybe even the Niqols will join one day.'

The reflective moment ended on that thought. Khan left the empty bottle on the ground before disappearing, leaving Lieutenant Dyester alone in that perimeter corner. The soldier watched the now-empty spot, and a heavy sigh escaped his mouth.

'What am I even doing?' Lieutenant Dyester cursed in his mind.

Khan was doing exactly what the Lieutenant had told him to do. His ways were unusual, but his leadership was flawless. Truth be told, Lieutenant Dyester would have killed to have such a powerful and active General during his solder days.

Nevertheless, Khan wasn't a simple leader for Lieutenant Dyester. The latter had known him since Ylaco's training camp and still recalled his struggles after Istrone. That playful, two- faced, and shameless kid was no more, replaced by a cold and alien being.

'Seven years, huh,' Lieutenant Dyester sighed again. 'That's enough to wipe out any trace of innocence.'

Lieutenant Dyester's complicated feelings didn't lead anywhere. No one could win against time or its effect, and Khan had survived far more than he should have. His changes were understandable and necessary. Lieutenant Dyester simply felt a bit bitter about them.

'That rascal,' Lieutenant Dyester thought. 'Who would ever believe he was one headache of a kid?'

A faint smile appeared on Lieutenant Dyester's face as old memories played in his vision. Yet, his expression quickly froze when he realized what was happening.

'Am I some kind of grieving grandfather?!' Lieutenant Dyester cursed. 'He'd better not get hurt with those crazy plans of his. I'll smack him good otherwise!'Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Eventually, two days passed. Lieutenant Dyester and Garret improved the simulations as much as possible, creating a battle plan that limited their potential losses. They also coordinated with Khan, and everything began to move.

A pack counting almost two hundred monsters rushed through a barren plain, led by the scent of blood and fresh meat that had reached their location. The smell of food intensified as their quick march left deep marks on the ground, lifting a small dusty cloud, but something appeared in their vision before they could spot their real target.

A tiny figure walked in the pack's direction. Its small frame was difficult to spot among the monsters' hungry advance and the dust surrounding them. Yet, the empty horizon gave a clear view of the path ahead, and the creatures' sharp senses did the rest.

As hungry as the beasts were, that tiny figure couldn't possibly satisfy the entire pack. Even a single monster would struggle to fill its stomach with it. Meanwhile, the distant blood scent promised far greater rewards, making the creatures unwilling to stop to take a bite at that small snack.

Of course, Senerth's monsters lacked any kind of deep intelligence. Their hunger mostly drove their reasonings. Fighting for such a tiny snack wasn't worth it, and the creatures directly before it would deal with it in no time anyway.

Nevertheless, the earlier-than-expected appearance of food added more fuel to the pack's charge. Their renewed hunger made the monsters accelerate, hoping to get to the blood scent faster.

Suddenly, all the monsters experienced a sense of dread. Their hunger often clouded their survival instincts, turning them into reckless and almost suicidal killing machines. However, something primordial had awakened in their muddled and simple minds. A terror coming straight from their genes surged, invading their bodies.

The monsters were straightforward animals. Their reaction to fear was to grow even more reckless. Retreat wasn't an option for their species, and only charging forward could save them from that danger.

Yet, a blinding radiance soon filled the sky, threatening to interrupt the pack's mad charge. The monsters only saw a purple-red color fill their vision before a stronger smell replaced the distant blood scent. The stench of burned flesh and gore invaded the area, quickly followed by painful cries.

The pack's alpha stood in the middle of the mighty group and could only watch as a wave of blinding purple-red light transformed the frontline into a hellish spectacle. A wall of bright fire had also appeared, blocking the creatures' advance.

That wasn't the end of the mess. Something moved inside the pack, unaffected by the chaos. The stench of blood grew more intense with each passing second, hinting at the incoming

danger.

The alpha didn't get where it was out of simple physical prowess. The creature was smaller than its fellow leaders but wielded a trace of wit. Its senses were also sharper, and relying on its primordial terror allowed it to pinpoint the threat's location.

Dark-red flames gathered in the alpha's mouth as members of its pack kept dying. The monster could feel that the threat was getting closer. Its very bones were shaking in fear, but when that feeling reached the critical point, it spat its rudimentary spell toward its right.

The alpha's right side was almost empty, but its fiery attack hit something. The dark-red flames expanded in the air, seemingly trying to envelop the source of that primordial terror. However, the beast's best attack turned out to be ineffective since a tiny figure calmly crossed

it.

"Some of you did develop abilities," Khan commented, spiderwebs of dark blood vessels covering his mostly exposed body. "I can look forward to meeting the others."

The monsters didn't have the time to experience anything else. Its four eyes lingered on the tiny figure for a second before going dark.