Draven was about to pull Vera to escape, but before he could react, she snatched him off the ground and dashed away, trying to circle around the monstrous vine.
Draven didn't have time to complain. Instead, he focused entirely on guiding her through the forest, his eyes and senses sharpening into a state of complete concentration.
The whooshing and whipping sounds of snapping branches from behind pulled Draven's attention. He glanced back and saw the massive green vine slithering toward them at a terrifying speed. Every whip of its tendrils shattered thick tree trunks like twigs.
Draven's mind raced as he directed Vera. 'With the speed of that vine, I doubt we'll escape it.'
He steeled his nerves. 'I've been avoiding this path, but it looks like we have no choice. I didn't come here to die. We'll take the shortest route.'
"Go straight and get ready for battle," Draven ordered, his voice grave.
Vera didn't hesitate. She made a sharp turn and shot forward.
Draven spoke quickly, "There are a lot of monsters ahead, but the good news is they're all First Order Transient rank. We'll tear through them because we can't outrun that monstrous vine."
Vera continued sprinting through the woods in silence.
It didn't take long for them to reach a point where she had to stop. Ahead of them was a pack of enormous black spiders, each the size of a cart. Some hung from trees, while others rested on the ground.
The moment the spiders spotted their prey, they sprang into action, their movements chaotic but menacing.
Draven instantly hopped off Vera's shoulder and readied his sword.
"You cut through the front ranks, and don't waste a moment. I'll protect the sides and rear," Draven whispered.
Vera gave him a skeptical glance but nodded.
Draven exhaled in relief when she agreed. With his low Physique and Constitution, he would've been overwhelmed on his own.
"Ready?" Vera asked, raising her new blade.
Draven squinted, his mind plunging into a hyper-focused state. He felt every detail vividly—the caress of the wind, the shift of his hair, the movement of the spiders.
"Ready."
Vera bolted into the swarm of spiders, and Draven sprinted behind her.
The spiders released a cacophony of grating shrieks that echoed through the forest before lunging at their targets.
Vera slashed at a spider diving from above while delivering an uppercut to another in front. She cleanly cleaved the first spider in half and sent the second flying.
Without pause, she charged into the tide of monsters, her sword gripped tightly with both hands. It became a whirlwind of death as she slashed left and right, cutting through the spiders with brutal efficiency.
Draven, following close behind, watched in awe as the petite girl transformed into an angel of death. Her sword reaped lives with every strike, leaving behind only decapitated bodies and pools of blood.
But Draven couldn't afford to be distracted. Spiders were closing in from the sides and above, their sharp legs poised to strike.
Luckily, Vera's pace was slightly slowed by the sheer number of monsters, allowing Draven to keep up.
Dashing forward, Draven slashed at the joint of a spider's leg, twisting his body to vault ahead and narrowly dodging the collapsing monster. His left sword whipped forward, striking a spider diving from a tree and sending it flying with a shriek. He sidestepped another spider's sharp leg and decapitated it with a backslash.
[First Order Transient rank killed: Tank Crawlers.]
[+1 Soul Vitalis.]
Spiders began rushing from behind, forcing Draven to fend them off while Vera cleared the path ahead. Every strike he made was precise and lethal, with [Mental Serration] ensuring none of the monsters could recover to return and join he attack.
Draven displayed an uncanny level of precision, his swords moving like the scalpel of a master craftsman. He only went for kills that wouldn't slow him down—his strength couldn't match Vera's to go with direct confrontation and not be stopped—but his focus was on survival. Notification kept pouring with every kill but he ignored them.
The duo carved through the horde like a meat grinder, their progress relentless. Draven could even taste the metallic taste of blood that clung to his lips as they were covered in the blood of the monsters from the unending slaughter.
But the spiders seemed endless. Just as they reached the center of the horde, Draven glanced back and felt a chill run down his spine.
Through the chaos, he saw the vine's tendrils slithering through the treetops at the edge of the spider horde.
'It's trying to go around and cut us off at the end,' Draven thought.
But the momentary distraction cost him—a spider's leg struck his side, shattering his armor and sending a jolt of pain through his body.