[Location: The Wilderness]
A Wall of Blood stretching the entire length of the forest border halted the advancement of the three Ethisians. Their objective: to ask their Humans what could kill or weaken the enemy’s Humans.
The three Ethisians—High Ruler Enor, High Grade Commander, and High Grade Elenor—stopped by the Wall, witnessing the sheer horror and monstrosity that it was. Its height was great, standing at over twenty feet and stretching as across the border of the forest on the other side.
They couldn’t tell how thick or dense it was, but judging by the length of some of the bodies lodged in it, it seemed to be about eighty inches in width.
The Wall, consisting of the blood of different species, was multicolored and designed with body parts, bones, and debris that made the two High Grades want to turn back immediately, neither willing to step any further. Now that they had seen it, they definitely didn’t want to see the two creatures responsible for making it.
Enor, on the other hand, was more optimistic, despite being terrified beyond reason. The Ethisian, having courage, led his two High Grades to the foot of the Wall as he slowly slipped his big, scaly palm through.
As the entity approached the undulating Wall of Blood, the surface seemed to shimmer and pulse in sync with an invisible heartbeat. With a bold but doubtful step, Enor moved forward, the multicolored liquid parting reluctantly around his form. The blood clung and stretched, and ultimately relented, allowing the Ethisians passage. The sensation was a chilling union of resistance and acceptance, like moving through viscous, living silk.
The smell was horrendously horrible, almost burning at one point. Having spent days, weeks, or even years under the harsh elements and burning sun, amalgamated with the scent of the blood of different species, concocted an acidic scent that would knock out any weaker entity that breathed close to it.
After what felt like hours, the Ethisians made it through the Wall and stepped into a thick, almost dark forest decorated with dry and fresh blood, bones, rotting flesh, and scavenging beasts battling each other for whatever scraps were left on the ground.
The second the beasts laid eyes on the Ethisians, they immediately rushed at them with an unhealthy bloodlust and desire for fresh flesh to consume.
"High Ruler, stand back. We’ll protect you..."
Enor placed his hands on the two High Grades, stopping them from doing anything for him. As he had said earlier, he did not need them for protection, and right now, he was going to prove it to them.
"I said I don’t need you two for protection," he spoke with pride in his own strength. "Look at these creatures. Do they look like a threat to me? To us?"
The creatures mentioned were shaped like geckos with the lengths of alligators and the fatness of hippos. Their arms and legs were back-jointed, meaning they faced the opposite direction. Their mouths were extremely wide and divided into four sections, allowing them to open wide like flower petals. Interestingly, they had no eyes on their faces but instead had tentacles that moved about like sensors.
"These creatures... they’re nearly two times our size." Elenor insisted, her hands clenching tight on her weapon. "There are five of them. Let us at least help you with..."
"Stand down, please," the patriotism Commander and Elenor showed to Enor became annoying to a certain extent that the Ethisian regretted bringing them along. "That’s an order."
With that said, Enor took one step and catapulted his body like a bullet. One fist folded, another opened wide until he was close enough to the creature. Then, with a relentless burst of strength, the Ethisian slammed his fist into the creature’s mouth, through its throat, and out of its backside.
It all happened so quickly that if one blinked, they would have missed it. With that said, Enor lunged at another, repeating the same move again.
In approximately two point five seconds, the Ethisian dealt with the two creatures, their lifeless, mangled bodies now becoming new additions to the piles of flesh and bones on the forest floor.
The remaining three creatures turned back and disappeared into the forest, neither willing to challenge the quick attacker.
"You’re covered in blood, High Ruler," Elenor said as she approached the High Ruler. "Should we..."
In the midst of her speaking, Commander witnessed a sight that brought back unsettling memories: the sight of blood moving on its own as if it were being attracted by another force.
This unsettling sight reminded him of the Blood God and how it was able to draw blood to itself with its palms.
"They’re here!!" he shrieked slightly, his hands holding his weapon tightly. The Ethisian scanned the forest in search of any humanoid thing called a Blood Mutant and set it in his heart to kill it before it killed him. However, he knew very well that his strength was nothing compared to the Granians’ Blood God, and said Blood God was nothing compared to their own Blood Mutants. "High Ruler. Let’s get out of here, before it..." The most update n0vels are published on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
"Calm yourself," Enor spoke gently to the High Grade while pointing at the blood crawling to the Wall on its own. "The Wall acts as a magnet and draws its own blood. You have nothing to worry about."
Even though Enor tried his best to reassure his High Grades, he too was scared beyond his wits. What he and the two High Grades were doing was a violation of the agreement they set with their Mutants which, if seen badly, could result in their premature death.
However, the information he and his people needed was extremely crucial to the War and would be beneficial not just for the Ethisians but for their Blood Mutants as well. Still, he contemplated whether the risk was worth the reward with parts of him screaming in agonizing regret.
’It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for our survival.’