But he didn't want to give up so easily. He continued to struggle and try his hardest until he was finally able to grab the tip of the spear with the clasp of his legs.
With all his strength, he pulled out the spear and made the wyvern roar again, then quickly passed the spear to his free left hand.
"Die, you bastard!" he shouted. "Go to Hell!"
Stab! Stab!
Once, twice, and five times Mathias stabbed the wyvern in the stomach. The sixth stab accidentally hit the creature's chin as it tried to grab Mathias' spear with its jaws.
Stab!
The wyvern's blood was pouring out and with the spear embedded in its chin, it lost consciousness.
And Mathias knew there was no way he would survive the fall from that height.
Gravity took over as the wyvern no longer had the energy to flap its wings.
Both of them fell very fast.
Mathias screamed at the top of his lungs and the next moment, the wyvern was slammed hard into the side of a hill in the shape of a giant pillar. The farm boy was still lucky as his body was caught by one of the wyvern's wings.
The two of them fell again, crashed into the trees, slammed again into the cliff wall below, and finally plunged into a river located between two narrow gaps.
Slowly their bodies sank.
The river hidden among the wilderness that filled the hills had extremely clear, blue, and translucent water.
But that was only for a moment as the blood from the two bodies that continued to ooze out and was slowly carried away by the river's current, had turned the water around them reddish.
No one knew for certain whether Mathias and the wyvern were still alive or dead.
The river's not-so-fast current continued to carry the two motionless bodies downstream. And as it turned out, the end of the river ended up being a fairly high waterfall.
With nothing to stop it, the wyvern's body was the first to fall with the waterfall, followed by Mathias' body.
Splash!
Stomp!
Mathias' body slammed down on top of the wyverns before sinking into a natural pool created by the waterfall itself.
***
Mathias choked and the river water he had swallowed earlier spurted out of his mouth. Then he groaned to endure the intense pain that was tormenting his body.
He had no idea how long he had been unconscious in that strange place. All he knew was that when he woke up, he found the surroundings still bright, his body filled with pain, and his stumped right hand still dripping with blood.
He got up and sat up despite having to exert what little strength he still had. His face was so pale that even his lips looked dry and cracked.
The first thing he did was to take off his shirt which had been torn here and there, and used the rest of his shirt to tie up his severed right shoulder. At least, to stop the bleeding that was still going on.
"I don't want to die," he muttered as he tied up his right shoulder and looked around. "I don't want to die. Alie... I have to find my sister!"
Although limping, Mathias was finally able to stand up, his left leg was broken between the knee and the ankle.
"I'm not going to die here," he muttered to himself. "I will not die!"
He found the body of a wyvern floating at the edge of a pond.
That's probably the wyvern that attacked me earlier, he thought.
"Where am I?"
Mathias felt he was in a large cave mouth with a natural pool formed by a waterfall.
He scanned the area and was increasingly convinced that he was still at the top of the cliff as he could see the vast treetops below.
"Holly shit!" he muttered and turned around.
He thought that this one section was the cave tunnel itself as it looked quite dark, also with the presence of some stalactites and stalagmites in it.
After one long breath, Mathias decided to enter the not-so-wide cave tunnel.
"Oh, God... help me here!"
***
Ten days since the Demon Army's first surprise attack on the Land of Purbha, the continent had now been overrun by monstrous creatures for two-thirds of its expanse.
The warriors and soldiers of the Kingdom were only left in one-third of the area, on the West Coast. They are still holding out and continuing to try to put up a fight against the ferocious creatures.
Most of the survivors had been relocated to other kingdoms on the Dakhsina Continent in the southern hemisphere.
But, that was only for those with middle-class status.
Those from the elite and nobility were moved to the Central Continent, Svarnabhumi. Even so, there are still some nobles and elites who remain on the West Coast for one reason or another.
In the southernmost part of the West Coast.
The battle was still going on. A group of monstrous creatures from the Demon Army were trying to destroy the great wall, a barrier to the creatures' movement.
"Hold your positions!" shouted a Warlord. "Don't let those creatures over the wall!"
The Archers lined up at the top of the great wall, aiming at every creature from the Demon Army they could find.Outside the wall, the Knights and Swordsmen worked together to bring down the monstrous creatures. They ranged from those the size of a full-grown buffalo to those dozens of times larger. From creatures with trunks and legs to creatures with no legs at all.As for the battle in the air, to intercept and repel enemies from the winged dragon race, it is the Mage who takes the role. With all their magic and abilities, they try to bring down the creatures that have the breath of fire.Not a few have become victims, both from the human side and from the Demon Army side. All lay lifeless on the ground, with their bodies intact or disjointed. With bodies pierced by arrows and other weapons or burned.The few warriors and soldiers who were still alive down there tried to crawl away and find shelter until the war was over.But it seemed the attacks of those ferocious creatures were
Flakes of human flesh and blood spurted from the wyvern's gaping mouth.In the next instant, the dragon that also belonged to the Sky Dragon species felt a terrifying aura heading towards it. Its instincts told it so.The moment the wyvern looked back, a blinding lightning bolt flashed and hit its body, thumping loudly, and killing it instantly.The wyvern's body split into several large pieces. It fell to the ground with blood gushing violently from each piece of its body.The mysterious man with the wide hood was floating calmly far up there. He took a deeper breath, keeping an eye on the monstrous creatures still raging for the destruction of the Southern Wall."Two down," he muttered. "And many more to go!"He took off again, chasing after the winged dragons that were still in the air and threatening the warriors and soldiers with their fire breath.Whoosh!Not wanting to linger or let the Demon Army rampage any further, the mysterious man cast a spell while flying quickly toward
But one thing was certain. The magic possessed by the mysterious figure far surpassed all the mages on the West Coast. At least, they considered the mysterious man to be a Great Mage."Where did he go?" asked an admiral on the Great Wall.He was watching every point down there with a telescope."Looks like he doesn't want to be recognized," replied a female mage to the admiral's right. "Oh, God... imagine if such a powerful mage were our friend!""Yeah," the admiral replied. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Goddamn it!"The admiral gave up trying to find the mysterious mage with his telescope."No matter what," he continued, "we need to find out who he is. Then bring him to the Central Empire!""I think that's a great wish that might be difficult to fulfill.""Nothing is impossible!" the admiral glared at the mage. "While we have the chance, we can do it!"The mage took a deep breath, then cast her gaze down to where the surviving warriors and soldiers were cleaning up the battlef
"Only this area of the West Coast remains in the Land of Purbha," Edwar said. "The orders from the Svarnabhumi Empire are clear, all the nobles must be in the Central Continent to better strategize and plan the resistance. Admiral, what about the soldiers and warriors?"Another middle-aged man stood up."Lord Blackwood," he said and then addressed the others, "Gentlemen... the remaining soldiers and warriors, they will remain here until the reinforcements from Svarnabhumi and Dakhsina arrive.""I think it might be better to just let the Land of Purbha be occupied by them," said one of the officers on the left. "We can take the soldiers and warriors with us!""No, that won't happen!" argued another."He's right!" said the one in the center. "Letting the Demon Army take over the entire Land of Purbha is tantamount to driving humanity to extinction!""Don't you realize, huh?" said the man on the left. "Those few thousand soldiers and warriors left, they'll all die before the reinforcemen
The hooded man growled softly pressing his head even harder. He became annoyed and removed the wide hood on his head, throwing the thick and coarse cloth onto the bed.For a moment he just sat there, wringing his hair before standing up and approaching the window.He looked at the sea with its not-so-big waves, lapping and breaking on the shore.The moonlight right at its highest point provided a little better illumination.And the mysterious man was none other than Mathias.He looked up at the night sky which looked quite beautiful this time, then down at the sea which reflected the moonlight, glittering like a pile of diamonds here and there."Where are you now, Alie?" he murmured almost inaudibly.He looked back at his right hand, turning it over and over in such a way.Just as he was about to return his gaze to the sea at the far end, Mathias heard a woman's scream from the right.He frowned and found a bit of commotion in his line of sight."Do people like this deserve to be save
Once he moved his right hand back, the bluish light hit the warrior instantly, sending him far back.People gulped as they watched how the warrior whose back had hit the wall hard was slowly burning. It started with his chest turning red, then peeled off like burnt paper, and spread to the rest of his body.He screamed in extreme pain. An instant later, his body disappeared along with the debris that flew in the wind.People looked back at Mathias with eyes filled with great question marks and shock. But even greater than that was the fear of him."Surround him!" shouted a soldier commander.More than a dozen warriors instantly moved and locked Mathias in the center with the girl, the Knight, and three other shirtless warriors."You have killed a warrior, Stranger!" the commander shouted. "And that was a big mistake!"The three shirtless men looked at each other with pale faces and feared for their own lives now.Two of them were mages, but neither possessed the magic they had just se
"No, wait, please! Spare my life, please―"Stab!The thirty-year-old man died with five holes in the face. His body still twitched for a few seconds before settling down.Mathias grinned at the bloodied fingers of his right hand. He stood up and glanced towards the back left."Wh-Who are you? Why are you killing them?" said another person in the corner of the room, a very messy room."You're the one named Aoris?"The man in the corner gulped, face pale, eyes wide as he looked at the heavily hooded man approaching him."I-I..." In the end, he nodded albeit stammeringly."Then you must die as well!""Why?" cried Aoris. Cold sweat dripped down his temples. "What wrong have we done?""You know better than I do!" Mathias stopped a step in front of Aoris."B-But, but we're Purbha's soldiers! We're fighting against the Demon Army!"Mathias grinned faintly. Slowly, he removed the hood that covered his head and part of his face.Aoris grew choked up as he looked at the face that was now clearl
The two had just finished lunch when a soldier came to meet them."What do you want, soldier?" asked Ryvel as he leaned against the back of a chair."Young Master," the soldier bowed. "Lord Blackwood requests your presence on the center deck. Everyone has gathered there."Cindy stood up and headed for the wardrobe."Don't worry, soldier," she said as she selected her clothes. "We'll be right there.""Very well, Miss Zircon."Ryvel waved her hand, and the warrior nodded and left the luxurious room."Could there be something important that he wants from me?"Ryvel walked up to Cindy and then hugged her intimately from behind.Cindy giggled softly in amusement."He's your father, Ryvel. Not mine. Try to understand his nature and character better.""Yeah, right..." Ryvel kissed the nape of the girl's neck while his two hands wrapped around her slender waist. "How about you become my teacher, hmm?""Oh, stop it for a second, would you?"Cindy giggled again and turned around with a dress in
Mathias was silent in his steps.However, he was aware of the change within him. Not in the immense magical power he had gained, nor in the fact that his right hand, which had once been stumped, was now whole again.But, it was his attitude and his passionate desire to find everyone involved in his sister's suffering and death. And avenge his sister's death in the most sadistic way he could think of.Mathias?"I don't know..."Then he saw the light ahead and the breeze that seemed to greet him.He smiled and stepped faster."This is..."There were no words for Mathias when he arrived at the end of the path directly connected to a giant space.The underground room was huge with giant pillars supporting the roof.He was even more astonished when he looked down."Is it all gold?"He didn't need to wait for an answer from anyone. He didn't need to ask because what he saw wasn't a hallucination.Oh, be careful, young man!“I know...”Mathias gulped as he watched the heaping piles of gold i
What looks close turns out to require more energy and effort to reach. Plus, with a hungry stomach.Mathias could only refrain from swearing and continued eastward.It wasn't until the sun was on its highest throne, that the man arrived in front of a large cave mouth."I found you at last!" he smiled with satisfaction even though he felt his legs were sore.From his position, the cave looked quite bright, and he could even feel the breeze blowing from inside to outside.There was probably another cave mouth somewhere, he thought.However, the moment Mathias had just stepped into the cave, he could immediately feel a very strong pressure."Wh-What kind of aura is this?" he gulped with a frown.I told you, didn't I?"Oh, damn old man," Mathias snorted warily. Step by step he forced his way into the great cave. "You just said 'if', nothing more!"At least, I warned you."This feels very oppressive," he said, occasionally looking to the right and left. "It's only natural that no living cr
Previously, he had heard that only two medium-sized islands not covered by snow in the entire Dakhsina region, Maca Island and Padang. Also, the supreme leader of the Larants did not specifically mention the condition of Sangga Langit Island to him.So..."There must be something causing the island to be snowless!"Are you scared?"Tck!" he snorted, the mysterious voice returning inside his head. "Why would I?"There could be a horrible creature there that you've never seen, never heard of."What a typical old man!" Mathias smirked. "You're so fond of saying things that aren't real, scaring your children with nonsensical tales!"I was trying to warn you, young man."Even if it were true," he said. "That won't stop me, Master Elosha. No matter what happens, I must avenge Alicia's death. After that, if the heavens desire my death, then I will gladly face it!"You know... you're already one step closer to the hell called despair."Oh, whatever you say!" Mathias let out a deep breath. "I
Being a demon or an angel, it's entirely your choice!"Tck!"Mathias jumped down from the alpha's body. He glanced around, there seemed to be no more threats on this island, he thought."You don't need to teach me," he muttered. "My goal is only one, to finish off those who have caused my sister to suffer!"Oh, young man... Revenge will only bring you to destruction."You can't stop me!"Whoosh!Mathias again used his wind magic which took him flying towards the next island.He smiled again as he realized that his flying speed was now a little better and faster than before."Yeah, maybe you're right!"***The shallow river that cut through the lush meadow had crystal-clear water, with its slow flow and white sandy bottom promising freshness to those who soaked in it.Cindy Zircon got up and climbed onto the bank of the river. She smiled with a seductive look at Ryvel.The son of the Blackwood family grinned and gulped.Although the girl covered her body with a white cloth, still, the
From the side where he landed, through the island's center, to the other side, Mathias found nothing that could be categorized as a threat.At least, he could save his strength and energy for his real purpose.Once again, he looked around before finally darting lightly and quickly to the next island.On the second island, when Mathias had just set foot, he heard the flapping wings of a large creature.He frowned as he found the source of the sound.A huge creature with a body almost as white as snow swooped towards him."Snow Claw, huh!" he muttered.Crash!Snowflakes flew as the creature the size of a full-grown tiger landed, then let out a mighty roar.Groarrr!Mathias had already leaped ahead, getting closer to the island's center.The creature was indeed similar to a male lion with its mane. Only, it had wide ears and a pair of wings like those of a bat. It was chasing the man furiously.As if he was playing with the creature, Mathias jumped from one tree to another.The creature
“People in those days used to say,” the Dyan continued, ”that the ship would only sail if someone with great magic asked it to.”“I see, huh?”“You said you wanted to get to Svarnabhumi as soon as possible, didn't you?”“Yeah... My only goal right now is for the people who are currently there. And I'm making sure that they won't escape my grasp!”For a glimpse, the middle-aged woman could see a streak of black light covering the eyes of the man beside her.Only, she had no desire to inquire further. However, she could sense that it was an extremely frightening aura.“So,” she said after clearing her throat once. “Your only hope is that old ship, young man. Although it's an old ship and not very big, it's still decent and powerful.”Mathias let out a deeper breath with his arms folded across his chest.From the look in his eyes, as if he could already see the ship in question, he grinned faintly.“Let me guess,” he said, ”the way to the island isn't that easy, am I wrong?”“That's what
Right then, the supreme leader of the Larants appeared in front of the cave mouth with six young women.The men bowed to her.The middle-aged woman approached Mathias and the others.“Do you like their meat?” she asked with a wide smile.Mathias smiled slightly. “I never knew.”“From what I hear,” said the Dyan, “the land of Purbha is so fertile and rich in natural resources, everything is abundant. So, it's only natural that you don't know or have never tried to taste the flesh of dragons.”“Yeah,” Mathias gave a small nod. “I suppose it is. But, that was a long time ago. Now, Purbha is just a dead land.”“You know, you have to be careful,” Rashmar continued. “Not all kinds of dragons you can eat their flesh. Most of them have deadly poison in their blood and even flesh.”“I'll keep that in mind,” Mathias sighed deeply.“Come with me!”Mathias complied with the Dyan's request. They disappeared at the mouth of the cave with the six young women.They led him to a branch of the cave tha
The burst of acid was just a precursor to the next attack.Two equally deadly jaws opened wide, moving quickly, pouncing on Mathias from two opposite directions.But the man let gravity play a role in calculating his movements. He fell so fast that the beast's jaws only cupped empty air.As he slid vertically, Mathias cast his magic to bring forth two bluish swords of light, one in his right hand and one in his left.The Hairy Worm closest to him, the left one, let out a tremendous squeal.The sword of light that was an extension of the man's hand pierced and tore through the creature's body, from top to bottom.Swiiing!As soon as his feet hit the ground, Mathias threw himself to the right, flying as he circled the other Hairy Worm.Crash!Slam!One Hairy Worm floundered, blood from its long wound splashing in all directions. It growled and shrieked in pain, then slammed hard into the ground. It wriggled briefly and then died.The one remaining beast roared even more fiercely, furiou
“We don't know what causes the earth to shake like this,” Arguan said. “However, the Dyan is right. We must show that we are worthy of acceptance in this land.”“I have no more fears,” said the man to Arguan's left.All eyes were on him.He lightly said, “After all, I don't have anyone else in this world to worry about me,” he continued with a shrug.“What a fool!” muttered the others.But Mathias understood the man. He had been and was in the same situation. To avenge Alicia's death, he wouldn't care about his own life.“There, over there!” Arguan pointed towards the mouth of the cave. “Quick, let's help them!”Upon arriving outside the cave, Mathias and the others were surprised by a pair of giant snake-like creatures with hairy bodies from head to tail.Groarrr!“What the hell is that?” Arguan widened his eyes.“White Serpent!” said another with an increasingly trembling and pale.“Hey!” a Larant shouted at Mathias' group. “Don't just stand there! Help us get rid of these hairy wor