Chapter 86: The Crimson Blade Mantis Zone
Chapter 86: The Crimson Blade Mantis Zone
There was a land that was home to a few extraordinary creatures, a refuge for a sinister breed that couldn't exist in a standard ecosystem. It was said that those who ventured here were all subject to their whim, but if they defeated them, the rewards would be more than worth it.
Looking at it more closely, one would see a land that was divided from the Greater Plains regions by a massive wooden bridge that created a path over a giant chasm.
A massive sign was also erected above the wooden bridge with the fine words - Warning: You are approaching the Crimson Blade Mantis Zone, proceed with caution!
At this moment, Nero and had already ventured to the edge of this sector. He stood at the summits of a cliff as he gazed into the distance beyond the bridge. The wind rustled his hair along with his furry martial coat.
'Crimson Blade Mantis? I really don't like that name...' Nero thought to himself as he felt a bad feeling, even when looking at the long bridge that connected to the land which seemed to be in isolation, a bloody and murderous aura could even be sensed at the distance end.
As his mood wasn't bad enough, Adult Nero seemed to have recalled something after reading the sign, he spoke with a sigh, "Ah yes, I remember now, this place was quite dangerous, those mantises aren't the playful kind, and their strength and skill are at a level where few can face. It's perfect for your training..."
When Nero heard the worlds of his older self, he rolled his eyes and complained, "Tsk, you only want to see me get into trouble, I bet that you're not even going to help!"
Adult Nero snorted and replied, "That's enough complaining from you, now hurry and enter, we don't have all day to stand at the bridge!"
Nero bit his lips and clenched his fists before sighing, in the end, he began to venture across the bridge that made creaking noises with each of his steps.
In one instance, the entire bridge shook as if it couldn't support his weight, Nero's face sunk as his heart felt like it was about to come out of his mouth, when he looked down into the bottomless chasm, he couldn't help but gulp.
'T...t...this bridge won't break right?' Nero asked in a hesitant tone as he stopped walking and carefully held onto the ropes used as railings.
Adult Nero smirked before keeping silent, only after a fair amount of time did he replied teasingly, "Hmm, you know I don't remember, but the longer you stay on it, the more will there be chances of something unexpected happening."
Nero knew that he was only trying to scare him, but even if one knows such things when faced with the actual situation, it's not so easy to shrug off.
"Hmph! Like hell, I'll believe you!" Nero said in a non-believing tone but based on the speed at which he moved across the bridge; one could tell that he wasn't going to take any chances.
Puff! Adult Nero tried to hold back his laugh; he found his younger self quite entertaining to watch; he had long since forgotten he used to have such aside.
As both Nero's went onwards, behind them in the darkness of a few hidden areas, were a myriad of prying eyes, one set of blue eyes glared at Nero's direction as the figure of a young furry eared beauty appeared.
She gazed at the warning sign in fear as she thought, "Is this fellow insane? What gave him the gall to travel into such a dangerous zone?" Lily uttered in alarm; she knew full well of the danger here as she heard from that strange colleague called Enmon.
Swoosh! Suddenly, a Digitizer dressed like a bandit appeared and knelt as the spoke respectfully, "Madame Swift Hands, what should we do?"
Based on the person's tone, it could also be noticed that they held a great fear for that zone, Lily made a pondering expression as she didn't want to lose any levels, she was already low in the rankings.
As she thought, her eyes wandered about until she finally noticed a different set of individuals in other areas. One was the familiar Poison Boy who moved along with his sister Ivy, while the other small group was none other than Weizer and his lackeys.
Both groups had met out of the blue, and after a moment of surprise, they fell into conflict.
A sneaky smile came on her face as she spoke, "Hehe, I have a perfect idea; we've found the best bait there could be..."
The bandit looked at her with a somewhat worried look, but as she was his leader, he said nothing, two too then faded into bushes as if they were non-existent.
At this point, Weizer and Poison Boy were already locked in a conflict of words.
"Hey, what do we have here? Isn't this Mohawk Wannabe? Ha, what are you thinking of by following us to this area?" Poison Boy said with mock in his voice.
Weizer grew angry at those words, he glared at Poison Boy and snapped back, "Tsk, well look who it is? Do you think that you're any better than me? Trash like you can only rely on that sister of yours; maybe she should be the one in the ranking list..."
"You... bastard!" Poison Boy was rather sensitive about this issue, for although he was gifted, his little sister was many times better. Still, because of her playful and strange personality, she didn't want any part in the ranking list and only treated this world as a game.
Ivy didn't seem to mind the two's arguments, she giggled while observing from the side, but soon, she narrowed her eyes and glared at the forests.
Ivy's eyes went to where Lily had vanished; she made a puzzled look before she thought, 'Hmm, must have been my imagination...'
At this moment, Poison Boy was about to attack Weizer, but Ivy glanced at him and spoke while grabbing his arm, "Big Brother, let's not waste time, he's already entered the forest and I want to see the monsters!"
Poison Boy felt a little better at those words; his manner once more became arrogant as if he viewed Weizer with disdain as he spoke, "Hmph! Count yourself lucky Mohawk Wannabe, my sister needs to play, and I don't have time to waste with the likes of you!"
Immediately after those words, Poison Boy left with his sister as they hurried began to cross the rattling bridge, a trace of fear was in his eyes as he felt the bridge shake, but he sucked it up as he saw his sister Ivy running across it in excitement.
Weizer was so angry that he huffed and puffed for a while with a red complexion, he then cursed out loud, "That dirty little bastard! Acting all high and mighty, he's no different from those shitty third-rate characters in books, got I HATE HIM!"
The lackeys around Weizer gave each other a look and rolled their eyes, Weizer seemed to have noticed this, he looked at this coldly, causing them to gulp, but did nothing,
With a snort, Weizer turned and around and walked towards the bridge as he spoke, "Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and follow; we must pursue that bastard along with the pretty-faced boy, let's teach them both lessons they will never forget!"
The lackeys heaved a sigh of relief, but one of them hesitated before they spoke, "B-b-but young master, that.... that place is..."
Weizer didn't even let the man finished his words; he looked at him in annoyance as he spoke, "But what? Hurry up and follow along! What can a few little mantises do to the likes of me, a true ranker on the ranking list?"
The lackeys sighed as they looked at each other before staring at Weizer and replied, "T... that's right; the y-young master is the best talent there is..."
Weizer turned up his nose and nodded in satisfaction as he began to cross the bridge, the lackeys followed behind, as not long after, they had each left this area.
However, the moment they left; a familiar golden-haired Asian youth appeared. He stared at the direction Nero and the others left and sighed before he followed along. In moments, he vanished into the distance as if each of his steps were as light as a feather, leaving behind the quite but somewhat ominous scene.