CHAPTER 155: BROOD LORD RIFT

Half of the beast swooped low, they crawled along the ground like a tide of black rats, wings folded against their twisted bodies. The other half remained in the sky, diving in coordinated spirals.

Lyra cursed out and said. "They are learning." Kelvin tightened his grip. Xerion growled and braced beside him, its dark mane kept bristling.

The ground-crawlers surged first, while clawing across soil and leaping at their legs. Darius stepped forward and planted himself like a wall. His greatsword slammed downward, crushing five at once in a burst of rotting feathers.

But the ones on the air maintained their balance, as half of them struck at the same moment.

One slammed into Lyra’s arm, nearly ripping her bow from her grip. Another darted at Kelvin’s face, while forcing him to twist and slice upward in a desperate cut. Xerion leapt again, intercepting two more with a savage bite.

The air was filled with chaos, shrieks, steel, arrows, blood. But with all of that they fought, back to back, every heartbeat was a storm of death.

Kelvin’s breath burned, his muscles were strained as another claw ripped across his forearm. He grit his teeth, ignoring the sting.

They could not keep this pace. Already Lyra’s quiver was half-empty, and Darius’s swings grew slower, his arms were heavy with exhaustion.

The crows sensed it. Their shrieks grew more frenzied, more triumphant. And then, the third wave came upon them

From the heart of the swarm descended a creature that is larger than the rest. A Flesh Crow that was twice the size of a man, with its wings torn and stitched with veins of shadow and Its beak was jagged, cracked open like broken stone, dripping streams of black venom that hissed against the ground.

The smaller crows rallied around it, as if the monster’s presence was commanding enough. Immediately Lyra’s eyes widened and she said. "A Broodlord."

The creature shrieked, and the sound tore through the air like a blade. The swarm grew wilder, faster and driven into a frenzy.

Kelvin staggered as the cry reverberated in his skull. His vision became blurred, but Xerion snarled and shoved against his leg, while grounding him.

Immediately Kelvin shouted, "Focus!" though his voice felt like it came from a distance. Immediately the Broodlord swooped.

Its shadow fell across them, with enormous wings blotting what little light remained. It struck like a storm, slamming into Darius with enough force to drive him to his knees. The warrior roared in pain, and blood splattering from a gash across his chest.

Kelvin rushed forward, slashing at its side, but the blade glanced off hardened bone. The Broodlord spun and its massive wing shoved him aside like a ragdoll.

Lyra fired arrow after arrow, each embedding into the creature’s flesh, but it only shrieked louder, with it’s fury rising. The smaller crows dove in unison, riding the chaos, and suddenly the three of them were drowning in wings and claws.

Kelvin gasped as talons dragged across his neck. He fought to stay upright with his sword swinging blindly, each strike was a desperate gasp for survival.

They were losing ground. For the first time since the journey began, death hung over them like a certainty. As the forest had become a battlefield of blood and shadows.

Kelvin’s arms throbbed from the weight of constant strikes, Xerion’s blade flashed in vicious arcs as each Howlfang leapt at him with snapping jaws and claws that could tear bark from stone.

Every swing he made cut down a beast, but for each that fell, two more seemed to crawl out of the underbrush, their luminous eyes gleamed like lanterns in the dark.

Lyra was a blur, her twin daggers gleaming silver in the moonlight as she danced around lunges, spinning low, slashing tendons, and darting away before snapping jaws that could close around her throat.

Her breath came ragged, sweat matting strands of her hair to her brow, but she pressed forward.

Darius stood like a bulwark, his warhammer dripping gore, smashing through ribs and skulls with each thunderous swing. He grunted with each strike, his boots sinking into the soil slick with blood. But even he was unyielded, immovable Darius that was slowing.

"Kelvin went left flank!" Lyra shouted with her voice breaking through the chaos. Kelvin pivoted sharply, just in time to see three Howlfangs that darted at him in perfect formation, with one low, one high, one aiming straight for his chest.

Their coordination was uncanny, like a pack bred that is only for destruction.

He met the first with Xerion with steel biting deep into its throat, but the second lunged over the corpse and claws tearing at his shoulder.

Pain burned through him as blood gushed, his arm was nearly going numb. The third beast slammed into his chest, knocking him back into a tree with bone-rattling force.

"Kelvin!" Lyra screamed, hurling one of her daggers with deadly precision. The blade sank into the beast’s eye, and it shrieked as it fell to the ground, while twitching across him.

Kelvin gasped, struggling to rise to his feet and his chest was heaving. Xerion pulsed faintly in his hand, as though he was urging him not to falter.

Then came the sound that froze them all—the Alpha’s howl. It was not just a cry; it was a command. A bone-chilling wail that reverberated through the forest, so powerful that even the Howlfangs surrounding them paused, their ears became flattened.

The ground seemed to quake as the largest of the pack emerged from the shadows, a monstrous wolf-like creature that is twice the size of the others, with fur bristling like black steel, eyes glowing a deep, blood-red. Its fangs dripped venom, while sizzling where it touched the earth.

"Gods above..." Darius muttered, tightening his grip on his hammer. The Alpha didn’t charge immediately.

It circled them while studying them, its movements was deliberate and terrifying. The other Howlfangs formed a half-moon around the trio, snarling, snapping, pushing them into a tighter kill zone.

"They are waiting on its signal," Lyra whispered, panic edged into her tone. Kelvin steadied himself, ignoring the pain burning across his body. "Then we will kill it before it commands again."

The Alpha roared, and the pack obeyed.The horde descended towards the trio.

Claws scraped against steel as Kelvin parried, while countering with brutal precision. Lyra darted in and out, her daggers flashed, while her strikes aimed to cripple joints and throats.

Darius became a wall of destruction, smashing everything in his radius. But for every beast they killed, exhaustion mounted. Their muscles screamed. Their weapons dripped red.

The Alpha finally leapt. It moved like a lightning despite its size, crashing into Darius with such force that the warrior was thrown off his feet, his hammer flew from his hands. He hit the ground hard, the air blasted from his lungs.

"Darius!" Kelvin roared, lunging forward, but two Howlfangs intercepted, snapping at his legs and forcing him back. He slashed wildly, desperation fueled his strikes.

Lyra launched herself at the Alpha, trying to bury her blades in its flank, but the beast twisted mid-air with impossible agility, its massive tail whipped her aside like a ragdoll. She hit the ground, rolling, coughing blood.

The Alpha turned toward her, with lips curling back in a snarl, as venom dripped like a liquid death. Kelvin’s heart hammered as he said. "NO!"

He charged and Xerion ignited with a faint blue aura as his rage poured into the blade. He slashed upward, intercepting the Alpha as it lunged at Lyra. Steel met fang in a clash that sparked the night, the shockwave sent dust and blood flying.

The beast snarled, snapping its massive jaws inches from Kelvin’s face. Its breath was foul, its eyes were burning with primal hate. Kelvin gritted his teeth and his muscles trembling, barely holding back the crushing force.

Then, with a guttural roar, Darius rejoined the fray. Bloodied but unbroken, he slammed into the Alpha’s side with his shoulder, forcing it off balance. "Strike now!" he bellowed.

Kelvin didn’t hesitate. With every ounce of strength he had left, he drove Xerion upward and the blade pierced the through the Alpha’s chest. The creature shrieked, thrashing violently, claws ripped across Kelvin’s side.

Lyra was gasping but she forced herself up, summoning her last dagger. She sprinted forward and leapt, driving the blade deep into the Alpha’s throat.

The beast convulsed, then finally collapsed in a shuddering heap, its crimson eyes became dim.

The battlefield went overly silent. The remaining Howlfangs, without their Alpha’s command, faltered. Some snarled uncertainly, others whimpered, and then, one by one they slinked back into the shadows of the forest, vanishing like ghosts.

Kelvin staggered with blood dripping down his side, Xerion still embedded in the Alpha’s corpse. His chest rose and fell heavily, every breath was a battle.

Lyra knelt nearby, clutching her ribs, her face was pale but alive. Darius leaned heavily on his hammer, his armor shredded, his body was painted in blood and sweat.

They had barely survived. But the road ahead stretched long, and this was only a glimpse of the horrors waiting on the path to the Zombie Den.