Our group continued flying forward, and while doing so, we met with many foes and enemies in our path. The weakest of the bunch were the dumb rats.
From what I could gather, we have finally entered the inner region of the Dark Garden.
No longer were there man-trapping trees, and no longer were there small trees and a few tall ones in between.
It was the complete opposite now. The trees at this point were gigantic, some could easily be seen reaching to the height of the very pillars and stalagmites that were carrying this entire world.
Giant trees kept the wind at bay, and under their darkened shade were more trees competing and growing to gain a glimpse of light from the ma.s.sive crystal that was barely brightening this darkened world.
The whole area from here onward was eerily silent and for a reason.
The moment we entered the region we were already blasting several of the rats away, with guns and bullets and explosives all over.
This caused many deaths in the incessantly aggressive rats. However, the death of many of their companions was not a deterrent to their hunt for us. And the moment we reached past the first line and barrier of ma.s.sive trees, was when the rats began slowing down.
The look of madness and the occasional snickering and laughter was no more, it was exchanged by a complete silence as they made sure that even as they chased after us to not make any noise.
Seeing that, I immediately ordered everyone to stop shooting.
"What's going on?" asked Old Fu.
"Everyone, don't talk don't even breath loud," I said as I slowed the hoverboard and had it land on the ground, thankfully the board was moving via saint Qi and had no gears or material that caused it to make any sound or noise in flight.
"Why are we stopping-"
I didn't allow him to finish as I slammed my hand on his mouth, making it clear that no one should even speak.
The rats kept approaching, and you could hear the sound of the soldier's heartbeat increase.
Old Fu tightened his hand on the sword on his belt, clearly waiting for a last-second struggle.
But I knew for sure, something bad was going to happen very soon.
Just as the leading rat came close to us, with all the stealth its ma.s.sive figure can allow it to, it unfortunately for itself, stepped on a branch.
The snapping of the branch in this incredibly quiet area resounded like a thunderclap in the middle of complete silence.
Before the rat could even register what happened. A shadow as dark as night itself came down and split the rat in half. The remaining rodents didn't even dare continue moving as they turned tail and headed into the tree line disappearing.
The soldiers next to me had their eyes open wide as they realized that the ma.s.sive shadow was nothing more than the tip of the creature's claw.
Following along the line of this ma.s.sive saber-like claw, you could see the rest of the creature's body.
A mix of a praying mantis for the upper body part, and the rest, that of an arachnid that would make the Grizzly Spider look like a cute finger-sized jumping spider.
The entirety of this ma.s.sive creature's body was covered in a midnight-black exoskeletal plate. These parts were reflecting the ever-so-dim light of the ceiling in a rather disorienting manner.
The creature then pulled up its saber-like arm, and two more, slender far thinner but equally as long pincers came out from its chest. These pincers grabbed each part of the rat's body and slowly pulled them to the creature's mouth where it feasted on the rat rather slowly and torturously as one could hear the crunching sound of bones and slurping of viscera and liquids from the remains of the rat.
The creature then moved forward, with an incredibly graceful gait, incomparable to its ma.s.sive size. Usually, something this big and this size would make the entire ground tremble as it walked. However, not even a single blade of gra.s.s moved as the creature was moving.
It then revealed the entirety of its body to us as it was retreating away from our box.
Its multiple pairs of legs moved through the foliage and between the trees, sometimes even pus.h.i.+ng against the trees to move itself like a spider would. Over its head, antenna-like appendages extended and moved around, constantly probing the environment for any sound or trace of prey.
And on its back, which looked like the stomach of a spider, two ma.s.sive beetles-like exoskeletal wings opened up, revealing two pairs of glistening and transparent wings that fluttered for a small moment and then retracted themselves back underneath the carapace.
The creature continued moving between the trees and disappeared in the distance.
Only then did I realize that I was holding my breath the entire time and finally took a breath.
I still gestured with my finger against my mouth for everyone to keep quiet.
I sat down and began writing several inscriptions that I threw around the cube and only then did I say.
"Now you can speak, still make sure not to scream… the vibrations might attract unwanted attention," I said.
Yet no one talked, they were too terrified to even speak. A creature like that was something they could take on in their normal cultivation. After all, an emperor-level cultivator can easily level an entire planet by themselves. However, in this land, there was no such thing as a cultivation level. And if these beasts were to exist and leave for the overworld, they would gain equivalent power to their current ability.
They won't be affected by the Sea of Demons' sealing power, and they too will gain access to the worldly Qi. Giving them an equivalent power to what they have here…
"It is mighty strange, that the world had lived without realizing how much danger exists in these lands. How did these creatures live here, and why did they never leave this region is beyond me…" Old Fu stated.
"I guess there is something, or someone stopping them from leaving. Since I honestly don't see how they're stuck here, or why they would rather remain here instead of leaving…" the Captain said.
"What I find strange, is the fact that they're not sentient," I said.
"It's not easy to gain sentience as a beast in the first place," Old Fu said, "But you're right, for creatures this strong, and this mighty, not having sentience is strange, they are equal in strength to some of the Emperor Cultivators, but they cannot form their thought. The rats for example were able and capable of deception and mimicry, but it's a far cry from full sentience," Old Fu said.
"I guess it's the lack of Qi. The heavenly Qi grants the owner access to heavenly ascension, to surpa.s.s one's limit and evolve their understanding of the world. Beasts that cultivate can reach a high enough level of understanding that they gain a 'mind' of their own. As for these creatures void and devoid of the blessing of Qi, they'll never be able to form sentience," I said.
"Thank G.o.d for that though," said one of the soldiers, "If those things had sentience, they'll probably end up wiping all life as we know it once they leave this place… they're too strong and too big for even the walls of our city to stop them…" he said.
"Even an elephant can die to an ant in the proper conditions," I replied to the man.
They didn't fully understand the meaning of my words, but after I pointed, they traced my finger and noticed that another one of those ma.s.sive mantis spider-like creatures was right next to us.
The eyes of the soldiers opened up for a second before they frowned and realized that this one was rather… unmoving.
"It's already dead…" I said, "Look at its head," I said.
Their eyes then went up to see the creature's head only to notice a ma.s.sive thorn emerging from it, with an already emptied-out spore sphere.
"The weakest of the Dark Forest, a fungus smaller than a mustard seed, is capable of taking down this palace-sized creature. It isn't the might of the strong and mighty we should be careful of, it's that of the small and unnoticeable…"