Chapter 143: The Creatures Beyond the Gate 2
Swanly blinked.
That was it?
Soren’s expression did not move.
"Search for what?"
The male’s jaw tightened.
"That does not concern you."
Swanly’s eyebrows rose.
Raku actually laughed once.
Short.
Disbelieving.
Soren’s silver eyes chilled.
"You enter my territory, refuse to explain what you seek, then expect permission to search it?"
"We will leave when we have found what we came for."
"No."
One word.
The strangers shifted.
A few wings opened.
Hooves struck the earth.
Weapons tilted.
Ironwood answered instantly.
Growls erupted across the wall.
Kael’s claws slid free.
Raku lifted his weapon.
Soren’s white tail moved behind him.
Druun growled louder.
The massive winged male stared at Soren.
"You refuse?"
"Yes."
Another Veskari male hissed.
His wings vibrated once.
A pressure ran through the air.
Swanly’s fox ears flattened painfully.
Several beastmen recoiled.
"You are beneath our concern," he said.
His glowing eyes swept across the settlement.
"This little gathering barely deserves the name of territory."
That was definitely not peaceful.
The male’s lip curled.
"What makes you believe you are in a position to refuse us?"
Raku’s claws tightened around his weapon.
Kael moved half a step.
Soren did not.
That was somehow worse.
His face became completely blank.
"Try me."
The air changed.
The winged female who had first spoken turned sharply.
"Enough."
But another male laughed.
"Why waste time speaking?"
His eyes moved toward the gate.
"We could kill them."
Several Ironwood warriors snarled.
The stranger continued.
"Search the land."
His mouth curved.
"Take what we need."
BOOM.
Druun struck the ground.
Everyone jumped.
The giant surged forward.
His roar shook leaves from the trees.
Several Veskari wings snapped open immediately.
Centaur bodies backed away.
Weapons rose.
Blue light suddenly raced across claws.
Swanly’s eyes widened.
Tiny arcs of light snapped between one female’s fingers.
Electricity?
Wonderful.
Because zombies, rot monsters, ancient gods and giant sealed doors had apparently not been enough.
Swanly looked toward the empty space where Thalara had disappeared.
Then toward Druun.
Then back at the strangers.
She finally called silently:
System.
A tiny pale-gold fairy appeared beside her head.
Her cheeks were full.
Swanly stared.
Are you eating right now?
The system swallowed.
{Stress snack.}
Scan them.
The fairy’s expression changed.
Her tiny wings stopped.
{Scanning.}
Golden letters flashed before Swanly’s eyes.
Then more.
And more.
Swanly’s expression slowly changed.
{Species detected: Veskari.}
{Classification: Ancient non-beast humanoid species.}
{Two dominant bloodlines detected.}
{Winged Bloodline.}
{Ground-Hoof Bloodline.}
Swanly glanced at the centaur-like creatures.
Right.
System information continued.
{Winged Bloodline primary traits:}
{Six-wing flight.}
{High-speed aerial movement.}
{Enhanced night vision.}
{Rot contamination sensing through antennae.}
{Natural body armor.}
{Enhanced claw strength.}
{Wing resonance capable of producing pressure waves.}
{Biological electrical discharge capable of causing muscular paralysis.}
Swanly’s eyes flicked toward the glowing claws.
So that really was electricity.
Wonderful.
{Certain individuals may possess venom channels.}
Even fucking better.
{Ground-Hoof Bloodline primary traits:}
{Extreme running endurance.}
{High-force charge attacks.}
{Ground vibration detection.}
{Enhanced lower-body strength.}
{Subterranean movement detection.}
Swanly’s attention sharpened.
Subterranean?
Her thoughts immediately jumped toward the sealed underground door Druun had found.
Interesting.
Very fucking interesting.
Then the weaknesses appeared.
{Wing membranes highly vulnerable to fire.}
Swanly paused.
Fire.
Good.
{Extreme cold causes wing stiffness and reduced flight capability.}
Soren would enjoy that one.
{Heavy rainfall severely reduces flight efficiency.}
{Damage to antennae causes disorientation and impaired sensory perception.}
{Wing resonance has high stamina cost and may cause internal injury with excessive use.}
{Ground-Hoof Bloodline vulnerable in dense rocky terrain.}
{Deep mud severely restricts charge speed.}
The system hesitated.
Then another line appeared.
{Threat assessment: High.}
Swanly stared.
How high?
{Host should avoid discovering this through experimentation.}
Fair.
The scan vanished.
Swanly focused on the strangers again.
Her eyes moved slowly across their wings.
Fire.
Antennae.
Cold.
Hooves.
Good to know.
Hopefully she would not need any of it.
Outside, the confrontation had not improved.
The large male spoke again.
"We are not here for your food."
Soren’s expression remained cold.
"We are not here for your females."
Kael’s growl deepened anyway.
"We seek something within this basin."
"What?"
Silence.
Soren’s eyes narrowed.
"You still refuse to say."
"We do not need to."
"Then you do not enter."
The first female sighed.
"You make this unnecessarily difficult."
Swanly stared at her.
Something had been bothering her.
Since they arrived.
The way they stopped.
The way every single one of them remained outside the gate.
Even the winged ones.
They could fly.
Why were they standing there arguing?
Why not simply rise over the wall?
Why threaten?
Why ask?
Swanly’s eyes narrowed.
She looked above them.
Several winged creatures hovered slightly.
But none crossed the line marked by Ironwood’s outer wall.
Not one.
Even when Druun roared.
Even when they threatened violence.
Nobody crossed.
Swanly slowly lowered her bow.
"Soren."
His eyes moved toward her.
She climbed down from the inner platform.
Kael immediately followed.
"Swanly."
"I know."
She descended until she stood behind the closed gate.
Still safely inside Ironwood.
Close enough now that the strangers could see her clearly.
One of the females glanced toward her.
Swanly ignored her.
She looked straight at the large male.
"You can’t enter."
Silence.
His expression changed.
Barely.
But Swanly caught it.
So did Soren.
The female’s antennae went completely still.
Swanly smiled.
There it was.
"You cannot enter without permission."
Nobody outside answered.
Raku looked from Swanly to the strangers.
Then his eyes widened.
Swanly continued.
"If you could simply kill us and take whatever you wanted, you would have."
The aggressive male hissed.
She pointed at him.
"Especially you."
His wings twitched.
Swanly looked across the entire group.
"You came with weapons."
Her eyes moved toward the hovering females.
"You have wings."
Then the centaur warriors.
"You clearly outnumber the people currently standing on this wall."
She tilted her head.
"And yet every single one of you stopped outside."
The silence became heavy.
Swanly’s smile widened.
"So either you’re incredibly polite..."
Raku snorted.
"Unlikely."
"...or something is stopping you."
...
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