God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 261: Islands of Terror.

Cain had a distressed look on his face as he cut through a grotesque creature the size of a boulder with the blade in his hand.

'Why do they have to be this disgusting?' Cain grimaced as he wiped the thick slimy blood off his blade with a handful of grass.

A small pile of the dead creatures was beside him, and in the distance, Jenny, Ignis, and Susan were engrossed with their opponents.

The enemies they were currently faced against were called {Purple Slime Frogs}. These frogs produced an obscene amount of slime onto their bodies by secreting it through small pores in their skin. This made it so that weapons that were too sharp slid off their skin without any problems.

Gritting his teeth, Cain pulled {Maelstrom} from his {Armament Armory} and drew its bowstring. A jet of water condensed rapidly and was nocked in a split second. The arrow tore through the air and buried itself into the spine of a {Purple Slime Frog}. The creature was split into two bloody halves.

Despite their effective skill, Cain found out that they were weak against piercing and bludgeoning attacks. Since he didn't carry a mace, he had settled for using the (Scale of the Abyssal Flame} and {Maelstrom}. These creatures were by no chance weak. There were no weak creatures in the aether.

Cain dodged a sticky tongue and drew his bow again. He had gotten tired of getting too close to these disgusting frogs. They were not only repulsive but attacking them over and over with the flat side of the blade was too tiring. Some of them weren't even killed with the first, second, or third strike, as despite their putty-like exterior, their skulls were quite tough to crack.

So he had decided to stick to only using his bow. Plus, it would serve as good target practice. He wasn't terrible with using a bow, but his aim was still pretty bad.

Thus, he had started learning from Jenny, who was more than happy to give him a pointer or two. The beautiful girl was like a bundle of good energy, and while she was a strict teacher, Cain was a good student.

He was slowly transitioning from a 'horrible archer' to a 'terrible archer', which to him was a good thing.

A deep breath escaped from his chest as he let the water arrow loose. It flew through the air and burrowed deep into the leg of the creature, tearing it clean off the rest of its body.

"Damn it!" Drawing another arrow, Cain let it loose from the bowstring at the squealing creature, putting it out of its misery.

At the same time, the girls gathered around him, all with small smiles on their beautiful faces. Ignis had a gleeful expression as she enjoyed looking at the disgusted look on his face. Susan just flashed him a smile but didn't go too close to him. Jenny had a slightly amused and apologetic expression.

Cain just shook his head...

'Bad luck... So much bad luck...'

"We've cleared the perimeter of all the other aether beasts," Susan said, a serious expression appearing on her face.

Cain nodded, "That means we can get some rest..."

With that, he plopped to the ground. His body was slimy from all the frog goo, and he wanted nothing more than to dive into a clean, hot bath. However, that was nothing but a non-existent luxury.

The girls all sat down in a circle as well. Although they were about to take a break, that didn't mean they were going to become lax. Quite the contrary...

The {Dark Soul} was roaming around, searching every nook and cranny to make sure no surprises were waiting to jump at them when they let their guard down.

The {Dark Soul} had been of immeasurable help to him. Because of it, he had been able to avoid so many terrible situations and running into troublesome opponents.

Now, they finally had some time to rest. They had gotten onto this Island some time ago. They were now one step closer to their goal which was the center of this fragmented land.

The larger islands circled the beam of light, and Cain could only conclude that this was the only clue they had to work with...

The Island was unlike the rocky terrain of the regular land masses. It had a layer of scarce foliage covering the soil

Its bushes and ponds were filled with all sorts of aquatic terrors, but for not, they would not be dealing with any of them. Cain let his mind wander as he thought about their current circumstances.

First, he had to find a way to triangulate Hunter's position. They couldn't keep walking aimlessly forever. The fragmented land was too big for that.

They also didn't have a lot of time...

Cain didn't know where this sense of urgency came from, but he was certain it was there for a reason.

'Perhaps I am forgetting some important detail?'

Cain pondered on it for some time, but eventually shook his head as he couldn't recall anything.

His mind quickly wandered to the most recent battles. Despite his strength growing by leaps and bounds, he realized it wasn't going to be enough. If he wanted to survive longer in the aether, he would have to become stronger. The battle with {Land Eater} taught him a very valuable lesson.

The first thing he could think of was sharpening his blade skills. Although he was just a bit rusty, that had almost cost him his life in more than one situation.

Cain sat up and retrieved the {Scale of the Abyssal Flame}. Ignoring the weird looks from the girls, he studied it with a deep look on his face.

He had trained in both one-handed and two-handed styles of swordplay. Swordplay was a very delicate subject, but what he had learned from his master all those years ago still stuck with him.

Regardless of what style one uses, the purpose of it all is to kill one's opponent and prevent the opponent from killing you. As long as these two conditions could be fulfilled, then even a toothpick could be a weapon.

Cain's heart was as tranquil as a lake. He wanted to train his blade again. He had a feeling that training would bring about massive results.

'However, that will have to wait...'

Cain had sensed something through the eyes of the {Dark Soul}. Something was approaching them at blinding speed. Although it slithered through the grass, it was so big, that something like trying to hide in the low grass was completely useless.

Despite its failed attempt at stealth, the creature was so fast, it didn't even need stealth to be able to launch a surprise attack. If not for the {Dark Soul}, Cain would fallen victim as well.

Cain stood up quickly...

"We have company." He said with a small smile.

The girls glanced at one another and rose to their feet as well. Their expressions were hard, and they were ready to give whatever came their way hell.

Susan pulled on the bowstring of her bow of light and threw a side glance at Cain,

"What are facing?"

Cain responded rapidly, "A snake. A very big one. Secreting a huge amount of poison as well."

Their faces fell...

After all, not everyone had high poison resistance like Cain did. He even had a spell called {Poison Blood} that gave his blood poisonous properties.

Cain wasn't sure if they were well-equipped to fight such a monstrosity. But right now, they couldn't do much about it.

"Same as always. I'll take forward. Ignis, circle it and distract it from the other side. Susan, Jenny, give his eyes hell..."

Cain had gotten quite used to his position as the one calling the shots in their battles. While he wasn't perfect at it, he understood the team dynamics a fair amount and was able to place his teammates where they would be able to perform to their greatest potential on the battlefield.

This was partly thanks to his use of {Eye of Clairvoyance}. With the aid of the special {Devil Eye}, he could make his sight omnidirectional. He was able to see past the defenses of most creatures and spot where the weaker points or chinks in their armor were located.

The ability to spot the enemy's weaknesses was a godly one during a life-or-death battle. Armed with this ability, Cain could do what he liked to call 'Precise Placement'.

Although the battlefield was volatile and could change at any moment, it was still a very pleasant advantage to have.

Once the words were said, there was no need to say anything anymore. The battle had begun...

The giant snake creature was so long, that Cain couldn't see its tail from where he stood. The creature was just a few meters away from them, and yet he couldn't see the end of its body which stretched toward the horizon.

'So long...'

The body of the creature was thick as well. At the side of its head were two gills that spread out every time the creature bore its fangs. A single horn with spiral patterns protruded from the forehead of the creature, and anywhere the creature went, it left a trail of death behind as a black most seeped from its pores.

However, the most terrifying this about the creature, was its girth. It was so wide, that Cain questioned if it was an average aether beast. The closer it came, the more Cain realized that this creature was strong. It was just as strong as the {Land Eater}, and possibly much more deadly.

Cain's eyes narrowed, 'If we want to make it out of this fight alive, then some tactics must be used.'

Although the creature was strong and its speed was terrifying, there was something it didn't have.

An insidious human mind...

A wicked idea was quickly birthed in Cain's mind. He had been forced to fight fair for a long time, and he didn't like that one bit. If he could, he would rather use the least of his efforts to murder his opponents after all...

"Change of plans..."

The girls turned to look at him in confusion. Cain simply smiled,

"There is no way we will be beating that thing head-on. Hence, we are going to kite the bastard and wear him down before closing in to finish the job." Cain said with a wide smile.

A look of understanding spread across their faces.

Susan furrowed her brows, "That will certainly work. However, we aren't faster than that thing. It is going to catch up with us in a matter of seconds if we try to run away.

Cain's grin turned a bit more ferocious...

"I'll hold him back while you three get as much range as you can."

All three girls frowned at the same time. Seeing that they were about to disagree, Cain smiled and activated the metal enchantment of the {Burning Spirit}.

A colorless flame appeared on his body. Then it suddenly took on a deep golden hue. The golden hue stuck to his body like a second skin, making him look like a sculpture of gold.

"We don't have a lot of time. Let's get a head start..."

Upon saying that, Cain turned to the direction the massive beast was approaching from. Glancing at one another, the girls shook their heads and turned on their heels. They were not abandoning him, so their minds were still a bit at ease...