Aron didn't need to wait long for the rains to descend as they began to do so shortly after the male Drakar who had entered last, left.
As raindrops fell from the clouds above, the already gloomy mood of that region of limbo turned bleak and foreboding.
Aron raised his head and gave a fleeting grin as the aroma of water blending with the formerly dry terrain reached his nose.
The sound of the rain increasing in volume was quickly overpowered by the Drakar's raucous cheers, which seemed to be marking some sort of occasion.
Grah!~
Even the female Drakar that was sleeping in the den where Aron had hidden raised its head and let out a roar before showing a pleased expression.
There was only a brief period of roaring and cheering before one loud voice took over.
"The rains are falling and another season to hunt as began! We men will will scour the lands for the finest of prey to feed the coming generations and the mothers looking after them. I Sorij promise this!"
Grah!~
The owner of the thunderous voice delivered a brief statement to all who could hear, including Aron, who wondered what role that particular Drakar played and if it was also powerful.
However, from what Aron could observe from the grey-scaled Drakar, they were matriarchal. So he doubted the role was too great.
Following the end of the cheers, a violent gust of wind blew continuously into the den Aron was hiding in, causing him to become alert.
Thankfully, this only lasted a second because he quickly realized the wind wasn't caused by a threat.
Instead, it was caused by thousands of male Drakar flying into the air at the same time, leaving behind strong winds.
He could only keep his head down and wait for it to pass, concerned that the wind might make the armor he was still wearing generate a loud noise.
Thankfully, that did not happen, and a short while later, the wind died down and he could hear the rain falling again.
Aron let out a light sigh and looked in the direction of the sleeping female, content that she hadn't noticed him yet.
To be safe, he waited a little longer before deciding to act.
Aron had thoroughly considered his chances of success in the time he had been waiting, given the numbers he was up against and the unknown potential of a strong opponent. He came to the conclusion that the odds were stacked against him.
Aron didn't doubt his strength, but even he didn't want to overestimate himself and die an early death.
At the same time, he felt he had come too far to leave without a single gain. As a result, he devised a completely different plan, one in which he could leave satisfied with his work.
After confirming that the female Drakar was sound asleep, Aron stood up again and began walking towards the exit.
He stared out at the many dens he could see from afar and the portion of the valley visible to him.
However, he couldn't see a single Drakar out and about, implying that his assumption was valid and that most of the remaining Drakar had returned to their dens.
'Let's not waste this time then.'
Aron launched from the den's entrance down to the earth below after confirming that no Drakar were present on the ground or in the sky.
His destination? The deeper parts of the mountainous valley he was in.
Aron needed to travel another five kilometres for this, which he accomplished considerably faster this time because the pouring rain concealed his scent and movement.
He rushed past puddles and streaming water that was gradually rising. The deeper he went, the more he noticed an increase in where the water reached his body.
'I must be getting closer to where the rains likely cause floods. Here should be fine.'
Upon realizing that fact, Aron no longer moved forward but instead just looked upward.
He was currently standing in a narrow valley surrounded by mountain faces on both the left and right sides.
The walkway was just ten meters wide, which seemed like a lot if you crossed it alone, but it was far too narrow for a group of five or more, especially when they possessed large wings.
'Perfect.'
He thought before beginning to ascend the right mountain face. As he ascended, he placed a runic sheet at different strategic weak points.
This continued for many kilometers until he reached the point where the narrow path ended and connected to a tremendously violent river.
The river ran straight through the mountains he was in. It was approximately a kilometer wide and ran farther than he could see.
The dirty brown color was a clear indicator that it was a river that formed when the rains began, meaning the path was likely empty or had a tiny stream flowing there before the rains.
The river ran from high to low land; the speed was fierce, and the debris it carried made it even more deadly.
'Navigating through that is suicide regardless of strength. Water would force itself into you far quicker than you can fight it, not to mention the heavy debris you'd keep colliding with. No wonder they build their dens into the faces of mountains, well above the flooding mark.'
Aron paused to properly analyze the river because, at that point, the terrain was his biggest weapon, and he intended to use that fully.
After some time, he was finally done and was ready to turn back. Before doing so, he jumped over to the other mountain face; he couldn't descend because, at that point, he was so deep into the valley that the water on the narrow path was many meters deep.
As he returned along the other mountain face, he planted the remaining runic papers in various strategic spots till he reached his starting point.
From there, he descended to the land where the water only reached his knees and began heading back to the valley's higher ground, where most of the dwellings were.
Once there, he stopped using his camouflage, no longer seeing a reason to use it since the goal was now to get the Drakar's attention.
However, since they were yet to spot him, he felt he should at least thin out the numbers until they did so.
With this in mind, Aron returned to the den he first hid, where the female Drakar was still sound asleep next to her egg.
With this in mind, Aron returned to the den he first hid, where the female Drakar was still sound asleep next to her egg.
Surprisingly even they were drowned out due to a large amount of rainfall pouring down.
The female Drakar didn't flinch until he was only about a meter away because of a peculiar noise near her.
By the time she slowly opened her eyes to inspect, Aron was already close to her.
Snap! ~
His nearly 3-meter stature was superior to her two-and-a-half-meter one, so he could easily place his hands around her neck and crack it swiftly.
As for the egg, he looked at it for a moment and showed a smirk.
'Another potential gain arises from all this.'