Chapter 81 81 Battles IV

Chapter 81 Chapter 81 Battles IV

Nexus did not give a damn, he gorged through cake after cake, slowing down only to exhale for a moment.

With the wind howling in the background like a pack of wind wolves, Nexus stretched his neck- in deep satisfaction. His growling stomach finally settled down- bulging shamelessly, silently appreciating Nexus for filling it with something other than beef jerky.

He glanced over at the entrance to the tent.

He imagined how soft and cushy the insides would be.

Having satisfied his craving, he was already starting to feel super heavy.

'Damn it," he sighed; "If I don't get up right now, I might actually collapse here. . ."

His whole body began to feel like lead.

Eyes lids drooping, vision blurry, and heartbeat slowing down, Nexus' mind also began to shut down.

"Shit," he cursed as he rolled over on his elbow. He pursed his lips, and willed himself to rise up.

He did.

But not without great effort.

Planting both his arms firmly on the ground; he pushed his knees upwards, forcing his upper body up in a slow arc.He groaned. It was like doing push ups after two dozen years of being a couch slob- but while heavily sedated.

Pursing his lips, Nexus put his left foot first, and swung the other. Staggering in that fashion, He braved through the dense haze that was his own fatigue. Standing before the flapping fabric that was the tent's door, he all but flung himself inside.

Of his own freewill, Nexus came crashing down through the void, drinking a full cup of gravity's Kool-Aid, ending his trip with the muffled sound of his body landing on the feathered makeshift bed inside.

But even before he touched down, Nexus was already half asleep.

While he drifted off to la-la land, Monica stood outside like a sentinel, arms crossed over her chest, brows furrowed together in a deep concentration, pretending to keep watch, but really- thinking about nothing else but Ni Yang.

With the whole of his heart, he had devoured those raisin cakes- without knowing she had made them herself.

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At midnight- when the howling winds began their nocturnal reign over the terrain, just when the air was starting to smell like ocean breeze, just when the sweet sleep was beginning to get the point of intoxication, Nexus was gifted a delightful message from the system;

[ALERT! ALERT!! ALERT!!!]

Nexus stirred- but slowly, not with urgency of one in danger.

The sleep was heavy and deep. It felt like he was at the bottom of a lake, and hearing the faint vibrations of a submachine gun on the surface. The intensity was there. But Nexus felt strangely disconnected to it- like a wall in between.

There was a wall alright.

And it remained stoic- in the form of exhaustion.

In a tone that sounded like it came in caps lock, the blaring message came again, echoing violently into his ears, violating the sanctity of his personal time, and rudely interrupting his rem cycle;

[INCOMING INTRUDERS! INCOMING INTRUDERS AT CLOSE PROXIMITY!!]

Nexus eyes fluttered open in a heartbeat.

His peaceful, cherubic sleeping face was immediately displaced by a grim, tense expression.

Instantly, the overbearing sense of imminent danger engulfed his entire being- slowly, like a destroying flame eating away at a fleshy sacrifice, or like black storm clouds covering his entire world, subjecting them to the overbearing feeling of something being awfully wrong.

A dangerous combination besieged him as Nexus rolled over to his side, and sprang up- his eyes zigzagged wildly in his sockets, noting every shadow through the fabric of the tent. His mind groggy- and his head was pounding dangerously, Nexus bolted straight upright. and crouched low in the tent- listening, and watching.

[BE ADVISED, THERE IS A DANGEROUS CREATURE APPROACHING FROM THE EAST. THREAT IS TO BE TREATED AS A HOSTILE.]

[CAUTION IS ADVISED.]

The danger was so real, and so imminent, Nexus felt the sizzling silence screaming at him to run.

And then, it struck him like lightning- MONICA!

Thinking the worst, Nexus' feet sank into the soft floor of the tent, and plunged himself forward- not minding what was out there. In those tiny few moments, a thousand scenarios played out in his head with terrifying vividness- her mangled corpse, chewed badly by some mountain lion, or burned through with an Ice Crystal sword!

In slow motion, and yet, at a dazzling speed, Nexus' hands reached for the flaps, twirled his fingers into its folds, and swung it open with all his might.

His chest tightened as he held his breath.

Before him, the thick ubiquitous darkness of the night greeted his wide eyes. The summer night's air was cold against his face, and smelled of looming rainfall. His ears was assaulted by the winds howling- like a pack of wind wolves. The tall grasses shuffled slightly as the leaves rustled through it. Up in the sky, the crescent moon was now behind him, casting everything before him in a faint silvery light.

Nexus gaze swept through the span of the clearing in one powerful swoop- looking for any sign of danger, and looking for Monica as well.

His heart dropped in his rib cage. Every atom of sleep vanished completely from his eyes, as fear bubbled out in toxic fumes;

'No. . .' his mouth went dry; 'No. . .'

There she was, at the far right, laying on the floor- on her side, one arm sprawled across the other, unmoving, unconscious- dead?

Without thinking at all, he sprang forward and raced towards her in a fog of his own fears- scared to bits he would find her body cold, or mangled, raped bloody or worse. . .

With his own body slightly rested, and a little lighter, Nexus covered the distance in quick fluid strides. In an instant, he was at her side. Unable to decelerate at such a high velocity, he ended up skidding, and dropped to a squat at her side.

She was lying on her side. His heart beating wildly, he placed his hand on her head- it was warm.

Instantly, her eyes jerked open- and her face twisted in surprise;

"What the fu–"

Nexus shifted his large hand from her head and draped it across her mouth- muffling the words of her protests. In the dark, he lifted up his finger to his lip, gesturing her to be quiet. As the redhead complied, his head jerked upwards, moving in rotational motions, searching the landscape with focused eyes.

As Monica's heart pounded dangerously in her chest, Nexus' piercing gaze spanned through the arc his eyes had covered. Unconsciously, he manifested his true rank, by using his activating his sensors to scan for any spiritual wavelength within a three feet radius.

There was no physical presence- and yet, he still felt the heaviness in the air. It hung like a low cloud, disorienting his thoughts, and impacting his overrall peace.

As he saw no physical evidence of zero shadows waiting in the dark, he slowly removed his palm from her mouth. Immediately, her steely voice rasped in a cold quiet whisper;

"What happened?!" her tone was eager, and inquisitive.

"I thought I sensed something. I'm not sure about that though."

She frowned as her lithe body gracefully leaned forward...