My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

The body of the Withmare was nailed to the ground, the back of its head had been eaten away by corrosive sap, its blood and viscera painted the brown soil.

And yet, every single Squire summoned their weapons and turned them on the six-armed creature.

Its arms twitched first. Then its chest rose, or at least tried to. Its lungs tried to draw breath but were punctured by Lucen's silver spear.

The forest grew silent as its hand reached up and grabbed the spear. All the Squires stopped breathing, and the distant noise of life faded.

Lucen's heart pounded as he watched the mana move through the Withmare's soul. It was a purplish-black mana that reached through the Withmare's fingers to steal life from the plants.

"Hither, burn everything around it," Lucen ordered quickly.

Hither didn't need more encouragement. A red ball of flame crackled to life in between his two hands. Hither sent the fireball sailing towards the Withmare's corpse, the forest shook with a resounding blast.

Set and the others rushed towards them. They all separated and watched every direction with both eyes and mana sense.

"What in the underworld was that for?!" Duran shouted. "Did the corpse annoy you?"

"Hunger mana!" Helie screamed incredulously. "It came back to life, and it was filled with profane mana!"

Set's eyes flashed. "How is that possible? We're too far from the Void."

"They've been infected by something," Garin concluded. He stood unarmed, staring into the forest with a dark expression. "They'll overrun the forest soon, then they'll go into the Red Snapper territory."

Lot grimaced, he snapped his fingers at Tenibri. "Clear the fire."

Tenibri walked up to the flames and grabbed it with his bare hands. The fire rushed into his grip until it disappeared completely.

Only blackened earth and the burnt corpse of the Withmare Stalker was left behind. Lucen's spear still pinned it to the ground, red hot from the fire.

Lot knelt beside the beast with a dagger and tore open its chest, his fingers fished through the gap for a moment, and then pulled an organ free.

It was a venom sack they held in their chest. A single scratch from a Withmare and you would be racked by strange nightmares and phantom pain.

Warren had taught them that the age of a Withmare could be estimated using this organ.

Lot looked up at Garin, looking incredibly unsettled. "It was only eight months old."

A Withmare that young should still be a Fledgling. For it to have advanced this far, it was because of Hunger mana and its ability to steal the power of your enemies.

Garin turned to Duran, a smile playing on his lips. "I guess we have to fight."

Set shook his head. "If Fledglings are growing this fast then how strong will the Stalkers be, or the Fiends. There's an even greater chance of a Tyrant being out there. Respectfully, sir, this is a bad idea. We should send a—"

"And leave the beasts to grow stronger?" a Knight asked. It wasn't lost on Lucen that this Knight was one of Lot's friends, but the words were reasonable.

As long as the Withmare had Hunger mana, the Withmares could grow rapidly. There wasn't much prey in this area since they were highly territorial and herbivores. But they would scour the land and kill everything that moved.

Then they would leave the forest and go out to the wild plains and hunt down the Red Snappers. After that, there would only be Castaway Valley or the Withering Forest.

The choice was clear. If they didn't deal with this now it would spiral out of control.

"We, Knights of the Keeps, are the enemies of the Void," Aya interjected, still carrying Tara in her arms. "It is our sworn duty to fight the Void."

All the disgusted looks the crowd gave her didn't move her in the slightest. She spun around, looking each and every one of them in the eye.

"Are we cowards that would simply send for help and run?" She sneered. "We finish them now, or they'll cause another wave of horror and despair when three new Tyrants arrive at Castaway."

Her eyes lingered on Lucen for a moment, softening. She finally turned to Set, who had been watching the corpse quietly.

Then to Duran, whose face grew more furious as she continued speaking.

Garin had a sneer on his lips, but he didn't look inclined to disagree.

She turned back to Lucen again, but found him walking towards her. She tensed up, eyes worried for a second. But then he passed her and walked to his spear.

He grabbed the silver metal and ripped it from the earth. He spun it in his hands for a moment and watched his reflection in the metal.

Set looked up to him, face wooden. His lips parted to say something a few times but no words left them.

"We're all going to have to face death anyway," Lucen said calmly, "why not now?"

Duran scoffed. "Don't speak out of place now, halfblood."

Maybe speaking was a bad idea. He could see that Duran had been inclined to disagree when Aya spoke. Maybe Lucen also speaking would spur him to refuse.

Duran turned his neck till it cracked softly, he let out a breath and opened his eyes. Those golden irises were filled with conviction.

"But we must fulfil our duties as Lightcloaks. We leave the wretched beasts alive and they'll become far more dangerous."

Lucen almost smiled at Duran. The other Knights were also nodding like he had said something profound.

He had forgotten that these people were sheep; they would follow the strongest.

Garin looked excited to fight. But he was always excited to test himself. The man loved the thrill of battle like no other.

Lucen glanced at Helie. She had a strangely dark look in her eyes, but still nodded at Lucen tersely.

Set sighed, nodding. He looked a bit pale. "Okay. Let's draw up a plan, the child will lead us to their den."

Activity spread throughout the crowd. The leaders of the teams surrounded Set, Duran, and Garin as they hatched plans. Lucen walked up the slope to speak to Liam.

Hunger mana increased his [Discovery]. If they were fighting, Lucen had to make sure he killed as many as he could.