Nightblade (Darkest night)

Chapter 67: Ingenious idea



" Pull, damn it, pull for all you're worth!" Cassius yelled.

Lucian had ingeniously come up with a daring plan of fishing for food in the river.

"We may not know the source of this river, but what I'm certain of is that it should have living creatures in it. Since it doesn't dry up and it doesn't come from the mountain, it must be connected to a waterbody at some point."

Cassius' eyes lit up in understanding.

"That would mean whatever creatures are in that waterbody flow through the river as well. We might as well give it a try."

"So how exactly are we going to go about it?"

Lucian frowned, his brows knitting together in thought.

"First, we'll need to find something to use as bait. We could have used the wolf's meat, but there isn't any left."

Strangely enough, they'd found a few grotesque-looking worms embedded in the muddy banks of the dark river.

Cassius came up with the idea of using the worms as bait, tying them to strips of hide that they had cut from the three-eyed wolf.

Lucian offered one of his knives to act as the hook.

"Are you sure? You do realize these creatures aren't your run-of-the-mill fish?"

Lucian smiled.

"You've seen what my blades can do firsthand; they aren't your run-of-the-mill blades. Besides, we need a hook, something to trap our prey once it's taken the bait."

Everything went smoothly at first.

Cassius held their makeshift fishing " rope" while Samantha and Lucian stood guard, watching for the slightest shift in their surroundings.

The knife weighed down the bait, dragging it deeper into the river.

For a while, nothing happened.

"Are you sure about this? Maybe we should give hunting other creatures a try?" Cassius suggested.

Lucian cast him a furtive glance.

"Patience, Cassius. Have you ever gone fishing before? The key lies in patience. Bide your time and wait."

Cassius rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Next, you'll be asking me to call you sensei," he snorted.

After, a fierce force tugged on the hide, nearly wrenching it from Cassius' grip.

"What the hell?"

Cassius' eyes widened in surprise.

"What sort of fish is capable of such raw strength?"

He activated his ability, his eyes glowing eerily.

With his enhanced vision, he peered beneath the surface of the water.

A considerably large fish-like creature had grabbed onto the bait.

Its large fins cut the surface of the water, splitting the current into small waves on either side.

"Hey guys, I caught something! I don't think it's a fish, but I guess it'll have to do."

Then Cassius saw the blood, dark hints of crimson slowly turning the dark water red.

In its attempts to swallow the bait, the huge creature had also swallowed Lucian's knife.

Lucian's knives had been forged of a remarkable Silviric alloy, a gift from his father.

Silviric imbued the weapons with a peculiar sharpness.

The same quality had allowed the blade to cut through the wolf's hide effortlessly, and now it was firmly lodged in the creature's mouth.

Cassius grimaced, tugging on the makeshift rope with all his might, but barely managed to budge the large fish.

He quickly began losing ground, his feet slipping through the mud.

The giant fish dragged him inch by inch through the muddy banks.

Cassius' eyes widened in disbelief.

" What the hell ?! How is this even possible?"

Cassius's talented ability granted him extraordinary strength, so much so that most adult men wouldn't be a match for him if he fought them one-on-one.

Therefore, the mere idea that he would lose out in a contest of strength against a fish was preposterous.

Not even if the fish was a little larger than a cow.

" Hey Lucian! Sammy! A little help here."

Samantha and Lucian rushed over, frantically grabbing the hide.

The trio pulled on the rope, straining with all their might.

" What is it?" Lucian asked with gritted teeth.

" Can you see it?"

The veins on Cassius's arms popped out from the strain running across his forearms.

His muscles rippled, growing taut from exertion.

" It's some kind of gigantic fish monster," Cassius bit out through clenched teeth.

"It's quite big, the size of a cow or something, except it's large, really huge. Much bigger than any freaking cow that I've seen."

Inch by inch, with their combined might straining against the makeshift rope, they slowly gained traction.

A few moments later, the large creature renewed its efforts to escape, straining ferociously and violently.

The hide stretched precariously, growing taut, but it held.

Their feet slowly inched through the muddy banks, the creature dragging the three of them closer to the river.

" If this keeps up, we'll be the ones to end up in its belly." Cassius thought grimly.

In the next moment, his eyes glowed brighter.

Fur sprouted across his forearms, and his muscles bulged slightly.

The nails on his fingers elongated, turning into claws, and his teeth lengthened into fangs.

Cassius let out a feral growl, then roared defiantly.

" Hey Lucian, back up a bit, I'll handle this." He grunted.

Lucian threw him a curious look, then moved further up.

Samantha shrieked in alarm when they suddenly lost ground, rapidly sliding through the mud.

" What are you two doing?!"

They stopped just short of falling into the river.

Cassius growled and then tugged brutally on the hide.

He firmly planted his feet in the mud, then pulled once more.

With a roar, the huge creature flew out of the river, landing on the bank a small distance away from them.

Cassius turned around with a growl.

He charged towards the struggling creature, quickly closing the distance.

His claws flashed through the air in precise arcs, easily slicing through the creature's soft underbelly.

He savagely ripped out its innards, then threw his head up, roaring with primal fury.

The enormous creature thrashed wildly on the ground, twitching erratically in the final throes of death.

Dark blood pooled beneath it. The ground was quickly covered in a dark crimson.

Cassius stood over the creature, its thick hide glistening wetly in the sun.

Dark, warm blood dripped down onto the sand from his claws.

Two jagged tusks jutted out of the side of the creature's mouth.

Samantha silently watched Cassius in silent surprise.

He reverted to his original form, his muscles and claws shrinking back and returning to their normal state.

Lucian peered at him, then flashed him a bright smile.

" Great work, man. That was something else."

Cassius looked at him in surprise, his brows knitting in confusion.

" You're not shocked, or frightened?"

Lucian stared at him in amusement.

" Of course not, I'm quite aware of the abilities of the Talented. If I'm not mistaken, you can fully transform. What you did just now was a partial transformation."

Cassius nodded, then broke into a smile.

" Come on, let's take what we can while we can."

They began the bloody process of cutting up the meat.

Cassius expertly butchered the creature, swiftly cutting through the thick meat and laying it out into slabs that could be carried.

Lucian and Samantha transported the meat back to the burrow while Cassius kept watch.

Fortunately, the creature's blood hadn't attracted any of the bigger predators. Yet.

After their fifth trip, Samantha and Lucian were panting heavily, their faces flushed from the heat.

Just then, the wind carried over a shrill scream.

Across the river, two faint silhouettes dashed frantically towards them, rapidly closing the distance.

" They're coming from the forest," Samantha whispered.

The two figures frenziedly sprinted across the sand, swiftly approaching the river.

Lucian frowned, squinting at the figures.

" Is that...?"

Cassius stared into the distance, his eyes glowing.

His pupils widened like a cat's, his expression becoming cold and inscrutable.

" Amanda..." he muttered.

" Lucian glanced at him in confusion

" What was that?"

" The girl, the redhead, her name's Amanda. She's a Talented, like me and Sammy."

Lucian narrowed in contemplation.

" Another Talented in Tenebris, what the hell?!"

The redhead kept up with the blonde-haired girl running in front of her, her legs pumping like pistons across the sand.

The blonde reached the river and then dove in without hesitation, frantically swimming across the wide expanse of the dark water.

Amanda stopped, hesitantly, then briefly turned back.

Behind her, a loud groan echoed, carrying through the mysterious forest in the distance.

The sand trembled in the distance, slowly flowing down the dunes, then turning into a full-scale sand slide.

In the next instant, a gigantic spider hurtled out of the forest.

The huge creature forcefully snapped the trees at the forest's periphery in half.

In one horrifying move, the gargantuan spider hopped onto a tree and then launched itself into the air, rapidly approaching Amanda.

Lucian's blood ran cold. His eyes widened in disbelief.

His mind refused to take in the unbelievable sight.

Amanda's eyes widened like saucers, her body trembling violently.

" Why isn't she moving?!" Lucian asked, confusion marring his face.

Talia was halfway across, swimming forcefully against the current.

Cassius threw her the bloody hide.

"Grab on!"

Talia gratefully grabbed it, sighing in relief.

Cassius hauled her across, helping her up.

"What's wrong with your friend? Why isn't she jumping in?

Talia coughed violently, struggling to catch her breath.

She whispered something incoherent.

"What was that?" Cassius asked.

"I think she's afraid, "Talia bit out.

Lucian's eyes widened in realization.

"She can't swim, shit! She probably can't swim."

He turned back to the bank.

"Amanda, jump! Jump!" he shouted.


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