Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 310 – Light Faction Survivors (5)

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!

The messengers who conveyed the commands throughout the base were evidently jaguars, capable of traversing vast areas faster than anyone else.

Upon receiving the message from the Jaguar Warriors, civilians hastily packed their belongings.

Seuk seuk…!

[Mommy, where are we going?]

A dirty, emaciated Ocelot child, who had not eaten or bathed for weeks, tugged at his mom's shirt and asked.

[T-That is…]

The mother Ocelot shed a tear upon seeing how gaunt her child had become.

Originally, the child was supposed to sleep during the day and venture out to hunt or combat monsters at night to develop into a warrior. However, that was no longer possible as they were on the run from the hyenas.

[W-We are going to move to a better place,] she explained.

[Wow! Really?!] the child exclaimed.

[Y-Yes…] the mother Ocelot replied.

She tried her best to smile for her child, who became elated upon hearing that they were finally leaving their current dwelling place.

[Then! Then! Can we eat meat every day?!] the child eagerly asked.

[Yes, of course.]

[Wow! I’m so excited to move!] the young Ocelot exclaimed.

Hunger had gripped him, and recently, he had only consumed tree barks, mushrooms, or bitter grass.

Most Bastrolings were omnivores, so they weren't in immediate danger from a plant-based diet. However, being beasts, they preferred meat, which was an essential part of their diet. Consuming enough meat was crucial for utilizing their strength and growing stronger.

[Wow! Wow!] the child expressed his excitement at the prospect of finally eating meat after a long time and eagerly helped his mother pack.

‘My poor baby…’

The mother felt her heart being torn into pieces at the sight of her baby's innocence.

'We will reclaim our dimension so you can have a future…'

Having already lost her husband and two sons to the hyenas, the only ones remaining were her and her youngest son. Therefore, she could not afford to give up now, no matter how challenging life became. She had to keep surviving for her only remaining child.

[Please hurry! Our scouts have reported that the hyenas have started to appear in this area recently! We need to hurry!]

[Ah, yes!]

The Bastrolings began packing faster upon hearing about the hyenas.

Once considered a mere nuisance in their dimension, the hyenas had now become objects of fear for the ordinary Bastrolings.

'I don't want to live as a walking corpse that will never die!'

The Bastrolings would rather end their lives than become the puppets of the hyenas.

***

[Hurry up, everyone!]

[Okay!]

It didn't take long for the Bastrolings to pack, given that they only had a few clothes and essential items. They hadn't been able to gather much in the first place, as they were in a hurry to escape from the hyenas. Moreover, their frequent escapes had made them quite adept at packing quickly.

Thud… Thud…

[…]

The evacuation was eerily quiet. Not a single word was uttered, even though it wouldn't have been strange if someone did. However, the Bastrolings were simply too exhausted from being on the run for too long to spare energy on conversation.

[Haa…] Taichin sighed as she looked back at the long line of refugees trailing behind her.

Tsk…

Kandir clicked his tongue and commented, [It seems that you felines are having a tough time, just like us canines.]

[All Bastrolings in the Light Faction are struggling now, and only those who managed to seek refuge in the far west have it slightly better.]

[The far west?]

[Ah, did you not hear the rumors? A tree that flowers only once in a thousand years started blooming recently, and surprisingly, the tree is preventing the corrupted soldiers from taking even a single step toward it. I’m not sure about the Hyena Warriors, but the Hyena Sorcerers aren’t willing to take a single step forward because of it.]

[Oh? So that place is a safe place?]

[Yes, that’s why most of the Bastrolings in the Light Faction have gathered there.]

Then, a question suddenly popped up in Kandir’s head. [But why didn’t you go there, Taichin?]

[Ah, I was interested as well, so I did some digging about it but…] Taichin’s face suddenly darkened.

[Were the rumors false?] Kandir asked, concerned, but she shook her head.

[No, the rumors were true. I sent some Jaguar Warriors to scout, and they brought back information that the corrupted soldiers and Hyena Sorcerers were indeed kept away by the Thousand Year Tree.]

[Then why?]

[First of all, the area the tree covers was not that wide, and the Hyena Sorcerers have fully encircled the place with their corrupted soldiers, making it impossible for anything to get in or out.]

[That’s the worst-case scenario possible…]

[Yes, it might be safe for now, but historical records state that the Thousand Year Tree blossoms for two years at most. Meaning, they might be able to fend off the hyenas for two years, but the area the tree protects will gradually shrink over time. Then, the stress and fear from the clock ticking is eventually going to push the Bastrolings living there off the edge, and they will either kill themselves or ignite an internal conflict and end up killing each other.]

[That’s horrible…]

[Yes, that’s why I gave up on going there despite finding a secret tunnel leading to it. I decided that it’s probably safer for us to continue being on the run, even though it’s quite hard on us, rather than being trapped in a single place. After all, the hyenas don’t rule every corner of the Bastro Dimension yet.]

[Well, I guess you’re right.]

‘We had the same idea too…’ Kandir thought.

Neither of them knew about the existence of the Thousand Year Tree, but they led their people to places that were not under the hyenas’ control.

Anyway, they continued to lead the group of refugees toward the cave they, the canines, used. However, after a while of starting their march, something unexpected happened.

“D-Damn it!”

[What is it, Har… I mean, Han-Yeol-nim?]

“It’s the hyenas.”

[What?!]

[W-What did you say?]

Han-Yeol walked with Demon Eyes activated the entire time, just in case there were any unforeseen dangers. His Demon Eyes were now able to detect everything within a six-kilometer radius around him after leveling up to Master Rank. While he was walking, a group of dark mana entered the six-kilometer radius of Demon Eyes, alerting him of their presence.

[N-No way,] Taichin immediately refuted what Han-Yeol said. [You are weaker than me, so how can you sense the hyenas when I can’t sense them? Maybe you’ve mistaken something else for them?]

Her skepticism was valid as she had no knowledge of Han-Yeol’s skills. However, that was not the case for Kandir.

[You fool! Han-Yeol-nim has a special skill that allows him to see further than us Bastrolings! He doesn’t simply sense the presence but directly sees mana! Damn it! Have those hyenas discovered us already?!]

“No, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

[Huh?]

“They’re walking quite slowly, and they wouldn’t be walking that slowly if they knew we’re here. I would rush to catch my prey if I were them, so they are probably here to scout after hearing that there was a group of Bastrolings hiding in this place.”

[T-Then we must hurry!]

“But that’s also not possible.”

[Why?]

“Unfortunately, the direction they are heading toward is our destination, and they are currently over there,” Han-Yeol said as he pointed northwest from their current position.

[Damn it…]

The trail turned narrower the further they went, so they were bound to run into them later on.

[That means they are coming toward us as we speak…]

[Damn it!]

[What should we do?]

The leaders of the felines started to panic.

The Hyena Scouts were only called scouts by name, but they were more like the ‘cleaners’. They dragged around an army of corrupted soldiers, and they would corrupt any Bastroling that they came across, regardless of whether they were a part of the Light Faction or not.

“Kandir.”

[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?]

“We will hit them first.”

[…Yes, I understand.]

It was a difficult order to understand, but Kandir accepted it without any questions. Unfortunately, that did not mean everyone else agreed with him.

[You’re mad! The Hyena Scouts, no, Hyena Cleaners always bring around one to two thousand corrupted soldiers along with them. We are two hundred at most, and it’s impossible for us to fight against two thousand corrupted soldiers, no matter how superior we are to them. We might somehow win against them, but we’re going to end up losing half of our warriors. We can’t afford to let our warriors die a meaningless death when we’re already lacking in numbers!]

‘Ah, so they have reached this low…’ Han-Yeol lamented inwardly.

The Warriors of the Bastro Dimension were not scared of anything back when he had been the Dimension Lord. It did not matter how powerful the enemy was, as the warriors only cared about fighting them and emerging victorious.

In fact, even the Jaguar Warriors had challenged him again and again until they were on the brink of extinction, fully knowing that they were going to lose.

However, those were the tales of old, as the once proud warriors were now shrinking back at the mere mention of the hyenas.

‘This can’t go on…’

They were warriors who had even challenged the Dragon of Destruction.

‘But what can I do right now…?’

He might be the soul that had controlled Harkan, but he was just a guest from a first dimension at the moment.

[Imbeciles!]

Then, Kandir suddenly shouted, distracting Han-Yeol from his thoughts.

[…]

He looked up and saw Taichin avoiding Kandir’s gaze, even though she was obviously much stronger than him. Han-Yeol could see that her face was red from shame.

‘Yes, it must be humiliating. You must be ashamed of yourself right now,’ he thought.

He was sure that no matter how low the Bastro Warriors had fallen, they were still warriors at heart. Thus, they probably knew that their honors were down in the gutters right now, and fear was just a convenient excuse for them.

[Taichin.]

[Yes?]

[Do you want to die an honorable death or do you want to live in shame?]

[That is…!] Taichin wanted to retort, but she was speechless.

She was not in the position to talk about honor as she had far too many people depending on her.

[We will ambush them.]

[Okay…] Taichin was able to get a grip thanks to Kandir.

[Warriors! Step forward!]

[Yes, lord!]

Chwak!

The warriors bid farewell to their families before swiftly mobilizing.

Tak! Tak! Tak! Shwak! Shwak! Shwak!

The warriors climbed trees or ran on the ground toward a narrow ravine where the hyenas were definitely going to pass later.

Of course, all of this was planned by Han-Yeol, and he was the one commanding this operation.

[Is this the right place?]

“Yes, the hyenas will definitely pass this place as long as they don’t suddenly change their direction.”

[Hmm… It’s a relief if they do end up passing here. We’re already fighting an uphill battle, so we could reduce our casualties if we are able to ambush them.]

“I guess this is a battle we must win,” Mariam said.

“Yes, that’s right,” Han-Yeol replied.

They set up an ambush at the ravine, and Taichin sent out the Jaguar Warriors to scout the incoming hyenas. It went without saying that this did not sit well with Kandir.

[Tsk… Why do you have to put the jaguars in danger when Han-Yeol-nim’s eyes are already quite accurate?]

Kandir was displeased by the fact that Taichin sent out twenty Jaguar Warriors to scout when Han-Yeol was already keeping track of the hyenas with his ability.

[Please understand that we have our own ways just like how your guest has his own ability.]

[Hmph! We can forget about the ambush if those jaguars get caught. I hope you’re aware of that?]

[Hoho! Yes, I am. However, you don’t have to be worried about our Jaguar Warriors as they aren’t amateurs that will get caught by those hyenas. In fact, not a single jaguar has fallen while scouting the hyenas until now!]

[Keep in mind that danger always lurks around the corner, and once is more than enough for an entire race to be wiped off the face of our dimension.]

[Ah, you’re now rubbing salt on our wound…]