Incubus Ascension-Chapter 31

Pyra shoved the door open. Her face was pale, and blood ran down her arm from a nasty gash that soaked her sleeve.

She leaned against the frame for a second, breathing hard.

"Bad news," she said, her voice tight. "Really bad."

Liam jumped up from where he had been sitting and rushed over.

He grabbed her arm carefully, lifting it a bit to look at the wound without touching it too much.

His stomach twisted at the sight of all that blood. "Pyra, what the hell happened? What kind of monster did this to you?"

Pyra winced but kept her eyes on him. "It wasn’t just one. A whole swarm of them.

We were cutting through the valley near the forest on our way back.

I thought I could take a few out, but there were way too many. They just kept coming."

Beatrix let out a sharp laugh from the side, crossing her arms. "Finally. The fire bitch got humbled."

Liam shot her a hard look. "Beatrix, not now. This isn’t the time to start shit."

He turned back to Pyra, still holding her arm gently. "Can you lead us to the valley? We need to see what’s going on."

Pyra nodded quickly. She pushed off the door and started running without another word.

Liam and the girls fell in right behind her, their footsteps pounding against the ground as they moved fast through the streets and out toward the edge of the city.

When they reached the valley, they stopped at the upper ridge and looked down. Liam’s breath caught.

Below them stretched a massive swarm of monsters, dozens upon dozens of all shapes and sizes, shambling, crawling, and charging straight toward Lumina City.

The sight made his skin crawl.

He quickly activated his skill to scan them. Most sat between levels 10 and 14, with a handful of elites pushing up to level 20.

His heart started hammering in his chest.

That many monsters could wipe out countless people if they reached the city.

No way they could let that happen.

Even though the swarm looked chaotic at first glance, Liam noticed they were actually moving in a loose kind of formation.

Like someone was directing them from somewhere. His eyes followed the valley as it narrowed ahead, and an idea hit him.

He pulled out the map of the wilderness area and unfolded it on the ground.

Near the end of the valley, right beside it, a river ran close by. That could work.

Liam glanced at his system interface in his mind. "If I kill these monsters using a plan or a trap, do I still get the experience?"

The system answered right away: Positive.

A spark of excitement ran through him. Just how much exp would wiping out this entire swarm give? It could push him way up.

"Follow me," he told the girls. "I’ve got a plan."

Olivia looked at him, eyebrows raised. "What are you thinking, Liam?"

"It’s simple," he said. He crouched down and spread the map flat so they could all see.

"We head to this river here and dig a tunnel to connect it straight into the valley.

The water will flood in and take care of the monsters for us."

Pyra stared at him like he had lost his mind.

"How the heck do you think we can break through ten meters of solid rock between the river and the valley?"

Liam shrugged. "Easy. We go back to the city, grab a ton of TNT, and blow it open."

Beatrix nodded once. "Alright. I’ll go with Olivia and bring the TNT. You two figure out the rest of the plan while we’re gone."

She turned on her heel and started walking away without waiting.

Olivia gave Liam one quick look, and when he didn’t argue, she followed Beatrix.

Pyra stayed behind, crouching down next to Liam as he studied the map again.

She glanced at her injured hand and felt a wave of frustration hit her.

She hated feeling like dead weight, like she was the broken wheel slowing everyone down. No. She wasn’t going to be that person here.

"I can use my spell to detonate the TNT from a safe distance," she said quietly.

Liam’s eyes widened. "That would be perfect. Thanks, Pyra. Really."

They both stood up and started walking toward the river.

Before long, they spotted Beatrix and Olivia coming back, each carrying heavy crates of TNT.

They set them down carefully near the spot Liam had picked out.

"Everyone pull back," Liam said.

Pyra stepped forward, focused, and launched a fireball straight at the stacked crates.

The explosion roared out, shaking the ground and blasting a huge chunk of rock and dirt away.

Water from the river immediately started rushing through the new gap, pouring down into the valley.

Liam and the girls hurried back up to the ridge to watch.

From their spot, they could see the river water surging from the end of the valley and slamming into the swarm.

Monsters got swept off their feet, slammed against rocks, and carried away by the current. Screeches and roars filled the air.

Liam couldn’t help smacking his lips as notification after notification popped up with experience gains.

He checked his level and saw it climbing steadily. He was already at level 23.

Pyra walked over to him, flipping her red hair back over her shoulder. "Why are you looking so happy?"

"Why can’t I be?" Liam replied with a grin.

Meanwhile, deep at the back of the valley, the High Succubus General V sat on a makeshift throne lifted by two hulking minotaurs.

She frowned when she heard the roars from the front lines suddenly change. ’Why are they stopping?’ she thought.

She snapped her wings open and shot into the air.

Her eyes widened when she saw the monsters being pushed back by a wall of rushing water.

Anger flooded her face, turning it bright red.

In a burst of speed that broke the sound barrier, she flew straight to the flooding river.

She raised her palm and hurled a small ball of pure white light.

The moment it hit the water, it expanded into something like a second sun.

Flashing with intense heat that evaporated every drop in seconds.

Some of the monsters near the blast took damage but just shook it off with low grunts. ’Muh.’

Then she spotted the small group standing on the upper edge of the valley.

Her face twisted with rage again. "So you were the culprits."

She flew toward them in a blur. In seconds she was right there, hovering close enough to see Liam and the girls clearly.

A harsh laugh burst out of her. "Liam. Long time no see. I hope you missed me from last time."

Liam’s heart hammered hard in his chest the second he saw her. "Get ready!" he shouted at the girls.