I Will Survive Till The End: Blood Extermination Academy-Chapter 178: There’s Always A Way
Chapter 178: There’s Always A Way
Arc 3, Chapter 178— There’s Always A Way
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Levon’s eyes dimmed.
—The madness had already begun.
Throwing his head behind his shoulders, he narrowed his gaze several cabins away. Over there, a bunch of Old Bloodrens from another cabin had gone over to snatch the tokens of the new Bloodrens in another cabin.
Oh? Aren’t those Bloodrens lodged in Hendrix’s cabin? Levon watched silently.
Hendrix pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose without saying a word. However, Payne Ignier and the others in his group seemed to telepathically understand his thoughts.
They took action, taking the tokens back and holding onto them for the weaker group they shared their cabins with.
Was Hendrix always so kind?... Maybe... maybe not... who knows...
Each cabin had 2 groups lodged in them. Hendrix’s side just retrieved the tokens of the other group they shared their cabins with.
With dread on their faces, several groups in various Cabins, now held onto their tokens tighter than ever. Everyone knows that losing a badge was automatic disqualification from venturing into Phase 2... So how can they accept such a thing after all the hard work they had put into surviving and making it through for this long?
No way!
Everyone now looked at each other cautiously, for fear that those who had enmity with them would try to steal their badges. It’s bad enough that they have to deal with enemy attacks while getting little to no sleep. And now, they also have to guard against other Bloodren 10s too?
Ugh~
Many had no tears but wished to cry.
Well, that was that.
After dividing the team up, Levon and those selected jumped off the train, falling from an incredible height that could turn anyone into paste upon impact.
Activating their shards, they glided down as though wind surfing. Looking left and right, their eyes focused on the peculiar reddish-orange Autumn leaves and trees that stretched out for as far out as the eyes could see.
"We have to gather sturdy wood, so that the snails can fix the cabin, back to new.
"Yeah. We need wood that can take a beating from the enemy... not wood that would shatter from a single punch."
Anyone with a brain can see that the wood used to make these cabins were superior to normal tree wood one can see in the outside world. It wasn’t just them who thought the same, but others like Florianna and Hendrix who jumped off the trains and spreaded out in different directions.
Some also jumped off the trains, not in search of construction materials, but FOOD.
Berries, fruits... anything to fill their stomachs at this point.
They dared not go too far from the trains. But what they didn’t know was that whether far or near... the enemy has always been WATCHING.
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Time to Explore!
Levon’s exploration group consisted of 6 people, including himself.
What a terrible forest. The leaves hung like bloodied hands from the twisted branches, with their reddish-orange hues unnaturally vibrant against the dim skies.
Leo adjusted his collar against the shill that seemed to penetrate deeper than the temperature they encountered before entering the forest. The further they progressed, the colder it got.
"It’s like Dead Man’s land, here." He another muttered."
Don’t blame them for complaining. The temperature change was just too drastic for them not to notice. It was clear as day that something wasn’t right about this place—especially the trees.
"Have you noticed? There’s not a single leaf on the ground." Shugo frowned, narrowing his gaze thoughtfully. "They’re all still clinging to the twisted branches."
"Hmm." Levon nodded grimly. "Trees with these types of leaves should be bare, or at least, should have started the shedding process."
In autumn, one sees the leaves on the trees turn brownish red, brownish-orange, and fall. But these ones seemed to defy logic, refusing to fall despite their dull crunchy state. The forest floors were barren, gloomy, and devoid of the usual Carpets of leaves one would expect.
How odd...But then again, this tree was in the Church’s Turf. So that alone was an explanation for its weirdness.
’Perhaps there’s something about these trees... something, I cannot see. Poison?’
Levon shook his head wryly, feeling that if it were truly poison, Shugo would have been excited compared to now.
In they went, deeper and deeper. The forest stretched before them, growing increasingly dense the deeper they ventured in search of suitable timber for repairs. And along the way, the group would stop for inspection, scrutinizing any tree they felt was suitable. Sadly, the results were disappointing.
What’s the point of even doing repairs if they have to use such flimsy timber? A single punch from the weakest Ghoul can shatter this timber into smithereens. So why bother?
—They must keep going deeper if they want success.
"Is that truly wise?" The leader of the other group frowned. "The trees are getting thicker the further we advance, and you know what that means."
—Darkness!
The trees and thick leaves will keep blocking off what little sunlight they already have. In nutshell, what had begun as twilight dimness, will soon turn into midnight gloom the more they walk.
That was the sort of darkness that people in the outside world grab a flashlight for. And as they say: Evil likes to prey at night. So was it truly wise to keep walking?
Sure enough, mid-way through the guy’s complaining, everyone could sense rustling in the distance.
What’s going on now? Their hearts drummed chaotically as they unsheathed their weapons. Fortunately, it was just a wild rabbit, one that looked like a dog, and was even more ripped and jacked up than many gym goers.
It was foaming in the mouth, and had crooked but pointy teeth that told everyone that it was here for business.
Slash!
Leo killed it off the second it ran towards him in a crazy manner, like a rabbit on drugs. Well, since it was the size of an actual dog? Can the foam be due to rabies?
"We continued," Levon gave out the order and everyone moved in momentary daze that only lasted for a few seconds.
In the end, they knew the importance of good timber and couldn’t back down at this time, no matter the cost. Along the way, they fended off giant birds and beasts living in the peculiar forest. Until soon, they finally found a tree worth tearing apart.
"Hey, how about this one?"
Levon rushed past Shugo, inspecting the tree found alongside others. "Decent."
Good. They’ve found their tree. But now, how to actually cut it down?
Upon closer inspection, Levon felt such a tree would be difficult to cut down without proper technique. And sure enough, he was right. Shugo activated his shard, slashing, slicing and dicing in all directions to no avail. In the end, only a few surface-level dents and scratches appeared.
"Hey..." Shugo shrugged. "It’s a tough nut to crack. Any ideas?"
Many quickly shook their heads, feeling somewhat at a loss. In their minds, Shugo’s strength was something to be revered, by their standards. So if after all that, the tree didn’t bulge, then what do you expect they were weaker than him to do?
Leo had his hands behind the back of his head in a lazy manner, while also keeping watch of their surroundings. He too was clueless on what not to do. However, seeing Levon’s head lowered, he knew their Boss already had something in mind.
"Everything has a weakness..." Levon muttered, walking up to the tree with unhurried steps. "Origin Breathing..."
Why were they so quick to often forget about this breathing technique?
Recalling the advice he received from Winhest, Yaeger, Sultan, and Gaara,... Levon seemed to understand.
"Phase 2..." He began, his right palm now in contact with the trees. "I understand.... This phase is solely for Orin Breathing. Meaning to win, we will have to rely on its complexity."
So now, the question is: How exactly do they cut down this tree using the Origin Breathing?
’There’s always a way...’
With his palm on the tree, Levon closed his eyes in deep focus. And thanks to the Origin Breathing technique, he could see the origins and life force of the tree, with all its nutrients flowing towards the trees, roots buried underground.
In his concentration, everything else was pitch black, except the many green streaks of energy flowing up and down simultaneously.
Some energy traveled from the surrounding grounds to the root, and then to the tree trunks, branches and leaves. At the same time, the leaves and other outer parts that absorbed sunlight and other nutrients, also turned it into energy and transferred down to the roots and surrounding soils.
No matter how many times he used it, Levon always felt amazed. With the Origin Breathing technique, Levon could see it all. And after enough scrutiny, Levon finally found a weakness.
’There... One of the roots.’
That was a good starting point.
"We need to Dig here!"