Chapter 736 - Linings
At the same time, Jarek who was sitting along the canopy on the right side of the camp suddenly twitched. His entire body trembled uncontrollably and black goo started to leak from every single facial orifice before being dragged back in a moment later.
His head jerked towards the exact direction where Niko currently was some three hundred meters away. His body became tense and he almost fell to the ground but long black strings shot out from his hands and held onto the nearby tree branches for support.
A couple of seconds later when this sensation subsided and his body returned to normal, without wasting a minute he jumped and ran towards the main campsite.
Burak was standing right outside the entrance with several shimmering tattoos on his forearms and knuckles. He heard the flurry of footsteps and turned around to look towards Jarek. His brow furrowed instantly and his heart became heavy.
He was still hoping that the night would pass without any incidents but seeing the panic in Jarek's eyes he knew what was coming. Yet still he asked, hoping dearly that that was not the case.
"What's wrong?"
"They are...here!"
Three simple words were enough to turn the entire mood somber.
Burak shook his head helplessly, letting out a bitter sigh out of habit. Everyone else had already heard Jarek loud and clear and now they were looking at him for direction.
Burak turned to face them, staring into the eyes of each of the handful of men that were still left standing by his side.
There were no words to describe how he felt at this moment. He was forced into a situation that was completely out of his control. He was in over his head, they all were. But all they could do at this point was to move forward one small step at a time, and now they were so close.
Burak swallowed all the bitterness and discontentment he felt towards their current circumstances and hardened both his heart and expression for what was to come.
"Light the fires! Draw your weapons! Stay close, stay low, and stay together no matter what happens. We only have to live through this one night!" he gave the orders.
Nothing else needed to be said. They jumped into action at once trying to finish the first layer of defenses that constituted of trenches filled with a unique tree sap gathered from trees native to this forest.
Within a few minutes the trenches were dug and all the tree sap that was gathered in the last few weeks was all poured in, finally being lit on fire at the end.
They surrounded the entire camp with the blaze, effectively trapping themselves in. This was going to be a one-way trip.
The second and third layers of defenses were the wooden stakes/barricades and finally the barbarians themselves respectively.
They finished in a hurry and got into position near the old tree trunk. But so far nothing had happened. There was absolutely nothing out of ordinary. The only noticeable change was that the fog was now so thick they couldn't see anything further than a dozen meters or so even with all the light coming from the fire.
A gust of cold wind blew towards them, threatening to put out the blaze that even water couldn't extinguish. It whistled and howled in the night, piercing their skins.
Burak was standing at the very front behind the largest barricade. Isak and Jarek were standing right next to him with furrowed brows. They waited and waited with bated breaths. Another five minutes passed but nothing of note happened.
"Do you see anything?" Burak whispered, finally not being able to take it anymore.
Jarek rotated his head sideways with a confused expression as if he couldn't understand what he himself was seeing.
"The trees..."
"Trees?" Burak craned his neck to peek outside but could not see anything out of ordinary through the cover of darkness, "What about them?"
"They...are laughing...?" Jarek spoke in a questioning tone of voice.
"Huh? What does that even-" Burak was about to turn around to look at Jarek but froze halfway.
His pupils widened and then narrowed as if trying to focus in on something in the darkness.
"W-Were there always this many trees...here...?"
They were lined so closely together that nothing beyond the first layer was visible.
Isak narrowed his eyes staring at the fog but could not pick out anything for certain. He took a step forward and raised his hand.
A black ball of flame materialized in the palm of his hand which he swiftly threw towards the tree line.
It shot through the air in what looked like slow motion to every barbarian watching and finally landed on a nondescript tree.
Isak snapped his fingers and it exploded, creating a bright flash of light for just a short moment.
*GASP*
Watching that scene almost every one of them drew in breaths of cold air, filling their lungs with the icy sensation.
There were hundreds upon hundreds of four-legged fleshy bodies lining the trees. In the darkness they couldn't be seen but with that little bit of light, they were laid bare for all to witness.
"HOLD!"