"What did the creature that attacked you look like?"
The man who spoke commanded respect from the other three men who surrounded him on their horses, clearly he was the highest authority present in the small caravan.
Naturally, Alex wouldn't gain anything by lying to the man and he didn't have anything to hide — other than the stuff involving his stats panel, but those were irrelevant to his current situation anyway.
"The creature was a behemoth at least 10 metres tall, covered in green grass-like hairs on its back."
The man winced when he heard that. "The entire Murky forest is now a black zone, we need to leave right now!," he said as his gaze remained focused on Alex. "You have to come with us and relay exactly what you just told me to the Valentis City guards when you arrive."
Alex looked awkward and sceptical at the man's words.
He had no idea who these guys were, yet now they wanted him to follow them!
Alex frowned, but he was powerless currently against the armoured caravan and these experienced soldiers.
'If worst comes to worst, I can try to escape.'
"Okay," he slowly said. "I'll follow you to Valentis City."
Left with no other choice, Alex hopped up to take a seat next to the driver of the carriage and watched the scenery go by with vigilance.
He was keeping a watch both on the forest and the soldiers leading the carriage.
They moved at a fast pace through the narrow dirt roads. So fast in fact that the horses pulling the carriage and carrying the soldiers were beginning to lose stamina at a much faster rate than normal.
But it was almost like they had a sixth sense that alerted them to the extreme, as if it was telling them that they would die if they didn't leave the forest quickly.
The tension on the leading man's face reached a new extreme as he noticed something out of the ordinary.
Silence.
The usual bustling and boisterous Murky forest was now completely drowned in heavy silence. Not even the passing of falling leaves, no wind brushing through the canopy, no cries and howls of the occasional beast. Nothing.
Alex noted the change in expression of the leading man as he averted his eyes to wherever the man was scanning.
It only took him a few seconds to also notice the abnormality of the forest.
He may have grown up on a desolate rock with not a green in sight, but he wasn't stupid!
"Ride! Quickly and as fast as you can, ride for Valentis immediately!"
A bitter grin appeared on Alex's face.
'I can't catch a fucking break...'
Not another word was spoken, nor did there need to be.
Everyone in the caravan had noticed the silence of the forest by now and all took the reins of their horses, ushering them to go at full speed.
Before the group had even moved 20 metres from where they stopped to pick Alex up, an explosion sounded as the trees collapsed and blocked the road behind them.
Alex and the rest of the caravan were horrified!
Not even the sounds of the collapsing trees created a sound! It was as if they were in a vacuum...
The only sounds they could hear were the sounds of heavy breathing and hooves hitting the ground in rapid succession.
'Keep up, you piece of shit!'
Alex kicked and pulled hard on the reins of his horse. The horse was breathing heavily and making strange noises, struggling to keep up with the rest of the caravan.
'These guys could have at least given me a more capable horse!'
Alex looked back behind him at the carnage that was ensuing and slowly catching up to the group.
He no longer resented the capability of his horse when he witnessed a couple of the straying horses at the back of the caravan getting tripped up on rocks, letting out desperate cries before they suddenly stopped when they were consumed by the dust cloud and fallen trees.
A vague silhouette of the Galephant could be seen in the dust cloud, prompting the caravan to push their horses even harder.
The leading man looked back at the slowly encroaching Galephant, knowing that if they didn't do something then it would catch up very soon!
He suddenly jumped off his horse, pushing his legs with all they had as he dashed at an unfathomable speed towards the dust cloud, the sounds of his feet hitting the ground getting snuffed out when he reached it.
The other soldiers looked back in shock. They didn't expect their leader to do such a thing!
In the dust cloud, the figure of the Galephant revealed itself in front of the man as it stopped in it's tracks and gazed at him intensely with it's burning red eyes.
"Fuck off!"
The man gave a simple shout as he summoned a 20 metre dome of earth and stone, encasing the behemoth sized creature inside.
*Cough* *Cough*
He fell to his knees soon after as blood flowed out of his nose and mouth. He was barely able to stay conscious after putting all of his power into that one spell.
"Oh shit! Leader Alfred!"
The other three men jumped off their horses and stopped the carriage in unison as they rushed with all their might towards their leader, helping him back up to his feet.
"Leader, you didn't have to put yourself at risk for us like that!"
The three of them looked at Alfred with respect and worry on their faces as they hoisted the barely conscious man up onto the carriage.
"Hurry! Even using my full power, I only bought us a few minutes to escape."
Alex and the three men winced as they heard Alfred's last sentence before he fell unconscious.
"Even the full powered attack of a D rank adventurer like Alfred could only halt that beast for a few minutes, let's get moving!" One of the three men announced before they were back on the move once again, their nerves tense and on high alert.
Alex looked back occasionally at the tall grey and brown mound that grew smaller and smaller in the distance, unsure what to make of the situation.
Thankfully, even after 10 minutes passed there was no sign of the Galephant following them anymore.
They finally had time to catch their breath.