Just outside the hollow tree trunk, the barbarians had finished their dinner and were getting ready for the night.
Tasgall and Jarek were on guard duty by Burak's orders, while the rest returned to the trunk to finish the preparations.
Every time Hao Xuan 'communicated' with the Celestial Webway like he was doing now, there was a physical change that was created in his immediate surroundings because of it.
The most obvious and one of the first changes was the weak humming sound that manifested from his body. After that was the dim white light which, in and of itself, was an indication of something more.
The combination of these phenomenons elicited a response from all sentient species of the local fauna and flora within the range of 700 meters around Hao Xuan. The weaker creatures would start to lose their senses and manifest unusual behavior while the larger ones would become aggressive.
It did not matter what their nature was before, whether they were passive or neutral towards other species because once Hao Xuan started, he would become their one and only target.
Even the ones that were natural predators would completely ignore all other prey and try to come for Hao Xuan as if their lives depended on it. This effect was significantly reduced on the more sapient species but even they were able to feel something was wrong.
Baracus theorized this was due to the runes or the 'prime letters'. Using them how he currently was, Hao Xuan was basically going against the natural order of the world which would always provoke all nearby lifeforms and trigger some sort of biological response from them that even they themselves were not aware of.
Blinded by rage, they would charge towards his location without fail, even impaling themselves and crushing their own bodies against anything that blocked their path.
The spot that they had chosen was selected with this in mind. There were almost no large beasts common to these areas and the few that were, were already killed off or sent away by the barbarians in the last two days.
Of course, if something were to accidentally wander within the affected area, they would have to take care of it at that time.
Just a couple of minutes later, the barbarians walked out of the trunk with numerous wooden stakes that were shaved and pointed at both ends. One side went into the ground and the other faced the forest to create a makeshift barricade.
It wasn't the best of defenses but was still better than nothing. It would at least slow down most beasts and give the barbarians enough time to act. There were only seven of them in total and they could not be everywhere at once.
While they were busy running around placing the stakes around the hollow tree trunk, Tasgall was on the extreme left side of the camp about 20 meters away. He was sitting on top of a tree branch, squinting hard trying to see anything through the roaming fog in the darkness.
Jarek was in a similar position on the right side. Each of them was responsible to keep track of at least two directions. A few minutes passed like this until the first row of defenses was finished, at which point Tasgall's replacement came to take his spot.
It was a young man in his early twenties, one of the younger ones still left alive. With short dark hair and a babyface, Niko looked younger than he actually was.
He jumped up on the same tree Tasgall was on, getting a nod in response.
Tasgall made a few basic signs informing him that nothing had happened so far and lept down, leaving him to his devices for the next half an hour which was when the next shift change was due.
All the extra noise dissipated with Tasgall's departure, leaving Niko sitting alone in the cold, silent night.
This was obviously not the first time he had done this but even after all this time Niko still wasn't used to it. He reached behind his back and pulled out two hatchets, placing them around his waist for easier access in case something did happen after all.
He crossed his legs and sat down with his back against the leafy trunk, keeping a vigilant eye on the area in front of him. Barely a minute had passed when Niko let out a silent yawn. His mind started to wander, as it did on these cold nights.
Oh, how he missed home right now. He had promised himself to never complain again or fight with his younger brothers when he got back. All those times he complained about not having his own place, right now he would kill just to feel the touch of a soft bed.
He couldn't even remember what warm water felt like anymore, it had been that long since they had been trekking through the wilderness now.
He thought about his aging mother and that pretty girl that always brought him flowers. But wanting to be a full-fledged warrior, he ignored all her advances for the life of a soldier. And what a life it was.
'I will take a year off, get married, and have a child before leaving for the next expedition. The little ones don't even know how to fight, I can't just disappear like father did. I can't even remember what he even looked like...' he thought.
Just then, there was movement ahead of him in the fog. Niko straightened his back and narrowed his eyes, reaching for the hatchets.
"Son?" a familiar voice called out to him.
Niko shuddered.
"D-Dad?!" he called out involuntarily.
"Son, can you hear me? I'm here!" the voice called again from the fog, sounding a little relieved.