Larch headed the entire Agila squad as the members followed him from his back as they strike their way towards the west. The clinging of their weapons placed at each members' designated sides was echoing in the ears of the crowd. Since only the winds' direction made their capes swaying, they can feel the drop of humidity as it touched their sense.
"Hayah!" Larch expressed towards his horse while striking the rope to make the speed accelerate. The rest of the Agila did the same.
Sophia aligned herself at the back of Larch while Flora and Nover distributed themselves at her both sides. Cherish was alone in the line. She felt emotionless, and Vince can notice it. She seemed in deep thoughts that he wanted to figure it out. He kept glancing at her almond round eyes, which shrunk as they reacted due to the current weather. When Vince's eyes spotted Cherish's wound at the side of her forehead once again, his forehead furrowed. He tried analyzing Cherish's eyes if the badly cut hurts or not, but he could not tell. Cherish seemed numb. She did not even try to wipe the blood that shredded down her cheek!
Vince's lips shivered in silence for about a second. After which, he greeted his teeth and closed his mouth. He moved a bit closer to her. He also adjusted his speed so that his horse and hers would be parallel from each other.
"Cherish, your wound is still bleeding." He worried. His eyes can't get out of her, and he barely sees his direction through the other side of his eyes.
Cherish hesitated to glance at him since she stuck her attention towards the speed they had while running with the horses. Her head slowly faced his worried expression. When their eyes met, Vince leaned a little backward. Even though, Cherish facade made him startled, she chose not to remain calm despite Vince's concern.
"I will just handle it later." These were the only words that Cherish spoke to him, and he already knew that this would be her reaction. She immediately turned her head back towards the way.
Vince stared at her for a couple of seconds. He wanted to offer help, but he hesitated to tell her.
"Look on your way. You might commit an accident if you keep staring at me." Cherish surprisingly spoke without even looking at Vince.
Vince's eyes widened. He got astonished for not realizing that Cherish might notice him watching at her. He felt unsettled as he looked away. Shit! That was so embarrassing!
He could not understand why he was unable to move even an inch! Vince closed his eyes while trying to move on from the discomfort he felt. Ugh!
Nover's head turned at Sophia once. He then glanced at the dagger attached inside his boots from one side of his eye. He made sure that no one can notice him looking at it. He bit his lower lips and looked on his way. He held the ropes tightly while thinking deep of his plan.
"It's my chance." He whispered on his mind. Then his eyes shrunk in anger while he grinned.
A few moments later, Nover noticed the roots moving below the soil where their horses were stepping on. He was also the one who felt strange noises coming from both sides of the way. Nover moved his head at different angles, and his eyes kept glancing at those directions. He knew something was wrong, and he can feel it!
Nover became more vigilant as he straightened his back and observed for a possible attack coming from nature. Then, he saw three monster trees moved at their sides opposite sides! Two from their left and one from their right!
"Squad leader, get out from your way!" He shouted as he saw a huge branch coming from Larch's direction.
Alarmed by Nover's words, everyone in the squad, including those at the back of Cherish and Vince, quickly looked around them. Most of their reflexes were admirable as they instantly moved away from the way. The screaming of those squad members who stilled of the tree monsters' appearance faded because their bodies got hit by the branches.
Flora and Sophia split in different directions before the branch could fall on them. Flora and her horse fell at the back of the bushes, while Sophia fell on the grasses. Her horse ran in a direction where she took less attention from it.
Sophia slowly faced in front by the use of his one elbow since the other one got wounded. And as soon as Sophia saw the way filled with tree monsters. Sophia's naked eyes saw how their bodies got crushed because of these tree monsters' attack. She witnessed those heads, legs, and arms flew in different areas, separated from their bodies. She could not even stop staring at those heads whose eyes and mouths opened.
Two branches went towards Cherish's direction, yet she nonchalantly stared at those without making any act of screaming nor being scared. Vince was in the middle of defending himself those skinny, long branches that were attempting to catch him. He did that using his two guns which have a function of more than ten and can also generate more than five hundred bullets each without loading. He screamed as he continuously fired those guns around him.
"This is for all of your nuisances!"
At this moment, ashes surrounded the area flew with the wind, making the sight of the people blurred. Vince's breathing went ragged as he moved around, witnessing the screams of his squadmates as the branch struck its sharp end to the stomach. He could not see the man dying, but the silhouette meant it obvious.
He couldn't move, as it was his first time witnessing an actual death with the blood splashing as the branch crunched a human flesh. He heard it, and he switched his attention towards the ground, closing his eyes to forget that disturbing sound.
Vince blew an air, trying to calm himself from panicking. He scoured his eyes around, and an indescribable feeling came to his heart. It was at that moment when Vince felt uncomfortable. He could not spot Cherish around him! His chest pumped a loud, and his mind could not concentrate. He kept on switching to different directions in hopes of finding his Cherish.
"Cherish!" He called out her name aloud. He was not expecting a response. He was just hoping that he can find a sign of her presence.
Cherish waited for the branch to approach at a specific distance that she calculated. She moved her arms at the side to give a command to her horse to step aside. At that time, the branch fell on the ground without hitting them. The impact it created made her ponytail hair disturbed, making her look a badass refreshing. Her body wasn't reacting to the debris that passed by to her. When the remains of the branch made a small slice on her right arm, Cherish did not bother to take a glance. It seemed that she does not care about the wounds she has. The horse made its neigh but became settled after the contact.
Cherish's eyes were as normal as they seemed while waiting for the branch's next movement. The branch slowly moved, creating a cracking sound as it tried to get back to its form.
Meanwhile, Cherish's attention shifted to a man who was shouting her name several times. It was annoying to her ears, but at the same time, it made a smile on her heart.
She positioned his horse exactly to where that voice came from. When the manly voice came loud as it went closer in her direction, she recognized who that man was.
It was Vince.
"Cherish!" And finally, Cherish saw him standing in front of her while she was sitting on her horse. Cherish did not call him out. She let Vince looked at her.
When Vince saw her, his face lightened. And there was still this worried tone on his approach. "I've been searching you around-" He was about to run closer to her, but countless branches appeared above them!
Cherish stood above her horse, took her iron umbrella weapon from the other side of her leg as she dodged the branches. Luckily, her horse managed to escape the impact. Cherish quickly cast her umbrella in a different direction where she has no idea where her arm pointed it. The umbrella opened, and it flew towards the non-monstrous tree's trunk. Its function is like a blade. What was left with Cherish right now was the rope that connects her to the umbrella. She pressed the button where the rope attached to her wrist. After which, the umbrella pulled her away from the area.
Cherish stood above that non-monstrous tree's branch. She removed the umbrella and pressed another button for it to close. The tip of her weapon can be a gun. When it opens, it can be a shield or a blade. She looked around her, but she could not spot the rest of her squadmates. The ashes made her a hard time looking at them.
When Cherish spotted Vince firing his bullets against the branches she escaped, she positioned the tip of her umbrella towards those possible branches attacking nearest to Vince.