Chapter 168: An Encounter With A Corrupted Beast

Digging into her meal, Lirien was both pleased with her hunt however a small frown manifested on her face.

She had grilled up some of the fresh game that had washed up on her doorstep however she quickly noticed that the rest of it was rotting away.

'It seems that devoured prey doesn't last as long in comparison to regular game.' She mused as she could tell by the rate at which the pile of flesh she had skinned was slowly withering and rotting.

'However none of it will be worth it as I will have arrived at Rien by the end of the day provided I don't run into any issues whatsoever.' She mused as she put down the piece of meat that she was feasting on.

She hopped on back onto one of the Felirs that she had commanded to act as her eyes and in a matter of moments, she made her way through the jungle.

She would have two of them scout the way ahead with one tailing her not far behind her to make sure that she wasn't being tracked by any other wild beasts.

She was deep into the jungle thus she knew that the chances of her getting help from other people were nonexistent this she could only rely on herself.

As she made her way, she could hear the wilderness and feel a sense of serenity and calmness. The distance covered was astounding as the Felirs didn't seem to grow weary in the slightest which took her by surprise.

Regardless she would take breaks on letting them hunt. It wasn't long before she came across a small lake to which she decided to take a rest.

She elegantly hopped off the Felir she was on and manifested a small bubble of water. Cleansing it with her mana was easy before she drank its contents.

She decided to then proceed and take a refreshing shower in the lake, after finding a more secluded and isolated place for her. She found a small pocket of hot spring which allured her.

Two Felirs had left as they went out to hunt with two standing about for security. She undressed as she dipped her body fully in the water.

It was warm as she could feel the fatigue wash off her body. As of late she had been so focused on making sure that she made it to Rien on time disregarding the luxury of tending to her body.

Sure she addressed matters such as food and shelter however the luxury of looking after her image was something that she couldn't afford out in the wild.

She would use her mana to spruce herself up unlike before where she would take minutes if not hours to address her looks.

'I mustn't get too comfortable and stay here.' She mused as she prepared herself to exit the hot spring. Her naked body was in full splendor to the world around her however there was no one to catch a glimpse of it.

After washing and drying her clothes with the water, she got ready to move on however something came across her radar that made her come to a complete halt.

She mounted one of the Felirs as she looked in a specific direction. From afar, one could see bursts of flames shoot up in the sky from time to time which was basically an invitation for trouble out in the wild.

'It seems that two if the Felirs are also there.' She quickly made her way cautiously towards the source and a view she hadn't expected came in front of her.

There was a Barok, a creature which bore similar appearances to armadillos however they were much bigger in size and had their respective elements however the greater majority of them were mostly based off earth.

Their hard shells were near impossible to penetrate through and often a difficulty experienced by hunters and beasts alike.

What took Lirien by surprise was its tier. 'A tier six Barok?! Maybe now is my chance on breaking through into the sixth tier.' A glimmer flashed across her eyes as her mouth pulled to form a sinister smile.

'But I barely have a good control over these creatures and they may end up devouring it before I can. Mm... It would be better if I didn't devour it.'

The more she thought about it, the less she was motivated on devouring it. First, looking at the fight unfold, it was clear that the Felirs were about to wrap the fight not to mention if she were to prevent them from devouring the Barok, the chances of her making a breakthrough were low.

'The chances of me making a breakthrough with an animal soul is lower unlike using a human soul. Not to mention I could be caught in the process of assimilation with other rampant creatures.'

She wasn't blinded by greed as she saw the possibilities that could play out. Sure if she could assimilate it the Felirs would offer security for her making it safer but recalling that she would receive a free chance to breakthrough in Sablestone, she gave up on the idea.

Before she could order the two Felirs she had brought with to join the battle, the Barok was already dead. With the conjoined effort of the two Felirs, they were able to easily bypass the Barok's defenses and assimilate its soul.

Not to mention any attacks made by the Barok failed to faze the Felirs in any way.

She gave a short sigh as she once again admired the efficiency of the Felirs. 'I shouldn't take too long staying here as this will no doubt attract unwanted attention.' She mused as she hopped on back onto one of the Felirs.

As the pair led the way, she was in the middle and kept on traversing, her figure was suspended into the air which took her by surprise.

"Argh!" She cursed as she realized what had happened. Faint lines ran through the path that she was on and it was now that she realized what it was.

'The web of a Lothern.' Despite the transparency of the webs, she could sense faint patterns of mana running across them. The Felirs that were accompanying her immediately came to a halt as they surveyed the surrounding.

Two guarded her as two charged into the bushes and a short shrill followed. Her mind tried to find a way on getting herself out of the predicament that she was in.

She cast a fire spell to burn the webs however they seemed perfectly untouched. The dexterity of the webs was no joke to which she found it all the more troublesome to deal with.

Unfortunately for her, with the hazy and shadowy state of the Felirs, they couldn't chew through the webs thus she needed to find another way out.

'If I use my soul state, then I might fall into lunacy and devour everything that is in front of me similar to Aurorise.' She sighed as she waited for the two Felirs to come back.

With the earlier screech, she could tell that the Lothern wasn't far from where she was and now was the perfect time to test her control over the Felirs. Closing her eyes, she could feel their unbridled hunger that coursed through them that shocked her.

They yearned to devour everything in existence and not far from where they were was her ticket way out. The Lothern was on the fifth tier and considering how feel she was in the woods, it was a common phenomenon.

'Controlling these two to not devour the Lothern is going to be difficult.' She couldn't control both of them at the same time thus she decided to opt and go for one of them.

Controlling the movements of one Felir, she maneuvered it in such a way that the Lothern was pushed into a corner, forcing it to head towards where she was.

"What is this?" She heard a voice coming from the Lothern. 'Wait, it's corrupted with the mind of a demon! To think that this couldn't get any worse.'

She cursed at her luck as she realized this. Dealing with a wild beast was much easier as they could fall into traps much easier however with corrupted beasts, not only did they have their animosity and unruly nature but also intellect of a demon.

At times it could be substandard if the creatures are of a low tier but if they were of a higher tier then they would be equivalent to intellect of a demon.

Not only did she have a poor control over one of the Felirs but also her prey had the intellect of a demon. Demons and humans in terms of intellect could be classified as on par with each other with special cases between the two races.

Regardless she had to bait it come into her direction and devour it. The Lothern despite having red and orange stripes running across its back but also a black mark could be seen on its head.

Lirien had the advantage of speed and agility however she had little information about the terrain around her while the Lothern seeing the numerous webs put in place was well versed.

The Lothern before making any advancements away from the two Felirs, a strange scene played out. One of them started attacking the other taking it by surprise.

'To think that my meal would be thwarted by these measly beasts. Hahaha! They can't even coordinate together!' It scoffed as it made its quiet escape from the brawl.

Standing on the expansive web that was present, it was able to pinpoint where Lirien was and in a matter of minutes, it saw its prey right in front of it.

A beautiful and charming lady, caught in a web of despair and helplessness. A sinister shriek of victory cawed from its mouth.

"To think that I would be able to nab such a beautiful lady. Sadly I don't have the right tools for the job with this body..." It started off which brought a face of disgust on Lirien's face.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that you die a proper death." It mused as it placed one of its legs on her face, caressing it gently. It pulled back first trying to sense whether there were any other creatures around.

Seeing that there were none, it shifted its attention back to Lirien. "Hahaha!" A maniacal laugh escaped Lirien's lips as she looked at the creature in front of her.

"It seems that this primitive creature doesn't understand what situation it is in! How pathetic. I'll make it quick for you." The Lothern was shocked as it heard this.

"Primitive?! I was a feared demon before I was caught off guard by this beast as it feasted on my flesh and my conciseness was ingrained into it." It boasted as it drew closer to Lirien.

"Well now you are about to serve the same purpose once more!" She laughed as her body glowed faintly. Sensing that something was off, the Lothern backed away from her figure however four Felirs surrounded the two.

"Come on. I thought that you were once a feared and revered demon!" Multiple tentacles shot out of her being as they quickly wrapped around the Lothern in an instant.

In a Hail Mary escape, the Lothern coated its entire body with poison as it spewed its own acidic contents way up into the sky similar to a fountain which eroded the environment around it however it failed to affect Lirien and the Felirs.

"What are you?!" A dry and shaky question escaped its lips however before an answer could be delivered, the grip enveloping its entire body grew tighter before fading into eternal darkness.

Lirien's figure dimmed as she returned back into her body however there was a crazy look in her eyes. She didn't seem like her calm and collected self as she looked around, as if she had lost something.

'It seems that devouring demons isn't beneficial as I thought it'd be.' She thought in her head. After such an exchange, instead of the regular calm and refreshing bliss that she would feel, it was now replaced with extreme agony and pain.

Her breaths were ragged and her voice was barely audible before she collapsed to the earthy ground. Her fingers dug deep into the soil before she looked up once more.

Her face seemed exhausted and sick from that exchange. She stretched out her hand making one of the Felirs come closer to her. Gritting her teeth, she mounted herself onto it before continuing her way to Rien.