Chapter 107. Leeches

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out. As the billowing smoke dispersed, Charles stared in disbelief at the door before him. There was hardly a scratch on it or the chains. The strength of those binding chains was beyond his expectations.

"We don't have time to waste or care whether the door can be blasted open. Pile all our explosives here, light the fuse, and we’ll leave immediately," Charles uttered with anxiety in his voice.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

A deliberately extended fuse was lit on the floor.

Charles then led his group into a sprint for the exit.

The group of humans dashed through the laboratory.

With the chaos caused by the freed creatures, they were moving faster than ever. However, the closer they got to the exit, the more Meeh'eks stood on their path. Even if they were just playing the role of common civilians, they were still challenging opponents.

Charles and his group were akin to a fragile wooden boat navigating through treacherous tides. A single misstep and the boat would capsize.

Gunshots, angered roars, pained cries and the incessant static sounds produced by the Meeh'eks’ converged into a cacophonous symphony of chaos.

Just then, the sound of rushing water added a new dimension to the chaotic orchestra.

Finishing off the Meeh'ek standing before him with a slash of his Dark Blade, Charles turned around to come face to face with leeches. A torrent wave of inky-black water teeming with countless leeches surged toward them.

Any living creature, even a Meeh'ek or a living relic, would meet their creator if they were consumed by the tide.

Seeing the black tidal wave rushing toward them, Charles' face turned a shade whiter with terror. He realized that he might have released something too catastrophic from that red door.

"Chief Engineer! Stop fighting them! Charge straight ahead!!" Charles yelled at the enlarged James.

With a roar of fury, the towering figure of James grew a size larger. He bulldozed toward the Meeh'eks ahead like a tank.

Charles and the others followed closely behind. Those Meeh'eks that were pushed out of the way tried to attack the group from the rear, but they were swiftly swallowed by the leech tide.

The Meeh'eks ahead seemed to be oblivious to the impending danger as they blindly charged toward the group of humans and the tide of leeches behind them. Charles and his group were like a boat going upstream and struggled in their journey forward.

Weaker members of the group rapidly fell behind. They were either dragged away by the Meeh'eks or engulfed by the black leech wave. The group around Charles started to shrink.

Just when all hopes seemed lost, and the dark tide behind them was about to close in on them, a familiar flight of stairs appeared before the group. It was the exit.

At this critical moment, Charles could no longer consider the drawback and lifted the Lightning Rod. In a crowded place like this, the relic's AOE ability was maximized. The arcs of electricity bounced from one Meeh'ek to another, and those at the front lines collapsed to the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, two of the Narwhale's crew members supported a paralyzed Charles and sprinted up the steps. They arrived in a glass hall fully packed with Meeh'eks. The moment they saw the humans, they charged toward the latter.

With a trembling hand, Charles grabbed Dipp the moment the latter tried to charge in. Pointing to the clock tower visible through the glass wall on the left, Charles said, "Don't fight them! Go to the side!"

The moment Charles and his group moved away from the exit, the passageway instantly turned dark. Inky black water surged out from the exit like a fountain.

The moment the leeches in the black water made contact with the Meeh'eks, they would sink their maws into the humanoid creatures and then squirm into their bodies. The victims fell to the ground one after another, and their bodies rapidly dissolved into a black liquid.

"AHHHHH!" James' towering figure lunged at the glass wall to the side with all his might. The entire wall shattered instantly into countless small fragments with a resounding crash. They were out.

There was a road right outside of the hall. Barely coming out of his paralyzed state, Charles rapidly identified the direction and led the group in a desperate sprint toward the Narwhale.

There were still Meeh'eks on the streets; they numbered fewer than before and didn't pose much of a threat to Charles and the group.

Just then, Charles noticed a white-robed Meeh'ek leading a group of black-robed Meeh'eks toward them.

Even though all Meeh'eks had the same appearance, Charles instantly recognized this particular Meeh'ek as the tormentor that had subjected him to inhumane torture. Upon seeing his adversary, Charles' eyes burned with fury and gnashed his teeth in seething anger.

He immediately led the group to charge toward the Meeh'eks.

As the human crowd rushed toward them, the black-robed Meeh'eks raised their relics in defense. However, Charles was no longer alone this time. More than a hundred of them pulled the trigger on their weapons.

Although the earth suddenly arched and formed a ramp to block most of the bullets, a few unfortunate black-robed Meeh'eks were struck and dropped dead.

The human crowd pushed forward. With their overwhelming numbers, the Meeh'eks were rapidly overpowered and pushed back.

Just as the white-robed Meeh'ek used the relic with serrated edges and split a strong man into two, Charles flung his Dark Blade toward it. The Dark Blade flew through the air, leaving a trail of afterimage before embedding itself into the creature's arm.

Kicking off against the ground, Charles lunged forward and yanked out the Dark Blade only to plunge it deep into the Meeh'ek's chest. With his eyes burning with intensity, Charles roared, "This is for Salin!!"

Looking at Charles' face from mere inches away, the white-robed Meeh'ek's trembling lips parted and uttered a series of incomprehensible sounds before its head tilted back and took its last breath.

Charles slowly exhaled as he finally let go of the resentment in his heart.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass sounded from behind Charles.

When he spun around, the sight before him turned his face pale. The glass hall that occupied the area of half a football field had filled up with writhing leeches.

The dark wave of leeches pushed against the glass and shattered their wall boundaries to expand even further beyond.

The sheer volume of leeches was clearly abnormal.

Their numbers were growing exponentially.

"Oh my god... What the hell are those things?"

Richard muttered, his voice slightly trembling from terror.

"Forget about it, just run!" Charles shouted as he led the crew into a desperate dash for their lives.

Before long, Charles and his team found themselves in the city's heart. The streets lay eerily empty and exuded a false sense of tranquility.

However, everyone was acutely aware of the gravity of their situation, and they dared not reduce their speed.

They sprinted by opulent banks, barber shops adorned with the iconic red, white, and blue stripes, and radiant accessory stores. The scenery around them whirled past in a blur until they found themselves in front of the familiar supermarket they had previously ventured into.

"Press on! We're almost there!" Charles shouted at his crew.

The decision to enhance his crew's stamina with Kord's help had paid off. While others were panting for breath and had slowed down, the Narwhale's crew still had the strength to push on.

Plop!

A strange sound suddenly rang out overhead.

Puzzled, Charles turned, and his jaw dropped in disbelief.

A rising mound of darkness squirmed and swelled.

They were leeches, an endless swarm of them.

With a resounding blast, the mountain suddenly erupted like a volatile volcano. The dark sky was overshadowed by a sinister layer of black as a lethal rain of leeches descended upon them.