The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Chapter 132: Drawing Closer

STANNARD BERWICK’S POV:

My stomach lurched at the scout’s foreboding words.

This is it, I thought. This was what we were down here for. After this was over, I would be able to go back home for a bit and sleep in a real bed, eat a seasoned meal cooked for taste, not for sustenance. Yet why was I so afraid?

“Leader, I was able to do it.” The scout let out another pained breath. “I managed to set up the mass-teleportation gate near the entrance.”

“You did good, Sayer.” The leader, Dresh, squeezed the scout’s arm before heading out of the tent.

“Come on, we should prepare as well,” the woman named Helen Shard advised, following behind.

Tessia nodded firmly in response, motioning for me to follow. But I couldn’t.

My legs felt like they were anchored to the ground, as if my very body protested against the fact that following them might just lead to my death.

“Stannard? You okay?” Our team’s leader tilted her head, locking eyes with me as she lifted the tent flap.

“Yeah, I-I’m fine.” I said this more to convince myself than anything else.

We arrived back at our team’s campsite where Tessia relayed the scout’s news.

“Finally!” Darvus groaned in relief. “I can take a hot bath after all of this is over.”

“Can you at least try to say things a spoiled child wouldn’t?” Caria shook her head as she headed over to her tent.

“What? Everyone’s thinking it anyway, right?” Darvus turned to me. “Tell her, Stannard. You’re just itching for a hot bath after this, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” I replied blankly as I sat down with my mana launcher in my hands.

“Something wrong, Stan?” Darvus asked, raising a brow.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I replied, “No, I’m fine. I just want this to be over.”

It was pointless to say anything. Darvus, Caria and Tessia all were genius mages and combatants. They didn’t need to feel fear in situations like these. They wouldn’t understand.

“All right. Well, we’ll head to our camp and prepare as well. Samantha and Adam have no clue of what’s going, on after all,” the short-haired leader of the Twin Horns announced as the rest of team trailed behind.

A few minutes after the Twin Horns had left, Dresh’s voice echoed through the large cavern, alerting everyone of the scout’s message. Soon, the entire place was filled with a frenzy of movement as over a hundred soldiers scurried around to prepare themselves for the impending battle.

Beside me, Caria had already equipped her battle gear, which consisted of a light leather armor covering her vitals without hindering her mobility. She lay sprawled out beside me, stretching her limber body in ways that I would’ve normally deemed impossible if I hadn’t seen it for myself.

Darvus, sitting across from me by the fire, was juggling the smaller axes he used for throwing. The normally lax expression on the spoiled fourth son of the Clarell Family was gone, replaced by the calm and focused mask he normally had during a serious battle.

I turned to our leader, Tessia, who was actually the youngest on our team—losing to me in age by just a year—but was actually the most composed. She had already equipped herself for battle, adorning her toned and slim body in a light armor. Our leader wore a tight-fitting black leather wrap underneath a chainmail plate protecting her chest. An elegantly curved, metallic cover decorated with intricate designs of flowing branches rested on top of the shoulder of her dominant arm. Her wrist guards were of the same design as the single shoulder plate armor and the faults that protected her hips and thighs.

As Tessia tied her hair back, revealing the nape of her cream-colored neck, I couldn’t help but avert my gaze. I could feel my face growing hot as the image of Tessia’s elegant figure burned itself into my skull.

Get yourself together, Stannard. She’s out of your league! Besides, she’s in love with that Arthur guy. I shook my head as I tried to concentrate on counting the ammunition I had. We wouldn’t leave for a few more hours, which gave me some time to load more beast cores with spells.

I had about twenty-five low-damage rounds, and about eight high-damage cores. After roughly calculating, I had come to the conclusion that about five more low-damage and two more high-damage rounds should suffice.

Looking up, I observed as the mages began preparing the connection between the teleportation gates so that we would be able to arrive right where the scout had placed the artifact. As the shimmering portal enlarged, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of my body growing heavier by the second.

I had done well the past three months we’d been here. However, this was the real thing. I had fought mana beasts before all of this, but it would be the first time fighting against a mutant.

“Come on, Stannard. You should stretch too. It’ll be bad if your body suddenly cramps up while we’re in battle.”

Caria’s voice shook me out of my daze, her bright eyes looking down at me from beside the fire as she held out her hand.

A smile managed to escape my lips as I accepted her hand. “Go easy on me.”

After about two hours, the gate was ready and teams were already heading toward the gate, eager to be the first ones to go through. I gripped tightly at the handle of my mana launcher to keep my hands from trembling.

“Let’s go,” Tessia finally announced. A newfound fire burned in her eyes, determination practically leaking out of her pores.

“Aye, captain,” Darvus responded, a snarky grin on his face.

We approached the mass in front of the teleportation gate capable of transporting a few dozen at once.

“Are you guys ready?” a familiar voice chimed in from the left.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Tessia responded, a confident smile on her face as she locked eyes with Helen and the rest of the Twin Horns.

“Vanguard teams, brace yourselves upon arrival. We’re not certain how many mana beasts will be there on the other side,” Dresh yelled beside the portal. The teams he had specifically chosen beforehand would be the ones to lead the charge, as teams like ours would be more towards the rear, fighting any stragglers until the main battle came.