As the fierce Peasants rushed toward their target, the sound of a raging march trampling the dried leaves on their path echoed. As they tried to defend themselves, cornered Slugs let out growls.

To completely prevent the Peasants from grabbing any of them, all five Slugs fired Mud Balls and activated their racial exclusive skill, Body Mucus. The soil around them became wet as fluid leaked from their skins.

An army jumped on the Slug formation and savagely crunched them with their powerful mandibles. Even though they couldn't grip the slick Slugs, that didn't mean they couldn't hurt them. The Slugs growled as the Peasants bravely jumped into the slick liquid on the ground and were devoured by the slimy floor. The other Peasants, on the other hand, used mucus-soaked Peasants as a bridge to reach their goal, one of whom was the sole level 2 Peasant.

As multiple shots of Mud Balls were fired, the Peasants who were hit by the surging ball of mud that fell on their path shivered from the damage they sustained, but it was not enough to stop their unstoppable charge.

The hit Peasants remained standing, while the five Slugs struggled to slow down the overwhelming number that was relentlessly rushing toward them. It only took a few moments to construct the Peasant bridge and to counter the Slugs' defensive line. The level 2 Peasant lunged its mandible toward its target's head.

The level 2 Peasant gripped the level 2 Slug's head, causing the Slug to groan in excruciating pain. Then another group of Peasants arrived and jumped on the other Slugs, completely overwhelming them and leaving them with no way to fight back.

***

Eon crawled at top speed behind the tall grasses and pile of rocks, his eyes darting around the area, looking for an escape route. The majority of the Peasants' attention was focused on the group of Slugs, but the Slugs couldn't even put up a fight against the Peasants; all they could do was buy him some time to flee.

Eon rushed through the pile of dried leaves, his eyes extending forward as he pushed his body to move as quickly as it could.

His eyes, which could see and smell, shook once more as the smell of five peasants entered him. They were marching right up to him. Peasants were not supposed to travel far from their group leader, but the range within which they could become separated from their leader was so vast that chasing after an escaping Slug would normally not cause them to travel outside of their limit range.

There was nowhere to hide; even behind a thick tree, the Peasants could see him. Their primary senses were sight and antennae; once they spotted a target, they would pursue it by tracing its heat signal. Their eyes and antennae, when combined, could cover a reasonable area, excluding the area above their heads.

However, since Eon was on the ground and already had the full attention of the five Peasants, the only viable option for Eon was to run, run, run until he was finally out of their sights, which was nearly impossible.

Eon dashed to the stones; there was no narrowed path that could protect him because the Peasants chasing him were barely half his size. Eon kept changing his direction whenever he smelled the Peasants closing in on him, but no matter which way he went, they could still tail him.

They were traveling at the same speed as him and following his every change of direction.

Although Eon and the Peasants had the same top speed, the Peasants were built for a long winding chase, and they had the advantage when it came to traveling through the grassy, stone-filled, and humid forest due to their body type, which included six legs.

Eon kept crawling and crawling, changing his direction, but the Peasants he was attempting to flee kept following him. However, just like any other living being, his energy was finite, and his momentum was dwindling.

Although it was only a matter of time, what appeared to be an endless chase came to an abrupt halt when he came to a dead end. Eon found himself on the edge of a cliff, his mouth closing and opening as he chased his own breath, and his eyes trembling as he sensed the approaching enemies.

His gaze was drawn to the stony ground beneath the cliff, which was covered in spiky stones, tall grasses, and small puddles of mud. A cliff that would surely kill him if he fell and landed on the stones.

Eon crawled back from the stone edge he was standing on, his gooey eyes darting behind him, to be greeted by five Peasants who had just emerged from the tall grasses.

RACE: Peasant [Level: 1/10].

HP: 10/10

MP: 4/10

Top Speed: 2 km/h

Defense: 0

Five level 1 Peasants approached Eon slowly, opening and closing their mandibles in preparation to seize their prey. Even the most uninformed could conclude that it was an impossible battle with five against one. Fighting meant death, but there was nowhere to flee. He was eventually surrounded and pushed toward the cliff. No matter where Eon looked, there were only two paths to take, and both were equally fatal.

Eon's retractable eyes remained open, watching the movement of the Peasants around him.

[Mud Ball has been activated.]

Eon opened his mouth and hurled a ball of mud at the nearest Peasant. However, because the Peasants were fully aware of how the Slugs defended themselves, the Peasant easily avoided the attack and led the assault by jumping forward.

[Lethal Augmentation has been activated.]

The Peasant lunged forward with such force that Eon couldn't even react. The Peasant's gripping mandibles were already stuck on Eon's skin before Eon could do anything.

[Savage Bite has dealt 1.45 damage to you.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

Eon's body trembled as overwhelming pain attacked his entire body; the pain was so intense that all he could do was growl while his eyes were hidden inside his head. The Peasant, on the other hand, did not let go of its grip and continued to cling to Eon's skin despite being damaged.

However, it was not yet over. The other four Peasants jumped in and lunged toward Eon. Grabbing Eon, who lacked the racial skill of Slugs, Body Mucus, to escape the grip of the Peasants, and with such a large body, was not a difficult task.

[Savage Bite has dealt 1.45 damage to you.]

[Savage Bite has dealt 1.45 damage to you.]

[Savage Bite has dealt 1.45 damage to you.]

[Savage Bite has dealt 1.45 damage to you.]

Eon growled as his body was pushed toward the cliff, the excruciating pain that was constantly attacking him quickly wearing him down. The Peasants wanted Eon to lose all of his remaining strength due to the pain so they could easily finish him off once he was immobilized. And it appeared that they were about to triumph over him.

RACE: Lesser Teplonide [Level: 1/10].

[Exp. Points: 2/25]

HP: 2.75/10

MP: 7/10

Top Speed: 2 km/h

Defense: 0

All the Peasants were waiting for was for him to finally give up his life, and it was only a matter of time.

Eon opened his mouth and raised both of his eyes, fighting the overwhelming pain that was attacking him.

[Lethal Augmentation has been activated.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

All of the peasants clinging to his skin shivered as they took damage, but it wasn't enough to make them let go. With such vigor, Eon forced his body to move and waved his long body.

[Lethal Augmentation has been activated.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

The Peasants' bodies shook once more as Eon slammed his body to the stone platform they were on and swept the stone floor with the Peasants hanging on his skin. He roared furiously.

[Basic Attack has dealt 1 damage.]

[Basic Attack has dealt 1 damage.]

[Basic Attack has dealt 1 damage.]

[Basic Attack has dealt 1 damage.]

[Basic Attack has dealt 1 damage.]

For that slam, each of the Peasants took one damage. When no damaging skill was active, the basic attack would be triggered.

[Lethal Augmentation has been activated.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

As Eon waved his body in the air, red bodies flew out, and the peasants landed on the ground, eventually losing their grip. Transparent sticky blood began to flow from Eon's body; he was shivering and on the verge of his own death.

The Peasants' assault did not stop as they landed. One of the Peasants charged at Eon once more, preparing for another painful grip.

RACE: Peasant [Level: 1/10].

HP: 3.2/10

MP: 3/10

[Mud Ball has been activated.]

Eon hurled a mudball at the lunging enemy's head and hit it square in the face, effectively stopping its assault.

[Mud Ball has dealt 1.30 damage.]

However, before the one who was hit collapsed, another one appeared with its lunging mandibles.

RACE: Peasant [Level: 1/10].

HP: 4.65/10

MP: 6/10

[Savage Bite has dealt 1.45 damage to you.]

Eon growled as he was pushed toward the cliff's edge by the Peasant, who was tightly gripping him. He struggled once more for his own dwindling life. With all of his strength, he smashed the Peasant to the stone floor.

[Basic Attack has dealt 1 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has been activated.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

The other peasants began to charge at him. They were about to deliver the final blow that would kill him. Eon's gooey eyes slowly faded as he realized they were no longer a source of hope. He couldn't win against his overwhelming opponents; he couldn't even compete and had nothing to fight with. His body began to deteriorate and move slower than before, indicating his impending death.

This was it... or so he believed.

Eon's gooey eyes closed as he awaited the last pain he would feel before passing away.

"Fight..."

Inside his intuition, he heard an unfamiliar vague female voice.

"Fight..."

He took the time to remember where he heard that voice while waiting for his own death... He tried, but he couldn't recall... He had no idea who owned the voice or even if he was the one the voice was speaking to.

"Fight, Randall, please... don't leave me."

It was, however, more than enough.

[Lethal Augmentation has been activated.]

He used his final MP to activate the final skill he could perform. Eon's gooey eyes opened and growled furiously. He slammed his body, which was still gripped by a Peasant, into the Peasants who were about to jump on him.

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]

It wasn't enough to eliminate any of them, but it was enough to push them away. Two of the Peasants were only one hit away from death, but Eon would not jeopardize his life for two experience points. His gaze was fixed on the Peasants preparing for another round of assault, and his body crawled toward the cliff's edge. Eon took one last look beneath the cliff before turning his gaze to the five peasants.

He couldn't speak, but if he could, there was only one thing he'd say out loud.

"I'm not ready to give up my life just yet."

He jumped off the cliff, leaving the five peasants behind.

It was a gamble...

RACE: Lesser Teplonide [Level: 1/10].

[Exp. Points: 2/25]

HP: 1.3/10

MP: 0/10