Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 148: Book 3: Chapter 4: Glass Fangs

Read chapter 148 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 3: Chapter 4: Glass Fangs Book 3: Chapter 4: Glass Fangs The day and following night had been quiet, which was suspicious in itself. In Alex’s experience, nights were rarely quiet unless something was about to go catastrophically wrong. The only sounds were the occasional crackle from the dying campfires and the deep, rhythmic snoring of the draft lizards, who were occasionally outdone by the roaring sound of Doran’s slumber, periodically through the night. Tom-Tom was curled up under his pot helmet, muttering in his sleep. Garret had taken up watch duty, occasionally poking the fire with the seriousness of a man who thought this fire contained the answers to life itself, and he needed to find the center of it. Alex leaned against a wagon wheel, half-asleep, half-alert, because in this world, being fully asleep usually meant rapidly becoming fully dead. And then the world decided to scream. A howl split the night, so piercing it felt like it stabbed Alex violently through both ears at once. The draft beasts screamed in response, rousing their handlers. Garret dropped the stick into the fire, giving up his treasure hunt. Tom-Tom immediately sat up and yelled, “I not stealing food this time! It was not Tom-Tom!” From the treeline, they came; sleek, glass-fanged shapes which slowly moved and glinted under the bare moonlight, the sparkle of their teeth and fur giving an impression like someone had smashed a carefully crafted crystal sculpture, and decided to weaponize the pieces. Their bodies shimmered with crystal shards that caught the light as they darted between the trees and bushes, their movements unnervingly precise. “Glassfang Jackals!” Someone screamed, because the obvious always needed to be announced in these situations. The first wave hit like a storm of glittery knives. Razor sharp shards shot from their fur as they leapt, each crystal fragment heard humming with an eerie vibration. One embedded itself into the side of a wagon, slicing through the wood and crippling the vehicle, like a mafia boss going for kneecaps with a hammer. Chaos bloomed everywhere around him. To his left, merchants dove under wagons, clutching bags of trade goods with all the desperation of men who knew they’d rather die than explain to their boss why they lost the spice shipment. Mercenaries scrambled to form a defense, blades flashing in the firelight. Kate’s blade ignited with a hiss, fire dancing along the edge as she charged straight into the fray, cutting down the first jackal that lunged her way. Holly moved in a blur, her sword flashing silver as she vanished into the wind, reappearing behind a jackal with its head already separated from its body. Eric met one head-on, muscles surging with aether; the jackal collided with his fist, earning it a lightning bolt to its head, and promptly reconsidered its life choices. As in, reconsidered continuing life entirely. Garret slammed his shield into the ground, holding a line against two of the beasts, and grunting through clenched teeth. “You know,” he shouted over the chaos, “I was just starting to like this trip!” Alex grinned despite himself, energy flaring in his veins as he stepped forward. The crystal-studded predators kept coming, howls and glass shards filling the night. And they were fast. One landed atop a wagon before anyone could shout, the glass plating along its spine cracking open with the motion and launching a volley of razor-thin shards down like nature’s cruelest splinters. Another slammed into a mercenary’s shield, the weight behind its pounce far greater than its size should have allowed. Alex was already moving, fists clenched and an aura of aether building around his body in a dark hue. Devon rolled behind a crate, shouting over his shoulder as he pulled out enchanted object after enchant object. “Why are all the monsters in this world made of knives!?” “No time, just kill!” Kate barked, blade already glowing with another aetheric charge. The clearing erupted into ch