Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 425: Harvester

Chapter 425: Harvester

Vlad took a deep breath as he calmed his mind and body, allowing his stamina to return. The cold mountain air filled his lungs, and he felt his heartbeat slow to a steady rhythm. Thirty minutes later, he opened his eyes, and a sharp light appeared in them as he glanced at the other three.

Freya, Jormungandr, and Ouroboros nodded, understanding passing silently between them.

In the next moment, the group rose from the ground and began to descend the mountain range. They moved through the shadows, always avoiding open fields, hiding their figures with the objects around them. Rocks, trees, and the natural contours of the land became their allies as they slipped through the terrain like ghosts.

Hours passed as the Depravitas and the Viking princess marched forward, moving closer and closer to the coastline of Kylen Country. Their senses were as sharp as possible, each of them covering a different angle, always alert for the presence of Leviathans. Every rustle of leaves and every distant sound was analyzed and assessed, putting an immense strain on their minds. Unfortunately, they could not count on the help of Overlord’s Sentinels; the presence of those artifacts could arouse the suspicion of the hive mind. Vlad and the others knew they could only rely on themselves.

The journey was arduous. As they ventured deeper into the mountains, the weather turned harsh. They moved carefully, pressing close to the mountain walls, their footsteps muffled by the snow yet ever cautious of the hidden dangers beneath.

Navigating through the snow-laden peaks, they encountered sheer cliffs and narrow ledges. Descending from the snowy peaks, the terrain shifted to dense forests and muddy lowlands. The melting snow turned paths into quagmires. The forest was silent, devoid of the usual sounds of wildlife—a sign that Leviathans were near. They communicated with hand signals, every word potentially giving away their position.

Finally, after three days of travel and many close calls, the Depravitas and the Viking princess found themselves on a massive cliff from where the coast of Kylen Country could be seen. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden hue over the vast expanse of ocean stretching out before them. Waves crashed against the jagged rocks below, sending sprays of foam into the air.

The first thing that caught the attention of the group was the massive congregation of nearly two hundred Leviathan warriors and tens of thousands of aerial units. The warriors stood in formation along the shoreline, their grotesque forms bristling with deadly appendages. The aerial units swarmed, their wings ready to propel them into the air at any second. There was not a single normal drone in sight; it seemed that the hive mind only wanted its most powerful units present in this place.

Even for those four, facing hundreds of High Champions and tens of thousands of Champions that knew no fear and acted as a single entity was terrifying and could easily spell doom. But despite all that, smiles arose on their faces.

"This confirms it," Vlad communicated to the other. Of course, it was all done through hand signals. "They’re waiting for something significant."

"The biomass shipment," Freya agreed. "We were right after all."

Logic dictated that the biomass shipment would reach Kylen Country’s coast, but they could not be 100% sure. If they were wrong, it would have entailed all sorts of trouble, but luckily that didn’t seem to be the case.

Vlad’s eyes were sharp as his gaze went through the Leviathan swarm, calculating there were around forty-five thousand aerial units present. A shocking number, but if they unleashed their most powerful attacks and took them by surprise, they might be able to reduce them to less than half.

"Even so, the rest would swarm us," Ouroboros cautioned. "And the biomass shipment would change course."

"The only thing we can really do right now is wait," Jormungandr shared, his eyes never leaving the swarm.

Vlad was about to give the signal for rest when he noticed how a contingent of five thousand aerial units and fifteen Leviathan warriors broke formation and marched away from the coast.

A somber light appeared in Vlad, Jormungandr, Freya, and Ouroboros’s eyes as they feared that they might have left a trail that the hive mind detected. But their fear soon dissipated as they saw the swarm battalion marching toward the heart of Kylen Country.

"They’re redirecting forces," Freya observed.

"Anglius must be causing havoc," Vlad’s eyes glowed with a hint of admiration.

Smiles appeared on the four as they sent a silent thanks to Grand Marshal Anglius and the elite forces attacking the amalgamation of Leviathans. It was clear that the hive mind’s rage and sense of threat toward the group was growing as it began to redirect more troops to handle them, which was great news for Vlad and the others as it would make their mission more manageable.

Hours soon transformed into days as the Depravitas and Viking princess kept waiting. From time to time, clusters of Leviathan warriors and aerial units left the shore, heading into the heart of the country. Each departure slightly tipped the scales in their favor.

Finally, it happened.

Vlad’s eyes sharpened as he gazed into the distance and saw a swarm of massive creatures marching through the air. Emerging over the horizon were Leviathans unlike any they had seen before.

These creatures were a grotesque fusion of whale and octopus. Their colossal bodies floated effortlessly, defying the natural order. The main body resembled that of a whale, but instead of smooth skin, it was covered in a slick, iridescent membrane that shifted colors between deep blues and purples. Thousands of tentacles emerged from every part of their bodies—long, sinuous limbs that writhed and coiled as they moved. Some tentacles were tipped with barbs, others with suction cups the size of shields, each one capable of crushing or piercing with ease.

Their heads were massive, featuring a gaping maw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Above the mouth, clusters of glowing eyes scanned the surroundings, each eye moving independently, giving them a full range of vision.

Most striking was their bellies—massive, extended membranes nearly twice the size of their bodies. These translucent sacs bulged grotesquely, filled with swirling masses of organic matter. It was as if they held an entire sea inside them, the contents shifting and moving as the creatures flew. The sheer volume made it clear that these were storage for the biomass of countless beings.

It was clear to Vlad that these whales were the ones that had been collecting the biomass of the millions of humans, demons, monsters, insects, and all types of living biomass that the Leviathans had killed and collected from the Asani Continent.

"Harvesters," Vlad made the hand sing to communicate the word coming to his mind as it perfectly described the purpose and nature of those things.

The creatures were moving slowly and did not seem to hold particularly strong defenses, which made sense as armor would carry higher weight, making it harder to fly since Leviathans do not have access to energy pools.

"Given the speed of the Harvester Leviathans and their defenses, it wouldn’t be hard to take them down," Jormungandr mused.

"But there are several problems around it," Vlad’s eyes grew sharp as he analyzed the dangers, and the group nodded.

"First of all, there are still thirty thousand aerial units on the shore and eighty Leviathan warriors that would attack us with utter and absolute ferocity the moment we reveal ourselves," Freya pointed out.

"Second, there are twenty-three Harvester Leviathans present, and there are only four of us," Ouroboros added. "Taking them down fast would not be easy."

"Third, each Harvester is surrounded by clusters of aerial units, which would definitely give their lives to protect the biomass shipment if needed," Jormungandr continued.

"Finally, and much more threatening," Vlad’s eyes narrowed, "on top of the Harvesters that took the frontlines and the rear, there are tens of Elite Leviathans. Each of them with power at the peak of the High Champion Realm and with senses that could detect even the scanning force field of the A.I. Chips."

Trying to perform a sneak attack given all those circumstances seemed impossible, and even if they achieved their goal, they would be besieged on all flanks by powerful Leviathans that would do everything in their power to kill them, as the hive mind would not allow such a loss to go unpunished.

Vlad’s eyes were sharp as he tried to determine the best path forward. "We have two options," he began. "We could march toward the biomass shipment before they reach the shore, leaving the fight in the middle of the ocean."

"That would completely eliminate the surprise factor," Freya noted, "but it will also make it harder for the Leviathan forces on the shore to intervene with us, giving us a few precious seconds before the swarm of thirty thousand aerial units reaches us."

"The other path is to wait for them to reach the shore," Vlad nodded before carrying on. "They’ll be drained from the flight, possibly making them more vulnerable."

"But that would mean facing the biomass shipment battalion and the shore forces at the same time," Jormungandr pointed out. "We’d be vastly outnumbered."

"There are pros and cons for any decision," Vlad acknowledged, "but one thing is sure: it would be beyond dangerous."