The Awakening Of The Shadows
Chapter 45: First Patrol

Chapter 45: First Patrol

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, casting an orange glow over the devastated landscape of Red Hollow. The wind blew cold, carrying the scent of metal, damp earth, and something else... something Lian was beginning to recognize: the stench of death.

He stood in the base’s courtyard, adjusting the straps of his light armor while observing the soldiers around him. Even after days of intense training, he still felt the weight of their gazes on him. To them, he was still just "the academy kid." A foreigner in a world where only the strongest survived.

"Alvarez!"

Viktor’s harsh voice pulled him from his thoughts. The veteran was walking toward him with his usual severe expression. Beside him, a group of five fully equipped soldiers waited, their faces hardened by experience.

"Today, you’re leaving the base," Viktor announced, crossing his arms. "Your first patrol mission."

Lian raised his eyebrows slightly. Finally. He was tired of being treated like just another recruit. This was his chance to prove he belonged there.

"Understood."

"Don’t think you’re special," Viktor said coldly. "You’re going to follow the patrol. Don’t try to lead, don’t stray from the group, and definitely don’t play the hero. If you disobey, I’ll personally throw you into a pit and let the monsters finish the job."

Lian remained silent. He already knew arguing with Viktor was useless.

One of the soldiers scoffed, crossing his arms. It was Vance, the same man who had been responsible for training Lian in close combat. "Great. Now we have to babysit a rookie outside the base."

Another soldier, a man with a shaved head and scars on his face, just chuckled. "It’ll be fun watching him run when things get ugly."

Lian ignored them. He didn’t need their approval. He just needed to prove his strength.

"Move out," Viktor ordered. "And try to come back alive."

With that, the group made their way toward the base’s exit.

Crossing Red Hollow’s gates for the second time gave Lian a strange feeling. This time, he wasn’t leaving just to gather information, this was a patrol. A fight was expected. Inside the base, as hostile as it was, there was still a sense of security, an order within the chaos. But outside... everything was different.

The ground was rugged, with massive cracks and signs of destruction everywhere. Twisted trees grew at impossible angles, as if they were trying to escape something beneath the earth. Jagged black rocks littered the terrain, some of them faintly glowing with residual energy from the portals.

And above all, an unsettling silence dominated the environment. No birds, no insects. Just an oppressive void. But Lian couldn’t let his guard down, most of the monsters inhabiting this region were of high rank.

Lian scanned the surroundings, taking in every detail. This wasn’t just a battlefield.

It was a graveyard.

Vance walked ahead of the group, gripping his spear firmly. "We’ve been patrolling this area for years, but there’s always some new shit crawling out of the portals."

Another soldier, named Deren, nodded. "Last week, we lost three men here. They never came back."

Lian frowned. "Monsters?"

Deren looked at him for a moment before replying. "Maybe. Or maybe something worse."

The group moved for nearly half an hour without incident, checking for creature tracks and marking possible unstable areas. Eventually, they reached a high vantage point where they could see an active portal in the distance. It pulsed with a purplish light, its edges unstable as if it were barely holding itself together.

"Look at that," Vance muttered. "Another disaster waiting to fully open."

"It’s small," Deren commented. "Shouldn’t release anything too dangerous."

Lian narrowed his eyes. Even from afar, something felt off about that portal.

"What exactly do we do?" he asked.

"We observe," Vance answered flatly. "If it’s safe, we get closer. If something comes out, we kill it."

The answer seemed simple, but Lian knew nothing here was ever that easy.

They waited. The portal continued pulsing, unstable, but nothing seemed to emerge.

Until a sound cut through the silence.

A low rustling, coming from the forest behind them.

The soldiers immediately turned, weapons raised.

"There’s something here," Deren murmured.

Lian felt a chill crawl up his spine. He tightened his grip around Oblivion’s hilt, ready for anything.

Then, a figure emerged from the shadows.

It was a man. Or at least, it seemed to be.

His eyes were completely black, with no irises or pupils. His skin was pale, almost grayish, and his movements were strange, as if something invisible were controlling him.

Lian froze.

"That’s... a soldier?"

Vance growled. "Not anymore."

The man advanced, and at that moment, Lian realized something was terribly wrong. His body twitched unnaturally, yet his footsteps made no sound. He was too fast.

Before Lian could react, the former soldier was already upon them.

The first attack was brutal.

Deren tried to raise his sword, but the creature grabbed his arm and twisted it at an impossible angle, snapping it instantly. His scream of pain echoed across the field as the other soldiers sprang into action.

Lian instinctively drew Oblivion and slashed toward the enemy. The blade met flesh, but the man didn’t recoil.

He didn’t feel pain.

"Shit," Vance cursed, driving his spear into the creature’s chest. He pushed it back, but it still didn’t fall.

That’s when Lian realized.

This wasn’t just a humanoid monster.

This was something much worse.

The battle turned into chaos. The former soldier attacked with relentless fury, ignoring fatal wounds, striking with terrifying strength.

Lian tried to behead him but hesitated for a fraction of a second, it still looked like a man. That hesitation cost him. The creature grabbed his blade with bare hands. Its fingers began dissolving, as if Oblivion’s energy was consuming them.

But it didn’t stop.

That’s when Vance moved in from behind. Without hesitation, he drove his spear straight through the creature’s head, piercing its skull.

The body trembled for a second, then collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Lian gasped, his heart pounding violently. He had never faced anything like this before.

Vance looked at him, his expression like stone.

"If you hesitate again, no one will save you. These monsters aren’t human anymore, and even if they were, it’s your life or theirs."

Lian swallowed hard. He knew Vance was right.

His fear had nearly gotten him killed.

In that moment, he realized...

The real war had begun.