Heaven's gate

Silas, who was hiding behind the huge pile of rocks, had no idea about the upcoming danger. The crabs, well-versed in the terrain, had many escape routes dug around the valley, and coincidentally, there was one nearby where Silas was hiding. The crabs slowly made their way to Silas' hiding spot. Each of these crabs was only half a meter to a meter in size, extremely small compared to Silas, but such a size difference didn’t make them hesitate.

The crabs slowly started to emerge from a hole behind Silas.

But unaware of the movements behind him, SIlas kept his eyes focused on the narrow valley ahead. Seeing how focused Silas was the crabs' eyes narrowed slightly as they swiftly jumped onto Silas' swaying tail.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh

Clank clank clank

Loud snapping sounds echoed throught the valley as they clung to the fur on Silas' tail.

Startled, Silas jumped more than ten meters high, his soul almost leaving his body. He felt as if his tail had been caught by a meat grinder.

While still in the air, Silas looked back at his tail only to see hundreds of little crabs holding onto it tightly. Acting on instinct, Silas swung his tail left and right, swiftly flinging most of the crabs in all directions.

Boom boom

With resounding thuds, many crabs broke branches in the trees and fell heavily, some even creating basin-sized pits in the ground as dust and debris flew everywhere, blurring one’s vision.

The crabs that had been violently tossed stood up immediately, as if nothing had happened, though they were equally stunned inside. They hadn’t expected a simple tail swing to cause such massive damage. The once peaceful forest now looked as though it had been bombarded by dozens of artillery shells, resembling a battlefield.

Silas was equally stunned by his own power, as he had never tested his strength before. With newfound confidence, Silas now leaped into the midst of the crabs like a wolf among sheep, swiping his claws left and right, tossing the crabs everywhere. Broken claws and legs flew as loud sounds echoed, and the crabs were sent flying.

But something shocked Silas. Despite the damage they had suffered, their claws broken and legs shattered, but still alive and kicking. The crabs, seeing their brethren suffer such massive damage, had their eyes turn red with fury. Even if none of them had died, the battle had just started, and the foe was unexpectedly too strong for them to handle. If this continued, there was a possibility that none of them would survive. Thinking of this, their eyes grew more resolute.

Soon, a black miasma-like substance began to flow from the bodies of the remaining crabs. Silas, seeing this, became vigilant, making sure not to inhale the miasma, afraid it might be poisonous. The crabs, now enveloped in the dark miasma, struggled to crawl out of the deep pits, their eyes glowing a ferocious red.

Silas, sensing the impending danger, became hundred percent alert. He felt the crabs were preparing for a last desperate struggle and expected a suicide attack. He didn’t dare lower his guard. Soon, the miasma covered a radius of two to three hundred meters and continued growing rapidly, completely blocking Silas’ vision. With his sight hindered, Silas sharpened his hearing, listening for even the slightest movement, ready to evade any surprise attacks.

But unbeknownst to him, a different scenario was unfolding under the cover of the miasma. The crabs' eyes, which had turned red, returned to normal as they began to move slowly, picking up their wounded comrades from the pits. Those who were unable to move were carefully carried away. The crabs, without making a sound, began crawling back into the hole they had emerged from, one by one, while Silas remained on high alert, waiting for the surprise attack.

Soon, there were no crabs left, only broken claws and limbs scattered across the ground, giving off an air of dread. After a few minutes, the miasma began to fade, but the surprise attack Silas had been expecting never came. Silas, who had held his nerves tightly all this time, looked around and slowly opened his mouth in shock as he realized he had been tricked by these little pests. The miasma and red eyes had all been a facade. "Is this the surprise attack I was expecting?" Silas thought, feeling a little awkward.

But Silas did not feel as though he had overreacted and let them escape. He knew that being careless in such situations could lead to him ascending to heaven without even knowing who took his ticket.

Somewhere else…

A massive creature curled up in the branches of a giant tree slowly opened its eyes. It glanced in a certain direction, its gaze sharpening as thoughts quietly passed through its mind.