Invincible Blood Sorceror

Chapter 238: Scavenetores hunters

The creature was silent for a long moment, clearly assessing whether Jorghan was bluffing. Whatever it saw in his expression convinced it.

“Release me. I will guide you. But understand—if you attack my pack, the faery dies first. That’s protocol. Valuable specimens are eliminated rather than allowed to be rescued without payment.”

“Then we won’t attack,” Jorghan said.

He lowered the creature carefully, the trees unwrapping from its body but remaining ready to restrain it again if necessary.

“Lead the way. And pray to whatever gods your species acknowledges that Kleela is genuinely unharmed, because if she’s been hurt, protocol won’t save you.”

The creature was thinking that they could take Jorghan and Nami too and sell them off to space pirates, fetching them a good price.

*

The creature led them deeper into the forest, moving with smooth grace that suggested comfort in natural environments. It didn’t speak during the journey, just occasionally glanced back to ensure they were following.

After perhaps twenty minutes of walking, the forest began changing. The trees became more sparse, opening into a clearing that had clearly been prepared for temporary occupation.

And in the center of the clearing…

Nami gasped again, but this time with awe rather than fear.

The spacecraft was massive, easily a hundred feet long, and shaped like a boomerang with both arms of the curve extending from a central hub. The design was open, almost roofless in sections, with engraved panels covering the hull that might have been decorative or functional. Glowing thrusters lined the inner curve, currently dim but suggesting significant propulsion capability when active.

The ship had clearly landed recently. Dust and debris were still settling around its landing gear, and the ground showed fresh scarring from the touchdown impact. It rested among what appeared to be even more ancient ruins, towering pillars, and broken arches that predated Colloniel Ruins, suggesting this forest had once held a civilization far older than elven settlements.

And surrounding the ship, moving with coordinated purpose, were more of the creatures.

Jorghan counted quickly at least fifteen visible, possibly more inside the ship. All armed with weapons that blended biological and technological elements in ways he didn’t immediately understand. All moving with the disciplined efficiency of trained hunters rather than random bandits.

And suspended from a gantry extending from the ship’s hull, hands bound with some kind of glowing restraint, was Kleela.

The faery child hung maybe ten feet off the ground, her drooping ears flat against her head with fear, her pale green skin showing bruises that suggested she’d struggled during capture.

But she was alive, conscious, and when she saw Jorghan and Nami her enormous eyes lit up with desperate hope.

“JORGHAN! NAMI!” Her voice was hoarse from crying.

“Please help me! They are going to eat me!”

Nami started running toward her immediately, maternal instinct overriding tactical caution.

Several of the creatures moved to intercept her, their weapons raised, their mandibles clicking with warning sounds.

Jorghan didn’t bother with words.

The ground beneath the intercepting creatures simply ceased to support them. He used his sorcery and manipulated the soil structure, created sudden voids that swallowed the hunters to their waists.

Then the earth solidified again, trapping them completely, leaving only their upper bodies visible and vulnerable.

Five hunters buried in an instant, rendered immobile and helpless, their weapons useless against an attack that came from beneath rather than in front.

The remaining creatures froze, suddenly reassessing the threat level Jorghan represented.

Nami reached Kleela without further interference, pulling a knife from her belt and cutting through the glowing restraints with the essence-infused blade. The bindings fell away, and Kleela dropped into Nami’s waiting arms, sobbing with relief.

“It’s okay, little one,” Nami murmured, holding the child close.

“You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”

The hunters began moving, forming a loose circle, clearly preparing to attack or defend depending on what happened next.

But they didn’t move toward Nami and Kleela; they shifted to create space, opening a path toward one side of the clearing.

Through that path walked a figure who was clearly the pack leader.

It was larger than the others, maybe seven feet tall, with more elaborate armor plating and additional technological enhancements visible along its limbs. Its amber eyes burned with intelligence and calculation, studying Jorghan with the focus of a predator recognizing genuine threat.

When it spoke, its voice was deeper, more controlled than the scout that had led them here.

“You are more capable than expected. That’s… interesting. Most who find our camps either flee or die quickly. You’ve done neither. You’ve rescued your small one and demonstrated power that suggests we made a mistake targeting someone under your protection.”

The leader’s mandibles clicked in what might have been respect or annoyance.

“So. We negotiate now. You want the faery back unharmed. We want compensation for losing valuable merchandise. What do you offer in exchange for peaceful resolution rather than violence that would be costly for both parties?”

Jorghan looked at Kleela, safe in Nami’s arms but traumatized and bruised from her ordeal. Looked at the hunters surrounding them, armed and dangerous but clearly uncertain about engaging someone who could manipulate earth itself with casual ease.

Looked at the massive ship that represented technology and capabilities he didn’t fully understand.

And he made his decision about how to handle this situation.

Jorghan’s decision was immediate and absolute.

“There will be no negotiation,” he said, his voice carrying the cold certainty of someone who’d already calculated outcomes and found only one acceptable path.

“You took a child under my protection. You hurt her. You planned to do something to her. Those actions have only one consequence.”

The pack leader’s amber eyes widened slightly.

“You’re choosing violence over—”

Jorghan didn’t let it finish.

Blood essence exploded outward in waves that washed across the clearing like a crimson tsunami. Every creature within fifty feet felt their circulatory systems suddenly revolt, their own blood turning hostile, vessels rupturing throughout their bodies as Jorghan’s will overrode their biological autonomy.

The five hunters he’d buried in the ground died first, their heads simply exploding as blood pressure spiked beyond what organic tissue could withstand. Their bodies slumped, already dissolving into the soil that had trapped them.

The others tried to fight back. Weapons discharged some kind of plasma-based projectiles that tore through the air toward Jorghan. But blood essence barriers caught each shot, absorbing energy and converting it into fuel for more attacks.

Jorghan manifested blood essence as multiple whips, each one thirty feet long, each one capable of cutting through the hunters’ armored skin like it was cloth. The whips lashed out in all directions simultaneously, targeting vital points with sharp precision.

Throats opened.

Hearts were pierced.

Limbs were severed.

Within fifteen seconds, half the remaining hunters lay dead or dying, their alien blood mixing with the soil in patterns that would fertilize this clearing for years.

The pack leader tried to reach its ship, moving with desperate speed toward the boarding ramp. Several other hunters provided covering fire, their weapons creating a storm of plasma that forced Jorghan to focus on defense rather than immediate pursuit.

Nami had grabbed Kleela and retreated to the edge of the clearing, shielding the child’s eyes from the slaughter, holding her close while trying to provide some protection from the violence erupting around them.

Jorghan advanced through the covering fire with steady purpose, his blood essence barriers absorbing everything the hunters could throw at him. He manifested essence as spears and launched them with thought-speed, each one finding a target, each impact producing screams that cut off as alien biology failed.

The pack leader reached its ship and slammed controls that raised the boarding ramp. Engines ignited with sounds that suggested technology far beyond what elves typically encountered. The spacecraft began lifting off, thrusters glowing brighter, debris swirling as propulsion engaged.

Jorghan considered trying to bring it down but decided against it.

The leader was fleeing rather than continuing to fight. Letting one survivor escape to tell others about the cost of attacking Sol’vur interests seemed strategically useful.

The ship rose into the sky, accelerating rapidly, disappearing beyond the forest canopy within seconds. Its engines left trails in the air that faded slowly, evidence of technology that could achieve velocities normal vessels couldn’t match.

Jorghan turned his attention to the remaining hunters—maybe four still alive, all injured, all attempting to flee in different directions.

He killed them methodically. Blood manipulation seized their hearts one by one, crushing the organs that pumped their alien circulatory fluids. They fell without reaching the forest’s edge, their escape attempts ending in death that came too quickly for conscious suffering.

When silence returned to the clearing, broken only by crackling fires from damaged equipment and Kleela’s quiet sobbing, Jorghan stood surrounded by alien corpses and felt nothing but grim satisfaction.

They’d taken a child.

The punishment had been appropriate.

[MANA DEVOURING: SCAVENETORES ABSORPTION]

[Targets eliminated: 14 Scavenetore hunters (unknown essence classification)

Mana extracted: 2,847 units

New biological data acquired: Scavenetore physiology, technology interfaces, combat patterns

Warning: Unknown essence type detected – integration may cause temporary instability

Do you want to continue – Y/N?

Current reserves: 15,825 mana units]