The spider creature that was to the south had strayed from its territory. The damaged trees and long gashes in the stone were indicative of that. It appeared that some fight occurred either last night or early this morning.

    He could tell that the spider had lost because up in some of the trees going out of the spider''s territory were gashes of blood up along the trees almost like something was running away while using the trees. He could tell it was the spider because the creature it fought with had been injured as well but it bled blue blood. A stark difference since the smell it was giving off was like rotten eggs.

    Jace had never smelled anything like it while on this planet. It did not help that the smell was heavier deeper in the spider''s territory. He would have to investigate to find out what his creature was. It would also give him something to do today.

    Keeping active would be good for him considering he could survive by just doing nothing at this point. At least now that he understood his neighbors so he could easily survive since most of them avoid causing trouble or going into another''s territory while he had managed to carve out his own spot in the center of the plateau.

    But that was not his focus at the moment as he stalked through the woods following the trail of blue blood and the smell of rotten eggs. As he got closer the smell. Soon he arrived near the spot he set up the vine rope that leads down the mountain.

    In the entire area all of the trees had been torn down and dragged away. Fortunately the tree he was using for the vine rope was far enough away that it was not affected. Since the trees were torn down he could see where they were all dragged to and what exactly it was being used to make.

    Not too far from the edge of the plateau was where the pile of wooden trees had been stacked up. Using his enhanced sight he could even see that some were burnt. He snuck up to the pile of trees using the stumps that were left behind as cover as he listened for movement inside.

    The tiger behind him was quietly growling in the direction of the pile of trees. It seemed he disliked whatever this creature was.

    Jace made it to the edge of the pile of trees when he realized what he was hearing. Five distinct sets of breathing were inside of the tree pile. They were buried underneath all of these trees but they were still there. It appeared that they intentionally buried themselves, as for the burn marks on the wood.

    Once he got closer he realized that those burn marks are in the shape of foot prints. It was in the shape of two toes in the front with a single rear toe to go along with it. These creatures appear to be bipedal in nature.

    But they appear to be generating heat if their footsteps are anything to go by. But they are not doing it all the time, because there would have been footprints leading to this pile of wood if there was. So they were likely adapting the environment to suit their needs. In this case they might need a heated environment in order to rest.

    He moved away to get ready for a fight, it would be better to attack them now while they slept then to have to deal with them later when they were awake. To prepare he dropped his bag with canteen and other supplies off behind a stump then removed the orbital drop suit helmet he was wearing. With how loose it was it would only get in the way while he was fighting. This time all he had on him were the bow with a few arrows, a makeshift spear, his knife, and a bundle of vines.

    He approached the pile of trees and began tying off the vine to one of the more centrally located trees that were supporting the pile. Once it was tied off he backed up and double checked his gear. When he confirmed that he was ready he looked over at the tiger that was hidden nearby behind a tree stump.

    Jace took a deep breath and held the vine rope tight with both hands and yanked as hard as he could. The tree he had wrapped the vine rope around came flying out of the pile, flying right over Jace as he ducked and let go of the rope. The disorganized pile of wood began collapsing while some of the logs started rolling away. S~ea??h the Novёl?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There were screeches coming from inside as these blue blooded creatures were rudely awoken from their rest. The nearest one managed to throw a log off it and pulled itself up onto another log to look around and figure out what happened to it.

    This creature had a gel-like face that was blue. While the rest of its body was covered in red scales that appeared to have no gap between them. Its feet were shaped like a ''Y'' with the open part facing forwards. Its body was slim in appearance but coming off of its back were a pair of leathery wings. While its arms and legs were similar to a humans with a joint and the direction it was facing. Its hands consisted of three fingers that were more like claws than actual fingers.

    It looked right at Jace and screeched again, this time he saw the blue gel face ripple as it screamed. Then it flapped its wings and jumped up and towards him.

    Before it got a chance to close the distance Jace pulled out the bowa and fired an arrow and then a second one. The first arrow penetrated the creature''s gel face and caused its head to snap back. The second arrow hit the creature in the center of the chest, easily piecing through the scales.

    The creature collapsed on the ground with a wet splatting sound. Jace flinched as the smell of rotten eggs only became more pronounced. While the creature''s blood began spilling out of its body and the red scaled skin appeared to almost deflate with its death.

    Jace did not have much time to realize that these creatures were incredibly vulnerable to piercing attacks when the other four began screeching at seeing their dead comrade. All four were the same as the one he killed. But one of them had an arm that appeared to have gone flaccid when something cut it.

    Jace fired another arrow when he finally got to see the reason the spider had likely retreated in a hurry. The arrow was set on fire and burned to ashes before it even reached them. Jace frowned as he noticed a very hazy wall of air between him and them.

    They started moving towards him while holding out their hands to this wall and the wall moved with them. Jace quickly moved over to the corpse of the one he had already killed. He quickly dumped his arrows in the pile of blood.

    Then he pulled one out and fired it, flinching in pain when his skin came in contact with blood. He could feel a burning sensation throughout his hands now but he ignored it as he nocked an arrow and then let it loose.

    It whistled through the air and mostly passed through the barrier as the parts that were not covered in blood still disintegrated. But it still hit one of the creatures in the leg causing it to screech and making other ones stop. Jace took advantage of their moment of hesitance and picked up another arrow, quickly nocking it on the bow.

    As he let loose the second arrow he looked at his hands and for the first time saw what looked like frost covering his fingers. His fingers felt like they were burning but they were freezing instead. He picked up a few more arrows and fired them in quick succession as he grimaced in pain.

    The second arrow he shot went right through the wall and then hit the one that the spider injured in the head, killing it instantly. After seeing that they changed tactics as he let loose several more arrows.

    The hazy wall disappeared as the remaining three quickly split up. One of them ran straight at him. While the other two moved to flank him on either side. Jace curled his fingers as tossed aside the bow now that he was out of arrows.

    Pulling out his makeshift spear he looked at the one he had scratched on the leg with an arrow. It was moving a bit slower than the other ones. He dashed toward it and watched as it flinched in surprise.

    It brought one of its wings over to block his spear strike. It faltered as the spear cut through his wing. But blocking his attack still gave the creature a chance to attack as it swung one of his claws forward and managed to scratch his left side. Jace flinched but spun the spear with his hands, decapitating the creature.

    Before the blood even began pouring out of the creature''s neck he was dashing to the side as the last two tried to close in on him. He avoided being closed in on but now they were standing side by side.

    Jace watched as one of them was tackled by a pound of white fur. He took the opportunity and dashed toward the last one piercing its head with his spear. He flicked his spear causing the creature''s head to explode while he turned and stomped on the last one''s head as the tiger quickly backed up.

    Jace then stepped back and took a few breaths as the pain slowly faded from his fingers but the scratch on his side was now just as prominent with how painful it was. He quickly lifted up his shirt and the shirt underneath to see blue lines branching away from the wound.

    The tiger made a purring noise as it looked at his wound. Jace dropped it and moved to get his bag. He would go to get more water from the river and then he would be done for the day. He might hunt if he still felt up to it.