Chapter 37

I jumped, ducked, and dodged trees, swerving from right to left, making sure to create an obstacle in between me and the creature where ever I could.

It was a mechanism that, while maybe sacrificing a lot of my speed in the process, had yielded results that no other plan I could have created in the time frame between leaving the cave and reaching the forest could have.

Every time I swerved past a tree, I would swerve back, making it difficult for something as big as the creature to attack me.

This was now a battle against time.

I didn't know how much time I would have left, but I knew that my best chance of not dying was for the flying creature to intervene, and from what I had seen and heard so far, I could assume that it would attack the larger prey rather than the small, two-legged one which was practically helping it catch the larger one.

As I swerved from right to left for over two minutes, I finally felt fatigued teach my knees while the constant heaving had caused my chest to become sore, making me feel plains that shook me to the bone.

Clenching my teeth with a glint of determination within my eyes, I jumped and sprinted with almost renewed vigor, yet unlike last time, this time I did not have the aid of adrenaline to numb my pain.

*ROAR*

A distant roar, one that was much further away from the last one forced me to smile widely.

Of course, the smile did not reach my eyes but it still shone with pride, and this was only the beginning.

'Now, let us proceed with the second stage of my plan...' My smile grew slightly wider, twitching at the corners as bolts of pain traveled through my body.

As if I could not feel them, I pushed and pushed until I found myself entering a part of the forest that was more lit than before. To be exact, the area itself was less dense in trees as well as having their heights reduced as I got closer to the light in the distance.

Of course, fewer trees also meant that the creature would have an easier time following me, but at the same time, it also signified my victory.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump*