Digitize: Rebirth of the Silver Death God
Chapter 87: The Price of Arrogance

The earth carried a tinge of red, as even the very soil seemed as if it were stained with blood. Looking around this woodland, one would replace that though it seemed no different from a typical area, its interior had a vastly different vibe as if deep within its looming trees and overgrown underbrushes were a myriad of baleful intents.

Nero was currently pacing through a coarse path of grass and soil, his manner now exceedingly solemn as he could sense danger from all directions. As if he was prepared for any unexpected changes, his eyes keenly scanned the area as his spiritual awareness was pushed to its peak.

'There's so much murderous intent, I feel as if I'll be attacked at any given moment...' Nero thought with sharp eyes, he was a bit alarmed by the dark mood. Still, it didn't hinder him from progressing further through the land; he knew that one had to take an equivalent amount of risks to achieve great things.

He jumped from the ground and decided to travel by the trees, carefully moving across the land by the massive branches that snaked a series of paths into the unknown.

Adult Nero nodded his head as he observed his younger self's actions, he thought with a smile, 'Good, he's applying a bit of sense in his actions, even if strong, when faced with the unknown its best to apply caution...'

Following Adult Nero's words, Nero slowly made his way further into the Crimson Blade Mantis Zone's depths. However, as he vanished from this sector, a few glaring red eyes had lit up in the shrubberies.

Suddenly, one of them shifted their eyes into Nero's direction with a slightly puzzled look, but as if it was disturbed by something, its eyes turned to the opposite side.

There, a few distant shuffling noises were heard along with the sounds of footsteps, the creature's eyes flashed as it made a low grunt before vanishing into the bushes. Immediately after, the bushes shook as if a few creatures had begun to move towards the same direction.

***

In another sector of this zone, Weizer's and Poison Boy's groups were traveling without a care in the world. They each moved through separate routes, combing the forests boldly and confidently.

Currently, within the direction that Poison Boy had traveled with his sister, a spooky mist had formed out of nothingness.

Ivy shivered as she sensed the sinister air from the surroundings that caused her to grow a bit worried, she looked at Poison Boy and spoke, "Big Brother... I-I think that we should be a little more careful."

As Ivy said this, her eyes wandered around at the shrubs, noticing that a few of them seemed to be swaying slightly; even a few of them had strange red lights shining from within the dark patches.

If it were any other time, Poison Boy would have heeded his sister's words, but after the previous tussle with Weizer, he had found that he was a bit too overly reliant on his sister.

'As a man, how can I let myself fall behind? I am a ranker after all....' Poison Boy thought with a firm look in his eyes, he puffed out his chest momentarily forgetting their main objective for coming here as he spoke, "Haha, my sister don't fret, I've recently had a few results in practice. As such, I am confident that I can face anything that pops up out of here."

Ivy gave Poison Boy an angry look as if she was about to curse at him, but right now, her face turned pale as a series of shuffling noises sounded from around them.

Both Poison Boy and Ivy grew alert as they cast their eyes around them, the air turning a tinge darker.

"This... what in the...?" Poison Boy uttered in shock at the strange scene, he was about to say something, but suddenly a change had occurred.

A few silhouettes had charged out of the bushes, each being a few times larger than the duo, as they emanated a savage and brutal power.

The moment they saw these beasts, not only Ivy, even the previously confident Poison Boy knew that he had made a big mistake this time. The scene now destined to transform into a tragedy...

***

In a less clustered section of this land, Weizer traveled with bold steps ahead of his two cautious and flustered lackeys that tried to keep up with him. He hurried as if he didn't fear anything that might pop out of the woods to face him.

As he sped along, he couldn't help but recall the words of Poison Boy, causing him to snort now and then as he clenched his fists tightly. He then glanced at the lackeys behind him and shook his head while thinking, 'Darn useless losers!'

After thinking this, he looked ahead of him and saw that a few footprints were on the ground, but they soon vanished after arriving at a particular section of a coarse pathway.

Weizer's eyes brightened as unlike Poison Boy, his objective remained clear, the moment he halted his steps he inspected it before he spoke with a cheeky expression, "Ha, I've finally found that wretch's trail, humph! Just you wait, Silver Boy..."

The lackeys had only now arrived, and they panted for breath as it took them a while to catch up to Weizer.

Weizer snorted as he glanced at them and spoke, "It sure took you long enough you useless things, now hurry up and replace his trail!"

The poor lackeys that tried to catch their breath sighed as they gave each other a pitiful look before they hurried over and started to inspect the scene.

After searching for a while, one of the lackeys came back and replied in a respectful tone, "Young Master, after thoroughly inspecting the path, we didn't see any more traces of movement on the ground. We've come to believe that the target has taken the route through the shrubs or trees..."

Weizer frowned at those words; if it were the former, it would be easier to replace him as all one would need to do is trace the with crushed grass. However, if it were later, then it would be hard to pinpoint his location.

"Which method did he take?" Weizer asked with a dark look on his face.

The lackeys sighed as one of them replied again, "He likely took the second method..."

When Weizer heard this, his face turned livid as he balled up his fists tightly, causing veins to appear on his neck as he cursed out loud, "DAMNIT!"

As the lackeys heard his sudden shout, their faces turned pale as they hurriedly spoke, "Young Master! You can't shout like that, what if we encounter those creatures?"

Weizer, who was angry, glared at the two useless lackeys, he was about to curse them out for belittling his strength, but right at this moment, he noticed that they had their mouths opened wide in shock before their faces turned to one of utter terror.

Weizer frowned as he saw them staring at him in fear, or rather behind him, he spoke, turning around, "Tsk, such useless fools! I don't know what you guys are so scared..."

Weizer wanted to curse at them, but when he turned around and saw what stood behind him, his mind went blank as he had never seen such a beast before.

It was a giant and slender silhouette, which was four or five times his size. Each of its arms looked no different from sinister blades that dripped with blood as a dark and bloody aura filled the air.

As if Weizer's notice angered the creature, it lifted its head and made a savage roar that sounded across this sector, one that caused not only the lackeys but even Weizer himself to shiver uncontrollably.

At this point, Weizer finally learned his life's first real lesson, the lesson that came due to the price of arrogance.