Post-Apocalyptic Dispatch Society

"My lady…" A man donned in a jet-black suit said, staring through a pair of binoculars as he observed the approach of a carriage, well protected by a team of guards, including three Blight Humans, all of which were at Stage 2, with the leader seemingly on the verge of attaining Stage 3. "They're…strong."

"Of course, they are." The one he addressed with respect nodded in response, a lady donned in a jet-black suit, wearing what seemed to be a crown affixed within her hair that was tied into a bun.

Her eyes glinted with a cunning light as she stared at the incoming carriage, raising her hand to signal her men to be ready.

There were more than fifty people under her command, with a dozen of them being Blight Humans, all at Stage 1. She was the only one among them that had reached Stage 2, the leader of the group.

At her signal, the men behind her quickly communicated through hand signs, alerting the people that were atop a large tree.

Clat-tak-katak!

The carriage made muffled noises as it sped through the forest path. The expression of the guards was serious as they rode their horses alongside the carriage, surrounding it on all sides.

The leader, the Stage 2 peak Blight Human rode to the front of the carriage while the remaining two Blight Humans rode at its back, currently chatting as they were bored.

"Seriously, why are we taking this route?" One of them, a man with a goatee said.

"The sea route has been compromised, that's why." The other Blight Human, one that had dyed his hair red said. There wasn't any harm in dyeing their hair, so he simply changed it, for he liked the colour red better than green.

Or at least, he hated the shade of green that he had, and hence changed it.

"Thanks to the rapid proliferation of the Blight Cores and Nacre Cores among the marine species, even though they haven't changed much, some new predator species have emerged. There probably only existed a few of them before, but with the Nacre and Blight Cores, they grew stronger and gained enough vitality to rapidly increase their numbers." He sighed, continuing.

"Hence, our original sea routes have been compromised. Until we forge a new route, we'll have to rely upon the land routes."

"This is such a pain though." The Blight Human with a goatee sighed, "Being used as mere guards for a shipment feels insulting to my status as a Blight Human."

"We're just decorated war heroes, stronger military dogs." The red-haired Blight Human said, "That's what being a Blight Human means in this world."

"Wall anyway, I heard the women of the Tundra Duchy are rather bountiful. Let's have fun once we get there." The Blight Human with a goatee grinned, expressing his lustful desire, "I'll go through so many of them until I faint for a week."

"Don't kill yourself." The red-haired Blight Human snorted in disdain, "You became no different to a withered corpse the last time you did this. Seriously, do you always need to sleep with dozens of women overnight?"

"That's what being a healthy young man means." The Blight Human with a goatee gloated, "These are war times. Even though I'm a Blight Human, I may not survive long enough. So, might as well enjoy my life and hope one of the women gets knocked up with my seed. That should be enough contribution to the world from my side."

"Sick bastard." The red-haired Blight Human said.

"Silence!" The leader of the group shouted all of a sudden, his voice stern as his gaze expressed a frown, observing that the forest stretch they were passing through had become dense all of a sudden.

The place was teeming with vitality as his senses focused on a fist-sized flower bud that was growing on the trunk of a tree, akin to a parasite. Upon staring at it, his eyes widened in shock, noticing similar flower buds hidden behind leaves, but present everywhere around them.

And as the carriage passed by them, the flower bud bloomed, only now emanating a dense corruption as he shouted in alarm, "Guard!"

Pata-pat-pata!

The flowers shot out the seeds contained within like bullets, causing them to sprinkle everywhere, turning the region into a death trap.

At his shout, all the soldiers raised their shields, intending to defend against the pelleting seeds. Unfortunately for them though, the seeds shot out from literally all directions, slamming into the regions not covered by a shield.

Neighhh!

The horses screamed and collapsed to the ground, riddled with holes as blood spurted out like crazy.

"Hah!" The leader of the group leaped out of his horse, condensing a pair of leaves on each hand, ones that grew large enough to wrap around his body, guarding him completely.

The other two Blight Humans though, weren't as safe, for their abilities were more offensive in nature, riddled with injuries all over as they collapsed to the ground.

The red-haired Blight Human coughed out blood as roots jutted out of the ground, coiling around his body before wrapping around him fully, protecting him from head to toe. This wasn't the best way to use his ability, but given the situation, this was the only way he could survive.

But, the moment he got up, he was alarmed to see a shadow pass by, turning around to see the trunk of a tree slam into him, sending him flying away. It had been made into a trap that swung past when its reins were set free.

The momentum was enough to send him crashing into another tree, hearing the soldiers scream in pain, dying in droves as they were injured all over.

The Blight Human with a goatee was still alive as he condensed a flower on his palm, releasing pollen into the air, ones that seemed capable of parasitising any living entity they came across.

One of the pollen fell on the corpse of a soldier, immediately blooming into another flower that grew in size by sucking in nutrients from his body, turning him into a pile of bones in a matter of seconds.

The pollen that fell on the trees too did the same, blooming everywhere, turning the part of the forest into a sea of flowers.

Unfortunately, his outstretched hand dropped as the eyes of the Blight Human with a goatee closed shut, his weak voice resounding in regret, "I wanted to visit the Tundra Duchy…"

His injuries had been too severe, with one of the seed pellets piercing through his lungs, which was what resulted in his death.

Among the entire group accompanying the carriage, only two were alive now, the leader and the red-haired Blight Human.

The leader leaped towards the carriage, swatting away the corpse of the coachman as he broke into it, picking up the trunk secured within, the sole item being transported amidst a pile of junk meant to mask it.

He leaped out of the carriage, 'I need to get this to the Tundra Duchy without fail. Even to escape, that's the closest place of safety.' He thought, creating a leaf that he lashed around with, unleashing a gale that riled up dust and debris, masking his location.

Using the chance, he leaped, causing a leaf to jut out of the ground, spanning a size bigger than him as he landed on it. The leaf bent under his weight, almost touching the ground before its tiny stem craned in reflex like a spring, causing the leaf to flash upward, sending him flying into the air.

The leader focused, causing large leaves to jut out of the trees, acting as a trampoline for him as his figure leaped from one location to another.

"My lady, he's escaping…" A figure clad in a jet-black suit said from his hiding spot.

"He won't." The lady he addressed said in all seriousness, gazing at the Blight Humans under her as she pointed at the red-haired Blight Human, "Deal with him, I'll take care of their leader."

Immediately after, she leaped from the branch, free falling towards the ground as corruption billowed out of her body, causing her hair to shine with a greenish hue, the intensity stronger than the leader, displaying that the quality of her ability was at the peak of the Blight Human powers.

Vines jutted out of the ground and caught hold of her, wrapping around her as her figure retreated underground.

Swoosh!

The leader continued to jump from one tree to another in a hurry as he noticed the red-haired Blight Human engage in a battle with a group of assailants, "Who the heck are they?"

Boom!

Right as he sped past an area, what seemed to resemble a turnip jumped out of the ground, clenching a fist made out of root arms as it sent a punch at the leader.

"Damn!" The leader condensed a large leaf that absorbed most of the impact, surviving it at the cost of his momentum being impeded.

He landed on the ground, staring in all seriousness as a turnip, spanning a height of five metres appear before him, sporting a pair of arms and legs created out of its roots.

Staring at it, his eyes widened in shock before spewing out a curse in anger, "Damn you, traitor! I'll kill you…"

"Kekua Fornol!"