The First Legendary Beast Master novel Chapter 133

Chapter 133 Aftermath

Once the sun did come up, the surrounding area of hilltop began to change rapidly, seeming to come alive, and bursting with life and colour. Plants rapidly grew and absorbed water for later consumption, flowers bloomed in a matter of minutes, and the standing pools of water all but disappeared, except down in the river bottom, where it was simply too saturated and most of the plant life was destroyed by the raging waters.

But even there, the change was noticeable, as the ground was mostly visible now, exposing rubble and debris that had been carried downstream last night.

It was a mess down there, and the layer of silt that had built up turned large portions of the area to slowly drying mud plains, from which scattered plant life was struggling to break free.

Despite the ferocity of the storm, what hadn't been destroyed was thriving, taking advantage of the situation to get ahead of the competing species.

The same was true for the wildlife. Karl could see in the distance that there were numerous small scavengers and rodents out searching for their prize. Many burrows would have flooded or collapsed, and this was a prime opportunity for them to eat something that they couldn't normally hunt.

Hawk was thinking the same thing, but he was still a bit sleepy, and the animals would be active all day long. He had time to go hunt when he wanted to.

"How long do you think that it will take before it's safe to start moving about and preparing to get back in motion?" One of the warriors asked the bus driver, who was scanning the horizon with binoculars.

"Later this afternoon. The ground where we need to go is still saturated, so you won't be able to dig that ramp at all yet. I know you young folk are all energetic to keep moving, but sometimes you just have to sit and wait."

He had a point, but while Karl did have to just sit here for a while, he didn't have to idle around and just wait.

[Hawk, do you want to go scout the area? If you can find us a nice dry route, even if it is a bit further around, that would save time. Also, check for monsters who have moved along our intended path and any new obstacles we might encounter.] Karl suggested.

[That is fine. I could use some time to stretch my wings and just fly.] The Hawk agreed.

It wasn't a sentiment that the other two beasts shared. Rae liked her web, and Thor preferred to be where everyone else was. The concept of just flying around by himself all day seemed very lonely to the Lightning Cerro.

Rae thought that he was a bit of an idiot, constantly wanting to be around others when he could be peacefully alone, but with his energy level, he needed people to play with.

Karl looked around at the bored students sitting on the bus.

"Why don't we send someone out to see how the ground is? I think that everyone could use a little stretch, and the thick grass should have kept the ground stable." Karl suggested

The driver nodded as the students began to get to their feet, taking Karl as the voice of authority here, as long as Sister Betty didn't object.

The look that the nun was giving him said that she would like to see Thor again, so as the students went out, Karl sent Thor out to meet them.

The ground was a bit springy under his heavy footsteps, but it wasn't muddy, just uncompacted and thickly layered with roots. Last night it had been worse, and there was water squishing up as he walked, so this was an improvement.

He was the heaviest of them, and though he was far from comparable to the bus, Thor's rapid growth had brought him to nearly two hundred kilos of solid chested Cerro. If they were back in the pack, he would be treated as one of the most promising youngsters with his healthy build and high energy levels.

The group of students spread out around the bus, cutting away the remains of the web that Rae had created last night, and enjoying the way that the morning sun began to heat everything.

You could feel the moisture in the air as the sun evaporated it, and watch as the last of the floodwaters receded, leaving new wetlands among the mud plains that were beginning to dry out and crack at the top as their moisture was siphoned away.