The village that laid ahead of them was Cloud Village.

Cian took a deep breath. "Sir, we're almost there. Should we continue on?"

Adrian looked at the forest up front. Starved of sunlight, the leaves on the trees were yellowing and falling after. If this went on for longer, the trees would surely die.

"It's too quiet up ahead, and I believe those are monster carcasses around the village. I’ll have the combatants get on top of their trailers and stay alert."

"Yes, sir."

The six trailers responded to Adrian's instructions. As they cautiously entered the forest, they caught a whiff of a foul stench.

Rozi said through her communicator, "There are bodies in the forest, human bodies."

"Stop," Adrian commanded, and the trailers came to a halt. "I'm going down to take a look. Watch our surroundings." He jumped down from his trailer and followed the stench.

Adrian came across dozens of bodies on the ground. In their decayed state, they emitted the foulest of stench. Several suitcases