Zombie Queen transmigration into a book-Chapter 137: Or I will leave you for dead

Outside was still dangerous—the hailstorm raged on, and a rock creature watched them like prey.

The three followed behind Caiden with great difficulty, barely dodging the hailstone. Their bodies took hits from smaller hailstones, and only the earth-power user managed a bit better, shielding himself with a layer of earth.

Caiden, to everyone’s surprise, walked confidently without dodging or shielding himself. His body was repeatedly hit by hail, but it felt as if fallen leaves were just landing on him.

The hail hitting his skin shattered into ice flakes. Caiden had turned his bones into hardened gold, giving him the strength to withstand a few more blows from the rock monsters.

The rock monsters were more focused on the smell of blood from the wrecked cave than on noticing a few humans slipping away into the night.

The three people and their beast were battered and bruised, their bodies aching, and they felt like giving up and letting the hail crush them to death.

Bang, bang, bang!

The sound kept ringing in their ears; the expanse before them was covered in white, with patches of soil visible on the ground.

The night breeze blew, causing them to shiver and sneeze from the cold, while their stomachs loudly growled, reminding them they hadn’t eaten since this morning.

"There’s a cave over there!" Those words offered a ray of hope; they followed the man’s pointing and saw a cave opening behind a stream.

They needed to swim across, but none of them could. Having lived underground all their lives, they only knew artificial sunlight and moonlight—no rivers or lakes, just water tanks for daily use. The rest of their time was spent hunting dungeon loot or honing their strength.

The hope and relief they’d felt moments earlier vanished at the sight of the stream standing between them and their goal.

"How are we going to cross over?" one of them asked in a low voice, his expression clouded with gloom as he stared at the rippling water.

They leaned against the mountain wall for cover from the hailstones slamming into the ground in fury.

Silence hung in the air after his words as the four of them stared ahead. Caiden frowned as he looked around, hoping for a path that led to the cave, but there was none. The stream had spread far and wide, and they would need to cross it to reach the other side.

"Maybe it’s not that deep," one of them muttered doubtfully. The three exchanged glances before settling on Caiden, waiting for his response—or his next move.

Caiden felt their gaze and remained silent, but thought inwardly, ’To explore this world alone would be boring, and these people might be of use later. But first, we have to pass this stream.’

With these thoughts in mind, he took charge of the group. "Is there anyone among you who’s a water power user?" he asked calmly, his confident tone seeming to calm their panic and fears.

"I can." A blue-haired man softly, his voice blending into the surrounding noise. When no one responded, he raised his voice slightly.

"I’m a water power user, but my level is low," he admitted honestly to Caiden.

Caiden nodded, but his next action caught them completely off guard, leaving no time to react.

A sudden force yanked at the man’s wrist, and before he knew it, he was hurtling through the air, heading straight for the stream.

A loud plop echoed through the clearing as the man slammed into the water, his body flinching at the icy shock.

Panic overwhelmed him as he sank, frantically fighting to stay afloat while water splashed around him.

The other two people watched in shock and instinctively backed away from Caiden, afraid they might be next.

"Use your water ability!" Caiden ordered coldly, sensing that if he didn’t remind the man, he might actually drown.

His words echoed through the clearing amid the loud crash of hail, piercing the man’s panicked heart, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, bringing his eyes back into focus.

He acted quickly, manipulating the water around him. At first, he clumsily formed a water bubble to support himself, wobbling as he adjusted—but soon he could stay afloat steadily.

"I did it!" the blue-haired man exclaimed, waving his hand to show them the globe of water holding him aloft.

The others couldn’t tell the difference and only saw his upper body above the water, a wave of relief and renewed hope washing over them.

Caiden’s tense heart eased as he maintained a neutral face, showing no happiness like the others; instead, he gave instructions.

"Control your ability and try to move in the water!" Caiden shouted sharply, snapping the man out of his euphoria.

The man froze as if a pause button had been pressed, then followed Caiden’s instructions. At first, the water globe beneath him didn’t move, but he didn’t give up and tried again, ignoring slight pain from small hail touching his shoulders.

He drew in a deep, icy breath and controlled the water globe beneath him. His weight briefly hindered its movement, and shards of ice slid down his face, pushed along by the sweat from his effort.

Finally, after what felt like centuries and almost fading hope, he was able to push the globe forward.

The other two cheered, already noticing his result, though it wasn’t much; at least he moved.

The blue-haired man moved toward the shore, crawled out of the water, and collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

His breath coming out in large pants, and small hail falling painfully on his body, luckily the hail wasn’t bigger or he would have been badly injured or worse, died.

Caiden moved forward and looked down at him. "Rest up and take us across the stream." Caiden tossed a vial from his ring toward him, the blue liquid sloshing as the blue-haired man caught it.

Roar!!!

A roar suddenly shattered their peace. One rock monster spotted them, and its roar alerted the others.

The three men felt a chill run down their spines, and their hair stood on end as countless red eyes watched them from across the clearing.

"We need to get out of here!" One of them shouted in a panicked tone. They couldn’t afford for the blue-haired man to rest.

The man was aware of the dire situation and chugged the potion down. "I can only take one person at a time," he muttered helplessly, his heart hammering in his chest as the monsters drew nearer.

Caiden remained silent, his gaze darting around as his mind raced through possible solutions to their dangerous situation.

Then his eyes landed on the monster, and an idea popped into his mind. ’It seems I won’t need to use his powers to cross over.’ Caiden thought to himself as he turned to the panicked trio.

"Follow whatever instructions I give next without hesitation—or I will leave you for dead," Caiden said firmly, then waited for their replies.

The ground shook beneath them as the monsters approached; the three desperately nodded, wanting to survive.

Caiden turned to the blue-haired man. "You don’t need to take us across, just make us float in the water, and once I give the signal, everyone...."

The more they listened, the paler they got, but they knew there wasn’t a better idea than this and could only hope it would work without them dying in the process. With snow-covered faces, they nodded in agreement with the plan.

They watched in trepidation as the monster closed in on the stream.

"Now!" Caiden ordered, and they leapt into the water, grabbing a piece of the blue-haired man’s clothes so they wouldn’t be separated in the water—only their faces remained afloat.

The monsters saw their prey had entered the water and roared in fury.