Chapter 45 - Three Way Battle (3)

"A Rhodnius Beastman," Roxanne said quietly as she picked up her daggers and went into defensive mode. She was nervous and cold sweat ran down her back. The problem was not only that a Beastman was usually more powerful than another Warrior of the same level, but that Ren was a Praetorian, far more powerful than Nerun and company.

"Oh, but what do we have here? A mercenary and 4 brats. Were you also captives of Sagat? Well, that's of no interest. I'm afraid my orders don't allow me to leave any of you alive," Ren said as he grinned, showing his fangs.

Silvester, Ailan and Eliana felt shivers, seeing Ren's smile, but there was little they could do. This was a problem they had not expected to encounter.

"Wow, you're one of the famous Beastmen? I've never seen one before, you look so big and strong," said Nerun with wide, starry eyes, like a normal, curious child.

"Hehehehehehe, yes boy, I am a mighty and proud Rhodnius Beastman," said Ren who couldn't help but brag a little at the surprised look on Nerun's face, whose flattering words made him feel pretty good. Besides, he thought he had everything under control, so he didn't take many precautions against Nerun and company.

"How unbelievable. My older brother has told me many stories of the Beastmen, and he tells me that they are very powerful and spectacular. Look at those big long arms, that fierce gaze, you look very, very powerful," said Nerun as he fearlessly approached Ren as if to examine him more closely.

Ren blushed a little at Nerun's words and put his hand behind his head as he scratched it. He had a bit of a soft spot for flattery.

Nerun moved even closer and said "Big Brother Beastman, couldn't you help us? Those mercenaries locked us in here and we are very hungry and want to get back to our families. Couldn't you help us escape?" as he looked at Ren with a clear hope painted in his gaze.

Ren, however, still smiling said, "I'm afraid not little boy. My orders are to leave no one who has seen me alive. And that unfortunately includes you, more so when you are from Ansem. But I can tell you this. I promise you that I will make sure your deaths are completely painless." Ren smiled as he said these macabre words as if he was talking about buying cabbage at the shop.

Although Ren was far less bloodthirsty than Malo and had a cool head, he was a fully fledged soldier of Rhodnius, and would not even think of disobeying his commander's orders. The material his commander was looking for was capable of causing high-level warriors to infiltrate Rhodnius, and they could very well end up on the end of a spear, or worse captured and tortured for information. As long as they were not safely back in Gallia, in the territory of the Great Tribe of Sacar, even other Great Tribes of Rhodnius might have ideas about them.

Nerun seemed to deflate when he heard Ren's words, as a small tear welled up in one of his eyes. "Sniff, sniff." Looking at Ren, Nerun stared at him with his saddened face and finally said "You know something? On second thought, you're actually kind of ugly."

Ren paused for a while thinking about the meaning of Nerun's words, which became a little incomprehensible. When he understood what he had meant, he was about to get angry, when Nerun suddenly disappeared from where he was at a very short distance from him and approaching him hit him with all his might in the crotch. Ren reacted instinctively thanks to his reflexes and his much higher level than Nerun's, so he stepped back a little, but still, Nerun's blow reached and managed to hit one of the spherical appendages of his nether regions (which were much bigger than a normal person's due to his bestial heritage, so they hung a little).

The pain that invaded Ren's mind made him almost vomit bile, and the others who were with Nerun did not wait, especially Silvester, who approached without wasting any time and accumulating all his Qi in his arm attacked Ren with all his strength, who could barely raise his arm in a hasty defence. The blow threw Ren several meters backwards and Roxanne took the opportunity to appear behind Ren and attack him with her two blades, which pierced Ren's body in his torso.

However, before they could rejoice that they had succeeded with their ambush, Roxanne's blades stopped when they reached Ren's muscles, and no matter how much force she used, they were completely immobile.

Ren's eyes turned abnormally red, and all the hair on his body stood on end. The muscles in his arms bulged and he looked more like a gorilla than a person at the moment. Ren threw a punch at Roxanne, who couldn't react in time and was thrown several metres backwards. Roxanne fell to the ground as blood spurted from her lips. One of her arms was broken in several places, and she also had several broken ribs, forcing her to breathe with some difficulty.

"Whoa. You can definitely never let your guard down when you're in enemy territory. What a great actor you are boy. Don't worry. I'll be sure to repay you in spades for the affection you've shown me," Ren said as he glared fiercely at the children. Horror flickered in Ailan and Eliana's eyes, but there wasn't much they could do. Roxanne seemed to want to pull something out of her clothes, but Ren noticed and pulling out one of the knives still in his torso and hurled it towards Eliana, landing on one of her legs and pinning it to the ground as he laughed viciously.

Nerun and Silvester were a little nervous, and did not know what to do. Suddenly at that moment Nerun stopped because he heard a voice that seemed to have come directly into his mind. He quickly composed himself and said nothing, but made a quick hand signal to Silvester, who was a little surprised, but nodded his head. The next few moments would decide whether they could get out of this mess alive.

...

Elijah, Ocelot and Malo were in a rather fragile balance. They had already exchanged several blows and techniques, and none of them had been able to gain an advantage over the others. Gradually, however, as the fight progressed, it became obvious that Elijah was at a slight deficit to his two opponents.

Elijah used several times in a row, attacking Malo with breakneck speed in several directions, and although it seemed that Malo was being outmatched by Elijah's attacks and his sword, Malo's defence was quite high and the injuries he was receiving were no greater than he could withstand. If the battle was only between Malo and Elijah, it is possible that Elijah could have executed a hit-and-run style of battle, using guerrilla tactics to finish Malo off bit by bit. However, the presence of Ocelot meant that Elijah's plans could not be realised.

Ocelote took advantage of Elijah attacking Malo with a great technique, to quickly spin both tonfas with great speed, while the Qi began to circulate violently around them. Ocelot then disappeared from where he was and appeared next to both Malo and Elijah. Elijah couldn't help but have to redirect his attack towards Ocelot.

. Both Tonfa stood with their ends towards Malo and Elijah, while Ocelot attacked them with his arms outstretched. Two large Qi Seals appeared and attacked them both, whereupon Elijah was thrown backwards, regaining his balance with difficulty. Malo had to retreat several metres. This time he was prepared for Ocelot's attack, and he was in a defensive position beforehand. Still, the pain in his arms was quite high, given that he had been on the receiving end of Elijah's constant attacks previously, and he had quite a lot of blood on his arms and forearms. If he continued to receive these attacks, it was possible that both arms would soon be useless. However, his gaze was becoming more and more fanatical.

Malo then, his eyes reddening, began to scream. Malo's nails began to harden, and his skin turned a stone grey colour, as the roughness of his skin became more and more noticeable. Eventually the horn on his forehead began to grow thicker and thicker, to a length of over a foot.

Part of the Beastmen's power lay in calling forth the ancestral power that dwells within them, thus exacerbating their bestial characteristics. This ancestral power becomes more and more accessible to them as they advance in rank, until by the time they are Legend level, they are almost equivalent to the Magical Beasts that gave rise to them. Their power is greatly increased, but they also have a greater risk of losing control. Unlike a Magical Beast, which becomes more and more intelligent as it increases in rank, if a Beastman is completely driven by its instincts and gives in to animalistic power, it is likely to lose its mind completely and become a beast with no reason and exist only for killing and hunting.

For this reason, the Beastmen had to be very careful when using their powers.

Malo's strength grew enormously and he seemed to have grown at least 20 cm taller. He jumped with a speed, which was not much slower than Elijah's, and hit Ocelot, who had to defend himself with his Tonfa at full speed. Malo started a berserk attack against Ocelot and Elijah, both of whom could only defend themselves at this point. A peculiar gleam appeared in Elijah's eyes.

Elijah seemed to be momentarily overpowered, and Malo took the opportunity to deliver a huge blow that knocked him off balance. A trickle of blood was noticeable in Elijah's mouth. Ocelot took advantage of one of Malo's attacks to once again move towards one of the walls and leaning against it, he used all his Qi to disappear from sight.

This time Ocelote appeared behind Elijah, who was in bad shape after Malo's rampage. Ocelote used both tonfa to attack Elijah, who could only defend himself with difficulty by barely turning around and defending himself with his sword, however the attack caused him to lose feeling in both arms.

"You are definitely the weakest among the three of us. So I guess the easiest thing to do is to get rid of you first." At that moment Ocelot laughed as a very faded shadow seemed to surround his arms and tonfae. There was a single halo of yellow ochre surrounding his tonfae. This halo only appeared for a small moment, but it was enough for Elijah to be thrown several metres backwards, out of control, right in the direction of Malo.

Malo took advantage of this moment to use the attack on Elijah's bare back, which sent him flying and hitting the ground several times. Elijah finally fell to the ground and tried to struggle to his feet, but eventually fell to the ground having lost consciousness.

Ocelot wanted to get closer to make sure Elijah had stopped breathing, but Malo stepped in and began to attack him relentlessly.

"How hard it is to make a Rhodnius Beastman think when he has lost his mind. However, since I've finished with that other fly, finishing you off will be so much easier. It is perfect. You are truly the best toy I could have hoped for to learn to control my new power. You see, Boss Sagat let me play with those "stones" you guys want. With them, my Qi that had stagnated began to circulate increasingly again. That's why my current level is a bit unstable, and I haven't been able to use all my power, but basically I'm a Qi Centurion now. The Word is my oyster. I wonder how strong my Will is," said Ocelot, as a yellow halo surrounded him and a very indistinct shadow surrounded his body.

Malo, although he had partially lost his mind, couldn't help but tense up a little at the power Ocelot was currently manifesting.

...

A person was seen travelling at high speed through the Prairie of Rhodnius. He was getting closer and closer to the Rando Woods. He stopped momentarily when he was about 15 km from the edge of the Forest, and pulled out a crystal in the shape of a dodecahedron. The crystal had many points of light inside it, which were similar to a constellation. Suddenly they seemed to change position, with one of the dots being brighter than the rest and pointing in a particular direction of the Woods.

"Mmmmmh. That boy didn't wait and went into the Woods. I hope there wasn't any trouble. The message I got on the way in says that Ansem's forces are near the Forest. We'd better get out as soon as possible to avoid trouble," said the person. This was precisely Sylas Du Sacar, who had just finished his journey to the Woods, and without further ado, entered the Forest at full speed in the direction indicated by the glowing dot on the crystal.