The Battle of Chaos

"F-Formation!"

Hunters moved immediately, running and grouping up. It didn't matter if the formation was perfect. What mattered was being together. Alone, they would die quickly. In a group, they had more of a chance to fight back.

Arah and his team joined the closest hunter squad. The strongest among hunters, Rank 3s and 2s, took the front, cutting down the fishmen that approached. But a few still got through.

The fishmen were fast, and their screams didn't stop as they ran at them. They stabbed and slashed around without pattern.

Arah stayed in the rear with Terent and Sofise. It was the only smart choice. They weren't strong enough to hold the line. But here, they could kill the ones that slipped through without being too overwhelmed.

Arah used his spear to keep a safe distance from them while he observed them. If a fishman got too close, he would block before he killed it and push soul energy through his limbs. The enemies weren't that strong. Weaker than expected, for beasts producing red discs, they were underwhelming.

'They were out of their element.'

If they had been fighting underwater, this would have gone differently. But the parasite had forced them onto land, where they were slower and less coordinated.

Still, they were dangerous.

One jumped at him from behind. Arah twisted his body and blocked with the shaft of his spear. The impact pushed him back, his feet sliding on dirt as his hands shook.

Another came from the side. He reacted just in time, catching the attack and parrying it.

Arah frowned. He had to stop reacting and being on the defensive and take control.

When the next fishman lunged, Arah braced himself. He blocked with the butt of the spear, shifted the fishman's momentum to the side, and watched it stumble.

He didn't waste the chance. He stabbed it through the chest.

The fishman collapsed.

Two of them paused. Their eyes went to their fallen ally. They screamed and charged at him, but their charge stopped midway.

Arah stared at them, and a wave of murderous intent hit them, causing them to freeze.

"Well? Are you not attacking? Then I'll go."

He walked forward, he didn't rush in, he just walked.

'Water body, river mind...'

The fishmen snapped back into motion and attacked together.

Arah moved. One of the spears came and he knocked it into the other fishman, breaking their rhythm. Realizing this, one tried to step back, but it was too late. Arah swung his spear again, clean and fast, and their heads rolled off their bodies.

More fishmen charged at him.

The first tried to stab his chest. Arah stepped aside, let the spear scrape past, then slammed his own weapon into the fishman's side. It staggered, and he stabbed it through its throat.

Another one came. It raised its weapon and brought it down. Arah blocked, caught the spear under his arm, and used its initial momentum to pull it. The fishman stumbled. Arah grabbed its neck and pushed soul energy into it.

It screamed and squirmed a lot before the body went limp.

'So that works too,' he thought as he slashed its neck.

He had considered doing this since Iane had done the same to cure him of the parasite. Although the parasite had adapted to the fishman's soul energy, it hadn't adapted to his energy specifically, so he could still cleanse the parasite in the enemy if necessary.

Before the corpse dropped, another fishman tried to flank him. Arah ducked and swept his spear low. It hit the fishman's legs. The creature flipped and landed hard.

Arah stabbed it through the head.

A fourth one came, swinging wildly. Arah sidestepped, let the spear pass, then drove the spear's butt into its knee, and its bone cracked. The fishman collapsed.

He finished it with a downward strike.

Arah breathed out once, then moved again.

More attacks came, but Arah didn't stop. He turned their force against them. Blocked. Countered. Killed.

His body was covered in blood. None of it was his.

The Water Body, River Mind technique wasn't draining. In fact, it was designed for this purpose. It utilized the enemy's power to create gaps, allowing for counterattacks. It worked best against opponents with instinct but no tactics or ambush.

Another spear came. He turned and knocked it backward. It stabbed another fishman that had been approaching from behind. Arah finished it with a slash.

"Arah!?"

He suddenly heard a familiar voice.

He turned.

Iane was nearby, covered in blood, holding a dagger in one hand and his gourd in the other. His breathing was heavy.

"What are you doing here?! Fall back and take care of the—"

He stopped. His eyes went to the bodies around Arah.

He stared at the scene for a few seconds before he chuckled, breathless.

"...Fall back and help the others."

Arah didn't respond right away.

Then he looked around.

The battlefield was in chaos. Bodies were everywhere. Both fishmen and humans. Blood had soaked the ground, turning it into a crimson shade.

Even after all that, they were still outnumbered.

He glanced at the far shore, and the Bloodfiend was still motionless. The two giant crab beasts stood beside it, unmoving.

They hadn't fought yet.

They were waiting.

Arah looked at Iane. He was breathing hard and catching his breath, but still standing.

'They're wearing us down. Especially the strongest ones of our group.'

Arah went back to killing the ones that had slipped through. As he killed a few more, he noticed their numbers had been reduced by a quarter, and it kept falling. A lot of Rank 1s had died. If Arah hadn't been who he was, he might have ended up the same.

As he kept fighting. He noticed the fishmen's numbers had increased, meaning it was becoming harder to hold the frontline. Some hunters gave him strange looks, but he ignored them.

He saw Terent and Sofise in the chaos.

Terent was still fighting. He was doing better than most Rank 1s, despite not being one yet. One of his arms hung limp, unusable.

Sofise had no visible injuries, but her face was pale. Her quiver was empty. She had grabbed a fishman's weapon and was swinging it around sluggishly.

Arah sighed and rushed to them.

The fishmen they were fighting turned and attacked him. He dodged their spears, stabbed one through the chest, pulled the weapon free, then spun and blocked another.

He let go of the spear, causing the fishman to stumble, then grabbed its neck and sent soul energy through it.

By the time he was done, Terent had killed the one he was fighting and went to help Sofise.

A few seconds later, they finished the last one.

Terent let out a tired breath and looked at the person who had saved them. he was covered in blood from head to toe, and smelled strongly of blood which made him send a pulse of soul energy in his body, his eyes widened in recognition.

"A-Arah?"

Arah turned to him.

"We got no time, keep killing."

Sofise looked at both of them, hopeless.

"I-I don't think I can make it."

Arah frowned, walked toward her, and grabbed her by the collar.

"Then make yourself useful before you die."

Sofise's eyes narrowed. She was about to yell back when she met his gaze—those deep golden eyes.

She trembled, then gritted her teeth and stood.

"Good. Let's move."

They kept moving, killing more fishmen. The sun had set, and the battlefield was plunged into darkness, lit only by the glow of flames and floating soul discs.

The number of fishmen had dropped significantly. So had the hunters. Nearly half were dead. The front and back lines had merged into one because of their low number.

"Oh good, you guys are alive..."

Arah and the others turned. Iane stood there, visibly exhausted. His skin was pale, and his hands were shaking.

"Good... that's good..."

The remaining fishmen on the shore had stopped attacking. They just stared at the remaining hunters.

The Bloodfiend looked at the crabs, and they moved.

The Rank 3 hunters moved to intercept them.

Iane sighed.

"It's finally moving, that bastard..."

He looked at Arah and the others again.

"Listen up. The Rank 3s will keep the crabs busy. That will weaken the frontline for a bit. If this keeps going, we'll be wiped out."

He continued.

"Before that happens, we must kill the Queen. Once we do, the parasite inside the fishmen and crabs will be disabled. The Queen won't be able to send signals."

He looked at Arah.

"So... you guys and I will create an opening. And Arah... you will kill the Queen."

Arah frowned.

"Why me?"

Iane smiled weakly.

"First, I used a lot of soul energy, so I can't kill it. Just standing hurts. I feel like I'll faint any moment. So I can't go, Terent is injured, and sofies...can't really kill it. So you are the best option."

He chuckled and continued.

"Second... Arah, you possess a forbidden body, right?"

Sofise and Terent turned toward him, shocked.

"You are absurdly strong for an Unawakened. Way stronger than I was. You fight like someone with experience, and I am not sure what kind of training makes someone like that... If you do have a forbidden body... that alone might make you as strong as a full Rank 1. Maybe even an early Rank 2."

Arah looked serious. He stared at him.

"What is a forbidden body?"