Chapter 547: Am I about to become a stage 3 warrior?
Chapter 547
"Or the beasts come looking for us." Liam sighed, his tone dripping with despair. "We are dead."
"How the hell are we supposed to handle ten beasts all alone? What the fuck is this?!" Finral roared out, his voice echoing through the clearing as the beasts growled in unison, their sharp teeth flashing.
"This is bad, for real." Ray muttered in shock, his hands clenching tightly. And then, without hesitation, the beasts charged forward at full speed, their combined growls shaking the ground beneath them.
"Guys, I know that you’re afraid right now. But if you don’t face your fears and fight against them, we will all die. So let’s do our best against them!" He roared, his voice carrying a raw determination that made his words burn into their ears. Without waiting even a second, he swirled Ki into his feet.
In a flash, he exploded forward to meet the incoming ten beasts.
"He’s right. And for the record, I wasn’t scared!" Finral yelled as he darted forward too, his sword gleaming faintly behind him as if eager for blood.
"Well, I am." Liam gulped loudly, but regardless of his fear, he tightened his grip on his blade and charged forward.
Ray, upon getting close to the beasts, immediately ducked down under a massive claw swing aimed at his neck. He avoided it just in time and by the skin of his teeth.
With Ki swirling around his feet and fists, he shot forward with full force, aiming a brutal punch at the beast in front of him. But before his strike could land cleanly, another beast was already charging in, its claw slicing through the air toward his head.
’I trust them. They will come,’ he thought, his eyes burning with focus. Without hesitation, he slammed his gauntlet-covered fist into the first beast’s face.
The punch landed with devastating power, sending the beast skidding several metres away, its roar echoing as dirt scattered across the battlefield. But the price of that hit came instantly—the second beast’s claw was already dangerously close to his face.
And then...
CLANG!
Steel met claws in a shower of fierce sparks as Finral appeared in the path of the second beast. His teeth gritted fiercely, his glare locked into the beast’s eyes with unshaken fury.
Before the creature could retaliate, Liam slid underneath it with precision. His sword gleamed slightly before he struck at its legs with full force. The blade tore through flesh, leaving a gash so deep that black blood gushed out in thick streams.
The wound destabilized the beast, causing it to topple forward. Finral didn’t waste the chance. He leaped high and smashed both heels into its face with tremendous force, so powerful that blood sprayed across the ground in dark streaks.
One of its tusks pierced into the sole of his foot, but luckily, his Ki coating protected him, minimizing the damage. With that same surge of energy, the beast was hurled several metres away, crashing violently into the dirt.
Bang! Bang!
The sound rang out as Ray threw punches like a relentless boxer. He tilted his head at the last second, avoiding a claw strike that would have cleaved his head in two.
Then, with a powerful leap, he slammed an uppercut into the beast’s chin, snapping its head upward. Before the beast could even be flung back, its claws lashed out wildly, slashing from both sides toward Ray.
He twisted his body to dodge, but not perfectly. One claw sliced through his clothes, carving a shallow wound across his side and drawing droplets of blood.
The beast stumbled backward, blood dripping from its mouth, while Ray stood firm, panting heavily with his hand pressed to his slightly bleeding side.
Despite the pain, he refused to fall. Two more beasts circled him now, their eyes glowing with savage hunger as they moved in for the kill. Glancing behind him, he caught sight of Finral and Liam working together in near-perfect sync, pushing two other beasts back with their combined attacks.
’They will be fine.’ Ray reassured himself, forcing his focus back to the fight. His instincts screamed just in time, his eyes widening as he caught sight of a claw streaking straight toward his face at full speed.
His fist tightened, his stance lowered, and the battlefield roared around him as the fight with the ten beasts truly began.
Just at the last moment, he brought his hands up in front of his face. His gauntlets absorbed the brunt of the impact, but the force of the claw was so great that his arms trembled violently. The strike sent him skidding several metres back, his boots grinding against the dirt as pain rattled through his bones.
He quickly swirled Ki to his feet, forcing his body down to steady himself so he wouldn’t be hurled any farther. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, metallic and hot, but he wiped it away with the back of his gauntlet. His eyes narrowed just in time to see the second beast bolt toward him like a shadow cutting through the dust.
A claw strike lashed out from the side, sharp enough to slice through stone, and he immediately leaped back to avoid it. But before he could even catch his breath, the first beast, the same one he had just blocked, leaped high into the air. Its massive frame blocked the faint light above, and then it came crashing down at him with devastating force.
"Fuck." He muttered under his breath, his body tightening with urgency. He swirled Ki into his feet and leaped a metre back, landing just in time. The beast smashed into the ground where he had stood, the impact shaking the earth and kicking up a dense cloud of dust. A crater formed instantly, cracks spider-webbing through the dirt.
Ray didn’t hesitate. He darted forward, making use of the dust screen to mask his movements. His feet thundered against the ground, and with every ounce of Ki he had left, he propelled himself like a bullet. In one fluid motion, his fist shot forward with brutal force, slamming directly into the beast’s jugular. The strike snapped it immediately, twisting its head at an unnatural angle as the sound of bones cracking echoed in the haze.
But there was no time to savor the kill. Feeling the shift in the air behind him, Ray immediately ducked down, barely avoiding a deadly swing aimed at his neck. Before he could regain his stance, a kick smashed into his side and lower back, the force hurling him forward. He crashed face-first into the dirt, his body skidding violently across the ground as grit scraped against his skin.
He coughed out specks of blood mixed with sand, his lungs burning, but he didn’t stop. Instantly, he spun around on instinct, only to see another massive claw descending toward his head.
With a sudden burst of speed, he tilted his head aside. The claw tore into the earth where his skull had been, leaving a gouge so deep it looked like the ground had been split.
’Huh? What was that?’ he thought with a raised brow, confusion flickering through his pain. Another strike came immediately, fast and brutal. Yet again, he dodged it—only this time, by a margin so wide it almost felt unnatural.
Then, in one smooth burst of motion, his fist surged forward. It connected squarely with the beast’s face, bone and flesh crunching under the devastating blow. The impact hurled the creature off its feet, sending its massive body flying backward as dust and blood filled the air.
’The hell is going on? It seems like I’m suddenly growing faster and stronger by the second. Wh... oh shit! Am I close to my breaking point? Will I soon become a stage 3 warrior? But when? Oh shit! Don’t tell me it would happen anytime now.’ He gulped loudly, his breathing ragged as his gaze swept across the battlefield.
Four beasts remained. Two charged toward him with ruthless intent, while the other two barreled toward Finral and Liam. His comrades looked battered, their swings slower, their breaths heavy, exhaustion etched on their faces.
"We can still get out of this." Ray muttered, more to himself than anyone else. His voice carried determination, but his heart thumped with adrenaline. He slammed his fists into the ground, forcing himself up with a surge of raw power. Dust and fragments scattered around him as he shot forward like a human spear, deciding without hesitation to charge headfirst into the pair of beasts closing in on him.
The fight wasn’t over. It had only just begun.