Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 275

Samoa and Joe were marveled by the sight that was before them. Several broken down trees; large craters that were created by the large head of the Giant Black Mamba from Rash Tiger’s constant smashing; and the most magnificent sight of them all – the body of a Giant Black Mamba hoisted on a half broken tree. They saw for themselves what a Predator level powerhouse was capable of doing. The creature that was proclaimed to be one of the strongest under the Mythic Class level and was even capable of going against some weaker Mythic Class Magical Beasts was helpless before a Predator level powerhouse. The entire fight had been one-way. Rash Tiger pummeled the snake to the ground, and all it could do was try to survive just a bit longer. Before a powerhouse like Rash Tiger, the snake had nowhere to go. And even its earlier attempt to escape was foiled by Frowning Tiger. The man who wasn’t famed for his speed, showed exceptional speed to catch up to the Giant Black Mamba even when it was using its special ability – Accelerate. It had been a brief fight. Well, not for the mamba that was fighting for its life. But to the spectating remnants of the Scouting Party, the fight had been short. It had taken Rash Tiger less than two minutes to deal with the Giant Black Mamba. And this was only because he was clearly not serious about the fight. Samoa couldn’t help but wonder what that would be like. How fearsome would a Tiger be if he/she cast off that lax attitude and got serious? Samoa could feel a chill go down his spine just from imagining it.

“You took your time,” Frowning Tiger spoke to the approaching Rash Tiger.

“I didn’t think there was a need to hurry,” Rash Tiger had a broad smile on his face as he nonchalantly answered. His blatant disregard for the creature that was capable of bringing fear to many was apparent, but neither Samoa nor Joe thought him to be arrogant. If anything, he was humble. To be able to best a Giant Black Mamba with nothing but his fists was impressive even amongst Predator level powerhouses. After all, some Predators weren’t that much stronger than Thrashers. Such Predators would have had a hard time handling the huge snake. But it was obvious that neither Frowning Tiger nor Rash Tiger fell under that category.

“Why didn’t you kill it,” Frowning Tiger suddenly asked? He gazed at the occasionally twitching figure of the snake mounted on the tree with cold eyes. His question caused Samoa and Joe who thought everything was over to examine the snake again. Of course this examination was done from afar. It may be stuck on the tree, but it was still the creature that killed off half of the Scouting Party. The trauma from that incident remained. And they weren’t going to forget about it anytime soon.

“How is it still alive,” Joe voiced out his frustrations? The snake had been beaten up badly. The tree stamp that kept it hoisted in the air was causing no small amount of pain. The presence of gravity ensured that the tree stamp slowly but surely continued to pierce into the snake. With every passing second, it found its way deeper and deeper into the snake. Any other creature would have died from the severity of injuries it had sustained. Yet it still lived.

“The Giant Black Mamba has an impressive life force. It isn’t going to die immediately.” Frowning Tiger stated.

To be fair, Samoa and Joe knew about the amazing life force of the Giant Black Mamba. As members of the Scouting Party, they knew a lot about Magical Beasts. But none of them had ever witnessed the impressive tenacity of the Giant Black Mamba firsthand. After all, with their strength if they ever came across a Giant Black Mamba, they were sure to die.

“You said it wouldn’t die immediately. Does that mean it would die slowly, sir” Samoa asked. It seemed he had finally found his voice after being tongue-tied for the entirety of the fight.

“Smart boy,” Rash Tiger praised.

Seeing the questioning look on the duo’s faces, Frowning Tiger could tell what they were thinking. Why didn’t Rash Tiger kill the creature immediately instead of dragging things out? Did he by any chance run out of strength? But that wasn’t possible. The man’s breath was very stable and he clearly didn’t take the fight seriously. So what was it? What did the Predator level powerhouse hope to achieve by dragging things out?

“He heard you when you said the other members were dead,” Frowning Tiger explained.

His words enlightened Samoa and Joe and made them look at Rash Tiger with admiration. There was also gratitude in their eyes. The admiration was because under the circ.u.mstances (fighting the Giant Black Mamba), Rash Tiger was still listening to their conversation. They knew he didn’t take the fight seriously. But to think he was so unconcerned about the fight that he was actually listening in on their conversation was surreal. This served to heighten their admiration of him. The gratitude was because he got angry for the sake of their friends. He didn’t know the members of their scouting party, but that didn’t stop him from growing angry at the creature that caused the death of half of the members.

And it wasn’t just Rash Tiger who got angry. Frowning Tiger’s expression had grown colder when he heard that the other members were dead as well. It was a sign he was mad as well. He only held himself back because he knew that Rash Tiger was more than capable of taking care of things.

“Thank you sir,” both Samoa and Joe said in unison. They bowed their heads slightly to express their thanks to Rash Tiger. Not only for saving their lives, but for taking revenge on their behalf. Their friends would be able to rest easy in the afterlife knowing that the damned beast that had caused them despair in their final moments was suffering in pain and wouldn’t last much longer.

“Don’t call me sir. I’m not a stickler for the rules like Frowning Tiger. You can just call me Rash Tiger” Rash Tiger laughed embarrassingly and said.

Samoa couldn’t help but think that he was truly as the rumors said. According to the rules of the village, one was to refer to another of higher standing with respect. Sir and Madam were the terms that displayed this respect, and so were accepted. But Rash Tiger was popular for being rash and uncouth. He cared very little for rules and did as he wanted. But he never did anything that went against the interests of the village so he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. He didn’t abide by the rules, so it was no surprise that he was uncomfortable with the term ‘sir’.

“Yes Rash Tiger sir,” both Samoa and Joe responded, and a wry smile graced Rash Tiger’s lips. They were calling him Rash Tiger alright, but they were still calling him sir. Frowning Tiger had a small smile on his lips as he watched this. It was strange to see him smile. Luckily, that smile didn’t last for long. It disappeared almost as suddenly as it appeared.

“Hold on,” Rash Tiger suddenly said. “Which of you is Joe,” he wondered?

“I am, Rash Tiger sir,” Joe quickly responded.

“So you are my nephew. I haven’t seen you in decades! The last time I saw you, you were still a baby who didn’t know anything other than to soil yourself!” Rash Tiger laughed exuberantly and patted Joe’s shoulder. Joe grimaced in pain when Rash Tiger’s powerful hand clapped his shoulder, but he didn’t complain. He was too happy to do so.

“Do you want to break his shoulder,” Frowning Tiger asked as he walked towards the hoisted snake?

“Hahaha. How can my nephew be this weak?! Are you hurt?” Rash Tiger laughed.

“No Rash Tiger sir,” Joe speedily replied. There was no way he was going to admit that he was.

“You can just call me Uncle,” Rash Tiger clapped Joe’s back a few more times and said.

“Yes Uncle,” Joe all too happily agreed.

Frowning Tiger sighed at their interaction. “Samoa,” he called as he kept walking to the snake.

“Yes Sir,” Samoa replied.

“Follow me,” Frowning Tiger demanded.

“Yes Sir,” Samoa was more than happy to oblige.

The two left Joe and Samoa behind to chat and walked to the snake. Once they were before the gigantic creature, Samoa looked into its eyes again. There was no excitement, joy, craftiness or fear. Its eyes were empty and devoid of any emotion. There was nothing. It looked like it had accepted its fate.

“Pick those twigs for me,” Frowning Tiger ordered.

“Yes Sir,” Samoa turned to look at the several tree branches that had been severed by Rash Tiger’s violent pummeling. He quickly gathered them up and brought them to Frowning Tiger.

“Do you know how to make a bonfire,” Frowning Tiger asked?

“Yes Sir,” Samoa replied.

He instantly understood what Frowning Tiger was planning to do. He couldn’t help but shiver slightly as he looked at the cold expression Frowning Tiger had in his eyes. It seemed that the man was more ruthless that Rash Tiger. He hadn’t forgotten, and he hadn’t forgiven either. He was going to make the snake pay for killing members of his village. The duo didn’t take long to surround the tree stamp with the twigs. At a particular point in time, the snake realised what was happening and started to squirm. But its pleading hisses didn’t move Samoa or Frowning Tiger. The duo went about their task whilst ignoring the snake.

“Step back,” Frowning Tiger advised Samoa after the last twig was put in its place. He held two twigs in his hands. Samoa did as he was told without question. He watched wide-eyed as Frowning Tiger rubbed the twigs in his hands together with blistering speed. Samoa couldn’t even see the twigs. All he saw were hazy images of Frowning Tiger’s hands.

*Spark*

When the twigs finally caught fire, Frowning Tiger tossed them onto the tree, and it began to burn. Frowning Tiger, Rash Tiger, Samoa, and Joe all watched as the snake hissed in pain from being roasted alive. The flames covered the pitiful creature mercilessly and burnt away its scales. It was being burnt alive. For minutes they watched, none of them feeling any remorse or pity. They just watched it burn alive.