Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 288

Frowning Tiger bashed in the head of another Large Ironclad Earthworm. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw that Samoa was safe. And when he saw the blade that did the saving, he was doubly relieved. That weapon belonged to Village Head Fan. Since the sword was here, that meant that the Village Head was here as well.

“Wait a minute,” Frowning Tiger suddenly realized something. He delivered an uppercut to an overzealous Large Ironclad Earthworm that was trying to consume a Thrasher who was right next to him.

“That blade overdrafts his life force. Why would he use it when he could have just used the other one?” Frowning Tiger ignored the look of thanks the Thrasher he saved gave him and thought. Although he didn’t know the origins of the red sword, he recognized it as the blade Village Head Fan always relied upon when he was stuck in an extremely unpleasant situation. And because he was familiar with the sword, he knew how much it drained Village Head Fan. It put such a toll on the older man that he usually didn’t use it unless he had to. If Village Head Fan was going to use the sword, wouldn’t he rather use it when the Pseudo Legendary Magical Beast got here? Surely that was the best time to rely on it. Using it now would mean over drafting his life force and having no energy to deal with their greatest threat – which had yet to show itself.

“There is no way he would be that careless,” Frowning Tiger quickly concluded. He evaded the leap of a Middle Class Magical Beast and pounded the poor creature into the ground, ending its life. Village Head Fan could have used his other sword, the one that didn’t cause him any harm, to deal with the earthworm. So why use the red sword? That meant…

“He wasn’t the one who saved Samoa,” Frowning Tiger concluded. Although he was surrounded by enemies, none of them posed any threat to him. He could think as freely as he would have if he was sitting in the comfort of his home. So he was able to use his brain to its full capacity. Of course he did this whilst tossing an earthworm into the air, and blasting it into several pieces with a kick when it descended.

The Large Ironclad Earthworm writhed on the ground continuously. It wasn’t alive. These were post mortem spasms. The sword that was stuck in its body was a heavy sword. It was large and crimson in color. Although Samoa wasn’t the target of its wrath, he could feel goosebumps on his skin when he looked at the sword. The sword gave off a sense of majesty that made him, a human, want to bow in veneration and praise. He shook his head to rid himself of these strange emotions. Then he turned to look at the one who saved him.

His savior was a young man, and he didn’t seem any older than Samoa. He was b.a.r.e c.h.e.s.ted, exposing his broad and well sculpted c.h.e.s.t to the eyes of all who saw him. There was a tattoo of a roaring lion on his right c.h.e.s.t, and a picture of a snake had been engraved into his right arm. His green eyes pierced into Samoa’s and his wavy hair floated freely in the wind.

“Arthur,” Samoa asked, stunned by the appearance of his friend? His friend looked so serious that if Samoa didn’t know him well, he would have doubted that the boy before him was the same one he grew up with.

“Are you okay, Samoa,” Arthur asked kindly and stretched out his hand to his friend. He ignored the earthworms that were crawling his way with amazing agility and focused on his friend’s health.

“I am okay. You arrived just in time. If I were to be a maiden, I would have fallen for you.” Samoa laughed heartily. Although they were still surrounded on all sides, he felt strangely at peace. Arthur was like a dependable boulder, a fortified rock that would never fall no matter the circ.u.mstances. And as Samoa stood with him, he could feel a strange power welling up within him.

“Hehe. You still have the time to joke around,” Arthur smirked and playfully punched Samoa on his shoulder.

Samoa grimaced slightly when the ‘light’ fist connected with his shoulder. The fall led to a small bruise on his shoulder. It wasn’t enough to hamper his combat strength. But it still hurt.

“Are you really okay,” Arthur noticed the small change in his friend’s facial features and concluded that he wasn’t totally fine.

“A small bruise,” Samoa waved his injured arm to try and figure out if his range of motion was affected.

“Here. Apply this. I’d guard you.” Arthur reached into his trouser pockets and produced a small vial. There was a strange ointment in the vial.

“Healing balm!” Samoa recognized what was in the vial. It was a precious drug that could be used to treat surface wounds. Upon applying it, one would receive instant relief from whatever wound that was causing them pain.

“I won’t stand on ceremony then,” Samoa nodded and took the vial. He ignored the approaching creatures and focused on applying the medicine. That was how much he trusted Arthur. If Arthur was confident he could take care of the battlefield, then Samoa was confident that his friend would do just that.

“Where do you think you are going,” Arthur voiced out when he saw a strange cat like creature trying to get to Samoa. It was a Middle Class Magical Beast.

“Scram,” Arthur bellowed powerfully, and the creature was blown away. In fact, it wasn’t only that creature that was blown away. Every Magical Beast within a ten meter radius of Arthur was blown away, irrespective of their size. Even the three Large Ironclad Earthworms that were approaching weren’t spared. The battlefield paused momentarily as everyone stopped to look at the figure who commanded such power.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw. Using a bellow to push enemies away was something only Village Head Fan could do. Although Arthur’s shout had a smaller region of influence, it was still shocking to see him do what his father was famed for – literally blowing his enemies away. It was so impressive that even Frowning Tiger who knew that Arthur was a Predator was surprised. So one could imagine what everyone else felt when they realised that not only was Arthur a Predator, he had inherited some of his father’s skill.

“Come,” Arthur commanded, and Durandal which was still perched atop the dead Large Ironclad Earthworm shook slightly. Under the astonished gaze of all, it flew towards Arthur, piercing through every creature that was in its way before placing itself perfectly within his palm.

“This…” Frowning Tiger watched the sword fly into Arthur’s hand with a stunned expression. If he was surprised by Arthur’s bellow, then he was amazed by the flying sword feat. In all the years he had seen Village Head Fan use it, the man had never done anything remotely similar to what Arthur had done. And most importantly, it didn’t seem to drain Arthur’s life force. Arthur looked too relaxed as he held the sword. This was a far cry from how Village Head Fan looked whenever he used Durandal. Popping veins and reddened eyes were the features that showed themselves whenever Village Head Fan used Durandal. But Arthur seemed to be spared from that.

“There’s something he’s hiding,” Frowning Tiger realized. If the sword was dangerous for everyone, Village Head Fan wouldn’t have given it to Arthur. But the very fact that he did meant that he was confident that his son would be fine. This could only mean that Village Head Fan was keeping some things away from them.

“Well that doesn’t matter now,” Frowning Tiger thought to himself. He didn’t dwell on it. If Head Fan didn’t want to tell him, then so be it. It wasn’t obligatory for the man to tell him his secrets.

“Die!”

Along with his shout, Arthur’s figure flashed several times as he took out several beasts. Low Class, Middle Class, and even the High Class Large Ironclad Earthworms were killed swiftly. Within seconds, the area around Arthur and Samoa was filled with the corpses of dead beasts. Looking at the gallant figure of Arthur standing in front of Samoa like a formidable fortress that no one could pass, Frowning Tiger subconsciously let out a smile.

“He has grown,” he admitted.

When the boy held that sword, he wasn’t a newly promoted Predator. He wasn’t a young Lion, for he was no lion cub. He was a fully grown Lion, with strength exceeding a Tiger’s. He was worthy of his domineering title. Frowning Tiger could see this. The Thrashers, and all other fighters could see this. The Magical Beasts that were stepping back fearfully due to the overwhelming pressure Arthur was radiating could feel this. And Rash Tiger who was an expert when it came to boosting morale could see this, and he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.

“Do you see this?! The son of Village Head Fan holds the mantle of his father!” Rash Tiger smashed an escaping creature to bits and screamed at the top of his voice. His words reached every corner of the battlefield, and even those within the Central Demarcation Line could hear it.

“Gaze upon his magnificent figure and bask in his glory. Can you feel his strength coursing through your veins?!” He screamed enthusiastically.

“We can!!!”

Came the similarly enthusiastic voices of the excited warriors.

“He is surprisingly smart in times like these,” Frowning Tiger smirked seeing that Rash Tiger was using this opportunity to boost the morale of their troops.

“This is our future chief. The one who would lead us in the future! But he is here to lead us now!”

As the beasts were falling back in fear, the warriors slowly regrouped, standing closer to each other and falling behind Frowning Tiger, Rash Tiger, and Arthur. Rash Tiger pointed at the shirtless figure of Arthur who looked even more imposing without any armor on and continued his heartfelt speech.

“This is the one who disdains these beasts, so much so that he doesn’t even see the need to wear any armor!”

All of a sudden, Arthur’s defenseless figure grew even grander in the sight of everyone.

“THIS…IS…DURANDAL!!!!!”

“YEAHHHH!!!”