Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 292

Blistering Cheetah was the first to get there. He avoided the assault of two Mythic Classes and lashed at the Shadow Leopard with a powerful kick. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to deal with the creature alone. So all he wanted to do was to hold it off until support arrived.

*Whoosh*

The Shadow Leopard danced midair and avoided Blistering Cheetah’s kick. Although the speed of that kick was inhumane, the Shadow Leopard had very little problem evading it. It dived beyond Blistering Cheetah and pulled the head off another Mythic Class. The creature turned to dust immediately and was inhaled into the belly of the Shadow Leopard.

Blistering Cheetah’s eyes flashed with a cruel light, and the Predator turned and slashed at the Shadow Leopard with deadly precision. This time, the beast didn’t dare to be careless. It jumped away from Blistering Cheetah with some weariness, abandoning the other Mythic Class it was going for.

Suddenly, an intense feeling of danger assaulted Blistering Cheetah’s senses. Even without turning back, he dashed to the left to evade the powerful swipe of a large paw.

*Rip*

Blistering Cheetah pushed down the blood that threatened to force itself out of his mouth and swallowed it down. The burning feeling from his back caused him a great deal of pain, but he knew that he couldn’t afford to be careless now. The creature that attacked him was another Mythic Class Beast. The creature stared at him with menacing eyes. Its eyes were no longer hazy, a sign that the effects of the skill Absolute Majesty of the Shadow Leopard, had finally worn off. It was furious that the Shadow Leopard tried to consume them through that method, but its instincts warned it that pursuing the matter would only lead to death. So it transferred its fury onto the human in front of it.

It jumped at Blistering Cheetah and hacked powerfully with its sharpened claws.

*Whoosh*

Blistering Cheetah deftly avoided the attack by ducking, and then he pierced towards the belly of the Mythic Class Magical Beast with a face full of fury.

*Poof*

His blade found its target and ruthlessly tore into the body of the beast which howled in pain. It slapped its powerful paws towards Blistering Cheetah’s face with a hint of savage viciousness in its eyes. Blistering Cheetah didn’t hesitate to abandon his blade and jump back. But immediately he jumped back, effectively avoiding the blow, he dashed forward again and rammed into the Mythic Class Magical Beast. It howled in even greater agony as the sword that was struck in its belly was lodged deeper into its body. But its screams were quickly cut off when its head was sent flying through the air.

“We must fall back until the others get here,” stated the Mongoose who had decapitated the Mythic Class. The other Cheetahs were fending off multiple attacks from Mythic and High Classes. Because they had rushed here, they were a fair bit ahead of the main group. The closest person to them was Arthur. But the beasts were attacking relentlessly. They weren’t going to last long.

Blistering Cheetah bit his tongue to cancel the dizzy spell that threatened to pull him into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. He couldn’t afford to be careless. He quickly gave the order for them to retreat.

“Fall back,” he informed his teammates, and they disappeared from their positions and appeared next to him.

“You should stay in the centre,” the Mongoose advised. He looked at Blistering Cheetah’s wound with a worried expression. The other Cheetah’s were just as worried. On Blistering Cheetah’s back was a long gush. The leather armor that was made from the hide of a Mythic Class, had been destroyed, and was drenched in blood. It was a sizable wound. And it needed to be treated fast.

Blistering Cheetah gritted his teeth as he watched his compatriots defend against the attacks of the Magical Beasts. Cheetahs and Mongooses weren’t best at defending. They fought by relying on their explosive speed and agility to deal with their enemies, so staying at one place was always a disadvantage for them. But because of him that was exactly what they were doing. In only a few seconds, the sword of one of the Cheetahs was knocked away, and his head was taken off cleanly by the opportunistic Shadow Leopard. The sly beast had been lying in wait, just waiting for an opportunity to strike.

It wasn’t going to give up the chance to feed on a Cheetah and improve on its speed. So when that Cheetah was trying his hardest to hold on against two Mythic Classes, the vicious beast took his head off. Blistering Cheetah watched in agony as one of his good friends turned into smoke and was inhaled into the mouth of the Shadow Leopard. Its eyes flashed in ecstasy, seemingly reveling in its newfound strength, or in this case, speed. Then it gazed at Blistering Cheetah with greed through the gap that had opened up in their defense from the death of their teammate. It could tell that Blistering Cheetah was the fastest, and that it would grow a lot faster if it could consume him.

Blistering Cheetah could only weep silently seeing the death of his friend. He was in so much physical pain that he couldn’t even scream. But the psychological pain from seeing his friend die before his very eyes threatened to break him apart. He stared at the Shadow Leopard with a pair of angry eyes, as the flames of vengeance burned strongly within his c.h.e.s.t.

Strangely, the Shadow Leopard flashed him a look filled with regret and disappeared from its position. With a flash it reappeared behind the other Mythic Classes, staying away from the battlefield.

“We can’t hold on much longer,” stated the Mongoose as he and the other Cheetah readjusted their positions to cover the hole that had been created in their defense when their comrade died. He deflected the blow of a Mythic Class Magical Beast strenuously as he struggled to keep his footing.

“You don’t need to.”

Suddenly, the Mythic Class Beast that was assaulting him was split right through the middle and cleaved into two symmetrical parts.

A red light flashed as the other beasts that were assaulting their small group were sent flying, some weaker ones – mostly the High Classes – died, whereas the stronger beasts only suffered some injuries. The Mongoose sighed in relief when he saw Arthur appear before them. But quickly that relief was replaced by grief.

“Take Sir Blistering Cheetah out of here,” Arthur ordered. The Mongoose looked at the Shadow Leopard with undisguised fury, but he ultimately sighed and nodded his head. He knew just what to prioritize. Besides, he wasn’t a match for the sly beast. He and the other Cheetah carried Blistering Cheetah away from the battlefield under the protection of Arthur.

“Why did it retreat?” Arthur wondered aloud as he stared unblinkingly at the distant Shadow Leopard. It had the opportunity to take out the injured Blistering Cheetah before he arrived. So why didn’t it take that chance. Arthur didn’t believe that it was because of him. It could have easily finished off Blistering Cheetah before he got there. So he wasn’t a factor here. So why didn’t it do so?

“My best bet would be that the active period for the skill is over,” Frowning Tiger landed right beside Arthur and said.

“What do you mean Teacher,” Arthur asked. Since Arthur’s appearance, the beasts were only staring at the humans wearily, not daring to launch an attack.

“Hold on,” Frowning Tiger stated and then shouted out to Samoa.

“Samoa. How do the Shadow Leopard’s skills work?!”

“Absolute Majesty can last for as long as 30 seconds depending on the innate talent of the Shadow Leopard. This one seems to last for about 25 seconds, meaning it’s very talented. The cooldown period is pretty long though – usually 10 minutes.”

“Assimilate is also very powerful. But just like Absolute Majesty, it is an active skill. When activated, it would last for 30 seconds. Within that period, it can consume at most 30 High Class Beasts, or 5 Mythic Class Beasts at once. But it cannot go beyond that. Predators are equal to Mythic Class Beasts, so it’s the same for them. It has a longer cooldown. Assimilate has a cooldown period of 30 minutes”

Samoa displayed his extensive knowledge on Magical Beasts once again, informing everyone on the battlefield about the abilities of the Shadow Leopard. The eyes of the Shadow Leopard flashed strangely as it gazed at the distant figure of Samoa with a bit of dread. It seemed to understand what had just transpired.

“So it cannot use those skills anymore for some time,” Rash Tiger unstrapped his large axe from his back as he looked at the Shadow Leopard with wrathful eyes. He too, just like everyone else, had seen how it took out one of their own. And his rage wasn’t less than anyone else’s.

“You aren’t its match,” Frowning Tiger shook his head and stopped Rash Tiger from doing anything ‘rash’. They couldn’t afford to lose any more people before the Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast showed itself.

“So we should just watch that bastard run rampant?” Rash Tiger gritted his teeth in frustration.

“No. Arthur can handle the beast. It seems wary of him. As for you, you can vent your frustrations on the other Mythic Classes. Make them pay for killing our friend.” Frowning Tiger’s eyes gleamed dangerously as he swung the sword in his hand. He unsheathed another sword and swung that a few times too.

“Let’s go.” Arthur spoke with cold eyes and rammed into a High Class Magical Beast. The beast burst like a water balloon pierced by an arrow when Arthur smashed into it, and its blood drowned all on the battlefield. Rash Tiger licked the blood off his face with a sickening expression of glee and rage and exclaimed,

“Kill!”