Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 298

“Thank you Sir. You saved my life.” Arthur quickly expressed his thanks to Wandering Cheetah for his help. Although he had never really seen Wandering Cheetah or interacted with him before, he had heard the famous story of the genius who fell.

“It’s nothing,” Wandering Cheetah replied with a wry smile on his handsome face. Although Arthur tried to hide it, Wandering Cheetah still saw the strange gaze the boy directed at him before he quickly regained his composure. After being stared at in the particular way for so many years, he was used to it. It was a look of curiosity, pity and a bit of disappointment. Curiosity concerning the one who was called a genius years ago and whether he truly was what they said he was. Pity upon realizing that he had truly not lived up to expectations, and disappointment because a talent had missed the chance to shine.

Now he could even tell when someone looked at him with that gaze. No matter where it came from, he could feel it on him, like an ant wandering on your skin. You may not be able to tell where exactly it was, but you would be able to feel it crawling all over your body.

“Sorry,” Arthur apologized with a guilt-ridden expression upon seeing that he had been found out. Although he didn’t mean to do so, he had heard Domineering Tiger’s words and knew who the man who saved him was. Beastly Tiger’s comments about the man being a coward also influenced his gaze towards him, and instead of gratitude being the first thing that he experienced, it was pity and disappointment. He thought he had recovered pretty quickly, but the Predator still noticed his strange gaze, and Arthur was feeling bad for it.

“It’s nothing. I’m already used to it by now,” Wandering Cheetah smiled bitterly and replied. He didn’t take offense to Arthur’s gaze. If he was to get mad because of something so trivial, and from one so much younger than himself, he wouldn’t be worthy of being a Predator. Besides, Arthur didn’t look at him with disdain, which was so much better than the treatment he received from his peers. After all, now Arthur was a Predator himself, and a person with a unique title. So his lack of scorn towards Wandering Cheetah was enough for the older gentleman to have a good first impression of him.

“That’s even worse,” Arthur grumbled silently when he heard the dark skinned man’s words. Hearing that the man was used to such comments from others concerning him caused him to feel bad for the man. He couldn’t imagine living a life like that; a life where everyone looked at you with eyes full of pity and scorn and talked about you behind your back. A life where none of your peers really respected you, except your friends.

Although Arthur’s voice was soft, he was next to a Predator, so Wandering Cheetah still heard his words. But the older man chose not to comment. His smiling face became stern in the next second, as he felt a mountainous aura bearing down on him and the boy.

“It’s coming,” pushing his mind to its most alert state, he calmed his mind and prepared his creaking muscles. If he was alone he would be confident of evading any of its attacks, but with Arthur it was a lot harder. Plus the aura of the beast was so strong that it limited his capabilities to only a fraction of what he was usually able to do. Even scarier was that he recognized that the beast’s aura wasn’t directed at him, but at Arthur!

“If it puts its attention on me, I’m afraid that I wouldn’t even be able to show 30% of my abilities!”

Wandering Cheetah wiped off his sweat with his palm as he thought to himself that the beast was truly remarkable. Because of its pressuring aura, he could only display 80% of his speed and agility. Yet it wasn’t even focused on him. Wandering Cheetah felt nothing but admiration for Arthur, the one who was bearing the full brunt of its aura. Looking at Arthur’s indifferent face, Wandering Cheetah was even more impressed.

“I can barely withstand it without Durandal”

Unbeknownst to Wandering Cheetah, Arthur wasn’t having an easy time. Without his powerful sword and partner, he was incomplete. In his incomplete state, he could barely stand up to the powerful aura that the Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast was releasing. His face looked indifferent because the aura was so powerful that he couldn’t even move his facial muscles. He wasn’t indifferent. He was stiff!

“Got to go,” Wandering Cheetah stated and clutched onto Arthur belt. Since Arthur wasn’t wearing a shirt, that was the only piece of fabric he could safely grab onto. Especially since Arthur’s trousers were full of tears and were ripped in several areas. Seeing the large beast descending on them with a mighty paw, Wandering Cheetah didn’t waste any time and moved out of the way. The goal was to get to the Domineering Tiger and co. who may be able to help.

Under the astonished gaze of the Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast, Wandering Cheetah exploded with amazing speed and evaded its blow. And he did that whilst carrying another person!

“How is that possible?”

It wasn’t just the beast that was stunned. Domineering Tiger, Beastly Tiger, Rash Tiger, Frowning Tiger, and even the Mongoose who had known Wandering Cheetah for a long time, were surprised by what they saw. All what they saw was a blur, and the two men who were besieged by the powerful beast disappeared, only to reappear next to them.

“This…” Arthur was stunned to see himself next to his master. When the large paw was descending, he only felt his vision blur for a moment, and then he was here. Even with Durandal, his speed wasn’t as outrageous as what Wandering Cheetah had just displayed.

Looking at Wandering Cheetah who was sweating profusely, Arthur was full of gratitude and admiration. This man who was regarded by his peers as a waste of talent, was clearly much faster than Blistering Cheetah, the fastest Cheetah in the village! And he had proven this with this one feat.

“How can you, this waste, be this fast?” Beastly Tiger pointed at Wandering Cheetah and said. His insulting words caused the others to frown, and even Domineering Tiger was no different. But he didn’t say anything to stop his friend. He also wanted to know how it was that Wandering Cheetah could display such amazing speed.

“The aura of that beast is strong. And even I am able to display only 50% of my abilities when it locks onto me. That means under the same conditions Wandering Cheetah would only be able to display about 30-40% of his speed. But since it wasn’t concentrating on Wandering Cheetah directly, the restriction on his abilities shouldn’t have been that high. It may have been possible to use about 70% of his speed – gave or take. But even with a fraction of his abilities sealed, he is able to draw such strength from himself and explode with such speed. And to do so whilst carrying another person is mighty impressive”

Domineering Tiger was mostly spot on concerning his analysis. Frowning Tiger also reached a similar conclusion. Both of them realized that Wandering Cheetah was never slower than Blistering Cheetah. Although the man was sweating, neither of them thought that had anything to do with him hitting his limit. Rather, they both concluded that it was likely because he was having a hard time standing up to the beast’s aura. After all, he was known as the most cowardly Predator in the village. It was a wonder that that wasn’t his title.

“How are you so weak now? I know you are much faster than this.” Wandering Cheetah didn’t bother to reply to Beastly Tiger. And his decision made the Tiger so mad that his face got all red.

“You!”

Just when Beastly Tiger was about to lose it, Domineering Tiger gave him a look and shook his head. The man was more worried about the Pseudo Legendary Magical Beast that seemed to be watching them like it was watching an interesting movie. A movie that was centered on the human who was even faster than it. It comfortably nested on the ground and yawned lazily, clearly not worried about the new addition. A sight that was worrying in so many ways.

“Without my sword I’m just one half of a very impressive weapon,” Arthur shook his head with a bitter smile and said.

“I reckon only you can use that blade,” Wandering Cheetah looked at the large beast, and was quick to spot the red glow on its neck.

“Yes,” Arthur didn’t hide this.

“What about your father? Where is the Village Head?” Wandering Cheetah enquired.

“Father chose to wait for an opening to take the beast by surprise.” Arthur stated his father’s reason for remaining hidden. He quickly explained things to the Predators here, and everyone understood immediately what had to be done.

“Then we need to create that opening,” Domineering Tiger stated. The others nodded their heads in compliance. That was the only thing they could do.

“Frowning. You are a better strategist. Tell us what we must do.” Domineering Tiger didn’t dwell on the fact that they had to fight together, something that wasn’t really his style and he was uncomfortable with. Beastly Tiger opened his mouth to say something, but seemingly knowing what he was about to say, Domineering Tiger gave him a warning look, and the man sighed in resignation.

“Okay. This is what we are going to do” Frowning Tiger didn’t reject Domineering Tiger’s offer. The man preferred to work alone and knew very little about working with others or delegating tasks. Asking him to do something like that was undoubtedly a bad move. Frowning Tiger quickly distributed everyone’s duty, with the exception of Wandering Cheetah and Arthur.

“What about us,” Wandering Cheetah wondered.

“Focus on getting Arthur to his sword. Only he can pull that thing out. But only do so when Village Head Fan is out.”

The two were confused. Why did they have to wait for Village Head Fan to show himself first? But after Frowning Tiger said a few more words, they understood. They stood back and watched the others dash toward the beast.

The Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast lifted itself up with an expression that seemed to say, “You’re finally ready,” when it saw the four Tigers and the Mongoose approaching. It was a bit surprised that the one who hurt it and the fast man weren’t included, but it didn’t dwell on that thought for long. It gave a loud roar of excitement, and rushed towards the men.

*Boom*