Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 307

“There are signs of internal injury for sure. But those ones aren’t the issue here. It’s the injury to your spine that is the problem”

Back in the village, Blistering Cheetah was getting a thorough review of his injury. Looking into the eyes of the healer, Blistering Cheetah calmly asked,

“So?”

The healer sighed and said, “It would be a miracle if you are able to walk again.”

Blistering Cheetah didn’t look so torn by the news. He seemed to have expected this already. He couldn’t feel his legs when he was made to lie on the straw mat, but he hoped that it was only temporary. Apparently it was not.

“How is he?” A dark skinned man suddenly appeared in the room. His abrupt appearance stunned the healer so much so that she dropped the medicine tray she was holding on to.

“Please knock next time,” she furrowed her brows and chided the one who came in. She quickly bent down to retrieve her instruments. It was only upon lifting her head and seeing who it was that she lost her composure.

“Sir Dan?!” she exclaimed, clearly surprised by the intruder’s status. She could display her nonchalant attitude to anyone but three people – Village Head Fan, Arthur, and Dan. The first one, Village Head Fan, was the most important man in the village and no one would dare disrespect him. The second person, Arthur, was the son of the Village Head and the future chief of the village. Not only was he young and handsome, he had proven that he was strong enough to carry the mantle of his father. For he alone had slain several Mythic Classes, all on his own and with little difficulty.

The last person was probably the most unexpected name to be added to the list. Formerly an unimpressive Predator and a man who was hailed as a failure, Dan was now the most feared person in the village. Everyone on the battlefield saw him kill the Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast with a slap. It wasn’t even a contact slap. The man literally slapped the air in front of him, but that was enough to destroy the seemingly impenetrable armor of the Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast. This was a man who crawled from the belly of the beast. This was a man whose speed was proven to be beyond Blistering Cheetah’s, even before his supposed death, and he was officially the strongest person in the village. And from what was witnessed by hundreds of people, he was probably without an equal in the world! No one would dare to disrespect such a man.

“I’m sorry Sir Dan. I had no idea it was you. If I had I wouldn’t have…” the healer tried to explain as she sweated profusely. After seeing Dan’s strength, people were more terrified of him than they were in awe of him. Everyone feared that they would be killed with a slap if they got on his bad side. And no one had forgotten the powerful aura that forced everyone, even Village Head Fan, onto their knees. And the healer knew the ferocity of that aura clearly, given that she was also on the battlefield at the time.

“There’s no need to be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you” Dan tried to reassure the young lady, but his words only made her more terrified. He smiled wryly seeing her reaction. Everyone seemed to look at him like he was some sort of monster now. He had saved their lives, but they were more terrified of him now than they were of the Resurrection Cat. And some idiotic theory was going around that he was the reincarnation of a Legendary Class Magical Beast that had been born in the stomach of the Resurrection Cat. People were even afraid to call him by his title now. No one dared call him Wandering Cheetah. They all called him Sir Dan now.

“Can I take a look at him?” Dan asked

“Of course Sir Dan,” the young healer eagerly responded and got out of the way, revealing Blistering Cheetah’s pale complexion to Dan. The healer was a bit excited. And her excitement seemed to overshadow her fear of Dan. She had seen Dan touch Frowning Tiger when he was gravely injured and on the brink of death, and the man came back to life! She was eager to see if the miracle could repeat itself.

“I see you’re still alive,” Blistering Cheetah joked despite his pale countenance. His tone relieved the anxious Dan, who was afraid that his friend would also see him differently. Unbound Mongoose treated him the same, and now it seemed that Blistering Cheetah wasn’t going to detach himself from his lifelong friend either.

“Not for lack of trying,” Dan smiled and sat next to his friend. He put his hand on Blistering Cheetah’s c.h.e.s.t, and in the next second sighed a mighty breath of relief.

“It isn’t as bad as I thought,” Dan commented.

“So you can fix it,” Blistering Cheetah asked with sparkling eyes. Although he seemed indifferent, how could a Predator like him be content with being confined to a chair? He wanted to walk, and fight again.

“Yeah. It’s not that difficult.” Dan nodded with certainty. His friend’s spine was broken in some places and needed to be put back in place. Some nerve cells were also displaced and would have to be rearranged. Due to his extreme level of control now, that wouldn’t be difficult. As for those that were frayed, there was little he could do. Dan lifted Blistering Cheetah and turned him onto his belly with relative ease to the amazement of the healer. Then he put his hand on Blistering Cheetah’s back and a few cracking sounds rang in the room for a short while.

“Done,” Dan remarked after only a few seconds. Then he flipped his friend back onto his back.

“Try moving your feet,” Dan suggested. Blistering Cheetah nodded his head and gave the task his utmost concentration. Who would have thought a day would come that would see him so focused on just trying to move his feet. He who was known as the fastest Cheetah in the village. Certainly not him.

In just a few seconds, Blistering Cheetah’s forehead was filled with sweat as he struggled to move his feet.

“I did it!” he exclaimed joyfully upon lifting his left foot slightly from the bed. The healer was awed by what she was seeing. Certainly Blistering Cheetah would be unable to move like he used to for a pretty long time. But with the right treatment, he would be sure to recover his skills.

“You should rest now,” Dan smiled happily seeing his friend’s joyful expression and tried to leave.

“No wait,” Blistering Cheetah suddenly grabbed his friend’s wrist and said. Dan could have easily broken away, but there was no need to.

“I need to tell you something,” Blistering Cheetah stated and then looked at the healer who was rooted to her spot in amazement.

“Can you…” he pointed to the door and said.

“Oh right! Sorry. Please call me if you need anything.” The healer bowed hurriedly and left the room.

Dan looked at Blistering Cheetah with a questionable gaze, “What is this about?”

Blistering Cheetah looked like he was conflicted, but he finally sighed and said, “You should be sitting for this.”

“Is it true what they are saying?”

Back in the residence of the Village Head, the leaders of the village were having a meeting. All the Elders were here, and so was Village Head Fan. The only people here who weren’t leaders were Arthur and Samoa. Samoa was here on the request of the injured Frowning Tiger. Although the man was a Tiger, he was usually present for these types of meetings as the right hand man of the chief. But since he was injured, he sent Samoa in his place, stating that starting today the boy was his assistant. As for Arthur, the strength he showed added to his identity as the future chief of this village was enough to be given a seat at the table. He had never been offered one because his father didn’t let him, but now he didn’t need his father’s permission. Although he was injured and had his entire midsection wrapped up, he insisted to be part of the meeting.

“Did he really kill the beast with a slap?”

“And from several yards out?”

Several elders looked worried by what they were hearing. They were happy to be alive, but they didn’t like the details of the battle.

“Yes, he did. I was there. He’s the hero of the village. If not for him, we wouldn’t have made it out alive.” Arthur stated.

The elders had ugly looks on their faces hearing his words. On another day, and if it was another person they would have asked that he be quiet due to his age. But Arthur was no ordinary person. His background and strength were so impressive that none of them was willing to offend him.

Samoa sighed seeing the ugly expressions on their faces. Unlike the naïve Arthur he understood that the elders were not happy that someone with so much power had appeared in the village. To them it was like having a giant beast breathing down their necks. This was a beast that could easily tear a Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast to shreds. None of them had treated him kindly earlier, and were afraid that it would be held against them.

“We need to keep him under our control”

“Yes. We can’t have him acting out on his own.”

“Exactly. We must make sure that he’s restrained and isn’t given that much freedom.”

In just a few breaths, several suggestions had been made. They all had one theme: Dan must be kept for the village’s sake as a weapon.

“And which of you is going to do that?” Village Head Fan finally spoke up. His words silenced the elders.

“We have lost many of our men. Several Predators died, and we are left with only a few Tigers. Domineering Tiger and Beastly Tiger are the only Tigers who escaped unscathed in battle today. All others are either dead or indisposed. Some have left the village. The only Predators we have left are Unbound Mongoose and Blistering Cheetah, who may be permanently injured by the looks of things. Tell me, against someone who can deal with the Resurrection Cat, which of these men stand a chance”

The room was so silent that a pin drop would have had the same effect as a large crash. The elders had solemn expressions. They had no solution on how to contain Dan. Village Head Fan didn’t say this, but he suspected that Dan was so much more powerful than what he had displayed. So powerful that even Legendary Class Magical Beasts wouldn’t stand a chance. That was what his intuition told him, and what he inferred from what he saw on the battlefield. But he chose to keep this information to himself.

“I recommend that we keep him in the village at all times by conferring upon him the title of ‘Village Guardian’. That way we can have him obey our orders and prevent him from doing anything rash.”

Elder Bright suddenly stated. His words caused the eyes of the elders to light up.

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

“Well done Elder Bright”

“With this he would have no choice but to do our bidding”

Several of the elders applauded his idea, and the countenance of Arthur turned cold. He couldn’t believe that the elders were thinking of dealing with their own villager, a man who had just saved their lives. He finally understood why his father never wanted him here. For although he had been here only a few minutes, he wanted nothing more than to beat the elders into submission.

“And why would he accept? What could you possibly do to him if he doesn’t?” Arthur sneered. It wasn’t something he would normally do – being rude to his elders – but the elders had it coming. The elders had ugly expressions after hearing Arthur’s tone. They felt he was being disrespectful, but they couldn’t say anything.

“Arthur, we cannot let Sir Dan be. Especially with the power he has” But someone else spoke for them, much to their delight. They looked favorably upon the person speaking, who was probably the last person they would have expected to stand for them and oppose Arthur.

“What are you doing Samoa?” Arthur asked, the surprise in his tone unhidden.

“I’m sorry Arthur. But it is unsettling for someone with that much power to be left unchecked. It is dangerous to do so.” Samoa stated whilst avoiding his friend’s eyes. He could feel that he had hurt Arthur with his words. His friend was probably feeling betrayed now.

“How about we tell him about this Village Guardian thing and see what he says,” Village Head Fan announced under the dismayed expression of his son. The man could do nothing but sigh sadly. It was true that Dan saved their lives, but he was a chief so he couldn’t act on his will alone. He could only hope that Dan wouldn’t make things difficult for them.

“Reconvene in an hour. Dismissed”