Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 310

In the Present

Village Head Samoa was narrating the incidents of the past to the three Thrashers under his command. Of course he didn’t know anything about Dan’s secret or the Ancients, but he told them what he knew of the battle all those years ago and what had happened.

“So we would have been nothing impressive in those days,” Scarred Boar sighed after Village Head Samoa was done with his narration. Hearing that the village had over twenty Predators, of which 15 were Tigers was truly eye opening. In times were there were as many as 75 Thrashers, they who were also Thrashers wouldn’t have been anything much in such a line up.

“It’s unbelievable really. If it came from anyone else, I wouldn’t have believed it.” Hidden Boar shook his head with a bitter smile. He was a proud warrior, and hadn’t seen the village as something worthy of his services. After all, he only chose to become part of the village because of Village Head Samoa. So learning the history of the village and finding out that the village that was now scanty with powerhouses didn’t have that problem before was hard to accept. Even more over the top was that they were able to compete with a Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast. True they weren’t the ones that killed it in the end, but they were able to kill it once. If it wasn’t for the fact that Resurrection Cats could resurrect once when killed, they wouldn’t have needed Dan’s help.

“So the village lost most of its powerhouses in the battle huh?” Smiling Boar still had a smile on his face. But unlike before, his smile seemed forced and unnatural. Just like the other two, he was rocked by what he had just been told.

“What about the Tigers who survived the war? And those who weren’t in the village when the horde arrived?” Hidden Boar was naturally curious about those who survived. After all, even an injured Tiger was powerful enough to deal with a prime Thrasher. But the fact that they were able to pull their weight in the village meant that these powerhouses weren’t around.

“That is one mystery I have never been able to solve,” Village Head Samoa shook his head and replied. Till date, he didn’t know what happened to the Tigers who survived, and those who weren’t in the village never appeared again.

“But I do know this. Beastly Tiger and Domineering Tiger joined Sir Dan on a quest that led them outside the village. I don’t know what happened in that quest, but only Sir Dan returned.” Village Head Samoa furrowed his brows and said.

Although he didn’t say it out loud, he implied that the two Tigers were dead, and that news shocked them. With the protection of a powerful figure like Dan, the two still died. Didn’t that mean that there were more dangerous figures in the world? Figures capable of handling Tigers and those beyond Tigers like Dan?

“I still find it a bit hard to believe: that someone killed a Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast with almost no effort at all,” Hidden Boar sighed and said.

“Almost no effort? He didn’t use any effort at all! It was a slap. A simple slap from several yards away but it was enough to kill the beast!”

Village Head Samoa shivered slightly when he recalled the majestic aura that pressed them all to the ground, and the mighty slap that traveled across space to utterly destroy a Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast! He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that attack.

“I’m with Hidden on this one,” Smiling Boar shook his head and said. “I don’t believe that someone can so casually kill a Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast. Master, maybe Dan found a way to hypnotize you all into believing that was what happened?” he continued.

Although Scarred Boar didn’t comment, his expression showed that he was in agreement with the other two. He also found it hard to believe that someone could be so powerful. And if this being was indeed so powerful, why did two Tigers under his care die?

“I don’t care whether or not you believe me. But what I say is the truth. As long as Sir Dan still has half of his strength from his peak left, he can easily squash us to death!” Village Head Samoa thundered, disregarding his image.

“It’s good you know your place,” an uninvited voice suddenly proclaimed. The three Thrashers who were known as the Hands of Samoa quickly surrounded Village Head Samoa and drew their weapons. They stared vigilantly into the darkness that seemed to hide the intruder and conceal the person’s figure from their eyes.

“Who dares intrude?! This is the house of Village Head Samoa!” Scarred Boar exclaimed as he held on to his spear.

“Samoa’s house?” Suddenly someone appeared in front of them. It was a dark skinned man with curiously good looks and an excellent stature. He held a bag in his hand and his face was filled with scorn.

The Thrashers stepped back instinctively. They didn’t see how he appeared at all! And even scarier was that they couldn’t gauge the intruder’s strength!

“When did this become your house Samoa?” The dark skinned man scoffed and asked

“Sir Dan,” Samoa mentioned the name of the intruder with shaky lips. His words stunned the Hands of Samoa as they took a look at the intruder again. Indeed, there was only one dark skinned person in the village. And this person was the one their master feared the most. However, they never thought they would get to meet him this night!

“You are nothing but a glorified caretaker. If it wasn’t for your friendship with Arthur all those years ago and in memory of Sir Bright, I would have killed you long ago,” Dan stated unkindly.

“How dare you?!” Scarred Boar exclaimed, pointing his spear at Dan. Although he couldn’t see through his opponent’s strength, that didn’t mean he was afraid of him. He didn’t believe that Dan was as strong as Village Head Samoa described him, but he knew that the man was a Predator once so he couldn’t underestimate him. He planned to take the initiative so that he could seize the advantage.

“No don’t!” Village Head Samoa exclaimed when he realised what Scarred Boar was planning to do. Even when Dan was only a Cheetah his speed was so remarkable that in a suppressed state, the Resurrection Cat couldn’t keep up with him. Even if the rumors were true and he had grown weak, how would a mere Boar be able to land a blow on him? But alas, Village Head Samoa’s words were a second too late. The resolute Scarred Boar had already began his charge, and no one could stop him. The other two, Hidden Boar and Smiling Boar looked at each other and followed after their leader. Like a furious whirlwind, the three Thrashers descended upon Dan with vicious grins etched across their faces.

“It’s over,” Village Head Samoa shivered unconsciously. He knew better than his men how foolish their cause was. As for the price they would pay, he could only pray that it didn’t include their lives.

Gazing at the approaching trio, Dan was unmoved. He disregarded them and looked at Village Head Samoa as he uttered a simple command, “Kneel.”

*Boom*

The three men suddenly lost control of their bodies and toppled to the ground. Their prideful knees kissed the ground underneath them for the first time in their lives as a powerful aura forced their heads to bow in submission as well.

“How?” Hidden Boar muttered in disbelief as he tried to force his body up but to no avail. He struggled endlessly, finally succeeding in raising his head only to be greeted by the coldest pair of pupils he had ever seen in his life. Within that majestic gaze he felt like an ant, capable of manning no resistance and at the complete mercy of his oppressor.

“My friend used a spear once. You tarnish the great names that have wielded this weapon in the last few decades.”

Dan disregarded the pleading gaze of Village Head Samoa and spoke calmly to Scarred Boar.

“I would have killed you lot. But that would leave no decent opponents for Mane to play with. After all Wild Boar was the weakest of you lot, and Mane was able to kill him without any problem. If I kill you, there would be no one decent enough to face him”

Wild Boar was dead! Their worst fears had been realized. But the scariest part was, it wasn’t the person they feared would intervene that killed the Thrasher, but the young 15 year old boy they had disregarded. They finally understood that it wasn’t that Dan was around when Wild Boar came, but that the boy they had written off was strong enough to disregard the Thrasher’s strength! And it was this same boy that had killed him! So not only was the boy alive, but their comrade was dead and their plot exposed!

Dan didn’t care about their emotions. He told them this for them to understand that even without his protection, Mane would do just fine. Secondly, he wanted them to know that the genius they tried to kill knew about them, and was coming for them. Gazing at the figures kneeling before him, he uttered the word

“Break”

“Arghh!”

Like squealing pigs, all three Thrashers screamed in pain as they experienced torture like never before. Village Head Samoa watched with fear for several seconds as his men squirmed on the floor like worms in the heat of the sun, knowing that he could do nothing to save them.

“Mane would come for you lot. Hear and shudder” Dan announced and snapped his fingers. With that snap the pain they were feeling disappeared, and they were finally whole again.

“I should leave you with a gift,” Dan tossed the bag that held the heads of the assassins onto the floor nonchalantly and extended his hand towards the spear. The weapon flew out of Scarred Boar’s hand and nestled into Dan’s palm.

“This is how to use a spear,” Dan scoffed and pierced towards the ceiling. The casual act didn’t produce a casual effect, for the whole house felt the power of that seemingly insignificant swing and trembled.

*Boom*

The roof of the house that had remained standing for years now was no more, and so was the floor that was above the one they were currently on (the ground floor was the place where they all were). Disregarding the m.o.a.ning figures on the floor, Dan gazed at Village Head Samoa one last time and disappeared as the building that had been standing for decades now, came crushing down; his departure giving Village Head Samoa the chance to escape from the falling wreckage. He deftly dragged his men onto his shoulders and made for the exit.

As Village Head Samoa dashed out of the house with his men, all he could think of was the power that he had just experienced.

“Who said he’s injured?! How can an injured person be this powerful?! How?!” He gritted his teeth as he swore to skin the damned elder who told him that Dan was injured. How was this the strength of a weakened warrior? This was someone who had literally blasted his house apart by just swinging a random spear at the roof! This was similar to the level of power that he had seen Dan display against the Resurrection Cat all those years ago.

However, Village Head Samoa wasn’t thinking straight. It was true that Dan had destroyed his house with a swing of a spear. And it was true that the spear wasn’t even flung at the roof or anything but simply waved like a wand towards the roof and that was enough to destroy it. But this was not as impressive as the Resurrection Cat feat. The Resurrection Cat had armor-like scales that couldn’t be destroyed even by the full powered strike of a Tiger, as demonstrated by Domineering Tiger’s inability to breach its defenses even though he was a fully-fledged spear master. The roof feat wasn’t that impressive compared to the killing the Resurrection Cat with a slap because although no Tiger had the strength to casually destroy the Village Head’s building like Dan did – and with almost no effort too – it could be done. But it was likely that the fact that Dan had only waved the spear towards the roof and the whole house came toppling after that scared him.

Dashing outside he realized that the warriors of the village were rushing here speedily. After all, the house of the Village Head had just collapsed. How could they sit still? Yet even when they arrived next to him and questioned the events that led to the collapse of his building he couldn’t find the courage to give them the answer. The seasoned warriors who knew and recognized the identities of the heavily injured men on Village Head Samoa’s shoulders felt their hearts tremble in fear as they wondered who it was that had the power to deal with the hidden but dangerous Hands of Samoa. But seeing their leader’s desperate face, none of them could find the courage to question him on the events that happened just now. All they could do was signal to the others asking questions to keep mute and save the questions for later when their leader was more stable. As for Village Head Samoa, he felt no sense of security. Even though all the warriors of the village had gathered by his side, he still didn’t feel safe in any way. He dumped the bodies of Scarred Boar, Hidden Boar and Smiling Boar onto the ground with lifeless eyes. For he knew that although he had survived, it was only because Dan saw him as a tool to sharpen an axe. And this axe was the boy called Mane. Someone who was apparently talented enough to best all three assassins, including a strong Thrasher. As he was surrounded by the vigilant warriors of the village all he could hear were Dan’s words before he left.

“Mane would come for you lot. Hear and shudder”

And shudder he did.