Chapter 156: Chapter 136 Wargames 7, clash of the captains.
August twirled his spear as he cut another monster in half. It was the last of the horde he had run into. He was feeling tired, not physically; the monsters, no matter their numbers, weren't a threat to him. No... He was mentally drained.
He had been fighting monsters since the war games started, and the way the monsters moved, it was as if they knew where he was at all times.
Not only that, but it seemed like they were organized. Sure, they were still mindless creatures, but the way they moved and charged towards him made him feel like it was planned.
August did not like this feeling; he did not like the thought that he was dancing on someone's palm.
And to make things worse, he couldn't shake the feeling like someone or something was watching him.
He glanced up and saw monsters flying in the air, but they weren't coming down to attack him. No, the monsters were only circling him, like vultures waiting for a meal... No... If they thought of him as a meal, they would have come down by now... They were observing him, watching him at a safe distance, away from the dangers of his spear.
"I see now..." He let out a dry chuckle while bending down, picking up a medium-sized rock from the ground. The moment he did that, the flying monsters all flew higher, as if knowing his intentions. "So that's how it is... A tamer, huh?" He tossed the stone back, knowing that they would all scatter the moment he targeted them.
August took a deep breath. While he might not be as good as Denki in formulating a plan and strategy, due to him not really needing one in the first place, he could still understand and even come up with one if needed. And right now, his mind was moving quickly, trying to run through every possible scenario that may happen now, knowing that a tamer was present on the battlefield.
'We have to assume that every monster here is tamed by the enemy. Which means that aside from fighting the Apollo familia in these war games, we would also be fighting hundreds or more monsters,' he thought to himself. He slowly walked towards a nearby tree and rested his back on it. 'That means when it comes to numbers, they would absolutely obliterate us... Denki's plan would no longer be valuable as it originally includes the monsters who call the woodland area home for defense. But now we have to assume that they are as well under control.'
"If that's the case, then-... Wait." August jumped up. His eyes widened as he stared back into the sky. 'Shit! Those flying monsters... What if those aren't the only ones they have?' Panic started to set in as a horrifying realization filled his head. 'They're targeting the others!'
He quickly boosted himself with his mana, and like a beam, he plowed through everything in his path, his eyes moving non-stop, trying to find the members of his familia.
The realization that everyone might be endangered made him lose focus momentarily. His eyes, which were searching through the forest, saw a bright light of sunlight reflecting on metal, directly right in front of him, mere inches away from his face.
His reflexes kicked in, leaning back and digging his feet into the ground, the momentum of his speed carrying him forward.
He watched as a black metallic sword passed above him, seeing his own reflection on the blade. His move allowed him to dodge the sword that was aimed to decapitate him, but due to how fast he was moving, he lost control of the momentum, crashing into the tree as a thundering thud echoed throughout the area.
August slowly got up, his eyes glaring at the silhouette right in front of him. "Hyakinthos." He growled as he tightened the grip on his spear. His eyes gleamed dangerously, like that of a predator ready to pounce on his prey.
"How scary," Hyakinthos let out a sarcastic chuckle, an amused smile on his face as he twirled his sword in the air. "That eye of yours is fitting for your moniker... The Gaé bulg, the spear of mortal death." He slowly got into a stance, not leaving any openings while also keeping his center of gravity on the ground, prioritizing defense and mobility, something August expected. "But watching you now, I gotta say... I'm not impres-"
Hyakinthos didn't even get to finish his words as August suddenly vanished in front of his eyes and reappeared right in front of him. He could feel his hairs standing all over his body as the air started to pause, as if to give way to August and his attack.
August slashed his spear vertically, making a whistling sound as it sliced through the air, heading straight for Hyakinthos' neck.
The captain of Apollo familia quickly raised his sword to block August's spear. The two metals clashed with their mana battling for dominance, sparks of red and black flying all over the air, the very space itself protesting at the power the two were releasing right now.
Hyakinthos clicked his tongue; he could feel himself getting pushed back by August. He quickly pulled his sword back and spun left, his goal was to use August's momentum to get him off balance.
August, though, had full control over his body. He could feel the loosening of Hyakinthos's sword in a fraction of a second, so instead of pushing forward, he gripped his spear by the end and spun right.
Hyakinthos widened his eyes at the move; not only did he fail in making August lose his balance, he also spun right into where August unleashed his next attack. The blade of August's spear, heading straight for his eyes.
He tilted his head left, dodging the slash, yet the blade still nicked him on his left cheek, a crimson line appearing as a drop of blood trickled down his face.
August did not stop; he continued his attack, following up the slash with a powerful front push kick straight at Hyakinthos's abdomen.
The captain of Apollo familia raised his right knee to block the blow and, using his still free left, he jumped up, allowing himself to be carried by the momentum and gaining space away from August.
He skidded through the ground, stabbing his sword on it, using it as leverage to stop his momentum. As soon as he came to a halt, the ground beneath his feet cracked as he charged forward towards the spear user.
August stared coldly at him, calculating his trajectory like a hawk. He moved his right grip to the middle of his spear while the left stayed at the end. He stood low to the ground in a wide stance, prioritizing his stability and core strength.
Hyakinthos smiled and raised his sword above his head. Within the next fraction of a second, he brought it down, his sword whistling, slicing through the air straight for August's head.
August took one step forward and swerved his whole body to the right, dodging the slash by mere inches. He then stabbed his spear forward, aiming for Hyakinthos's throat.
The sword user parried the blow; he then countered with a vertical slash. August kicked the flat of his spear's blade, which made it twirl in the direction of the slash.
Metal hit metal once again, their eyes locked as they continued their mutual assault. Their weapons clashed over and over again as they tried to rid each other of their lives. Every blow was a death sentence waiting to hit, lethal at every strike, their blades glistening under the high noon sun that passed over the treelines. The air seemed to move with their every strike.
Their slashes were so sharp that every second, a wild slash would cut off a tree or mark the ground where they were fighting. A deadly stalemate between the two captains quickly formed, with neither one giving an inch.
Yet slowly but surely, one of them could feel like they were being pushed back. Hyakinthos could feel that the longer the fight went on, the more he was pushed onto the defensive. It was as if August had this sort of premonition of how he would attack next and had a counter ready for it, which made him lose balance momentarily.
Hyakinthos clicked his tongue, frustration starting to creep in, as his every attack was returned with two or three times the intensity. Until the only thing he could do was defend against the relentless onslaught of August's spear. He couldn't even get a chance to form a counter of his own. Slowly but surely, he was being pushed back.
'Damn it!' he cursed to himself. 'Our levels are equal, and I could feel that my strength is even above his, yet how am I getting pushed back?' Hyakinthos couldn't understand how, theoretically, he should be the aggressor here, especially after catching August off guard earlier. His stats should be even greater than August's as the orb pushed him near level 7 in stats alone. But what he failed to account for was the skill level between them.
How August was the much better fighter than the two, and it wasn't even close... The only reason he could keep up with him was due to his superior stats because of the orb he had consumed. If they were equal, he would have been a stain on the ground by now.
He's lucky August just reached level 6, so his stats didn't even reach a hundred yet. With Agility being his highest stat right now at 22-I. Yet despite all that, he was being pushed back, and slowly cornered.
And they made another miscalculation... They sent a horde of monsters to tire August out. It was a mistake. Especially since August has the skill *Beowulf's call*. A skill that allows him to grow stronger, the more blood Beowulf consumed... And right now, August had killed over a hundred monsters using Beowulf.
Their tactic to tire August out with multiple hordes of monsters had, in fact, boosted him. Making him even stronger than what his stats may suggest.
But that's not all... *Lethal tempo* is also at play; the more hits he dish out, the faster he becomes.
To put it shortly... Apollo familia's tactic was a huge error on their part. And who can blame them? They have no idea of August's skills; the guild never made them public. And Heracles had strictly ordered August to not reveal his status to anyone, not even towards the other members of the familia.
For the public, all they know is that August grows stronger the more he fights. They attribute that to a skill, but they do not know the specifics of said skill.
As famous as August is, he is still a mystery for everyone in Orario. Five months. August arrived in the dungeon city five months ago. And with that short of a time, he had made a name for himself as one of the strongest adventurers in the city and the hero of Orario. Yet even with all of that, he is still an anomaly, an unknown. His skills, status, etc., none of that is known to the public. Hell, three months and a half ago, only his name and alias are known... His face only became recognizable after the tournament and after he became the hero of Orario.
So it's understandable how Apollo did not know that feeding August's endless monsters would do them more harm than good.
But still, a mistake is still a mistake. And right now...
They still aren't aware of it... But they will... Soon.
They will learn that sending a horde of monsters towards August to tire him out will do more harm than good.
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Chapter 136 is now complete. How are you all enjoying the story so far?
Sorry about the late upload. It has been a pretty busy week for me. I quit my job and is currently been busy setting up my business. (A coffee/milk tea shop) It has been my dream to own my very own coffee shop ever since I worked part time at one. And now that I have raised enough money to make my own one, i did just that.
So I would probably stay busy for the following weeks to focus on the business, but I'll be sure to post 1 chapter per week at the very least. I hope you guys can understand.
Btw, if you haven't yet, please check out my other work. *Avatar: the Journey of Kai* if you have any time. I really would appreciate it.
Anyway...
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Have a good day, everyone. Love y'all.
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