Chapter 53: Ripped
The legio understood from Mitch’s tone that the situation was dire.
They had no doubts that Mitch was powerful. Especially since they saw their awoken and baptized chief get defeated.
But the lion’s roar, in combination with Mitch’s frantic command, shattered the confidence they had when waltzing up to the lions’ territory.
They started backpedaling, tripping over each other while trying to be the first to leave.
At this point, the rest of the lions had already risen and started running towards the intruders.
Roaaaaar
The alpha of the pride cried out once more, causing his underlings to stop.
Mitch was a little confused by this but quickly realized what was going on when he saw the beast observing him intently.
’It’s smart.’
He pulled his weapons out of his belt and tried creating some distance, but they surrounded him too quickly.
Mitch had pinned his hopes on the rest of the pride chasing the legio. They might have become hurt, but the chief and Isaac should be strong enough to stall for enough time.
In the meantime, he would quickly finish the pride leader and then rejoin his group.
But the lion had noticed his weapons: the teeth of a creature that was at least as strong as itself.
He dared not fight Mitch alone, so he called his pridemates back to surround Mitch.
Recognizing these facts and adapting in this kind of circumstance meant the lion was unusually intelligent.
"Don’t make that sort of judgment based on knowledge you got from Tellus. This is an entirely different situation. After all, Devouring wasn’t a thing back there."
That’s when it clicked for Mitch.
Indeed, Devouring wasn’t available in the simulation. He had always assumed that the purpose of it was to supplement his stamina and strength.
He had gravely misunderstood what the true potential of Devouring was.
Sure, it was a supplement, but not just for strength and stamina.
It empowered a species’ weakest aspects.
For example, legios had no reason to become smarter than they already were, so the changes in their mental faculties after a breakthrough were minimal. Meanwhile, their strength was weak in proportion to their defenses.
The same applied to the lions, but the other way around. They had the muscles but lacked the brains and stamina to utilize them properly. Therefore, breaking through to the Infused realm made them smarter and more enduring.
’I’m just a unique case.’
His skill cheated the system. All changes brought by Devouring were based on a species’ innate strengths and limits.
Then, what happened if someone had artificially raised their strength beyond the perceived limit?
Boooom
Absolute domination.
Mitch was never afraid of more lions joining the fight; he was afraid that the tribesmen would lack combat experience.
Alas, he had no choice but to handle the situation on his own again.
Fortunately, fighting the alpha with or without the rest of the pride required basically the same amount of effort.
In a matter of seconds, the only living beings left were Mitch and the Infused lion.
Grrrr
Letting out a growl of fury, the lion suddenly vanished from where it stood and appeared next to Mitch.
’Fast!’
Clang
He parried the lion’s slash with one sword, aiming to counter with the other.
If only it were that easy.
Just as fast as the lion attacked, it retreated.
It continued with this strategy. First positioning in Mitch’s blind spot and then lunging before quickly pulling back.
Mitch had no problem dealing with the force behind the attacks, but his arms were starting to get tired. He had even switched the hands with which he held his weapons.
The lion was weaker than Mitch when it came to sheer power, but adding its speed to the equation gave an entirely different result.
Exhaustion was slowly building, and Mitch started mistiming his slashes. It netted the lion some deep gashes into Mitch’s forearms, the consequence of which was Mitch’s grip slipping further.
Some cuts even reached the bone.
"Do you have a plan?" Katherine asked while metaphorically fidgeting. Some attacks came real close to Mitch’s head, missing only because of his quick reflexes.
’... Not really. All I have to do is stall it out. It’s like trading health for mana in a game—mana will always be more important between two equally matched players.’
His simile did little to calm Katherine’s nerves. She wanted to keep strategizing, but the lion’s attacks were relentless.
The back and forth continued for some time, with the lion carving more and more meat off of Mitch’s arms. But at the same time, it too had started slowing down.
By now, Mitch wasn’t holding on to the swords with a firm grip. It looked like even the calmest breeze would make him drop them. But his eyes were calm and focused, not letting his practically assured victory make him arrogant.
Understanding what awaited it if it ran out of stamina, the lion had no choice but to go for a desperate move.
This time, after Mitch parried its attack, it didn’t back down. Instead, it moved even closer to him.
Mitch noticed its plan but did nothing to stop it. By doing this, it had basically signed its own death waiver.
He forcefully gripped his other sword, blood gushing out of his mangled hand. Then, he slashed at the lion’s neck.
It dug deep into the lion’s spine, severing its brain’s connection to the rest of its body. Everything stopped immediately.
Everything but its head.
The sudden disconnect to its body was unexpected, but the lion only had one goal in mind.
Kill its prey.
Continuing with the forward momentum, the lion reached Mitch’s side and was just about to take a sizable bite when two thin but durable sticks were inserted into its maw.
They had pushed the lion off course, causing its bite to miss Mitch completely.
Well, not entirely.
Argh
The pain was excruciating, but Mitch couldn’t stop now. He raised his other sword and slashed the lion in the same place as before. The wound became bigger, and blood started flowing like crazy.
No doubt, the lion would soon die, whether from blood loss or some other cause no longer mattered to Mitch.
What did it cost?
He felt a chill as he looked down at one of his hands.
No, that was incorrect.
He looked down at where his hand would have been if the lion hadn’t ripped it off his arm.
