Chapter 150: Plans in Motion
Plans in Motion
"Do the Apex heirs really intend to kill that thing?"
In another spot of the forest, a group of 4 students could be seen sitting around a campfire. Near them was a flag that they had captured and were holding for the faction they served under.
The one who had spoken a lanky boy with an average height. His gaze was filled with apprehension as he stared at the Titanic Corpse Flower that loomed in the distance.
It went without saying that the creature was the strongest thing to have appeared in this event. No one really understood why it suddenly appeared, and many speculated the Academy had set it as a sort of final test, or something among those lines, but they couldn’t be sure.
"If they want to do it, then they are going to do it. Their power is far above ours, moreover, they aren’t stupid. They are obviously going to make plans. That’s why they send scouting groups to observe the thing. So they can come up with the appropriate measures to defeat it." Another said.
"I guess that makes sense..." The first one muttered before choosing not to question it again.
The group was starting to fall back into silence when one of the members, a girl strange hair that almost resembled nerve endings perked up, her eyes narrowing.
"We have company." As soon as she said that, all of them stood, the mood instantly turning somber.
A few seconds later, another group emerged from the trees, and there were 5 of them compared to the 4 of the former group.
’Not good.’ They thought.
One has to remember that not all the first years are as impressive as Mike or the others. They are certainly above average, but compared to those truly impressive students, they pale in comparison.
Due to this, their strengths are actually quite even. As a result, things like numbers actually matter a lot in group battles where the approximate strength of everyone involved is similar.
The other group immediately glanced at the 4 in front of them, and shortly after, their gazes shifted to the flag they were defending.
"This flag is already under the control of Sunny Nerevas. There’s nothing for you here." A member from the group of four stepped to shield the flag with his body, and the rest followed suit, all of them having already entered a formation for battle.
"So you’re part of his group, huh." On the other team, a boy who seemed to be the leader said with derision.
"Well, if that’s the case. We just have to take it away and place under the control of our leader. Don’t we?" He continued.
’Damnit.’ The lanky boy cursed inwardly as sweat soaked his back. This was not a good situation at all. Not only were they outnumbered, but the fact that this team seem determined to take the flag from them meant that they likely weren’t weak.
Thir chances of resisting them was low.
’Still...’ He straightened and looked at the other group with determination.
"Alright. Say you do attack. What then? Do you think we are going to roll over? Even if you succeed, what happens when your group is cut down to three? Two? Or maybe only one? Do you think you can still defend the flag then? What happens when the next group arrives? Will it be worth it?" He said coldly, because to him, even if they lost, there was no way they wouldn’t manage to take down at least a few of the members on the other team.
Hearing this, the other boy’s face turned solemn. It seemed like even he knew it was a possibility.
Seeing this, lanky felt a bit hopeful, perhaps—
"Your reasoning is sound. Sadly, I’m merely following orders." As soon as he said that, the other boy’s eyes opened wide, and above him, a pair of pupil-less red eyes appeared.
As soon as they did, a red aura suffused into the environment, and lanky immediately felt like a massive weight was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
’Damnit! A fight it is!’ He growled and activated his own ability to resist the crushing weight of the gaze, and his teammates did the same as a fight broke out.
’Huh... I guess I didn’t even need to do anything.’ Over a hundred meters away, Mike, whose presence was muted due to Unseen Hunter, watched this scene with interest.
His initial hope was that when the two groups met, the possibility of an altercation would appear, but they wouldn’t actually engage. His reasoning was the same as the lanky boy.
Sure, the smaller group was likely to lose, but there was no way they wouldn’t at least take down a few with them. That should have been enough to deter the other group. Which is when Mike would make his move to make it seem as though the smaller group had a fifth person in hiding deal a fatal blow to knock out one of their members, causing them to think it was an ambush and start fighting anyway.
Then, when they realize they had been played, they would be too tired at that point, and Mike would finish the job.
’Who would have thought they had direct orders to engage already?’ He mused, surprised, but not entirely shocked.
’At the end of the day, winning is their primary focus. If that means engaging in conflict with each other, then they will still do it. Whether or not we try to incite conflict won’t change that.
Still, I need to be careful. For all i know, this can just be bait... Not that the possibility is bad either, since we want them to set a trap for us, anyway.’ With that thought, Mike, who had managed to get another set of nano-armor from the supply markers Theresa and Kris looted, tapped his helmet, completely obscuring his face and hair.
Then he activated his partial transformation.
His body grew a few centimeters as his muscles bulged. His arms turned into furred claws, no longer covered by his gauntlets, and a tail sprouted from his back.
Due to him hiding his face, his ears which had also turned wolf-like were hidden. As a result, it would be difficult to know it was Mike since his frame had gotten larger and his face was hidden. Also, Mike didn’t intend to use his aura for any of these fights where it was just taking out the subordinates.
Other than hiding the fact that his Aura wasn’t his only ability, it was also to throw them off. That way, if the Apex heirs got info about him, they wouldn’t know it was Mike, but think it was a powerful individual with shifting capabilities.
Mike observed for a few more seconds, allowing his Hunting Drive to build up even more. Then, he exhaled and entered a runner’s position.
His feet dug into the ground as his leg muscles swelled with power.
The tension reached a crescendo, and Mike leaned forward before erupting forward.
***
The battle going on between the two groups quickly reached a climax. It was clear that the attackers, using the debuff provided by their leader, wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible. As such, their attacks were fierce and lethal.
The defenders found themselves under immense pressure as they struggled to keep up with the attacks, but their teamwork allowed them to persist. For now.
As soon as they gave even the slightest opening, everything would fall apa—
BOOM
Faster than any of them could react, something smashed into the battlefield, the sheer force caused the ground to shake violently, making them nearly lose their balance as dust filled their air.
’What the?!’ Lanky thought while crossing his arms to resist the shickwave generated by whatever had just crashed.
It was also then that he realized the oppressive feeling brought about by the red eyes had vanished.
Before he could dwell on it, though, there were several deep thuds that happened in quick succession followed by pained cries, both from his front and his back.
His eyes went wide, then he gritted his teeth as he activated his ability at maximum output.
Overlapping symbols of iridescent colors appeared all over his body, and the air shuddered from the sheer power.
He didn’t know what had appeared and started attacking them, but he was going to do his damndest to resist!
With a roar, he smashed his fists together, creating a powerful air current that blew away the surrounding dust.
What he saw made him go pale.
In the center of the blast, the enemy leader lay there, his eyes rolled back as an obvious cave in was seen in his chest. It wasn’t enough to kill him, not yet, but he was definitely out of commission.
He looked around, and the situation was the same. Be it his teammates or the enemy, all of them were on the floor with gruesome wounds which weren’t lethal, but more than enough to take them out of the fight.
Just as he was contemplating fleeing, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and without hesitation, he swung his arm back with all his might.
...
Only to have it caught effortlessly.
Terrified, he tried to spin and pull away, but before he could even attempt it, a fist crashed down on his head, and the world went black.
"Huh, that was easy." Mike mumbled as the last person crumpled in front of him and rubbed his chin. Well, he tried. Is helmet was in the way.
’Sure, I wanted to handle things quickly, but that didn’t even take ten seconds. Were they just weak or am I that much stronger?’ The thought was both surprising and elated.
Still, Mike wasn’t gonna dally. He quickly stole all their points, captured their flag, and gave each of them an attack that would kill them in the next few minutes before they woke up, forcing the ship in orbit to teleport them so they would receive treatment.
’Sunny should notice that a flag under his control is missing and send people to investigate. Things will kick off from there.’ Mike thought and immediately dashed away, heading to his next target.
***
A/N: Uh, I’m kinda back?
