411 Power Over Tricks
From above the tree, the Moonlit Feline watches, silently licking its wound, as the Creatures of the Night approach, alarmed by the Light that had pierced through the forest's darkness.
The Master, just like his Underling, had tricks up his sleeve.
"Let's pick up the pace!" Zino had shouted moments earlier.
His attacks had become heavier. His movements faster and deadlier. The lapse of time between each move shrunk.
Mark struggled to keep up.
Attacking wasn't an option. He could barely block, most of the time reaching too late, which made each hit from the General of Wrath stagger him.
Even keeping his balance when hit by such heavy attacks was difficult.
'Afraid that I'll knock you out?' The General thought to himself, noticing the Monster's tendencies in blocking and defending.
Indeed, the white-scaled Monster focused primarily on protecting its head, which meant that more attacks landed on the rest of its body.
The Monster didn't mind though. Protecting its head was the most important thing, as hits landing on spots where there was more muscle and where there were stronger bones was preferable.
Fire Magic, Ice Magic, Corruption Magic, Earth Magic, Wind Magic.
The General of Wrath had seen it all.
It was entertaining, but the Monster didn't seem to have much more than that.
Sacrificing Quality over Quantity was a bad move, Zino thought. And of course, he would think that, as one of, if not the most proficient user of Lightning Magic in the Realm of Monsters.
'Not yet...'
A fist covered by Lightning landed on the white-scaled Monster's side.
'No yet...'
"Haha! Fire Resistance, huh?"
A leg kick swept the Monster off its feet.
'Not yet!' As its hands reached for the ground, its tail moved towards the General's head.
"Fun... But sloppy." Zino said as he grabbed the incoming tail before it could reach his chin.
The white-scaled Monster was raised into the air by its tail and slammed against the ground.
'A test... I have to...'
"Mmm..." The General tapped his chin with his index finger. "You were fun. Let's hope that one will be too."
An exhausted white-scaled Monster rose from the ground.
"I'll go for your heart," Zino smiled. "Okay?"
Mark was breathing heavily. Nevertheless, his eye didn't leave the General.
The latter was kind enough not to use his blindspot, which is, no doubt, that brought this on.
With great speed, the General leaped forward, aiming for Mark's neck!
'Huh...?'
Both his eyes and his smile widened at once!
'HUH??'
The white-scaled Monster moved way faster than was expected!
Its speed had increased by 50%. No. It had almost doubled!
To get the General to drop his guard further, Mark urged the former to underestimate him further. The simplest way of doing so was slowing down his movements and lowering the strength of his hits. Simple, but not easy. Not putting everything he had into each move could tip the opponent. But Mark had managed to play the part expertly. How so?
Because it hadn't been that long since the time he was weaker. His muscles, strengthened by the Fire Giant Core, couldn't show their true strength due to the weakness of his bones. Devouring the Undead Lich's body solved that issue, but it was still fresh inside Mark's mind. How strong he was at the time. How fast it was at the time. How tiring it was for his muscles to limit their output with his every move. The exhaustion quickly faded as his muscles were let free!
It was only a step forward, slightly to the side. But the speed of that step and the precision were of a totally different level than before. The General's claws grazed Mark's shoulder and,
Clench-
He used another trick.
Another thing he had kept secret from the General until now.
Instantly, they ballooned up in size!
His shoulder, his arm, his forearm!
Every muscle grew larger and stronger!
Partial Gigantification!
BAM-
***
The Lioness' roar resonated throughout the dark forest as the Commander's whip descended upon her back.
"You little shit. Did you really think those could fight me? Ha! Pathetic!"
Krista jumped back, but the Commander's hits were faster!
Her front paw was hit, making her yelp.
The pain was so sharp. The area hit stung like nothing else.
The Creatures of the dark forest had been defeated, the ice trapping his body had been destroyed, the attack launched by the Moonlit Feline dodged, and a third whip had been pulled out.
One that didn't cut through things. It didn't shatter things either.
In terms of damage, it was much weaker than the other two.
Which made it all the more strange, unnerving, and disgusting.
If the other whips had shattering and cutting properties, this one had something very different.
Pain.
That's all there was to it. Each hit made the one hit feel pain like no other.
A barrier of ice was raised. It was brought down by the Commander's brown whip.
Ice Spikes were shot. They were shattered by that same whip.
The Commander, for the first time, leaped towards the Moonlit Feline.
The difference in strength was too obvious!
Krista needed to create more distance! Crack-
Yelp-
She had consumed too much Mana Points earlier when the Commander was surrounded and trapped by the Ice. She had launched an attack she was sure would hit... But it hadn't.
Again and again, the whip descended upon the Moonlit Feline's. Again and again, until the pain took over her mind.
The Lioness' roars turned into yelps.
But... Master!!
***
"Not bad, little guy. But..." 'Tsk.' Mark clicked his tongue internally.
His fist, imbued with the power of the Giants, had landed cleanly on the General's side.
Yet, aside from Zino's feet drifting on the ground and stopping two steps away, there was no sign of any effect.
The General tilted his head slightly.
"Is that it?"
Before Mark could react, a kick landed on his side, launching him away.
With wide eyes, he lay on the ground for half a second. Had he not Devoured the Undead Lich's bones, both his elbow and ribs would have shattered. Mark quickly rose to his feet.
'That pelt... Took off most of the damage from my hit.'
If even Partial Gigantification doesn't work then...?
Two wildcards remain for Mark.
Would the General of Wrath allow their use though?
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