Chapter 537: The Threats Posed by Pests

By sheer bad luck, Omilaena was in the worst position, with two Bloodtails immediately menacing her and the third blocking off a direct escape. As their tails lashed out, Kai didn't think about it, he just leapt to defend her.

In midair he threw out another Tyrant's Claw, knocking aside a striking tail, then he collided bodily with another Bloodtail. His momentum threw them both into the third, driving them away from the group into the ground, neutralizing their ambush.

It had been an effective maneuver, but a risky one: the monsters weren't nearly as disoriented or stunned as Kai would have hoped, so the two he'd crashed into were now turning on him. Their claws latched onto him as their jaws menaced him and tails coiled around his limbs with enough length left over to still stab at him.

Almost instantly Kai was locked in place, gripping one tail just inches from his face, dodging a biting jaw, gripping the other Bloodtail by the head to hold back its bite. The last tail managed to get through, stabbing into his stomach.

For all of that, Kai still instinctively looked to his wives to make sure they were okay after the surprise attack and disorientation. He shouldn't have been worried.

The third Bloodtail was not intimidated and had attacked both women at once during Kai's brutal melee, but in closing the distance it made a fatal mistake. Prior to this point, they had been testing a dangerous but inferior opponent, and now they fully deployed everything they'd learned.

Zae Zin Nim met both tail and claws with her hands, not trying to cause an injury, only deflecting the blows to neutralize the beast's attack. And while it was fully engaged, Omilaena leapt onto its back from behind, stabbing needles into both its eyes. When it let out a roar of pain, she stabbed a much larger needle directly into its throat.

Then Zae Zin Nim closed in, and this time her palm struck the beast directly in the head. Its armor didn't help against that.

Even as it fell, however, Kai was still being assaulted by tooth and tail from all sides. If he had been weaker, his rush would likely have been suicidal, because he had taken multiple hits. But his skin, while not an armored shell, was tough enough that the Bloodtail teeth couldn't tear through him, and he could survive a few stab wounds.

Ignoring the jaw biting his neck, Kai grabbed the next tail trying to stab him. This time, instead of deflecting it, he stomped on the middle of the tail, then tugged. At first the monstrous flesh resisted, but when Kai fully deployed a strength phase, he tore it in half.

While one monster roared, Kai whipped the tail upward so that it arced around striking the monster biting his neck. The tail clanged off the shell, which disoriented it enough to loosen its jaws. Kai immediately threw his head back, knocking it away.

He had been prepared for another attack, but none came: one Bloodtail stumbled in disorientation, one roared over the loss of its tail, and the third... it was falling, having been killed by Zae Zin Nim's palm strike.

"I'll hold this one!" Omilaena leapt in the path of the first Bloodtail to recover and hurled another needle. When this one shattered against the armor, it broke into a storm, unleashing ice qi that began to freeze the monster in place.

Which left one more, and Kai had instinctively closed on it alongside Zae Zin Nim. She was coming from behind, which was actually more dangerous, since she had to evade all the tail's maneuvers. Kai lunged straight in, hammering a blow into the monster's armored chest. No damage, but it staggered enough for Zae Zin Nim to leap overhead.

She spun around, thrusting one foot down on the Bloodtail's head. This wasn't her Brightwind martial arts, she was just using the raw power of her Pure Yin Shroud. Kai joined her and they battered the Bloodtail from both sides, intentionally pitting themselves against its strength.

It stumbled, the rest of the body not able to keep up with the assault that its armor could survive, and they fell on it. Finally they managed to pummel it to death, Zae Zin Nim ending with a cry of rage, bringing both hands overhead. This time the armor made a loud crunch and buckled inward, crushing part of the Bloodtail's chest.

"I..." Zae Zin Nim flushed a little when she saw him watching, but she smiled as she caught her breath.

Meanwhile, Omilaena had been trying to inject and breathe ice into the last Bloodtail, apparently unsuccessfully. She had inhibited it but not finished it off, so Kai instinctively moved to help her. This one was more cautious, perhaps realizing what had happened to the others, but it was much too late.

Omilaena intentionally let the monster coil its tail around her leg while pulling back to give him an opening. Kai landed between them, wrapping one arm around the tail while slashing out with the other. This time he managed a strength phase instinctively, so his Tyrant's Claw smashed the Bloodtail back, nearly severing its tail.

Once its tail was injured, the two of them finished it off easily, ending with Omilaena smoothly landing on top and gesturing to him. "Getting hungry?"

In answer, he dropped down on top of the dying monster and opened his maw.

The armor had been resistant to everything else, but now the Bloodtail was just food, and Kai consumed it eagerly. Its flesh was rough and tangy, then to his surprise he realized that the armor itself tasted good. Kai eagerly feasted, consuming the monster's entire being.

"Do you need more?" Zae Zin Nim asked, dragging one of the others closer by its tail.

"I'd better," Kai said between bites. "I could use more of this essence."

"These aren't the only ones," Omilaena observed as she scanned the perimeter. "Just three couldn't threaten such a large area. I wonder how many others are out there."

Kai grinned, his teeth dripping with monster blood.

.

..

.

Kojajix had no idea how long they had been drifting in the Deadlake, propelled by the impossible force produced by the gray man. Everyone had despaired at first, with the poisoned waters all around them, but the supplies miraculously restored themselves, over and over. For a while Jonijix had tried to use his water gimmick to shift their course, it had moved them not an inch, and soon they all gave up.

Sometimes he started to think that this was hell and they were condemned to drift forever.

The others screamed when the monsters attacked, but truthfully, Kojajix was grateful. They'd be torn apart by these red-black beasts and then their torment would be over. At least those tails looked like they could spear a man and that would hopefully kill instantly. Even Yangix, so arrogant about his failed cultivation, didn't try his stupid qi attack.

"Back, you fucks!" Fodajix was screaming. "Defensive perimeter!"

It didn't matter, not against this many monsters. Kojajix watched numbly as one of the new hires went down under two of the monsters and it was worse than he expected. Their claws didn't kill him instantly, they just drew a lot of blood. The man screamed and thrashed, actually throwing off one of the monsters, so it seemed he would take forever to die. More were coming for the rest of them, and they all had this miserable fate.

Then a tsunami swept over the deck. Kojajix didn't understand what he was seeing, he just watched the water somehow push the monsters over the edge while leaving the sailors intact.

Everyone cried out in alarm and disbelief, some rushing to check on the new hire and others looking around for the source. Kojajix ended up finding it first: Jonijix was standing with his hands raised, just as shocked as the rest of them.

"Did... did I do that?" Jonijix stared down at his own hands and vast currents of water began to swirl around them. Days ago, he hadn't been able to do anything more than a few simple tricks, guiding the ship a little or spilling someone's drink as a prank. The men had mocked him for his useless elemental training, complaining that he couldn't even keep off the rain.

And now he had swept aside the monsters in a single rush of water.

Of course falling into the water wouldn't kill water monsters, everyone knew that. Kojajix tried to speak and his throat was too dry, so he could only point to the first of the creatures climbing over the side, its tail lashing angrily.

Jonijix let out a cry and rushed forward, stabbing it with his water sword. The thing was a piece of shit he had bought while drunk, blowing all his earnings in one night, not good for much. Yet now it tore through the monster's chest and it fell into the waters trailing blood.

Everyone stared to Jonijix, beginning to praise the former navigator as their unexpected savior... and then qi trembled through the air.

Several of the monsters climbed over the side, only to explode into fleshy pieces. This time Kojajix knew what to expect: he turned to see Yangix standing proudly. Before, the ex-cultivator hadn't been able to do anything but give a man a bruise, yet now his finger cast death at the monsters. He laughed loudly as he obliterated the monsters with a wave of his hand.

"What the hell is going on?" Jonijix stared down at the sword in his hands.

"Something must have awakened my true power!" Yangix thrust his finger triumphantly and qi exploded skyward. "I always knew that I had potential the sect couldn't see, I knew it. Now I've finally found my destin-"

"Shut up, idiot." Fodajix whacked him on the back of the head, just like he normally would when the ex-cultivator was being pompous. "That's not it."

"You won't get away with that any longer!" Yangix whirled on the man, pointing... was he actually trying to kill him? There was so much power in the air, it was hard to say, but nothing was happening. Everyone stared at the two confronting one another, even as more monsters climbed up the side.

"Look at this." Fodajix drew his knife and jabbed himself in the arm, only for the point to glance off. "I wasn't a strong enough Ironeater to resist a blade, and I didn't get stronger. It's like... we've come out from under one of those suppression fields, one we didn't realize we've been under our entire lives."

"That's the most absurd bullshit I've ever..."

Monsters tore into Fodajix from behind and he simply extended his arms, letting them attack. Tails and claws lashed out, but they failed to injure his skin. Kojajix had once seen a real master Ironeater do a trick like that, but Fodajix didn't have a tiny fraction of his strength, so this should be impossible. Unless what he said was true, and they really were more powerful here.

Suddenly Kojajix remembered back to the new hire: instead of the man dying immediately, the monsters had done way less harm than teeth and claws like that should do to a man. If that was true... Kojajix tightened his own fist, wondering if he could believe it.

He'd always been a loser, trying his best but not even reaching 1000 Power. He'd failed out of the things he'd tried, hadn't traveled far enough to meet any sects, and just generally resigned himself to life as a sailor. Not even a particularly good sailor, cursed to take the worst routes along the Deadlake. And yet now... maybe?

The other average sailors were watching in shock, but two others stepped forward. Budajix had gotten himself a Class that was complete crap... except now, when he punched the air, his fist blew away several monsters in one hit. Quorthix had a drop of godling blood, which normally just meant the others mocked him about his ears, but now he danced through the air, killing left and right. Just weeks ago, these men had been nothing special, rejects who at best could out-muscle a fellow sailor, but could be ganged up on if they put on airs.

Kojajix took a deep breath, stepped forward, and swung his sword at the nearest monster.

It wasn't a particularly good blow - he'd been a shit swordsman and his skills were rusty. But his sword cut through the monster like butter, like it wasn't even there. The beast thrashed angrily, as if filled with endless hatred, yet somehow it wasn't so hard to back away and avoid getting hit. Like he was faster somehow.

Laughing, Kojajix spun in a circle and decapitated it. The move was like a child playing around with a sword, nothing that should have worked in real life, yet the beast fell dead.

That seemed to break the shock and the other sailors began to laugh, wading their way into the melee and attacking wildly. Half made stupid mistakes that should have gotten them killed, but even if they got hit, they weren't too badly hurt, and Jonijix and Yangix were sweeping through, killing the monsters effortlessly.

Perhaps this wasn't hell after all. Or if it was hell, they would fight their way through it, laughing all the way. They emerged triumphant, yet they still understood nothing except that the ship took them inexorably onward.