Due to their current mission of establishing a church, Zhenin assumed that the urgent quest this time involved saving them. Besides a miracle, how else could they help the four? When he read the words "beat them up," he couldn't help but feel excited.
"Finally, action time!" he thought. So did Ninzhe.
Taking advantage of their currently battered state, Ninzhe pushed with his feet forward for a burst of speed.
With his dagger on hand, Ninzhe immediately went to cut the distance between the four. Behind him is Zhenin positioning himself directly behind Ninzhe as he pulled his gun out.
With a grim expression, the two women equipped with a quarterstaff went behind while the lady with the dagger readied her stance.
The man who's using a claw had a weird looking stance as his dominant hand was cut.
When Ninzhe was only 5 feet away, the man opened his mouth wanted to say something, but Ninzhe ducked as Zhenin fired his gun, aiming for the lady with the least wound.
Lacking the vigor for battle, the lady with the staff was shot on the left leg just above the knee and kneeled with a scream. Feeling completely helpless and tired, she just slumped on the ground.
Hearing the scream, the three who were just about to give up had a burst of energy and gained their momentum.
"Fucker! Why!" the man roared as he shifted his balance forward, kicked the ground, and rolled step while doing a quick jab to the ducking Ninzhe. The woman with the dagger went down on fours as she charged towards Zhenin, who was a distance away.
Predicting the jab's trajectory, Ninzhe rolled to the side and slashed at the man's calf. His movements made the man think of a snake.
Due to his quick jab, the man's left leg held his weight. Without falling, there's no way he could out-maneuver Ninzhe's slash.
With a roar, the man also kneeled while he clawed downwards towards Ninzhe's direction.
Just like a snake, Ninzhe's leg that was almost hit by the sharp claws curved.
The skeletal system of the seahorse and the snake has an extremely high similarity with having an array of joints. It's almost like every bone in Ninzhe's body is a spine. Flexibility is never an issue for the twins, as curving any parts of his limbs is as easy as raising his hand.
After dodging, Ninzhe's current compressed gave him space to boost himself with a kick. The movement looked very similar to a swimming seahorse who used their tails to control their bodies in the water.
With a burst of speed, Ninzhe successfully rolled out of the man's range. After a single roll, he slashed forwards to parry the striking woman who was blocking the kneeling one.
Having the same material, the parry was successful, but the weapons remained intact. Ninzhe was hoping for the staff to be made of regular steel and be able to cut it. Unexpectedly, the staff actually used so much stelix to create the entire body of the polearm.
Expecting the parry, the woman twisted as she used the momentum from the parry to spin her staff and hit Ninzhe upwards.
With his newly advanced torso muscles, Ninzhe was able to bend his body at the same pace as the swing. His bones consist of two kinds of joints, minor and major. The minor ones are joints that can lock itself to temporarily form one solid bone. The major joints can't be locked and are placed similar to a human such as the elbow and the knee.
With his left hand and feet, balancing him on the ground, Ninzhe hit the lady with his knee and hit her pelvis due to her position. With his upside-down vision, he saw the man dangerously close to him. With his momentum, he was about to punch straight towards his head.
As the parry absorbed most of his momentum, Ninzhe decided to roll sideways to dodge the claw. His core muscle's increased strength and flexibility showed its benefits as he was able to get back up. This was a maneuver than he always fails whenever he practices.
Ninzhe was feeling euphoric. Without falling, he was able to hit two enemies at once while remaining unharmed. Granted, he was only able to dodge the man due to his dominant hand missing. It was still an amazing accomplishment for him.
With his eyes screaming "fight me," using short and quick steps, he was able to close in on the half-lion who actually tried to punch with his missing arms.
At this point, the two women already lost all their fighting spirit, waiting for their deaths on the ground. The only reason the man is fighting back is his being agitated by two disrespectful youths.
With a solid jab on his chin followed by an uppercut, the man fell right in front of the vigorous boy brimming with fighting spirit.
Losing the rush, when the pain began to rush in his head, the man fainted. The last thing he could think of was cursing the sun for being so ruthless.
Sixteen years of desperation after over 700 years of peace is too terrible of a change. Especially for the older ones like Mengsk, who was almost driven mad as he drowned himself with the sacred text of any religions he could find.
On Zhenin's side, it only took two shots for him to take down the half-lioness. Just like the man, it was only an impulse. After being shot on her shoulders, she also lost her drive to fight and slumped on the ground.
Drive is a fantastic thing. It brings out potential, removes fatigue, and enables one to perform 120% over the limit. It can also bring out happiness. Once the drive is gone, just like hope, then what's the point in doing things anymore?
"Revenge? Don't make me laugh. Winning their first bout already took a lot from them, what more of these combat specialized species." The woman thought.
She laid on the floor facing her group, so if Zhenin decided to shoot her, they'd be the last thing she sees. Unexpectedly, Zhenin did not touch her throughout the short fight.
Honestly, the fight didn't last more than 20 seconds, but for those who are fighting with techniques, every second feels like an hour.
After watching Ninzhe take down the rest of her already weakened group, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore as she began to cry.
She didn't blame Zhenin or Ninzhe, not even the other group who attacked them first. It was just the circumstances of the world was too cruel. Everyone wants to survive, for the small hope of finding the energy crystals, build a new warp-capable ship and escape this goddamn planet.
But before all that, one must survive first. Food? Use the irradiated ground to grow crops? Look for those long, expired canned goods? Defeat those wild and mutated beasts and exit the only place on this planet with tolerable levels of radiation? Hell, where would you even find iodine nowadays?
With here lifeless eyes, she watched Ninzhe knock the other two ladies who were still conscious. Then, grabbing them from their scruff, the boy carried them like small domestic cats with his own strength.
She also began to feel movements behind her, thoughts of countering emerged in her head, but seeing her three other companions, she stopped her struggles. Unlike the three, Zhenin did not knock her out. Instead, he carried her through her scruff.
Even though they've gained the physiology of a human, these part felines still have their instinctive reaction where they paralyze when their scruff is being held.
Still, when Zhenin carried her, she felt at peace. Without her knowing, the stone was glowing blue.
The twins also received a message.
[Urgent Chain Mission - New People 1 Completed.]
[Mission Updated]
[Urgent Chain Mission - New People 2]
[*Image of a pentagram with a large circle on top and a small one below.*]
[Follow the instructions of the ritual. This ritual will send the four to my kingdom without being bound with me.]
[Time Limit: 10 Minutes]
[Quest Items: Holy Bowl]
[Chain Mission Rewards: Entry to a training ground in my kingdom.]
[Mission Failure: Death]
Zhenin had a confused look while Ninzhe remained indifferent.
After reading the instruction on how to conduct the ritual, Zhenin couldn't help but feel weird.
"Is this church actually a cult?" He thought.