From afar Zomarus could definitely see what the ape was munching on, and it was Lora. In this exact moment, all Zomarus could see was red. This was the only family he truly had, and the only living creature that truly cared for him back.
The sight of the lifeless Lora killed him deep inside. Her fur filled with her own blood. She was just a mother who had already lost so much, she had lost her two cubs, and now her life. Zomarus wouldn't be satisfied until the ape lost his.
In a birth of speed, Zomarus charged towards the gigantic ape preparing for impact. As he charged in it made him visible to the ape and the many people watching him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get back in position."
The strong voice echoed throughout the forest, but it couldn't reach Zomarus. The only thing that could stop him was the death of the ape.
Zomarus moved his palm out towards the ape and shouted before he made contact.
"Tiger! Palm!"
Once the palm connected a huge force was applied to the ape's body which made him fly back a couple of meters. Now there was some distance between the two again.
From the trees, the same man who shouted earlier held his sword out and prepared for battle. However, before he could advance his troops he was stopped by his higher up.
"Do not advance. That god is not a part of our regiment. Once he dies we will capture the beast ourselves."
"Yes ma'am."
From then the troops stopped their advance and observed until the battle was finished.
Now the ape was furious. He started to bang his chest and moved towards Zomarus. He then used all his force and tried to smash Zomarus to the ground. This wouldn't work since the ape wasn't faster than Zomarus in the dark.
Zomarus ran up the ape's arm and tried to punch him in the face. This punch was nowhere near the same force as his tiger palm. This made it easy for the ape to catch him between his own hands.
The hands of the ape pressed Zomarus until he was running out of breath. He could slowly feel his ribs breaking one by one.
Zomarus was now in a position where he couldn't escape the grasp of the ape's hand. If he stayed any longer in his grasp he would die with Lora instead of avenging her.
The pain in his eyes grew as he was now out of options. He would meet Lora sooner than he thought. All he could do now was shout, and that's what he did. He shouted. Cry after cry, scream after scream.
Before his last breath his eyes would glow yellow just like the first time he met Lora. During his final shout it was like Lora was behinding him shouting as well. It would be Zomarus' ultimate move.
The king's Roar
It felt like a hundred tigers roaring at once over their kingdom. The roar had the power to stun the ape in place. It had the power to stop any foe in their path.
However, the roar would leave Zomarus stuck, and breathless inside the shaking ape's hand. It would not be in vain as in that moment a voice came from the trees.
"Attack! All units advance!"
As the troops surrounded the giant ape they were surprised to see it stunned. This gave the troops a good minute and a half to freely attack. Arrows rained down from all around and struck heavy blows on the ape.
The general from before would use her godly sword to cut off the ape's hand which held Zomarus. After this attack, the ape would begin to move but it was already too late. The remaining troops had set up their cannons and attacked the giant ape's stomach exploding it in two.
From the final attack cheers from all the troops echoed around the forest.
"Ma'am it seems like we completed the mission with no casualties. Looks like the young master will be pleased with your performance."
The general scuffed at him before answering, "I don't care what my brother thinks. He can die for all I care."
The general then continued to order the troops around. They would cut up the ape and set up camp. One by one the troops started to remove organs and peel the fur off its body.
"Ma'am, what do we do with the young boy?"
"Bandage him up and place him in my personal tent. I've got a word to pick with him." An ominous smile then came across her face.
Zomarus sat tied down to a chair, and both his hands and feet couldn't move an inch. This wasn't the only thing as Zomarus had an old rag inside his mouth. All he could do was wiggle and make small noises.
The two men who tied up Zomarus decided to have a little fun before the general entered. They would beat him repeatedly again and again until he could barely keep his head up.
"Listen here boy. Once the general enters you are not to lay your hands, eyes, or any body parts on her. Once she gives us the command we will give you a painful death."
The two laughed their way out of the tent which left Zomarus alone. He was alone with only his thoughts, his thoughts of Lora, Taiga, and his friends back home.
Before he could continue with his thoughts the flap of the tent open and in came a beautiful woman in full battle armor. She looked a little older than Zomarus but still had a great figure.
She came in and sighed at the sight of Zomarus half beaten and tied to a chair.
"God, I told those bastards to bandage you up, not beat you half to death with a bandage in your mouth. Here let me help you."
The general took out the rag in his mouth and used it to clean his face.
"There, good as new."
Zomarus didn't say anything as he just stared back at the general.
"What? Did my beauty stop you in your tracks?"
"..."
"Well say something. Is something wrong with your head?"
"What's wrong with you? You wiped me down with a rag. That was in my mouth! And you didn't even untie me, I'm still tied to this chair." He said as he wiggled his fingers.
"Stop being such a baby. There's not a chance in this world I let you go. You literally took down a giant ape and you expect me to just let you out. What if you take advantage of me and use my body for your needs."
The general then made a lewd pose and continued to look at Zomarus while biting her bottom lip. And again Zomarus didn't say anything and just stared at her making weird poses.
"Oh god. I can tell that you're removing my clothes with those naughty eyes of yours. Only a real man like you could be so aggressive with a maiden such as myself."
The general made herself known to Zomarus as she took her seat on Zomarus' lap. She played with his white hair and whispered in his ear.
"Only someone as strong as you can become my fiancé."
She kissed Zomarus' neck and cupped his cheek.
"I missed my future husband's name. Or maybe you need a little more encouragement."
The general slowly started to take off her chest piece before getting interrupted.
"Zomarus! My name's Zomarus."
The general let out a small sigh. "You're no fun… well it's nice to meet you Zomarus. You can call me Lucy, Lucy Morningstar."
Something about that name stuck out to Zomarus but he decided not to comment on her name. Honestly he didn't understand what was happening. Too many things were happening at once and it started to confuse him.
"Wait a minute. Did you say fiancé? Because I don't even know you. Who even are you?"
Zomarus had many questions for the beautiful woman but she didn't answer a single one.
"Don't worry darling. All will be answered soon. So let's get you untied and keep each other company tonight." She said with a wink and devilish smile.
However, Zomarus had different plans. Once he was released from his chair he stormed out the tent and ran towards the forest.
The two men guarding the tent weren't fast enough to catch Zomarus and soon stopped due to the general's command.
"Let him go. He'll be back." Then she yelled out into the woods for Zomarus to hear, "We leave at sunrise so be here".
Zomarus ran, but it wasn't to get away from those people but it was because he hadn't found Taiga yet. When he saw Lora there was no sign of Taiga anywhere. And to Zomarus it meant she was out there somewhere.
~~~~~
The next day arrived and the army troops began to pack up their things. Many of the troops eager to return home but were held back by the general, Morningstar.
"General, we need to leave before the troops become unrested."
"One more minute. He's close, I can feel it."
The army waited another couple of minutes, and soon Zomarus appeared from the woods. Zomarus' mood seemed to be more down then the night before as he returned with a sword on his waist.
"I told you that he would return." The general said as she then bit her lip when she noticed his facial expression.
When most people saw Zomarus they were filled with happiness as they could now head home. However, one of the soldiers was clearly pissed about the return of Zomarus.
Of course this person was the same soldier that beat up Zomarus the night before. He headed towards Zomarus and made himself noticeable.
"Why the hell are you back? Don't you remember what happened yesterday. Maybe you need a little remembering."
The soldier took his sword out and charged towards Zomarus. As the closer the soldier got the more eyes were on him. Soon the general noticed and yelled out to him.
"Stop!"
The words of the general were ignored as the soldier continued to advance. However, he didn't notice the mood Zomarus was in. Zomarus looked up at him and murder was in his eyes once again.
He palmed the soldier's chest and he was sent flying by his Tiger Palm technique. The soldier was stopped by a tree and got the wind kicked out of him. After impact, Zomarus ran after the soldier and continued to lay punches upon him.
After the sea of punches the soldier was unrecognizable. Most of the troops were surprised and didn't know how to react to the massacre they had witnessed. The general soon reacted.
"Nothing to see here. I need two troops to tend to this soldier's needs and make sure he doesn't die. And you… you're in big trouble."
Lucy grabbed Zomarus' ear and brought him into her personal carriage. The two sat alone and instead of jumping all over him she slapped Zomarus across his face.
"What the hell is wrong with you. You can't just go around killing my troops. If even one of my troops die in this mission I'll be in trouble."
Zomarus looked at Lucy and threw the sword that was on his waist to the ground.
"Well. Looks like you're in major trouble."
"What did you do? I leave you alone for a couple of hours and then…"
Lucy stopped her lecture as she picked up the sword and inspected it. She moved the sword and noticed that it didn't belong to anyone in her army, or anyone in House of Morningstar.
"Where did you find this sword from?"
"Last night I was trying to find Taiga, and when I was searching the northern mountain I found a man guarding a cage of animals. Once I examined the situation I let the animals out and they chased away the man. He left his sword on the ground and I took it with me."
Lucy looked a little worried after hearing his story and tried to relax. She sat down on Zomarus lap and started to lean against him.
"We'll figure it out when we arrive back to the kingdom. Looks like I'll have more to talk about with my brother."
She gave him a little kiss on the cheek before falling asleep in his arms.