They had pierced deep into the beast. Even if the gorilla's fists were a lot sturdier than the rest of its hide, Reinhardt would not be able to penetrate as far into its skin. Six long metal spears protruded out of the giant gorilla's shoulders, stomach, and legs.
The beast, skewered into an oversized shish kebab, turned around and escaped back into the maclawco territories' dense forest. It could accept getting chased out by the two mighty hegemons but being forced to flee from puny humans for the second time now humiliated it to such an extent it wanted to die.
All the humans it had fought had been weak and would crumble beneath even the slightest pressure. Now that slightly less tiny human had directly resisted its attack with his two axes, and the others had managed to break its defense with a few pointy metal sticks. For years even the other overlords had respected and feared it; how did it come to this?
A cavalry platoon of thirteen light armored riders lined up in half circle towards the monster—six of them readying their spears, while another six had already drawn their swords. The cavalryman with the most luxurious armor turned towards the thirteenth rider, his shiny dark blue armor emitting a powerful air of authority. The thirteenth man he addressed was someone Reinhardt and Sturm were acquainted with.
"Geronimo, while the Mayor ordered us to save your brother, that gorilla seemed severely hurt. I will stay with five of our men, and the rest will pursue that beast. It seems to be a Tier 10 Bronze beast. If it survives, it may terrorize Dagger's Rock Town."
The three-star appraiser did not seem overjoyed with that prospect, but at least their leader would stay with them. He had witnessed the terrifying gorilla. Its body soaked in blood, and human remains stuck on its tusks. If there were other monsters like that out there, he wanted none of it. In fact, his little brother's escapades had been going on for long enough.
For years he had been permitting it, but first, the magic beasts were pushing towards Dagger's Rock Town, and now even that terrifying ape had shown up. If Sebastian had to be locked up and disciplined, then so be it. Thinking about Sebastian, where was he? That reckless little brother originally wanted to bring slaves again and had only left with a group of mercenaries at his insistence. He first spotted Daga, whom he had personally paid for his services, and immediately approached him.
<
The six cavalrymen that still had their spears had already left to chase the beast while the remaining six approached Reinhardt. This commoner was known to be exceptionally strong, even rivaling sixth-step nobles when calm, and up to seventh-step nobles when making use of his heritage from the north. The crimson steam rising from the commoner's body was a sign of the latter.
It did not matter. As the Mayor's left-hand man, Plott was one of only two eight-step nobles on Dagger's Rock Island. The Rampage Bear could only exceed his god-given limitations by relying on a special bloodline. Even if his power grew, it came at the cost of sanity, and thereby technique and skill.
Reinhardt, or rather, the Rampage Bear, had suddenly lost its target. The gorilla had turned around and escaped, stopping him from unleashing all the pent-up rage and fury. Just when the inner beast wanted to chase after it into the forest, six mounted soldiers surrounded it.
<
Wild, primordial instincts had completely taken over. Right now, not even a sliver of Reinhardt's consciousness was present anymore. Reinhardt instinctively charged at the shiniest target. Plott dismounted as a war-horse would not be needed for a commoner and did not even bother to take out his weapons. The northerner just wielded two simple sticks; they posed no threat at all. Just his fists would be enough to deal with the berserker.
A flurry of attacks descended upon Plott, but the Mayor's left-hand man displayed utter calmness as he blocked the sticks with his armored hands. While the power was indeed surprising for a commoner, it did not exceed expectations. The unsophisticated strikes held little ingenuity. Maybe a beast would be troubled by such a barrage, but an experienced noble would certainly not.
Sturm watched in amazement as the noble dealt with Reinhardt. Sadly, it was not something he could copy. As a slave, directly blocking such attacks would simply lead to his bones shattering, as they did with the ironmaw bear. Nonetheless, the experience served to enrich the Third Chapter, which he had recently named 'Origin of Movement,' and the Fourth Chapter, now also labeled 'Compendium of Techniques.'
It took the eight-step noble no more than a minute to subdue Reinhardt, upon which the remaining soldier quickly bound the man. Usually, they would simply dispose of any commoners that tried to attack them, but the Mayor specifically ordered all men to avoid killing any of the Thunder Merchants. Apparently, there was another party that had already claimed them. Soon, the berserkergang would fade away, and the Thunder Merchant's guard captain would regain control; they just had to restrain him until then.
As Reinhardt kept struggling against his restraints, Daga and Geronimo had already recovered the unconscious Sebastian and brought him back to the group. Sturm just stood there awkwardly, ignored by everyone. Reinhardt was insane right now. The soldiers did not even acknowledge his presence, while Daga stood by Geronimo, who only had eyes for his brother.
<
Sturm had never seen Reinhardt in such a state. The clumsy, friendly, but surprisingly pragmatic guard captain was usually calm and seemed very much in control of himself. While the drawbacks of his berserkergang were clear, the opportunities it could provide were not to be underestimated.
<>
As Sturm was standing there, contemplating about Reinhardt's berserkergang, the guard captain in question slowly recovered from that state. Surprised by being alive, it took him a while to take in his surroundings.
<
A few meters away, Geronimo had already ensured Sebastian's well-being and made his way to the shackled Reinhardt. Not only did he promise even richer rewards for the renewed saving of Sebastian's life, but he also described the subsequent events after Reinhardt went berserk. To be able to mobilize Plott and the other noble guards, the three-star appraiser was even more influential than they already thought.
Even if a three-star appraiser was highly valued by the Mercenary Association, they were still commoner's and had not yet earned the right to ascend to nobility. No matter how successful or influential a commoner was, they were nothing more than inferior humans to nobles. A platoon of twelve nobles would only be dispatched for other nobles or extremely important or delicate missions.
Sturm went to Reinhardt's side, who patted the young slave's shoulder in relief, and Daga acknowledged Sturm with a nod. Geronimo frowned upon seeing that but otherwise remained silent. Their contributions outweighed any disdain the appraiser felt towards the two warrior's behavior towards a slave. The couch that young slave had sat on had already been replaced, and the replacement had not come cheap at all.
His commission for Daga had already been fulfilled, and his thanks towards Reinhardt expressed. There was no need to further associate with that bunch. The appraiser bowed once more and left the trio to take care of his little brother.
The rest of the day went by quick. The hunt had been unsuccessful, the horses' mobility too restricted inside the dense forest, while the silver-white gorilla easily made use of his home advantage to lose the six nobles. Daga, Reinhardt, and Sturm had to walk back, as there were not enough horses for everyone; that was especially the case for commoners.
In the end, even through all the experience and trouble, Reinhardt's axes and Daga's throwing knives ended up being the only casualties. Just being able to walk back to Dagger's Rock Town was a blessing. The assassin was silently counting his money on the whole trip, while the guard captain and the young slave remained silent as well. Sturm was still contemplating the fight he had witnessed while Reinhardt tried to understand why nobles would set out to rescue a commoner.
The guard captain frowned. <