Even though the three chef rats were looking in his direction, Zulu didn't feel like he was being watched.
'I don't think they can actually see me. Their vision must not be good enough to see this far, and they're just on alert due to the others' warnings.'
Zulu moved his body around the entrance, yet the rats' eyes didn't follow.
'Hmm, they don't seem to be reacting to me. So my [Night Vision] is superior to theirs? Ha, weak rat bloodline. Foxes stay winning.'
Zulu stood in contemplation as he brainstormed ideas for defeating his bigger foe.
'He's obviously a Rank 2 creature and the leader. The two beside him should both be Rank 1 and the only females in the den. I can't fight the leader rat head on; I'm simply too weak right now. Which means I need to find some way to get the jump on him, and do so in a way that puts him at a massive disadvantage. My main advantage right now is my sight, so if I can find some way to get close enough to eliminate his vision, my victory would be all but assured. I don't take pride in beating up the blind, but I'll do what's necessary to survive. Hmm, but how do I reach him without him spotting me?'
Zulu's mind churned out ideas as he turned his gaze to the rat corpses behind him.
'Hehehe, found it. Now I just need to cover up my smell, and I have just the trick to do it.'
The information for the activation of the [Olfactory Confusion] spell was burned into his brain. He simply needed to identify the smell he wanted to mimic, either through memories or an external source, and apply it wherever he pleased; In this case — similar to how the chef rats employed it — on himself.
Zulu approached one of the chef rat corpses and pressed his small black nose close to it. After copying the odor with his spell, he applied it to himself, masking his natural spirit fox smell with one of a chef rat.
'I really don't like disgracing my magnificent species' beautiful scent with this foul odor, but I have no choice. Also, I should probably hurry. The spell requires mana to function, and I don't think there's too much of it in my pathetic Rank 1 body.'
After thinking that, Zulu lifted the rat's body slightly before shoving himself beneath it and lifting with his legs, carrying the rat on top of him.
'Okay, you're gonna be my personal puppet for a little bit, so act natural,' Zulu thought before brazenly entering the rat's den.
The King's eyes swept the entrance to its abode multiple times, watching for intruders and sniffing at the air for unfamiliar odors. He had heard the warnings of his children from that direction and was now vigilant. Both of his wives stood beside him, ready to throw themselves at any enemy in order to protect their king.
The King's small ears perked up at the sound of shuffling in front of him; Something was drawing near. He waited with eager eyes to watch some foolish prey deliver itself before him.
However, to the King's disappointment, only one of his children appeared in his eyesight. It was moving stiffly, unnaturally even; However, the King did not have sufficient intelligence to discern the strangeness of it. He could not smell anything amiss either and as a result, returned to a lulled state. His wives soon followed suit, retracting their hostility.
Zulu approached slowly, the weight of the rat pressing on him. He was now only a few meters from the leader and would be launching his assault soon.
'Let's hope this goes well. If not, I die or am eaten alive.'
Zulu prayed internally before shooting out from under the dead rat, its corpse crumpling to ground behind him. He packed his strength into his hind legs before launching himself like a missile at the Rat King's face.
The Rat King was greatly startled by the sudden appearance of an enemy; However, it could not react in time as the attack was too sudden and too close.
Zulu's jaws unhinged before chomping with ferocity on the Rat King's right eye. He squeezed his jaw muscles with vigor until the eye burst under the pressure, spurting white fluid everywhere.
The Rat King screamed with a shrill voice before slamming the attacker into the ground with great force.
Zulu crashed into the ground on his side, cracking a couple ribs in the process. He yelped in pain as he scrambled to his feet before dashing away. He wanted to build some distance from the more powerful opponent.
The Rat King did not stay idle but immediately retaliated, as did his wives. The three rats bolted at Zulu with endless hatred.
'Man, they're more pissed than the spider when I burned her home down.'
The Rat King was not a Rank 2 creature only in name. His speed far outclassed that of his lesser counterparts. He soon left his wives far behind him as he neared Zulu's position.
Zulu backed into one of the den's stone walls, a wide grin forming on his face.
'Come on stupid rat. Get a taste of some human intellect.'
The Rat King's disfigured maws opened as he reached Zulu. However, as they slammed shut, he found that Zulu had already dodged to the left. His sheer momentum — powered by his strong legs and large frame — resulted in him smashing into the solid wall, his nose shattering upon impact. The wall of the den shook slightly, and a small indent was formed.
Zulu jumped at the stunned Rat King, his jaws latching onto its remaining eye with a [Bite].
The two rat wives arrived soon, but it was too late to save the Rat King's vision. Its left eye was quickly crushed under Zulu's razor teeth.
The Rat King howled in rage as it lost its other eye. It thrashed around madly, trying to locate the one responsible; However, Zulu had long run away.
The rat wives could only watch as the faster Zulu brushed past them, retreating to the opposite end of the room.
Before the wives could give chase, a wild and spastic Rat King appeared behind them. It was biting and clawing at everything with reckless abandon, trying to pinpoint the source of the fleeting footsteps. Its claws and teeth connected with flesh and blood as it unceasingly rampaged, mutilating the enemy before it.
Zulu watched with wide eyes on the other end of the room. He observed the Rat King unknowingly massacre his own concubines, with morbid interest.
'Damn. That's messed up.'
After a few seconds of further frantic tearing, the Rat King settled down, satisfied that it had slain its foe. It laid on the floor before quickly dozing off to sleep to recover.
'Hehehe, yes, go to sleep my big furry friend. I assure you, nothing nefarious will happen to your unaware person, hehehe,' Zulu inwardly chuckled.
Soon, however, something interesting caught his attention. The Rat King's eyes began to glow with a white light.
'That should be… Is he healing with Essence? So this is what it looks like from the outside. I was always asleep and could never see it for myself. I should hurry before they heal completely.'
At that thought, Zulu dashed at the snoozing Rat King. As he arrived before it, the white light faded away.
'Fuck.'
The Rat King's newly formed eyes shot open to witness the blatant attack. He screeched with rage when he realized the intruder was not dead like he had believed.
However, before it could stand up, Zulu's jaws wrapped around its neck. The Rat King's fur and neck muscles were tougher and thicker than its children; Zulu's teeth could only pierce half-way through before being halted.
'Dammit! Why couldn't you stay asleep for one extra second!'
Zulu cursed in his mind as the Rat King jumped to his feet, throwing him up and behind him.
Zulu tumbled on the ground for a few seconds before regaining his footing. When he stood up completely, he found the Rat King had already turned around and began charging towards him.
The wound on the Rat King's neck was not negligible, but was nonetheless insufficient and ultimately nonfatal. It merely leaked a small amount of blood onto the ground.
'As a Rank 2 creature, he's faster than me, stronger than me, tougher than me, has more mana than me, and more stamina than me; However, I have the brains.'
Zulu grabbed the heavily maimed corpse of one of the rat wives with his jaws and waited for the Rat King to arrive. When the Rat King was only a couple meters away, Zulu lifted the bloodied body in front of him as a meat shield. The Rat King crashed into Zulu and the rat corpse, carrying them forward with his momentum for a short distance before pinning them against the wall.
The Rat King's maws were caught on the body of the rat wife in front of Zulu, unable to reach him. The Rat King could not identify his blunder due to his lacking intelligence and only continued to rip into the meat caught between his jagged teeth. In his mind, he was ripping the puny orange creature apart.
Zulu grinned from ear to ear at that sight.
'At the end of the day, you're nothing but a fucking rat.'
Zulu's jaws opened and he activated [Bite], slamming them shut on the Rat King's wounded neck. His teeth sunk deeper this time, grazing the carotid artery located inside. More blood erupted from the injury, but the Rat King was too consumed in its fervor to notice. Zulu's jaws swung wide again before crushing the Rat King's neck between them, and then again, and again, and again. It wasn't until the sixth consecutive [Bite] that Zulu ceased his counter-attack.
The wound that once only trickled blood now poured it like a raging river. The artery in the Rat King's neck had been utterly destroyed, and its eyes soon grew devoid of life.
'I won.'
The Rat King's body collapsed, and Zulu, who was pinned against the wall, fell with it.
Landing on the ground, Zulu limped up. His cracked ribs had increased in number and one of the muscles in his back was torn. He was physically exhausted as well.
Of course, he still had a lot of work to do before he could take a much needed nap.