Chereads / Apex Predator / Part 1 / Chapter 9 - Fighting Spirit

Chapter 9 - Fighting Spirit

Jason's POV:

It has been two days since I got captured.. I hope Nathan managed to reach the Warriors base. I'm currently being held hostage in what seems to be a Dark Clouds outpost, I never thought they were invading us at all.

A masked man riding a Carnotaurus appears in front to me, his whole mask is black except for the Cloud symbol on the forehead area.

That's the Carnotaurus the Dark Clouds were chasing.. it seems they managed to get it on their side.

"Jason. Long time no see."

Huh.. does he know me? Everyone I was close to when I was in the Dark Clouds is dead..

"Who the hell are you? Why did you decide to attack after such a long time of peace?"

"Peace? I was expecting more from you, Endwalker."

Endwalker??? Only my captain from when I was in the Dark Clouds called me that.. This can't be him! He died in the war!

"You... you were dead." I said, confused.

"No. I was left to die. Your friend from the Warriors thought it was a good idea to give me as food for our God, but I promised to serve him and devote my life to him if he saved me, and so, he burned your friend until the ashes disappeared... along with your son of course."

...

So my son and Paul died for nothing? This can't be right... This can't be real..

The man takes off his mask, revealing a ruined face, a long scar from the chin to the forehead, going through the side of his nose. The last blow from Paul's sword. His shiny white hair and green eyes almost make him look like an angel, ready to save humanity from the cruelty the world is... looks can be deceiving.

"Don't make such a sad face Jason. You know you deserved it. I just can't understand.. why would you betray us after doing the impossible for our tribe? Why betray me after taking care of you for so long?"

....

After a few seconds of silence, I finally answer:

"I don't think people like you can understand. So many lives could be saved with a simple talk, but you refused and chose to attack. Tell me captain, does serving your little Dragon God make you feel powerful?"

"Little Dragon God huh... you must be delusional if you think you can fight back at this point. I see that talking to you is a waste of time, have fun in the stronghold."

He puts his mask back on and mounts the Carnotaurus, leaving the outpost.

So this bastard is still alive.. little does he know though.. A long time ago he sent me to the end of the world, a place where moat people who went never came back, and those who did return were injured for life, but with stories of the horrors they found, the monster they saw, and warning everyone to stay away. My captain, Tellius, was curious of what was really there, and because I was his right arm at the time, he sent me on a mission.. I returned with a Basilisk's head, a rare giant snake, making people believe I killed whatever they were so afraid of, gaining the title Endwalker. If I can go back there and get help from the true God I found, that puny dragon he worships so much will be easily defeated.

Things won't be so easy of course..

Nathan's POV:

We follow Captain Zlodey outside the base, into a forest. We have been in silence all the time, he gives some sorte of intimidating pressure.. I'd like to ask where we are going but words won't come out. He said we were going to see how we handle ourselves in stressful situations, so perhaps this will be some sort of entrance exam.

After a few minutes walking, we arrive at an open space in the middle of the forest with a few Triceratops feeding on the greenish plants.

"Great. They are still here." Our Captain said, turning himself towards us.

"Do you see those five Triceratops? We're in need of more brute power at the moment, and those dinos are perfect for the job. You will tame them."

"Tame them? How do we even do that?" Filipe asks.

"I don't know what you think they are, but let me tell you, they are smarter than they look, you've survived a Dark Clouds attack, if you can't even do this, then I'm afraid you're just lucky to be alive, and obviously, I won't let you join the Warriors."

.... I wonder what do we need to do.

Zlodey's POV:

Well then, let's see how the kids handle this. There was a pack of Raptors nearby last time I came here, they should have sensed us by now and are probably on their way.

"You're on your own now, I will not interfere, even if you are going to die."

They give me a weird look.. I don't know what they were expecting when signing up for this.

I stand back and hide myself in a bush, waiting for the action to come.

Oh, perfect timing. The Raptors show up from behind the nearby trees.. The fastest way to gain the Triceratops trust will be to aid them against the Raptors. I think they can do it.

"Leo, what do we do?" Silva asks his friend. It seems that Leonard is the one telling them what to do.

"Let's wait for the Raptors to attack the Triceratops, then we'll help them."

Right decision, it seems Leonard is a capable guy.

The Raptors waste no time and rush to the unaware Triceratops. All of the Raptors jump on only one of the herbivores and start biting the tail and back of it. The dinosaur starts screaming in pain as the Raptors tear its skin and flesh out. The other Triceratops come help and try hitting the attacking dinosaurs with their horns, but the Raptors quickly leap away to a safe distance.

"Now!" Leonard screams out, and the six of them run towards the raptors with their swords out.

Daniel and Silva manage to instantly kill one by attacking from both sides at once. Four Raptors remaining.

Nathan is fighting one of them alone. A Triceratops starts running towards the Raptor from behind, a perfect chance to get the Raptor impaled by those huge horns. Nathan also realizes this and attacks the Raptor, making the dinosaur jump back, into the incoming Triceratops, getting impaled by the horns. Three more Raptors to go.

Miguel and Filipe team up to take one out. Just like Daniel and Silva, they try attacking from both sides at once, but this Raptor is more agile compared to the other one and manages to dodge more efficiently. And then.. Filipe throws his sword at the Raptor.. hitting one of the legs, making it fall over. Miguel quickly finishes the job with a blow to the head.

And finally, Leonard tries to fight the remaining two at the same time. One of the Raptors attempts to jump on him but he dodges to the side, kicking the dinosaur onto the other one, disorienting both of them. Almost immediately, Leonard steps forward and swings his sword down, with an amazing amount of force. Thanks to the size of the blade and his technique, he manages to slice both Raptor's necks at once.

It seems we really have some potential here..