Amidst the blood-curdling shrieks, roars, howls, and cries of battle, Cain focused on the one thing that mattered the most to him.
Revenge...
Right behind him, sporting a menacing expression, was the {Devil-eyed White Primate}. The corpse of the {Golden Horned Beast} was held in its mouth as it slowly suckled on its neck, producing disgusting gulping sounds. Blood slowly dribbled down its jaws, making it look even more menacing than it already was.
It looked a bit different from before, but most of its features were still recognizable. Its muscles had grown a fair amount, and the ethereal glow in its eyes seemed even deeper.
"You've been here all along?" Cain knew the beast could understand what he was saying, so he didn't hold back.
The {Devil-eyed White Primate} let the corpse of the {Golden Horned Beast} fall to the ground, exposing its bloodstained jaws, lips, and fangs.
Surprisingly, the mutant beast's lips spread out into a very humanlike grin, almost as though he was taunting Cain.
"So you stole my prey, huh?" Cain finally understood what this was all about. Not only did Cain have beef with this monster, but they also held a grudge or two against him.
The previous day, Cain had attempted to lure it out using the blood elemental mana shard as bait. The mutant beast had taken the bait but was denied access to it because of Cain. Hence it tried to kill Cain but later had to retreat in injuries.
The creature let out a series of shrieks, howls, and gestures at Cain, trying to communicate something to him.
On the other hand, Cain's mind was occupied with different thoughts;
'These things are growing too fast. If they get any more intelligent than this, the human race is doomed.'
Cain knew that when it came to power acquisition, humans were at a disadvantage if they didn't rely on external influences like runes, etc. The fact that upon how strong these mutant beasts were, they were still becoming more and more intelligent would become a huge problem in the future if the humans didn't find a way to balance the scales out.
Suddenly, the {Devil-eyed White Primate} stopped prancing around.
It stooped down to the {Golden Horned Beast} with a grunt, brutally ripping the dead deer's antler off its skull. It looked back at Cain once again with a wolfish grin, pointing its newly acquired weapon at his face.
"Is that a challenge?" Cain said as he drew {Devil's Broken Claw}.
The mutant beast responded with a series of grunts, its glowing malevolent eyes staring straight into Cain's.
It responded by releasing a very loud howl that sent visible shockwaves across the entire battlefield. By now, the number of monsters in the surroundings had dwindled greatly, as most of them had either been devoured by the stronger mutants, or killed by Cain and the others. Hence, it was very easy for the others, who had been separated from Cain to see what was going on.
The entire battlefield was silent for a while...
The power radiating from the howl was so immense, a good number of mutant beasts began cowering where they stood. This happened for only a second or two before they were released from their daze. The battle commenced once the stun spell was released.
***
"What the hell is that?" Steve said as he blasted a few mutant beasts to smithereens with a {Fireball}.
"Probably a devil. No mutant beast I've fought so far has given me so many chills." Vincent who was busy shooting down a flock of mutant birds appeared a few steps away and said to him.
"No. It's a mutant beast. I can tell..." Hunter had transformed into his semi-beast, so his appearance caught both Steve and Vincent by surprise, causing them to point their weapons at him, ready to unleash hell.
"Phew... Almost scared me for a sec there._ Steve said as he wiped imaginary sweat from his brows.
"I won't be remorseful if I did kill you, dog boy!" Vincent said while sticking his tongue out.
"Don't care..." Hunter said as he continued to clear out waves of mutants with every swipe of his claws. Behind him, a swarm of summoned flame hounds tore apart any of the mutants they came across.
Vincent clicked his tongue in irritation, "Tch! Arrogant bastard!"
Hunter ignored Vincent completely, staring at the direction the howl came from.
"If I'm not mistaken, Cain is also there. He's probably facing the mutant that let that roar out."
"How can you tell?" Steve asked curiously.
"In this form, all my senses are heightened and I can track people through their scents," Hunter explained.
"Haha... So you are a dog, huh?!" Vincent said tauntingly.
He shot another huge mutant bird down with his gun. Before the mutant's corpse hit the ground, he caught it and flung it into the distance.
"Here doggy, Fetch..." The grin on Vincent's face said it all. He was trying to get a reaction from Hunter.
Surprisingly, Hunter's face darkened a bit, the tone of his voice turning even darker, "Shut it, fat boy!"
"Oh?" Steve was surprised that Hunter would retaliate against Vincent's verbal attack. He watch as sparks flew through the air in between them, but the brief moment of conflict was quickly broken apart by another thunderous noise coming from the distance.
***
Cain took a brief moment to analyze the mutant beast's stats.
{Devil-eyed White Primate} level 20 (Deadly).
Strength: 270.
Agility: 400.
Defense: 50.
Magic: 100.
HP: 5,200/5,200.
MP: 7,000/7,000.
Skills: Devil eye, Primal aura, Savage bite, Spatial jump, Keen mind.
He noticed that while the beast's level hadn't changed, the word deadly that was written after its level had changed to magical.
He compared its stats to his;
Name: {Cain Lenosi}
Level: 20.
Strength: 149.
Agility: 190.
Stamina: 41/76.
Vitality: 44.
Defense: 35.
Control: 4.2.
Perception: 3.1.
HP: 3,500/4,400.
MP: 2,850/3,100.
Magic: 150.
Resistance: Poison- 7%.
Skills: Golden blood, Mana Blade, Lightening Edge, Blade Mastery Lvl. 2, Burst Step, Metal Creation Lvl.2, Golden Severance, Metal Manipulation, *Fear, *Bloodthirsty, Blood Ingestion Regeneration, Azure Burst, Mana Heart.
Titles: Champion of Ashur (locked).
Free attribute points: 23.
System points: 10,570.
{Inventory}. {Shop}.
'Damn...' Cain thought to himself as he compared the two.
'Am I about to get my ass whooped a second time over?!'
Cain realized that with the speed at which mutant beasts got stronger after the god ash fell at midnight, there was no way the {Devil-eyed White Primate} wouldn't be stronger than it had been when they had first fought against each other. Even after killing over a thousand mutants, he had only gained 2 extra levels. It seemed as though continuously killing mutants at the same level would reduce the amount of exp he gained for every consecutive kill. And exp was very important when it came to leveling up.
'No... I have also gotten stronger.' Cain realized that there was he had also gotten many times stronger than he had been since their last fight. He had acquired a few skills, his stats had seen a significant change, and his mentality was also stronger than before.
His brief meeting with Ashur had solidified that...
He was more than ready to face the {Devil-eyed White Primate}.
He was excited...
He hadn't yet used his current powers to the fullest. Even when he fought with Hunter, he was still restraining himself.
But now, he was about to let loose. Cain stretched his muscles and cracked his bones as he also pointed his blade at the {Devil-eyed White Primate}.
There was a brief moment of pause, before the thunderous clash.
KABOOM!
Like rolling thunder and crashing waves, they struck at once...
The rumble resounded throughout the entire field, causing all the participants of the battle to stop in their tracks once again.
Cain and the {Devil-eyed White Primate} recognized their strengths. They knew that whoever held back was going to be the one to lose.
The mutant beast handled the antler of the fallen {Golden Horned Beast} like it was a sword, slashing it down at Cain. They danced around a section of the battlefield at high speeds, turning it into a death zone. Any mutants not fast enough to escape from this death zone were torn up into pieces by the shockwaves of their collisions alone.
Cain let his blade dance in his hands. He utilized his control, strength, and agility stats to the max tooexecutto execute an effective and efficient attack with every movement, while at the same time, using his super perception to evade and parry the attacks of the {Devil-eyed White Primate}.
They exchanged blows for a while before Cain decided to switch things up...
"Metal Creation: Gold chains!" Gold chains appeared magically from magic circles in the air and on the ground, going after the mutant-like coiling snakes. The {Devil-eyed White Primate} dodged the chains with its supernatural speed, but Cain had other plans. He used {Metal Creation} and {Metal Manipulation} to create and release numerous steel spikes at the rapidly moving mutant.
But the mutant was just fast enough to avoid all the attacks. The mutant let out a howl as its speed increased once again, allowing all the attacks to hit empty air. Cain noticed that the {Devil-eyed White Primate} inched closer to him every time it successfully evaded a round of his attacks.
Once it was close enough, it disappeared all of a sudden. Cain didn't even need to think twice before he knew what had happened. The mutant had just used its {Spatial Jump} skill. Cain let his senses take over instantly.
He quickly felt the hairs on his neck tingle.
BANG!
"This is old tricks. You will need to do better than that to get me." As he responded with an upward thrust, but the mutant was able to dodge out of the way.
Tuffs of the mutant's snow-white fur drifted into the wind, but neither the beast nor Cain looked concerned at all...
"Howl!"
Once again, they clashed, but this time, Cain noticed something different. Well, he had noticed it from the beginning, because he was a bit doubtful. But as time went on, with their every collision, his suspicions became more evident.
The more they fought, the more Cain witnessed some nuances in the way the mutant fought, causing him to raise a brow in disbelief. The monster was able to dodge and parry Cain's attacks better than before. It even counterattacked better, without needing to use brute force or any of its beastly skills.
It hit him all of a sudden...
'This thing is copying me?!'